Lu Chuan seemed to have forgotten why he had come,
and no longer cared whether he ended up in prison or anything else.
He only wanted to protect the girl in front of him.
But little Tang Wuyue firmly refused.
She stared fixedly at Lu Chuan,
the timidity deep in her bones gone,
her attitude extremely serious.
Her soft, sweet voice now carried a hint of authority:
"No means no. Mom said that if you go to prison, your whole life will be ruined!"
"You can't stay here!"
"Come with me right now!"
With that,
she took Lu Chuan's hand and led him out of the alley.
Lu Chuan followed without thinking,
and only after they had gone some distance from the alley
did he ask,
"Little girl, where are you taking me?"
At that, Tang Wuyue stopped. A trace of panic crossed her pretty face.
"T-then... of course I'm taking you home!"
"Big brother, didn't you say you don't have a home?"
"My mom and dad are really nice!"
"I'm sure you'll like them!"
Lu Chuan was stunned. The little girl really was taking him home!
He'd had his suspicions earlier,
but now that he'd confirmed it,
for some reason,
it all felt like a dream.
After all,
a little girl meeting a little boy for the first time and taking him home—
who would even imagine that?
Even a science fiction movie wouldn't dare film something like this, right?
"Big brother, do you not want to come with Yueyue?" Seeing Lu Chuan frozen in place, Tang Wuyue suddenly looked downcast.
Lu Chuan hurriedly shook his head. "Of course I do. I'm just worried your parents won't want me there."
At Lu Chuan's agreement, Tang Wuyue's little face instantly brightened. She said with certainty, "They will! They'll definitely like you too! Just come with me, big brother!"
With that,
she took Lu Chuan's hand again
and headed home.
The Tang Family
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue stood in front of their home, gazing eagerly toward the direction their daughter would come from.
At this time of day, Tang Wuyue would usually have been home already.
As her mother, Lang Yue was naturally worried.
Tang Ziran reassured her, "Don't worry. Maybe the teacher kept them late, and that's why she's delayed!"
Lang Yue shot him a glare. "How can I not worry? Wuyue's a little girl, not a little boy. What if she runs into a bad person? I shouldn't have listened to you, telling me to wait and wait. Look what time it is!"
At that, Tang Ziran awkwardly rubbed his nose and said nothing.
After all these years of marriage, he knew that whatever he said now would earn him a scolding!
Sweet daughter, hurry home. Dad can't hold out much longer!
Tang Ziran prayed silently in his heart.
Perhaps his prayer worked,
because before long,
Tang Wuyue's adorable little figure appeared on the distant horizon.
But before Tang Ziran could cheer,
he suddenly noticed
that another little boy was beside his precious girl—
and she was holding his hand!
In an instant,
the old father's heart shattered!
"Yue... Yue'er..." Tang Ziran's voice trembled. "Look over there..."
Lang Yue followed the direction her husband was pointing and was delighted at first.
Their daughter had come home safely!
But when she saw Lu Chuan, she was just as startled, her brows knitting together.
Who was that boy?
"Dad! Mom! I'm home!"
Tang Wuyue had spotted Tang Ziran and Lang Yue waiting in front of the house from far away,
and her little face lit up with excitement.
She pulled Lu Chuan along and ran,
and before long,
they reached the front door.
Once she was in front of Tang Ziran, Tang Wuyue took his hand and pleaded, "Dad, this is the big brother I found for myself! He doesn't have a home, and I want him to live with us. Is that okay?"
What? Live with us?
Tang Ziran was suddenly dumbfounded.
Lang Yue was dumbfounded too.
The husband and wife exchanged a glance,
and both saw the same stunned look in the other's eyes.
Tang Ziran bent down, doing his best to make his voice sound gentle. "Yueyue, it's not that Dad can't agree, but you should introduce your big brother first, right?"
Tang Wuyue nodded and prepared to introduce Lu Chuan.
But when the words reached her lips,
she suddenly realized she hadn't asked Lu Chuan's name.
For a moment,
she was completely stumped!
"Uncle, Auntie, my name is Lu Chuan!"
Lu Chuan also realized that he hadn't told the little girl his name. He quickly bowed to show his respect, then introduced himself.
Once Tang Wuyue learned his name, her big eyes rolled, and she hurriedly added, "I remember now. Big brother's name is Lu Chuan!"
It looked as if she were trying to pretend that she had only forgotten for a moment.
But Tang Ziran was no fool.
As a former Federation mecha designer and pharmaceutical researcher,
he was no slouch when it came to intelligence.
At a glance, he could tell that his daughter had clearly just met the little boy in front of them!
But seeing his daughter lie just to keep Lu Chuan there,
he decided not to call her out.
He left the final decision
to his wife.
While Tang Ziran was asking his questions,
Lang Yue had been observing Lu Chuan the whole time.
The little boy's delicate face showed a trace of unease.
But his eyes were clear.
A mother's instinct
told Lang Yue
that Lu Chuan didn't seem like a bad child.
"Lu Chuan, right? Don't be nervous. Come inside with Auntie first."
Lang Yue crouched down, ruffled Lu Chuan's hair, and spoke gently.
After so many years since crossing over,
this was the first time Lu Chuan had felt the warmth of a home.
After they went inside, Tang Wuyue eagerly recounted everything that had happened.
Including the conflict in the alley.
When she finished,
the way the husband and wife looked at Lu Chuan changed.
Normally,
if a child this young had already killed someone,
who knew what he'd be like when he grew up?
But Lu Chuan had killed a bad person to save their daughter.
That was a kindness they owed him!
People had hearts of flesh and blood,
and after hearing all this,
Tang Ziran's reservations about Lu Chuan had melted away considerably.
"Lu Chuan, can you tell us about your family?" Tang Ziran asked.
He didn't want Lu Chuan to relive a cruel past,
but some things
had to be clarified.
As a father, he had to consider more than most.
Lu Chuan fell silent for a moment,
then told them the story Di Tian had prepared for him before he entered the human world:
his family had been destroyed by an Evil Soul Master, leaving him homeless and bereft of his loved ones, with only him surviving by sheer luck.
At six years old, he had lost his family and wandered alone to Aolai City.
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue only had to imagine the pain and hardship he'd endured for their hearts to ache.
Lang Yue got up to pour him a glass of water. As she handed it to Lu Chuan, she said softly, "Xiao Chuan, have a drink of water first. Dinner will be ready soon!"
Lu Chuan took the water and thanked her.
He took a small sip,
then looked around,
and felt that this little home before him
was far warmer than his vast Golden Dragon Pocket World.
After dinner, Tang Ziran pulled his wife into the bedroom and closed the door.
"What do you think?" Tang Ziran asked directly.
Lang Yue pondered for a moment. "He seems like a sensible child. And Yueyue likes him so much... You know how timid Yueyue usually is. There aren't many people she'd go out of her way to protect like this."
"But he's still a strange boy, and letting him stay here..." Tang Ziran knitted his brows. "The inconvenience is secondary. The main thing is that we don't know his background."
"We can find out by looking into it. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Public Security Bureau," Lang Yue said. "The important thing is, if we don't take him in, where can a six-year-old child go this late at night? Are we going to make him sleep on the street?"
Tang Ziran fell silent.
A moment later, he finally made up his mind:
"Then let's keep him here tonight. Tomorrow, we'll go to the administrator's office and look into his background. If there's no problem, we'll ask what the child wants and then adopt him!"
Before you continue