Family

Lin Yan couldn't help but chuckle.

He said gently, "Then I'll give you the gift, and you'll forgive your brother, okay?"

Lin Tangtang responded crisply.

"Then let's go home first."

Lin Yan carried Lin Tangtang in one arm and picked up all the things with the other. He then walked into the residential building and went up the narrow stairs. The little yellow dog wagged its tail and ran very fast. It was used to climbing stairs and would wait for them on the stairs after running for a while. Sometimes it would run back down and circle around his feet.

Such low-rent housing communities naturally do not have elevators.

The Base City's defense system against avian monsters is powered by electricity, so power supply is very tight, and their electricity usage is limited.

Their family was alright; they lived on the 12th floor, not too high up. Lin Yan didn't walk fast, and the little girl fell asleep in his arms after a while, but her little hands were still tightly gripping his sleeve.

Lin Yan looked at her sleeping face, the tear stains on her face still wet.

A feeling of warmth welled up inside me.

He stood in front of his house, hesitated for a moment, and then knocked on the door.

Click—

A moment later, the door opened, and a middle-aged woman wearing an apron poked her head out. "Who is it?"

The woman exclaimed with delight, "Xiao Yan, you're back!"

She opened the door and took off her rubber gloves. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming back!"

"I'll ask your dad to buy some groceries when he gets back."

She hurriedly went to call her father.

Lin Yan closed the door, placed the things by the doorway, went into the room, took off Lin Tangtang's shoes, gently placed them on the bed, and covered her stomach with the corner of the blanket.

Then I looked at the small house where my family of four had lived for so many years.

The room was only about 30 square meters, a one-bedroom apartment with few appliances and furniture, just a bed. His parents slept there with Tangtang, but the bed was small and it was actually quite cramped.

He usually lives at school and sleeps on the old sofa in the living room when he goes home.

Most people in the Base City live like this. Their family is actually doing well. The parents are hardworking, the children are obedient, and Tangtang is very smart. Even though she is very young, she can take care of herself, so they can get by.

Some families really can't even make ends meet.

Like Chen Lian, his mother had a difficult childbirth when she gave birth to him. Nowadays, people's physical condition is much better than that of ordinary people before the Great Nirvana period. The difficult childbirth was simply due to poor conditions and insufficient nutrition.

His father was a gambler, and his grandfather raised him by collecting scraps. Such suffering is something that outsiders can hardly understand.

But there's nothing I can do, there's really nothing I can do.

Even this brief period of peace is stained with blood and sacrifice. The treatment given to martial artists is essentially a life-saving measure, as everyone knows. Yet, everyone still aspires to become a martial artist, not only because it's a Heavenly Ladder to privilege, but also because the lives of the weak are worthless.

His mother, Qiu Baihui, walked quietly into the room, glanced at Lin Tangtang on the bed, and then gestured for Lin Yan to come to the living room to talk.

"Did Tangtang cry?"

Lin Yan laughed and said, "Yes, she cried so hard."

"She's been asking when you're coming home for ages. You're such a kid. Didn't they say the military training was only two months? School's been open for days now, and you're only coming back now. We heard there was another beast tide two months ago, and we couldn't get in touch with you. We were so worried about you."

Qiu Baihui's eyes were a little red. "If I had known, I wouldn't have agreed to let you go to the army during the summer vacation. What would we do if you went to the battlefield and didn't come back..."

Lin Yan looked at the woman in front of him. She was only thirty-nine years old this year, but deep wrinkles had already appeared at the corners of her eyes. She was not tall, and it was obvious that she must have been beautiful when she was young. Her children were all handsome, but now she had lost most of her looks.

He felt a tightness in his chest and his throat was dry. "I'm back now, aren't I? There are rules in the army, so I didn't contact you before and made you worry."

Of course, he can contact me. In fact, if he wanted to come back after the beast tide incident ended, no one would stop him.

He just hadn't figured out how to face them.

But now I feel a little regretful.

Why bother with these things?

They are all doing well, and he has a responsibility and obligation to ensure they live a good life. He hopes they can be happy, joyful, and blessed.

But it's not too late now, not at all.

Little Lin Tangtang stared wide-eyed at the dancing robotic cat on the ground, its face showing amazement.

The little yellow dog didn't realize the importance of the problem at first.

I was fascinated by the robot cat and kept circling around it.

Gradually, it discovered that it had fallen out of favor!

As usual, it wagged its tail and circled around Lin Tangtang, but Lin Tangtang's big eyes were fixed on the robot cat, exploring new ways to play with it, and she didn't even glance at it.

He even made a surprised sound.

The little yellow dog's tail wagged slower and slower until it finally drooped to the ground.

It gave Lin Yan a "resentful" look, then dejectedly returned to its little nest, bearing a burden that its young age should not have.

Lin Yan smiled, took out a sealed bag of premium dog food from his backpack, and went to its little bed. "I haven't forgotten you. Here, have some treats. I bought the most expensive ones."

The little yellow dog immediately stood up, panting with its tongue lolling out, and brought its head close, its eyes fixed on the dog food in Lin Yan's hand, looking as if it wanted nothing more than to snatch it and tear open the packaging itself.

Little Lin Tangtang suddenly put down her Doraemon toy, squatted down next to him, and watched Lin Yan feed the little yellow dog. Yellowie was eating happily when she asked in a clear voice, "Can I eat this?"

Snap!

Lin Yan gently patted her head.

What are you thinking about?

Lin Tangtang puffed out her cheeks, shifted her feet, and turned away. "Hmph!"

"Bad brother!"

I'm surrounded by humming spirits!

When Lin Yan saw her, he immediately thought of another girl who liked to hum.

"After dinner, shall I take you shopping?"

Lin Tangtang gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said happily, "Good brother, you have to keep your word!"

After saying that, she ran off to play with her new toy.

At that moment, the key was turned and the door was opened.

A middle-aged man who looked rather scholarly walked in, carrying two plastic bags. He smiled at Lin Yan and asked, "You're back?"

The sound was very soft.

Lin Yan hummed in agreement. This was his father, Lin Yuanhe.

"It's good that you're back."

Men are very reserved in expressing their emotions; he only said these two sentences.

Lin Yuanhe carried the groceries he bought from the plastic bag over, and then prepared dinner with Qiu Baihui.

Once the food was ready, the family sat around the foldable and extendable dining table. Lin Tangtang looked at the sumptuous dinner with bright eyes.

Two little feet dangled under the dining table.

Lin Yan took out the gift he had prepared.

"Mom, this is a gift I prepared for you when I came back today."

Inside the beautifully packaged box was a crystal hair clip, which he bought for 200,000 yuan.

Qiu Baihui paused for a moment, and when she was about to take it, she felt that her hands were oily. "Wait a minute, I'll go wash my hands."

She came back after washing for a while. "You silly child, what gift did you prepare for me? It must have cost a lot of money."

Her tone was tinged with concern.

Lin Yan smiled and said, "Open it and see if you like it."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Baihui thought that since they were all family, it wouldn't hurt to open the box directly, so she carefully unpacked it.

Little Lin Tangtang looked at the crystal hair clip inside and exclaimed "Wow!"

"It's so beautiful!"

Qiu Baihui sniffled, touched, closed the box again, and looked at Lin Yan, saying, "I like it very much."

Then I went to the cabinet and carefully put the things away.

She was just an ordinary woman and didn't know how much the item cost. She thought it must be several thousand yuan, since it was so beautiful. She considered asking Lin Yan to return it because she didn't need such beautiful jewelry, but she also felt it was a gift from her son and couldn't bear to part with it.

"Dad, this is something my superior in the army asked me to bring back for you."

Lin Yan handed the gift box containing the fountain pen to Lin Yuanhe.

Lin Yuanhe was puzzled. What was the reason for the military commander to give gifts to the soldier's father?

Curious, he opened it and took out the pen inside, where he saw a line of small characters.

Lin Yuanhe's eyes widened. "This is..."

Lin Yan said, "Just a souvenir."

He then took out his cigarettes and alcohol. There were two packs of yellow-packaged cigarettes and two bottles of alcohol. Lin Yuanhe didn't have any other hobbies, but he was indeed a heavy smoker. He could control himself at school, but at home he would smoke one cigarette after another.

He smoked the cheapest cigarettes available at the convenience store.

He recognized the cigarettes and alcohol; he had seen them online before, and they were not available in stores.

It was specially made for special purposes.

Lin Yuanhe asked in shock, "Lin Yan, who is this 'leader' you're talking about?"

Thank you to the author of "The Azure Phoenix" for the 666-point reward.