Chapter 35

Relics 

“Hello there! My little brother’s been in your care these past few days,” the burly man said with a grin as he climbed in through the window. 

He wore the same tight-fitting shirt, now with an extra layer of a slightly too-small jacket. His smile was as bright as a flower in full bloom. 

After jumping down from the window, he pulled his younger brother inside and carefully shut the window behind him. 

Only then did he turn to face Juan, who lay on the bed, watching him. 

“Huh?” The man was startled. 

Weren’t they supposed to be meeting a teacher? How could the teacher be so young? He hadn’t expected that at all.

Juan remained expressionless, his gaze landing on the burly man’s face before shifting slowly to the young boy standing behind him. 

It was Ah Hai. 

“Bro, we could’ve just used the door! Why did you insist on climbing through the window and dragging me along…” Ah Hai grumbled, rubbing his sore backside in frustration. 

“Using the door is a hassle. You have to register and all that. The window’s way more convenient, right?” the man said with a grin, turning to Juan. 

Ah Hai thought to himself: …Honestly, you’re probably asking the right person—he’d probably agree. 

Sure enough, Juan gave a slight nod. 

The man, satisfied, nodded in return and pulled a chair over, sitting down with a heavy thud. 

As soon as he sat down, he handed Juan the down jacket he’d been holding. 

“This belongs to you, right, Teacher? I got it back for you. Didn’t even need to use the meal box! Look, here it is.” He grinned and pulled out a familiar lunchbox from inside his coat. 

The lunchbox… looked very familiar. 

It didn’t take Juan long to remember—it was the same lunchbox Ah Hai had taken after they shared a meal in the hospital room. 

At the time, Juan didn’t think much of it. He had assumed that Ah Hai was still hungry or wanted to bring some food to his brother. But now, it seemed the lunchbox had been used to barter for the down jacket. 

Juan recalled how they had mentioned the down jacket in passing a few days ago. It was just a casual comment, yet Ah Hai had remembered and secretly asked his brother for help. 

“There was no need to trade the food. I just stood there—being an ability user still counts for something!” the man chuckled. 

“Oh, and thanks for the fever medicine. Ah Hai said you gave it to him—really saved me. I wasn’t hurt too bad, but I got a weird fever that almost killed me. That medicine’s expensive, and I didn’t want to spend the points. I figured if I didn’t make it, at least Ah Hai would still have the points saved.” 

The man rambled on, and through his chatter, Juan figured out their relationship—they were brothers. 

“I thought you said you came to the base alone?” Juan asked, remembering what the man had said earlier. 

“That was a lie. I brought my brother with me. When I found out the base had a youth center, we split up. Back then, we had nothing, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to take care of him. At least the center could give him food. If he stayed with me, we’d have gone hungry.” 

“Later, I started taking missions. To save money, I didn’t have a permanent place to stay, so Ah Hai stayed there. It was more comfortable for him, and he had friends around.” 

“Now, though, he feels sorry for me and won’t leave because he’s worried I’ll waste money.” 

The man cast a pained glance at his brother but then froze, his expression shifting to confusion. 

“Wait… did I tell you all this before?” 

If he remembered correctly, this was his first time meeting Juan. How did Juan know what he had said before? He always claimed he was alone, but it wasn’t something he told everyone. 

He looked at Juan with suspicion, but Juan met his gaze with calm, unwavering black eyes. 

Defeated in the silent stare-off, the man decided to drop the matter. 

Meanwhile, Ah Hai hesitated for a moment before beginning to confess the truth: “Actually… all of us have family. The orphanage takes in kids under sixteen, but most of the younger ones get adopted. Some people are still willing to adopt orphans. We declined because we have relatives.” 

“I have my brother. Feng Ruixuan has his grandfather, and Wang He has his sister. As for Tony and Xiao Lu, they really don’t have anyone left. They used to, but over the years, their families passed away. They’ve gotten used to being with us, so they turned down adoption offers.” 

Juan nodded in understanding. Then, when the man tried to return the lunchbox, Juan pushed it back toward him. “I don’t need it. You keep it.” 

“This… I couldn’t possibly…” the man muttered, but after a few more back-and-forths, he accepted it. Thumping his chest, he said cheerfully, “The name’s Chen Shan. If you ever need help, just let me know—no charge! Oh, by the way, Ah Hai mentioned that your house is being occupied by your uncle? I’m really good at dealing with scoundrels like that! Just say the word, and I’ll have them out in no time—one day, three at most!” 

It was clear that Chen Shan had done his homework before coming here. In fact, he seemed to know more about Juan’s situation than even Ah Hai did. 

Chen Shan spoke with full confidence, expecting Juan to immediately agree. But to his surprise— 

“No need. I’m not planning to take the house back,” Juan said calmly. 

“Huh?” Both Chen Shan and Ah Hai stared at him in disbelief. 

Juan was serious—he had no intention of reclaiming the house. 

He told the brothers as much, and the next day, at the base’s dispute resolution center, he said the same thing to the doctor and others present. 

The doctor was stunned. 

Meanwhile, his uncle’s family was overjoyed. 

“Why? Are you afraid they’ll refuse to leave?” the doctor asked, baffled. “If that’s the case, I can find a way to—” 

But when he met Juan’s calm, dark gaze, the doctor stopped mid-sentence. 

Juan quietly said, “That’s not my home.” 

He spoke the truth, but the doctor misinterpreted it. 

Hearing those words, the doctor could only imagine the pain Juan must have endured in that household. 

It made sense—what good would reclaiming the house do? Given the family’s behavior, they would likely refuse to leave at first. Even if the doctor called in favors to force them out, they would continue to harass Juan later. Giving up the house might actually bring him peace. 

Besides, the family hadn’t visited Juan even once during his stay in the hospital.

The boy must have finally seen things clearly through this experience, which led him to decide to give up the house.

Already—

The doctor first felt anger, then softened when he noticed the visible relief on the faces of the inspection team after hearing the boy’s words.

Maybe the boy didn’t want to owe any more favors, either?

And who could blame him? Such a considerate child—he even brought all the little bits of fruits and vegetables he had yesterday just to share with me…

Thinking about the small handfuls of produce the boy had given him, the doctor’s heart softened even further. 

But then, when his gaze shifted to the inspection team and the boy’s uncle, it hardened once again. 

In the end, with the doctor’s mediation, An An’s uncle and his family agreed to return the points left behind by An An’s parents, along with the points An An had earned over the years. They had tried to stall, but the inspection team enforced the decision on the spot. 

The base’s finance department was immediately notified, and the points were transferred from the uncle’s family’s account to An An’s. 

To be fair, the points from An An’s parents should have been much more, but his uncle’s family had spent most of it over the years. Even transferring all the points currently in their account couldn’t make up for what had been lost. 

“That’s enough,” Juan said indifferently. “But I’d still like to collect a few personal items from there.” 

It wasn’t an unreasonable request, though An An’s cousin seemed like she wanted to object. Before she could say anything, however, the inspection team pulled her aside to discuss her unpaid debts for having others take on her assigned tasks. 

With that, Juan was finally able to return to the house in peace to gather what he needed.

Everyone, including the doctor, thought he was going to collect his parents’ belongings. But only Juan knew he was there to retrieve An An’s things.

Despite having three bedrooms, not a single one belonged to An An. His only space in the entire house was a small mat on the balcony. He was only allowed to lay it out at night; during the day, it was folded up and placed in a shadowy corner where even sunlight couldn’t reach.

Tucked inside the mat was a photo of An An’s parents, with a young An An grinning happily in the picture, right there in that very house.

Juan picked up the mat and photo, preparing to leave. Then, his gaze landed on the bracelet on the aunt’s wrist.

With his sharp memory, he immediately recognized that the bracelet was identical to the one worn by An An’s mother in the photo. Without a word, he stepped forward and forcefully pulled the bracelet off the woman’s wrist. Ignoring her cries of pain, he turned and left the house without looking back. 

And just as he shut the door behind him, a smile broke across his face—one so bright it could only be described as radiant. 

So it was true—this boy wanted to leave that house behind.

Unable to suppress the smile creeping across his lips, Juan glanced down at the bracelet in his hand. After a moment of hesitation, he slipped it onto his wrist—or more precisely, An An’s wrist. 

Oddly enough, despite the bracelet being sized for a woman, it fit perfectly on the slender wrist of the boy.

As soon as the bracelet was on, Juan felt a strange sense of joy bubbling up inside him.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from it, staring at it intently until the joy faded, and with it, his smile disappeared. 

His expressionless face restored, Juan gathered all of An An’s belongings and left. 

Instead of returning to the clinic, he went straight back to the orphanage—where Peter was. 

The doctor and the inspection team had already transferred the boy’s information to the orphanage, and Ah Hai and the others had prepared everything he needed. From that day forward, Juan would live there with Peter.