Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Frost on the Eyes
「Ten minutes later, at Yang Shen’s home.」
Two grimy boys were wolfing down their food.
The meal had originally been saved for Yang Shen, so his younger sisters, Yang Mo and Yang Man, were not happy about it. They didn’t want to come out, but two pairs of eyes peeked out from their bedroom, sharp as daggers.
Yang Shen felt a headache coming on. "So... you two came all the way from some place called Xiaotan Village? How long did it take you?"
The younger one just focused on eating, but the older one managed to reply, "Four days. We took a bus for the first part, but then we ran out of money."
’They must have crossed provincial lines, right?’
’How did kids this young manage that? Didn’t anyone on the road stop and question them?’
"You haven’t eaten in four days?"
"We brought two flatbreads when we left. We finished them..."
Yang Shen’s mouth fell open, and he gave them a thumbs-up.
’You two are wild. Insanely brave for setting out, and even more so for actually making it here!’
「An hour ago.」
After Tao Ying had finished cooking and left for her night shift, the two sisters heard a knock on the door.
They cautiously asked who it was, but they were just kids, and the conversation was a mess of them talking past each other. In the end, they had no intention of opening the door, right up until Yang Shen found them.
’These two... they’re actually my uncle’s colleague’s kids...’
The older one was named Lei Lv, about the same age as Yang Mo and Yang Man. The younger one was Lei Yi, and he was only six years old.
Their father was named Lei Yiming, a man Yang Shen knew of.
He was his uncle’s colleague, and they were extremely close—like sworn brothers. He vaguely remembered that Yiming had children, but they were always being raised back in his hometown while he worked alone and sent money home. That was why Yang Shen had never met these two boys.
He might have seen a photo, but it never registered.
’And now... it’s clear that Yiming is dead, too...’
Everyone on that boat was dead. They had encountered some kind of massive Sea Beast, and that included the asshole shipowner himself.
When the coast guard vessel that received the distress signal arrived, all they found was the sinking ship and floating bodies. His uncle was one of the luckier ones; they recovered his mangled remains. Lei Yiming, it seemed, didn’t even have a body left—only tattered pieces of his clothing.
His uncle was declared dead on the spot, while Lei Yiming was temporarily listed as missing. It wasn’t until over a month later that he was officially presumed dead.
This time lag created a different experience for the two families. The Yang Family had just barely started to recover from the grief of their uncle’s death and were beginning to face the hardships of life, while Lei Lv and Lei Yi seemed to have only just received the news.
And so the two boys had left their village and embarked on an absurd and dangerous journey to get here, their purpose very simple...
Lei Lv was almost done eating. He looked at Yang Shen with a cautious and hopeful gaze.
Honestly, Yang Shen had never thought a twelve or thirteen-year-old could have such a look in his eyes. Yang Mo and Yang Man, who were around the same age, didn’t seem nearly this weathered, even after their own family tragedy.
"Yang... my dad said before that if he died one day, I should take Mr. Yang Wen as my new dad and be his son."
That one sentence left Yang Shen completely speechless.
’Is it possible you don’t know? My uncle is gone, too... and legally, he died a month before your dad.’
’Could it be that these two kids don’t know?’
Yang Shen felt that this was something beyond his ability to handle as a high school student.
Hitting kids was one thing, but raising them was definitely out of his league.
And by hitting, of course, he meant in the literal, physical sense.
Rubbing his temples, Yang Shen called his aunt.
An automated message informed him the phone’s service was suspended due to non-payment...
Yang Shen sighed and tried to recall what he knew about Yiming’s family situation. "What about your mother?"
The little one didn’t speak, likely having no memory of her. The older one, Lei Lv, said, "Our mom ran off a few years ago."
"Don’t you have any relatives? Who were you living with before?"
Lei Lv placed half a steamed bun on the table. From just those two questions, he could tell that Yang was resistant.
Kids are small, not stupid.
But for his little brother’s sake, he wanted to make one last effort. He said earnestly, "We used to live with our granduncle. Our father would send 2,000 yuan back every month for living expenses, and our granduncle took care of our food and housing."
"But after our father passed away, the police came a few times..."
The first time the police came, they explained the details of Lei Yiming’s death.
But in truth, the relatives in the village didn’t care how Lei Yiming died; they were more concerned with what came after.
Was there any compensation? Was there an inheritance?
Unfortunately, while a sailor’s salary was relatively higher than that of a typical low-level worker, Lei Yiming’s Martial Arts proficiency was poor, making him a low-ranking seaman.
Most importantly: Lei Yiming might have been a good father and friend, but he wasn’t what you’d call a forward-thinking, well-organized adult. Besides sending living expenses home, he had no personal savings.
Yang Shen recalled that Yiming had seemed like a passionate man who followed his heart and was a bit of a free-spender. He also liked to drink.
As for compensation, just like with his uncle Yang Wen, it had become a hopeless case. Anyone could see it would be nearly impossible to collect. The shipowner was also dead, the ship had sunk, and the shipowner’s family had no inheritance to receive, so naturally, they wouldn’t inherit his debts either.
No matter how much that bastard who lied to the crew about having insurance deserved to die, there was no law that made his debts extend indefinitely to his family.
Lei Lv said that when they were first notified of his father’s death and the police asked if any relatives were willing to adopt them, a few had actually been willing.
After all, adopting Lei Lv and Lei Yi might come with hidden benefits.
Like the associated compensation payout.
But the second time the police came back with a mediator and a lawyer and revealed more details, everyone started avoiding them like the plague. Even the granduncle’s family, who had been providing them with food and shelter, explicitly refused.
Previously, more than half of the 2,000 yuan a month went straight into the granduncle’s family’s pockets. Kids in the village didn’t really cost that much to raise.
Now that the situation had changed and a profitable arrangement had turned into a losing one, they immediately wanted to shake off the trouble. They even played the victim, bringing up their own chronic illnesses, and there was nothing the police could do.
Lei Lv picked up the steamed bun he had set down and carefully dipped it in the vegetable broth. He probably had a premonition that this might be the last hot meal he and his brother would have for a long time.
But in the end, he put the broth-soaked bun into his little brother’s mouth, merely licking his own lips.
"The police wanted a relative to adopt us, but no one was willing. Then the police wanted to send us to an orphanage, but our relatives wouldn’t agree to that either. They said it would bring shame on them..."
"We’re just kids, so we had no say. In the end, after they tricked the police into leaving, they chased my brother and me out to a pig farm on the edge of the village. There was a brick house there. My brother and I lived there for half a month. Someone brought us food sometimes, but most of the time, we went hungry."
Lei Lv wiped the plate clean, so spotless it almost didn’t need washing.
He refused to let anything he could get here go to waste.
"Yang, Wen visited our village several times. He promised in person back then, that if anything happened to my dad, he would take me in as his son... We really like Wen... and Wen really liked us, too..."
Yang Shen just slumped onto the table.
’Sigh... It’s probably all true.’
’Being a sailor is a high-risk profession; otherwise, insurance wouldn’t be a ’necessity.’ Besides, spending long periods at sea makes it easier to form strong friendships. My uncle and Yiming must have made promises to each other.’
’It’s the same principle as soldiers entrusting their families to their comrades-in-arms.’
Based on his vague impressions of Yiming, Yang Shen felt that if only his uncle had died and the other man had lived, he probably would have found a way to take care of their family of orphans and a widow.
Both men were passionate and followed their hearts, but the problem was, they were both gone...
’Six people between two families, and not a single father to be found...’
’Can’t even scrape together one full-time job.’
’How could the Yang Family possibly afford to raise two more kids? Wouldn’t that just be making a terrible situation even worse?’
Yang Shen felt awful, and he was in a real bind...
His conscience and his wallet were waging a furious war in his head, and his wallet was winning.
It was empty, but it was stubborn as hell.
’Wait a minute... six people in two families...’
’If we combine them, would that complete the main quest?’
But Yang Shen quickly pinched his thigh. This concerned everyone’s lives, their entire futures, even.
’Just for a "quest"? That’s not enough of a reason. It would be irresponsible to my family and cruel to Lei Lv and Lei Yi.’
’Fundamentally, I’m not mentally prepared to take on two younger brothers myself. I could always complete the main quest by "taking on disciples" to increase the "family headcount," right?’
Yang Shen remained silent, and Lei Lv mustered his courage to ask again:
"Yang, can I wait here for Mr. Yang Wen to come back?"
SLAM! Yang Man and Yang Mo slammed their door shut. Yang Shen even saw tears in the corners of Yang Man’s eyes.
’They probably think these two strays are here to cause trouble!’
Yang Shen felt his jaw ache. "My uncle... I’m surprised you don’t know. My uncle passed away, too. He and Yiming actually died together."
The two were too young; even the police wouldn’t have given them all the details, let alone the status of the other sailors on the same boat.
As soon as he said it, the small, old living room fell silent.
Only little Lei Yi, who didn’t understand what was happening, was still licking his plate.
Lei Lv’s eyes grew red. He couldn’t get a single one of his prepared words out.
We don’t eat much.
We’re very well-behaved.
We can help with chores.
We could even drop out of school...
All the words he had rehearsed endlessly on his journey vanished like frost, melted by the warmth welling in his eyes and leaving him speechless.
They swirled, trapped and anxious.
"We understand... Then... then my brother and I will leave right away. We won’t trouble you anymore, Yang..."
He pulled on his little brother’s sleeve as he spoke. Little Lei Yi didn’t understand, but he obediently stood up.
The little brother grinned, showing a gap where a front tooth was missing, and said cheerfully to Yang Shen, "Thank you, big brother! It was yummy!"
Then, prodded by Lei Lv, the two of them bowed to Yang Shen. "Sorry to have disturbed you. Goodbye, Yang."
’My heart aches. They really are simple, honest kids... sigh...’
Just then, the door to the apartment opened behind them, and his aunt, Tao Ying, walked in, looking completely bewildered.
"Shen?"
"Auntie, why are you back?"
Tao Ying replied, "I just got to the factory, but they said a piece of equipment broke down. No work today. Who are these two? Your friends?"
At that, Lei Lv immediately pulled his brother down to his knees and shuffled forward on them.
"Mom!!"
Yang Shen: ...
’I take back my earlier "simple and honest" assessment.’
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