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“Allen, what’s wrong?” Zheng Wei looked at Allen, who suddenly stopped and asked in confusion.

“My grandfather also has a forest like this, and he has a small cabin in the forest,” Allen spoke up suddenly as if he hadn’t heard Zheng Wei’s question. “When I was very young, my grandfather would take me to the forest and to that cabin. Sometimes we would go hunting, and sometimes we would go fishing.”

Zheng Wei was puzzled, not understanding why Allen suddenly brought up these memories.

“Before I was eight years old, I lived with him in a small town. After I turned eight, my mother brought me to the community where we live now and where I met you all.” Allen didn’t care about what Zheng Wei thought and just kept talking to himself without even looking back.

Zheng Wei who didn’t know how to respond to such situations, wisely kept silent, standing aside and listening quietly.

“My grandfather was a soldier. He lost an eye and a leg in the battlefield, but it didn’t affect his hunting skills. He was very good at making traps and had excellent marksmanship.” Although he was talking about his happy childhood, Allen’s tone was somewhat heavy.

“People who have experienced real wars tend to become sensitive, suspicious, and difficult to get along with. In severe cases, they may even lose faith in life. But my grandfather was not like that.”

“My grandfather was a positive person. He was full of love for everyone around him because he almost died on the battlefield. So he was grateful for everything he had now.” Allen looked at the lush forest with his back to Zheng Wei and his voice was full of nostalgia. “Life is short, so everything in life is worth cherishing. That’s what my grandfather told me.”

Talking about his grandfather softened Allen’s facial expression. “Because of him, I used to think about becoming a soldier when I grew up.”

“Why do you use the word ‘used to’?” Zheng Wei caught the information revealed in Allen’s words sensitively. However, he regretted asking as soon as he spoke because he saw Allen’s face quickly darken at the question.

Just as Zheng Wei was wondering if he should apologize, Allen spoke up with a hint of hatred in his voice, “Because my father was also a soldier.”

“He’s different from my grandfather. He’s a complete bastard.” Allen looked down at his feet and let out a cold sneer.

“He’s just like Mr. Hersman, a complete coward!”

Zheng Wei was stunned. He didn’t expect Allen’s unusual behavior to be because of this. He looked at Allen’s back, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“My mother said he used to be a good person, a good husband, heh.. maybe he was.” Allen looked at the distant mountains and slowly revealed his wounds.

“Maybe the war twisted his soul, maybe life wore down his passion, maybe he was always like that, who knows. But as long as I can remember, he had already changed.”

“He became irritable, crazy, full of lies, and developed a drinking problem. Can you imagine? A father, a husband, spent more time in the tavern and the police station than at home!” Allen’s tone became more agitated. Zheng Wei thought he was about to swear, but he didn’t.

He took a deep breath, calmed down, and continued, “Every time he finished drinking, he would go around looking for someone to fight. Sometimes it was with strangers he didn’t know, but most of the time it was with my mother.”

“Even so, my mother didn’t want to leave him. She always said he would get better, that he was just sick. Even though the bruises on her body never disappeared, she still thought he would change.” Allen’s voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

“Until one day, he hit me.”

Allen paused and continued, “I was only seven at the time. He threw me out of the window, and I fell onto the lawn with a broken arm. It was then that my mother realized he was beyond redemption.”

Allen’s last sentence was almost a low growl. It can be seen that even after so many years, the shadow left by his father has not dissipated.

“After I got injured, my mom decided to leave him. She filed for divorce and a restraining order to completely get away from that bastard. It was supposed to be a good thing, a good thing,” Allen repeated, his emotions showing clear fluctuations.

“But that decision completely enraged that bastard. One night, he came to our house drunk, causing a scene and threatening my mom, saying he would kill us if she dared to leave him.”

“Then what?” Zheng Wei immediately became nervous. “Did he harm you guys? Did you call the police?”

“If my mom had called the police that day, it would have been better,” Allen’s voice lowered.

“My mom thought he was just joking because he often said things like that, so she didn’t call the police. Instead, she called my grandfather to take the bastard away.” Allen lifted his hand to hold his forehead, seeming to have returned to that nightmare of a night.

“She didn’t want the bastard to go back to jail again, but she didn’t expect him to bring a gun!” Speaking of this, Allen’s voice was full of regret.

Zheng Wei immediately had a bad feeling.

“My grandfather who came over got into an argument with that bastard, during which there was a struggle over the gun and it accidentally went off. My grandfather never got up again.”

After saying this, Allen almost collapsed. He crouched down and covered his face with his hands. “This is really fucking shitty! There is nothing shittier than this.”

“My grandfather had participated in many battles and had survived through the gunfire, but in the end, he died in the hands of his own loved one.”

Allen’s past made Zheng Wei a bit at a loss. He stood aside, watching Allen’s back, not knowing how to comfort him.

No wonder Allen showed that expression when he saw what Roland Hersman wrote. They both had experienced harm from their own families, and people always resonate with those who have gone through similar experiences.

As he watched Allen weeping, Zheng Wei suddenly remembered the phrase, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” ^[1]This quote is from the famous novel “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, and it means that happy families share common traits, while unhappy families are unique in their suffering and … Continue reading

After hearing two stories of unhappy families in a row, Zheng Wei’s mood became heavy. He looked at Allen’s trembling figure and suddenly thought of his own parents.

Just before he was hit by a car, he had just had a big argument with his parents over an irreconcilable difference and was kicked out of the house.

One of the main reasons Zheng Wei agreed to become a tasker for the system was that he needed a place to escape reality.

For a long time, due to the unpleasant argument before his accident, he had consciously or unconsciously forgotten about his parents. It wasn’t that he was cold-hearted, but that he was afraid. He didn’t know how to face his parents, so he chose to escape and become a tasker.

But after learning about Hersman and Allen’s stories, his suppressed longing for his family suddenly burst forth, instantly occupying his mind.

His parents may not be perfect, but their love for Zheng Wei is beyond doubt. After Zheng Wei was born, they almost devoted all their attention to him. Before Zheng Wei came out about his sexuality, his parents always saw him as their pride.

It was only now that Zheng Wei realized how much he missed his family. He missed his room, his mother’s nagging, and his father’s clumsy concern.

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