The Hero Cannot Bleed and Cry

"Brother Lin Yuan!" Lan Xuanyu shouted. But the person standing in the doorway was not the Lin Yuan their whole family had been yearning for. It was a middle-aged man in military uniform, a full one meter ninety tall, powerfully built, his eyes sharp as blades.

"Uncle, who are you?" Lan Xuanyu tilted his head and asked curiously.

Hmm?

Lan Xiao froze. Uncle... Wasn't it Little Lin?

He immediately stepped forward, his gaze falling on the military rank on the middle-aged man's shoulder. It was senior colonel.

Lan Xiao immediately straightened and gave a military salute.

"Greetings, Chief!"

"Hello, Director Lan Xiao."

The senior colonel returned the salute with no perfunctory air at all, standing at attention as he said seriously, "I've come this time to talk about the child Lin Yuan..."

"Little Lin?" Lan Xiao's expression sharpened. Little Lin had actually drawn the personal attention of a senior colonel?

"Would it be convenient for me to come in and talk? I won't take up your rest time," the senior colonel said earnestly.

"Of course. It would be my honor." Lan Xiao immediately led the senior colonel inside.

Only then did the senior colonel notice Lan Xuanyu below him, staring up with big, curious eyes blinking at him. Almost subconsciously, the senior colonel reached out and patted Lan Xuanyu's head, his gaze softening.

Sitting on the sofa and looking at Lan Xiao and Nan Cheng, who were both sitting upright, the senior colonel smiled.

"My name is Ye Feng. You don't need to be so nervous. Actually, I'm here to thank you. You were able to let this child Lin Yuan integrate into society. If you can truly help him integrate into this society, that counts as military merit."

Ye Feng... His name was Ye Feng. Lan Xiao was shocked again, but what shocked him most was that helping Lin Yuan integrate into society actually counted as military merit?!

Since when had military merit become so worthless?!

Lan Xiao shook his head.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"There's no harm in telling you. In fact, when this child came into contact with you, I had already begun an investigation into you. You are civilian military personnel of clean and proper background." At this point, the senior colonel seemed to open the floodgates.

"Lin Yuan's parents were both major generals. They both died in the line of duty during a mission, preventing major losses for the Federation. In other words, he is the descendant of martyrs."

Ma... jor generals?

And both of them in one family?

Lan Xiao and Nan Cheng looked at each other. Being in the military system, they knew all too well how difficult it was to become a major general. A major general... That was a true general!

In war, someone capable of commanding forces on an entire front!

"May I ask what mission it was..." Lan Xiao thought for a moment, then probed slightly.

"Apologies. That is a Federation secret!" the senior colonel refused without hesitation. Since it was a secret mission, Lan Xiao and Nan Cheng also knew their limits and did not ask further.

"But Little Lin's parents were martyrs, so why was he all alone? Shouldn't you have taken good care of him?" Nan Cheng's brows furrowed tightly. Lan Xiao's expression changed drastically, and he was just about to pull Nan Cheng back and warn her about her tone when Nan Cheng glared him back with her beautiful eyes.

"Did I say anything wrong?"

"I don't blame you, sister-in-law." Ye Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"It's that this child Lin Yuan has too much of a personality. He could say simple words when he was very young, and by the age of two, he could speak normally. That was incredible."

"But at the military orphanage, he didn't fit in. Perhaps he was too clever. He spoke less and less to children his age, and his mood sank lower and lower. The military found many psychologists, but all of them were helpless. With no other choice, we could only go along with him and let him leave the orphanage. One year ago, he came to Ziluo City, and we concealed his identity, hoping he could integrate properly. Back then, he was only three."

"One year ago? Wasn't that when my salary was raised and my benefits improved?" Lan Xiao said in surprise.

"Mm. Speaking of which, you really have this child Lin Yuan to thank for the improvement in your benefits." Ye Feng suddenly sighed with deep emotion.

"I still remember it. Back then, a War God from War God Temple came to inspect the military dependents' cafeteria and saw Lin Yuan eating only rice and thick egg drop soup. He ate very quickly, as if he was afraid it would disappear if he was even a second late. Do you know? That child was only three. Three years old!"

Ye Feng slapped the table. In his mind, an image seemed to flash of the thin, tall Lin Yuan leaning over the table, cheeks puffed out as he worked hard to eat, as if racing against time.

"The War God asked in distress why he didn't eat more, but Lin Yuan said with a frightened look that eating those things didn't cost money."

"The War God's expression instantly turned extremely ugly. He asked Lin Yuan where his money was. Hadn't he been given a very large pension and extremely high monthly benefits?"

"Exactly. Why was that?" Nan Cheng asked, looking at Ye Feng, confusion on her face.

Ye Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head, his fists clenching in an instant. "After later investigation, it turned out that a certain relative, a major responsible for raising Lin Yuan, had embezzled it. Taking advantage of Lin Yuan's silence and few words, he privately withheld it."

"And what happened after that?" Nan Cheng said indignantly. That relative was truly too hateful!

Lin Yuan was such a cute, polite child, yet he had treated him like that!

"After that, Lin Yuan took out his parents' medals of merit and choked out, 'Uncle, I don't want these medals. Can you give my mom and dad back to me?'" Ye Feng closed his eyes, as if unwilling to recall that scene.

When Lan Xiao, Nan Cheng, and Lan Xuanyu heard this, their hearts felt as if they had been seized tightly by a hand, leaving them unable to speak.

Ye Feng's tone also gradually deepened. "At that time, the War God felt terrible. He told Little Lin to put the medals away properly. After returning, he immediately launched the relevant files under 'Who Made Heroes Bleed and Weep.' That relative of Little Lin's was made an example of and immediately sent to a military court. His execution was announced in court!"

"It was also from that time that the military raised the treatment of soldiers and military dependents in Ziluo City's military dependents' compound. But this had already caused severe trauma. Three-year-old Little Lin spoke less and less. We once sent people to raise him, but found the results weren't good. Over time, we began to adopt a hands-off approach, watching over him in secret."

"This year, he's four. Today, he finally opened his heart a little. That is your achievement, especially you, little friend." Ye Feng patted Lan Xuanyu's head again, his eyes full of affection.

At this moment, Lan Xiao and Nan Cheng looked at each other once more.

They finally understood why Ye Feng had said that bringing Lin Yuan normally into society would count as military merit.

He was the orphaned child of martyrs. His parents had been major generals, and they had died while carrying out a classified mission. This was the military's deep debt to Lin Yuan!

"All right, it's getting late, and I've said all I need to say. The military won't trouble you two with raising him. We only hope you won't discriminate against Lin Yuan, and that you'll let him understand there is beauty in the world too!"

At that point, Ye Feng suddenly stood and gave the two of them a solemn military salute.

"It's our honor. Besides, Little Lin is already a lovable child."

Lan Xiao also immediately rose and returned the salute with all seriousness.

After that, Ye Feng politely declined Lan Xiao's offer to stay the night and strode out of Lan Xiao's home.

After Ye Feng left, Lan Xiao let out a breath of relief and looked at his wife and son, who still seemed not to have recovered—especially Lan Xuanyu. His eyes were red, clearly deeply hurt by what Ye Feng had said just now, this child who had been surrounded by love since he was little.

Lan Xiao said jokingly, "Looks like Lin Yuan is our benefactor too. Xuanyu, you did very well. Dad is proud of you."

Lan Xuanyu nodded hard, tugged at the corner of Lan Xiao's clothes, and said, "Mm, Dad, I want to go play with Big Brother again tomorrow."

"Heh, go on, go on." Lan Xiao lovingly patted Lan Xuanyu's head.

The next morning.

In the cold, empty three-hundred-square-meter house, Lin Yuan, who had collapsed on the sofa, slowly opened his eyes. His pupils no longer seemed to be completely pitch-black, but as brilliant as stars, as if one look at them would be like light being unable to escape a black hole.