Family? Forget It

Luo Yan looked at the palm print on that stone, then turned to look at Tang San, whose eyes betrayed a deep homesickness.

"Is this Holy Soul Village?"

Tang San snapped out of his nostalgic daze. "Mm, yes."

Soon, the three of them walked into Holy Soul Village. Tang San's home was right at the edge of the village; pointing up at the dilapidated sign on the roof, Tang San smiled and said to the two of them, "Look, that's my home."

With his home right before his eyes, Tang San's emotions involuntarily grew stirred up. The pace beneath his feet quickened, and in two or three strides, he reached the doorway.

The front door wasn't closed, just as it had been when he left. This had always been Tang Hao's habit; after all, there was nothing in his blacksmith's shop worth stealing.

"Dad, I'm back," Tang San shouted excitedly.

Calling out, Tang San strode inside.

Everything seemed unchanged. The blacksmith's shop was still as messy as ever—even messier than before he left. Clutter was strewn all over the floor, giving off a run-down feel that only brought him a greater sense of familiarity.

"Oh, Little San, you're back." A gentle voice sounded, and someone walked out from the inner room.

Seeing him, Tang San couldn't help but pause. "Grandpa Jack, you're here too? Where's my dad?"

The person walking out was none other than Holy Soul Village's village chief, Old Jack. With a trace of a bitter smile on his face, he handed a piece of paper to Tang San and said, "Take a look. This is what your dad left behind."

"I came to look for him this morning, originally planning to have him come with me to pick you up, but I didn't expect you to already be back."

A trace of tension appeared in Tang San's heart, and he hurriedly took the paper Old Jack handed him, lowering his head to read.

Seeing this scene, Luo Yan gently shook his head.

Tang Hao... You're truly not a good father, nor even a good husband.

Rambling all over the continent with a pregnant, transformed wife.

From a husband's perspective... I don't get it, I can't wrap my head around it.

Tang San stood frozen, his full chest of joy instantly turning into a helpless sense of loss.

After comforting him for a while, Old Jack left.

Xiao Wu bent down and began helping to tidy up the debris on the ground, her movements very gentle.

Usually so boisterous, she was uncharacteristically quiet at this moment.

She gathered the scattered iron blocks into a corner of the wall, righted the tipped-over stool, and finding a ragged cloth from somewhere, wiped the tabletop over and over again.

Luo Yan didn't move.

He leaned against the doorframe, his gaze falling on Tang San's back.

The person who had always stood so straight looked a little shorter right now, his shoulders slumped.

After a while, Tang San folded that piece of paper up very slowly and meticulously.

Then he took a breath, raised his head, and said to Xiao Wu, "Stop sweeping."

Xiao Wu paused her movements and looked up at him.

"I'll do it," Tang San said.

He walked inside, picked up the broom leaning against the wall, and began sweeping the floor stroke by stroke.

He swept very slowly, yet with great force.

Xiao Wu glanced at Luo Yan.

Luo Yan gave a slight shake of his head, signaling her not to stop him.

So Xiao Wu retreated to Luo Yan's side, and the two of them stood at the doorway, watching Tang San slowly tidy up the entire blacksmith's shop all by himself.

He swept the floor, wiped the stove, cleared away the cobwebs in the corners, and even rearranged all those old iron tools that hadn't been touched in years.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't say a single word.

"San'er."

Luo Yan spoke up, his voice not loud, but very steady. "You still have us."

Tang San's back froze for a second.

He still kept his back turned, not speaking.

Xiao Wu nodded heavily beside Luo Yan and added, "Yeah! You still have us! If nobody's in Holy Soul Village later, we'll go to my house... No, let's go back to Dorm Seven! Dorm Seven is our home!"

Luo Yan twitched the corner of his mouth. "Can't you say something like those touching lines I prepared?"

Xiao Wu glared at him. "You said it first!"

Tang San finally turned around. His eyes weren't red, and his expression was fairly calm.

He looked at the unyielding Xiao Wu, then at Luo Yan, who was leaning against the doorframe with a terribly cheeky smile, and suddenly recalled what it was like a few months ago when he followed Old Jack out of Holy Soul Village all by himself.

Back then, he didn't know that these two people were what awaited him ahead.

"I know."

He spoke in a low and clear voice. "I still have you guys."

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment, then her eyes curved into smiles as she ran over and slapped him heavily on the back. "Good to know! From now on, follow Big Sis Xiao Wu, and I guarantee you'll have meat to eat!"

"Just that potato stewed pork from the cafeteria?" Luo Yan chimed in.

"Shut up! At least... at least there are all the potatoes you can eat!"

Inside the blacksmith's shop, the sound of laughter finally rang out.

The sun slanted westward. Outside the blacksmith's shop, three figures sat side by side, wearing identical clothes, just sitting there quietly.

Tang San watched the shadow of the distant old locust tree slowly stretch in the twilight, and suddenly remembered the day he first entered Dorm Seven, when someone first asked him, "Why aren't you smiling?"

Back then, he didn't know how to answer.

Now he felt like he understood a little bit.

"Luo Yan," Tang San suddenly spoke up.

"Hm?"

"Xiao Wu."

"What?"

Tang San didn't look at them; his gaze remained fixed on the treetop of that distant locust tree. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "When I was in Holy Soul Village, I had no friends. The kids in the village wouldn't play with me, my dad didn't talk much, and every day I practiced my skills alone, ate alone, and slept alone."

Xiao Wu tilted her head, her rabbit ears twitching slightly.

"I thought I would just go through life all by myself like that."

Tang San paused, withdrew his gaze, and let it fall onto his clasped knees.

"Later, when I got to Notting City, I met the two of you."

His fingers rubbed gently against his knees.

"My dad is gone, but I don't feel like I've lost anything, because you guys are already here."

Luo Yan's finger-twirling motion paused slightly.

Xiao Wu's breathing skipped half a beat.

Tang San finally turned his head, looking at Xiao Wu on his left and Luo Yan on his right.

The twilight cast a layer of pale gold over his face.

"Let's be siblings," he said.

There was a two-second silence.

Xiao Wu blinked, then abruptly turned her head to look at Luo Yan. "Did you hear that? He said let's be siblings! Hurry up and agree!"

Luo Yan didn't speak.

He stood there, his face still wearing that habitual smile, but the smile seemed frozen in place by the wind—neither deepening nor dissipating.

Tang San looked at him with anticipatory eyes.

Xiao Wu shouted again, "Luo Yan!"

"Xiao Wu," Luo Yan finally spoke, his voice very light, even carrying a hint of a smile. "Do you want me to be an older brother that badly?"

"I—" Xiao Wu choked for a second, then said loudly with a blushing face, "What are you talking about! I want to be your older sister! You're the younger brother!"

Luo Yan uttered an "oh," drawing it out long as if in deep thought.

Then he lowered his head and scraped the grass blades on the ground with the toe of his shoe.

"But I'm very lazy," he said, his tone breezy.

"Besides, I'm the kind of person who likes watching the commotion, not being an older brother and having to take care of people."

Xiao Wu didn't understand, her brows knitting together. "What are you talking about?"

Tang San, however, understood.

He looked at Luo Yan, neither angry nor disappointed, and simply gave a very soft "Mn."

"Alright, I respect your choice," Tang San said.

Xiao Wu looked left and right, growing even more anxious. "So are we siblings or not?!"

"Whether we are or not is fine."

Luo Yan waved his hand with a cheeky smile. "Anyway, I'm right in Dorm Seven; I'm not going to run away."

"You're going to run away sooner or later."

Xiao Wu glared at him. "You look like the kind of person who would suddenly vanish one day without even leaving a note!"

Luo Yan didn't take up the thread, merely smiling.

Tang San stood up and patted his trouser legs. "Let's go, up the mountain. It's getting dark."

Xiao Wu wanted to say something else, but Tang San pressed down on her shoulder.

She looked at Tang San, then at Luo Yan, who remained sitting in place, and finally let out a "hmpf," shook off Tang San's hand, and walked up the mountain by herself.

Tang San turned back to glance at Luo Yan.

"Wait for us at home," he said.

Luo Yan waved lazily. "Rest assured, I'm not running."

Tang San said nothing more and caught up to Xiao Wu.

The two of them walked along the village path toward the edge of the mountain. Xiao Wu walked very fast, as if nursing a grievance. Tang San followed behind her without trying to persuade her, only occasionally raising his head to check the sky.

When they reached the corner, Xiao Wu suddenly stopped and looked back.

Luo Yan was still sitting on the threshold, smiling at them.

Xiao Wu waved vigorously and shouted something, but Luo Yan didn't catch it clearly; he merely raised his hand and gave a gentle wave.

Then they turned the corner and were out of sight.

Luo Yan was still sitting there.

He lowered his head and saw that, at some point, he had fished another melon seed out of his pocket.

He placed the melon seed on his knee without eating it.

Holy Soul Village was eerily quiet.

A breeze blew past, carrying a faint scent of rust and the smoke of someone's burning dinner far away.

At that moment, he heard it.

A very soft voice, as if coming from far away, yet also as if right beside his ear.

"Why didn't you agree?"

Luo Yan didn't move.

"Agreeing to them—wouldn't that also be a very interesting show?"

That voice carried a smile, light and breezy, as if teasing him, yet also as if asking in earnest.

"Two protagonists of destiny, calling you older or younger brother—every time they call you in the future, you'll be able to see the expressions on their faces."

"When they're happy, when they're sad, when they're begging you, when they're cursing you—how amusing that is."

Luo Yan lowered his gaze, looking at the melon seed on his knee without speaking.

"Don't you want to watch? The closer you get to them, the bigger this show becomes. When they eventually find out who you are and what you really are, that scene..."

The voice trailed off, sounding as though it were smiling yet sighing at the same time.

"My reserve envoy, aren't you looking forward to it?"

Luo Yan cupped his cheek with his hand, his voice muffled.

"Shut up, Aha."

"Ooh~ Aha has no face~ But this is so much fun! Hahahahaha—!"