We're All Family

Qin Heng rode his bicycle.

Fang Lingxue sat on the back seat, hugging his waist, her head resting lightly against his back.

When the wind blew, the girl's jet-black hair fluttered in the breeze, picturesque as a poem.

On the way, Fang Lingxue asked Qin Heng, "Qin Heng, we were so busy talking about my situation that I forgot to ask—did your assessment go smoothly today?"

At that, Qin Heng felt a little smug. "Of course it did. Your boyfriend is amazing—I directly broke the Base City's historical record!"

"Ah? Really?" Fang Lingxue sounded astonished.

"Of course it's true. Once we get home, I'll tell you even better news!"

Qin Heng planned to wait until they got home before telling them that Heavenly Dao Martial Hall had recruited him with a monthly salary of 120,000.

Otherwise, if someone overheard it in this alley, it would not be good.

"That's wonderful! I knew the man I had my eye on wouldn't be mediocre!" Fang Lingxue happily wrapped her arms around his waist, rubbing her little head against his back as though she were hugging a beloved doll.

Before long, the two arrived downstairs from their home.

The building had twelve floors in total. His family lived on the eighth floor. There was no elevator, only two narrow stairways for going up and down, so his parents, whose legs were disabled, rarely had the chance to go downstairs for some fresh air.

Back home, Qin Heng pushed open the door. "Dad, Mom, I'm back."

His parents were both seated in wheelchairs. The tiny living room had no lights on, but their eyes had long been fixed on the doorway. Who knew how long they had been waiting?

The moment she saw them, his mother, Sheng Yuhan, immediately said happily, "Xiao Heng is back! Xiao Xue came too! Come in, come in!"

His father, Qin Ziming, immediately asked, "Son, did the assessment... go smoothly?"

Their legs were inconvenient, and they could not go downstairs. Even getting news was difficult for them, so all they could do was wait anxiously at home.

From the moment Qin Heng left that morning until now, only they knew how much unease they had endured.

"Dad, Mom."

Seeing the expectation and anxiety in his parents' eyes, Qin Heng could no longer suppress the joy in his heart. He loudly announced to his family, "Today, I passed the assessment with a punching force of 928 kilograms, setting a new First Assessment record for Nansha Base City! That's the first piece of good news!"

"Wow!"

"928 kilograms! A new record! Son, you're not joking?"

The two elders were utterly stunned. Their eyes widened, and their faces were filled with delight.

Fang Lingxue said with a smile, "It's true. People were already congratulating Qin Heng on the road just now. In a few days, maybe the whole city will know!"

"Oh my heavens, this... this is too...!"

Sheng Yuhan was completely dumbfounded. She could not believe her son had become so accomplished—not only had he passed the assessment, he had even broken the citywide record!

"Right, Xiao Heng, didn't you say that was the first piece of good news? Does that mean there's a second?" His father, Qin Ziming, caught the key point and hurriedly asked.

Qin Heng gave a mischievous grin.

He deliberately kept them in suspense, sitting down to take a sip of water and moisten his throat.

Then he cleared his throat, put on a solemn expression, and said, "Yes, there's a second piece of good news."

"Stop dragging it out and tell us already!" Fang Lingxue said irritably, giving him a light smack.

His parents' curiosity had also been thoroughly piqued. They stared without blinking, pricking up their ears to listen.

Under the gazes of all three, Qin Heng grinned and said, "The second piece of good news is that I was recruited by Heavenly Dao Martial Hall with a monthly salary of 120,000!"

He enunciated every word, his tone rising and falling dramatically, smug beyond measure.

"Ah?" All three froze at his words.

"How... how much?" Qin Ziming looked blank.

Sheng Yuhan said hesitantly, "Son, did you say that wrong? Did you mean annual salary but say monthly salary?"

An annual salary of 120,000 would have delighted them given their circumstances, but considering the lofty status of martial artists, they could still have accepted it.

But this was a monthly salary!

The kind of outrageous that beggared belief!

Qin Heng confirmed, "Not annual salary—monthly salary. Dad, Mom, their chief person in charge personally gave me the offer. With everyone watching, it can't be fake. At most, the Admission Notice will be delivered to the Martial Hall in our district within two days. I'll bring it back for you to look over then!"

"Th-this is real?" His parents still found it hard to believe.

A monthly salary of 120,000 was simply too exaggerated!

Such an enormous sum could no longer be described as merely a "high salary." It was practically a windfall falling from the heavens!

"Qin Heng, Qin Heng... hit me. Let me see if it hurts. I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Fang Lingxue looked utterly stunned, adorable beyond words.

Qin Heng rubbed her cheek. "It's real. It's not a dream."

"Wow, 120,000 a month!!"

The girl cried out, thrilled beyond measure. "That's so much money—I couldn't earn that even after working for ten years!"

Qin Heng took hold of her soft little hand. "You won't have to work so hard anymore. I can support you, support Dad and Mom, and let all of you live easy, comfortable lives! Before long, we can buy a big house and move into the city. We'll live in a sunlit home, with big rooms, big beds, and a balcony where we can grow flowers and plants. Don't you really like green plants? Then you can grow as many as you want!"

"Qin Heng~"

Fang Lingxue was overjoyed. After hoping for so long, her wish had finally come true. The joy was beyond words, and her eyes unconsciously grew moist.

Qin Heng's parents were so moved that they also began to cry.

"This is wonderful, wonderful!"

"Our son has made something of himself!"

"Old Qin, did you hear that? Our son is going to take us to live in a big house in the city, the kind with a balcony where we can bask in the sun."

"Haha, haha, I heard, I heard! Don't cry. Why are you crying at a time this happy?"

"You only know how to talk about me. Why don't you look in a mirror? You've even got snot bubbles coming out!"

"I-I'm happy, that's why, heh..."

Qin Ziming wiped away tears as he chuckled foolishly, even happier than Qin Heng himself.

Seeing his parents like this, Qin Heng's nose suddenly stung, and tears began to fall from his own eyes.

Ever since his parents had been injured, it had been a long time since he had seen them this happy.

Over the past four years, his parents had spent nearly every day confined to this living room of less than eight square meters. They could not see the sun, could not feel the wind, and could only glimpse a tiny corner of the sky from the edge of the window.

Qin Heng was busy training during the day and had little time to keep them company. Sometimes, more than a month would pass before he could take them downstairs for fresh air. His parents' only social contact was waiting for idle neighbors to occasionally drop by.

...Fortunately, these days were finally about to end.

A monthly salary of 120,000 was enough to change their fate!

In just one or two months, Qin Heng would have enough money to buy a house!

When that time came, their eighteen-square-meter home would no longer be the entirety of his parents' world. The four-leaf clover on the windowsill would no longer be all the greenery their eyes could see. They could move about freely—get fresh air when they wanted, bask in the sun when they wanted, do whatever they wanted.

This is the meaning of striving, Qin Heng thought.

None of the sweat he had shed at the Martial Hall over the past three years had been wasted.

And there was something else...

"Ling Xue."

Qin Heng took Fang Lingxue's hand and looked into her eyes. "I owe everything I have today to you."

"Yes, yes, yes!" His parents immediately chimed in.

"Xiao Heng owes so much of who he is today to Xiao Xue!"

"You brat, hurry and think of how you're going to repay Xiao Xue."

Fang Lingxue smiled gently. "You've said it so many times already. We're family. You don't need to keep thanking me."

"Mm." Qin Heng nodded.

At that moment, he desperately wanted to kiss Fang Lingxue.

But with his parents beside them, he felt a little embarrassed. So they merely looked at each other, their gazes so tender they seemed capable of melting the other away.

Seeing the two of them gazing at each other with such affection, the parents were so delighted they could not close their mouths. The tear tracks on their faces had not yet dried, but their smiles had already blossomed.

The family sat together, savoring this rare joy in perfect harmony.