The entire demolition area was pitch black, except for a small house where bright lights flickered.
Through the window, two graceful figures could be vaguely seen busying themselves.
Seeing this scene, the murderous aura surrounding Lin Feng dissipated instantly, and a gentle expression crossed his eyes.
He quickened his pace, pushed open the door, and returned home to find his sister and Li Xiaoke covered in dust, making dinner.
"Ah! Why are you back so soon? Don't look, don't look!"
Li Xiaoke panicked when she saw Lin Feng return, hurriedly using her body to block a pot of dark, unappetizing food.
In contrast, Lin Yun Yao was calm and composed.
She held a dish of braised crucian carp, garnished with scallions, its color fragrant and steaming hot, looking delicious.
"Need any help?"
Lin Feng asked with a smile.
"Go, go, what help do we need! Just don't get in the way!"
Li Xiaoke guiltily pushed Lin Feng out.
"Help me take the fish out, and then we can eat once the stir-fry is done."
Lin Yun Yao handed the braised fish to Lin Feng.
Lin Feng took the braised fish, deliberately glanced at the dish behind Li Xiaoke, and asked, "Do you want to take out your black sesame paste too?"
"That's braised ribs, not black sesame paste! I still need to reheat it, you take the fish out first."
Li Xiaoke was exasperated.
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow but said nothing, carrying the fish out of the kitchen.
Soon, dinner was ready.
Three dishes and a soup: braised crucian carp, braised black ribs, stir-fried greens, and kelp egg soup.
Very common home-cooked dishes, but Lin Feng hadn't had them in ten years.
"Li Xiaoke, did you add your secret sauce to these black ribs?"
Lin Feng teased as he picked up a piece of black rib.
"Pfft~"
Lin Yun Yao couldn't help but laugh, then seemed to realize it was inappropriate and gave Li Xiaoke an apologetic look.
Li Xiaoke blushed, then said angrily, "Why so much talk while eating! Even if my braised ribs don't look good, they taste great!"
"Really?"
Lin Feng put the rib in his mouth, chewed carefully, and nodded in agreement.
"They're indeed quite tasty!"
"Really?"
Li Xiaoke instinctively asked.
"Yeah! The taste is good."
Lin Feng affirmed.
Li Xiaoke looked skeptical, feeling Lin Feng was trying to trick her into eating one to prank her.
Although she claimed the ribs were delicious, she knew they must taste awful!
"They're really good, I'm not lying."
Lin Feng continued to eat several more ribs.
Seeing this, Li Xiaoke and Lin Yun Yao exchanged a glance and both picked up a rib.
But as soon as they took a bite, they couldn't help but spit it out.
"Ugh, you liar! It's so bad!"
Li Xiaoke was furious, thinking Lin Feng had deceived her.
Lin Yun Yao couldn't help but roll her eyes, looking aggrieved.
"Really? I think they're quite good, better than what I used to eat."
Lin Feng chuckled.
"What did you eat before?"
Li Xiaoke asked curiously.
Lin Feng thought for a moment and replied, "Anything edible."
Lin Yun Yao's heart trembled at his words, and her eyes gradually reddened.
But she said nothing, just lowered her head and ate her rice.
Li Xiaoke seemed to sense the atmosphere was off, so she fell silent too.
...
Around eight in the evening, Li Xiaoke cheerfully said her goodbyes and drove off in her pink car.
In the rundown house, only the siblings were left.
Lin Feng took the initiative to wash the dishes, only to find his sister watching him intently.
He thought of last night's scene and sighed inwardly.
But he still smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll wash the dishes and leave. I won't stay overnight without your permission."
"This is your home too, you don't have to leave."
Lin Yun Yao shook her head and continued, "Lin Feng, I think we need to have a proper talk."
"What do you want to know?"
"Ten years ago, you said you were going to find a girlfriend and never came back! What have you been doing all these years? Have you been with that woman named Chen Yinuo?"
Lin Yun Yao asked.
Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "I really went to cultivate immortality, I was forced."
Lin Yun Yao's face was full of disappointment as she said, "Lin Feng, are you still hiding things from me? Still trying to deceive me? I thought you had some unavoidable reason!"
Lin Feng simply extended his right hand, and a wisp of hot flame appeared in his palm.
"This is a spiritual flame, produced by burning spiritual qi. The temperature at its core can reach thousands of degrees, capable of easily burning ninety-nine percent of things on Earth."
"Little Yao, I know it's hard for you to accept the existence of immortal cultivation, but it's real! I'll teach you in the future!"
"Ten years ago, I was taken away by a powerful immortal cultivator who forced me to cultivate. Ten years later, he passed away, and I was able to return."
"Honestly, I feel sorry for you and our parents! So no matter how much you blame me, I won't get angry because I know you feel wronged."
"Brother... stop talking!"
Lin Yun Yao suddenly covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes.
Although the idea of immortal cultivation was shocking, she chose to believe it.
Perhaps, for her, whether immortal cultivation was real or not didn't matter!
She just needed a reason, a reason to forgive her brother, nothing more.
Her previous unreasonable behavior was because of the hardships she endured over the years, feeling so wronged that she couldn't help but vent when she saw her brother return.
Now that her anger had subsided, she realized her brother was still the same, unchanged.
"What did you just call me?"
Lin Feng's voice trembled slightly.
"Brother... I called you brother! I misunderstood you, I was unreasonable and willful, I was irrational! Brother!!!"
Lin Yun Yao couldn't hold back any longer and threw herself into Lin Feng's arms, crying her heart out.
At this moment, all grievances, all resentment, all sadness and sorrow poured out, soaking Lin Feng's chest with tears.
Lin Feng gently patted his sister's back, his eyes slightly red.
It wasn't until late at night that Lin Yun Yao's crying gradually subsided.
After crying her heart out, she lay in her brother's arms, sleeping soundly and peacefully.
Since their parents passed away eight years ago, it was the first time she slept so deeply.
"Sleep, sleep! From now on, no one will dare to bully you, and anyone who dares, your brother won't let them go!"
Lin Feng gently laid his sister on the bed, his eyes full of tenderness.
...
The night was deep.
Lin Feng stood alone outside, gazing at the stars with a sense of loss.
After his sister's mention, the woman who haunted his dreams appeared in his mind again.
That smiling face...
That cute girl bouncing around in front of him...
He thought he could let go, but now he realized he couldn't.
With this thought, he couldn't resist taking out his newly bought phone and logging into his QQ account, which he hadn't accessed in ten years.
As soon as he logged in, messages flooded in.
From old classmates, friends, and even Chen Yinuo...
Lin Feng scrolled through them.
Most messages were from ten years ago!
Classmates and friends asking where he went?
Why he disappeared after graduating from college?
Did he become successful and ignore his old friends?
Some even asked to borrow money, and when he didn't reply, they blocked him!
Chen Yinuo sent many messages too: asking where he was, if he was still coming to marry her.
"Lin Feng, if you don't come, my dad will marry me off to someone else."
"Lin Feng, don't ignore my messages, I'm scared."
The most recent message was from three years ago: "Lin Feng, I really regret meeting you!"
Seeing these messages, Lin Feng felt an overwhelming sadness.
He typed several times, wanting to reply, but in the end, he sent nothing.
After so many years, what was the point of replying now?
It would only disturb the peaceful life Chen Yinuo had finally found!
After calming himself, Lin Feng quietly entered Chen Yinuo's QQ space.
In her space, Lin Feng saw some of Chen Yinuo's photos, mostly of her with a five or six-year-old girl.
This little girl must be Chen Yinuo's daughter, right?
In the photos, Chen Yinuo looked much older, seemingly having a tough life, no longer the lively, innocent girl she once was!
"Yinuo..."
Lin Feng clenched his phone, feeling suffocated by sadness.
He truly loved this woman deeply, but so what?
Ten years!
A whole ten years!
How many ten years does one have in a lifetime?
"Meeting you was a blessing, even if it was bittersweet!"
"Yinuo, I hope you find happiness in the future!"
Under the moonlight, Lin Feng's figure appeared desolate and lonely.
Although it was impossible between them, he decided to arrange his sister's schooling and then go to YunChuan City to find Chen Yinuo.
Giving Yinuo a fortune she could never spend in a lifetime was the only thing he could do!
...
Meanwhile, in front of the destroyed villa, a middle-aged man appeared.
The man had a long face, a hooked nose, and a sinister look, making him seem unapproachable.
"What a powerful method, was this done with explosives? Who dares to touch my Sankou Hall people!"
The middle-aged man looked at the scene coldly.
Then, he took out his phone and dialed a number, which was quickly answered.
"Lord Situ, Zheng Tianhu is dead! The villa was destroyed by a bomb, likely a total wipeout."
Upon hearing this, there was a long silence on the other end.
"A Da, I remember Zheng Tianhu installed an invisible surveillance camera on the banyan tree to the right of the villa. Check for any clues!"
A Da looked around and indeed found a banyan tree with a pinhole camera.
He played the surveillance footage, revealing a long-haired, melancholic young man.
The young man waved his hand, and the entire villa collapsed, then walked out of the camera's range.
"Indeed, it was blown up with explosives!"
A Da squinted his eyes.
He couldn't believe the young man could collapse a villa with a wave of his hand!
He assumed the young man had a detonation button, and the wave was just pressing it.
"What's the situation?"
"It was done by a long-haired young man! He planted explosives around Zheng Tianhu's villa and blew it up!"
"Very well, find out his identity immediately! I want to see who dares to mess with my people!"
"Yes, Lord Situ!"