The Choice

The private room lights came back on.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Liangqiu Feiyan took the lead in applauding, and the siblings cheered for Ji Xinghuo together. The hovering cameras beside them captured the moment.

Ji Xinghuo cut the cake and handed out slices for everyone to share.

Wang Zizhen, who had been quiet all along, suddenly asked, "Third Brother, if your biological parents wanted to take you home, would you agree?"

The room fell silent.

If Foster Children returned to their birth families, they had to give up their familial ties with the Public Family. It meant leaving this home.

In truth, this was a question they had buried in their hearts for a long time, but no one had asked it before.

Until now.

Yet Ji Xinghuo did not hesitate in the slightest. He answered firmly, "No."

"That's great!"

Liangqiu Feiyan immediately jumped for joy. She was the most reluctant to see Ji Xinghuo leave; she would be heartbroken if any of her siblings left.

"Really?" Ye Dongyun was delighted as well.

"Of course it's true, Big Sister." Ji Xinghuo looked utterly serious.

In fact, he himself had hesitated for a long time and considered every possibility. It was only a few hours ago, before leaving his apartment for the birthday party, that he had settled on his final answer.

Zhong Ming smiled. "What if they had no choice but to give you up back then? What if it wasn't something they did willingly, and now they sincerely want to make amends? What if your biological parents are important people with power and status, or wealthy tycoons on the rich list? Wouldn't you consider it?"

Such cases were not unheard of, merely extremely rare.

There had once been a Foster Child who learned that his biological parents were billionaires with fortunes worth tens of billions. Without hesitation, he left the Public Family and became a rich second-generation heir.

"No matter the circumstances, I won't go back." Ji Xinghuo spoke with finality. "We'll always be family!"

Zhong Ming nodded vigorously.

Ye Dongyun, Liangqiu Feiyan, and Wang Zizhen all moved closer and each gave Ji Xinghuo a hug.

"Third Brother, here."

Wang Zizhen took out the virtual glasses he carried with him.

Ji Xinghuo sat down on the sofa in the private room and put on the glasses. The others quietly waited around him for the results.

Ji Xinghuo lightly tapped the frame of the virtual glasses.

"Beep!"

The scene before his eyes changed as the device connected to the wireless network. A login interface appeared in his field of vision, while his mind gave a slight shudder as though his thoughts had linked up with the system.

Ji Xinghuo entered his account and password.

This account and password were universal across the entire internet. They were bound to one's real identity and uniquely assigned. Anyone wishing to access the internet within the Asia-Pacific Community had to possess a legal identity account. No matter the platform, website, or social media service, one could log in directly with that identity account.

He opened the Civil Affairs Department's official website and logged in. He immediately received a notification that he had an important message.

The flashing information icon was somewhat glaring in his vision.

Ji Xinghuo paused for several seconds before finally opening it.

"Citizen Ji Xinghuo, a document concerning your birth information and guardianship has reached its declassification date. Please review it."

Opening the document revealed a list of files.

The first was his birth certificate.

This was Ji Xinghuo's first time seeing his birth certificate. The date was July 23, 2201, and the location was a Maternal and Child Hospital in Strait City. His former name had been "Xin Ye."

"Strait City..."

So I was born there? Ji Xinghuo continued reading. The most important information on the birth certificate was that of his parents. His father was named "Xia Qingyu," and his mother was "Xin Yimo." They had been born in 2159 and 2178 respectively.

"A nineteen-year age gap."

Ji Xinghuo immediately had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the birth certificate stated that the two had not been married. Xin Yimo had given birth out of wedlock after an accidental pregnancy. She had been twenty-three at the time.

The file contained a photograph of them together.

Xia Qingyu did not look forty-two at all. He looked more like a handsome young man in his thirties, with bright eyes and a confident expression. Xin Yimo leaned against his chest. Dressed like a youthful young woman, she was exceptionally beautiful, and her eyes were full of admiration as she looked at the man beside her.

They stood close together, a handsome man and a beautiful woman who looked perfectly matched.

Ji Xinghuo looked at the man in the photograph, whose features were seventy percent similar to his own. He snorted with complicated feelings, unable to describe the taste in his heart.

There were also two declarations in the document.

One came from each of the infant's biological parents. Their contents were identical: they voluntarily relinquished guardianship of the newborn and handed him over to the government for care, complete with their electronic signatures.

Just as expected, it was a cliché story.

The man was a powerful Aberrant, handsome, and most likely wealthy as well. He knew how to sweet-talk women and charmed a beautiful college student until she was completely smitten. Then, through one careless moment, he got her pregnant.

And that pregnancy was him!

"Heh..."

Ji Xinghuo gave a quiet laugh inwardly. He was not surprised by the outcome.

In reality, most Foster Children came from similar circumstances. Either they were the result of accidental pregnancies, or their parents' relationship had broken down. Only a very small number had parents who were unfit or unwilling to be parents and simply threw their children to the government without a second thought.

No matter the circumstances, it did not change the nature of it as abandonment.

"This is fine too."

Ji Xinghuo opened the final two files. They were emails forwarded by the Civil Affairs Department, sent by Xia Qingyu and Xin Yimo.

This meant that they were still alive, or at least had not met with any mishaps.

Generally speaking, parents who wanted to reconcile with Foster Children would include their contact information in these emails as the first step toward rebuilding familial ties.

Of course, if they had no intention of reconciling, they did not need to include anything.

"They both actually sent me emails..." Ji Xinghuo was somewhat surprised. He opened Xia Qingyu's letter, only to discover that it was blank—not a single word.

There was no contact information and no video message.

Only at the bottom was an unclaimed transfer, sent from a Trust Fund in Chang'an. The amount was ten million Asia Yuan!

Ji Xinghuo's eyes widened. He counted it once more to make sure. It was indeed ten million.

This kind of fund was truly money for the taking! Since it was a gift from a biological parent, it was tax-free. Claiming it carried no obligations and did not mean he had to rebuild any familial relationship with the other party.

In short, it was free money.

Ji Xinghuo had always been calm, but even his heartbeat quickened at this.

He checked the attached information for the transfer and found that it had been made twelve years ago, when he had only been ten.

Xia Qingyu's intentions were obvious. He did not want to shoulder the responsibilities of a father, but he was not completely washing his hands of the matter either. The ten million was compensation for the child. If Ji Xinghuo took the money, they would owe each other nothing, and he was not to seek Xia Qingyu out in the future.

"This guy has some principles, at least."

Ji Xinghuo could guess what kind of person Xia Qingyu was.

He pursued power and enjoyed life along the path of evolution. Wine, women, wealth, and luxury—he rejected none of them, but they could never interfere with his cultivation or his advancement into a stronger Aberrant.

Whenever trouble appeared, he cast it aside. If he could not cast it aside, he ran immediately.

Later, perhaps feeling guilty, he made whatever amends he could within his means so that his conscience would feel better.

There were countless Aberrants like that.

"Xia Qingyu should be quite powerful, at least an Advanced Esper. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to put ten million into a fund over a decade ago."

"He should be even stronger now."

Ji Xinghuo thought about it, then switched to a webpage and searched for information on Xia Qingyu. He found nothing.

The Asian Commonwealth government's protection of personal privacy was extremely thorough. Unless someone was a public figure or had voluntarily published their information online, ordinary people had no way of finding information on others.

That required extremely high-level authorization.

Ji Xinghuo did not have such authorization, so naturally, he could find nothing.

He did not claim the ten million Asia Yuan immediately. The transfer was valid for twenty years, so there was no rush. He then opened the email from Xin Yimo, which had been sent last month.

The first thing he saw was a long letter, several thousand words in length.

Ji Xinghuo patiently read it to the end.

In the letter, she introduced herself. She was from Strait City in Southeast Province and was now married with a son and a daughter. She and her husband ran an entertainment media company of considerable size, with several hundred employees. The company had some recognition in the industry, was valued at over a billion, and was preparing to go public. Her husband's family was quite influential in Strait City.

The rest included an introduction to the company and dozens of photographs of the company, a luxurious residence, and her daily life, displaying her financial strength.

Finally, there was a video.

Ji Xinghuo hesitated for a moment, but he opened it anyway. A woman who looked to be only in her thirties appeared before the camera. Behind her was a lavishly decorated living room. From the background, it was clear that she was high up in a tower, with the sea visible not far beyond the windows.

She had not changed much from the photograph in the file, except that she was more exquisitely dressed and more mature.

"Xiao Ye, please forgive me..."

With sorrow and regret on her face, Xin Yimo told Ji Xinghuo what had happened back then.

She had just graduated from college when she met Xia Qingyu. She had gone to Chang'an to make her way in the world, only to be deceived by his sweet words. After dating for several months, she accidentally became pregnant. She thought of marrying him, starting a family, and giving birth to the child, but after Xia Qingyu learned of it, he disappeared overnight.

In her panic, she could only return home to await the birth. Throughout that period, she kept trying to contact Xia Qingyu, but he never replied.

"I was still young then and had no experience raising a child."

"And I was so angry at the time, nearly crazy. I kept wanting to find that scumbag Xia Qingyu. I thought he had at least a bit of conscience and might change his mind."

"Only after you were born did I realize that I didn't have a guardianship certificate."

"I took care of you while studying for the certification exam. My life was a complete mess, and I was in a terrible mental state. I was afraid I couldn't give you good living conditions, so..."

At this point, Xin Yimo's face was filled with regret, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

The video cut here.

She regained her composure and continued with a happy expression. "I remembered your birthday every year. When you turned eighteen, I learned from the government that you were doing well, and I was always happy for you."

"A few years ago, I began preparing to bring you home. My husband supports this too. He promised me he would treat you as his own child. Your younger brother and sister also really want an older brother."

"Son, if you come home, Mom will give you the best possible conditions."

"No matter what you want to do—become an Aberrant, continue your studies, or start a business—I'll support you with everything I have."

"In the future, you can inherit our family business too."

"Xiao Ye, come back soon!"

After the video ended, Ji Xinghuo realized that he was not as calm as he had imagined. His emotions rose and fell, and it took several minutes for him to settle down.

Xin Yimo's feelings were sincere. The part about Xia Qingyu might have been exaggerated or untrue in places, but she genuinely wanted to repair this mother-son relationship.

However, Ji Xinghuo shook his head inwardly.

He had noticed some details in the letter and video. Whenever Xin Yimo mentioned her husband and his family, she did not seem as confident as she claimed.

At least in this matter, she could not make the decision entirely on her own. There had to be disagreements.

The so-called company and billion-worth family business might be tempting to others, but to him, they were not worth spending time and energy fighting over, only to end up with a complete mess. He would rather work hard on his own.

With the Myriad Stellar Eye, anything was possible! After thinking for a moment.

Ji Xinghuo looked at the contact information in the email, then ultimately backed out. If he did not contact her first, Xin Yimo would not be able to find him. She did not even know his current name.

"I won't disturb your family or your life. I wish you all the best."

Ji Xinghuo closed the document and took off the virtual glasses. Seeing his siblings gathered around him, he smiled.