Chapter 13: The Warmth Given by Family

It turned out that she, too, deserved to be loved, praised, and to experience deeper familial bonds.

In the 21st century, where everything was filled with intrigue and competition, she had been forced to become stronger and stronger, never allowing herself to rest, always fearing that one wrong step would lead to being eliminated by her cold-hearted parents…

Now, she had come to this time period, where she was able to enjoy the broad love from her father, to be cherished and understood—this was truly real.

“My big girl, you’re back…” Lin Wangshi, lying beside Lin Dayou, seemed to sense that her real daughter had returned. She struggled to open her eyes, tears welling up as she gazed at Lin Luoxi, who had jumped into Lin Dayou’s arms.

“Mm, mother, you’re awake…” As soon as Lin Wangshi spoke, Lin Luoxi felt the overwhelming love of a mother and immediately turned to lie in her arms.

It was true—the embrace of a mother was warm, a place where the heart could find peace. Lin Luoxi greedily leaned into her mother’s embrace, savoring the comfort it brought.

Because of Lin Luoxi’s affectionate gesture, Lin Wangshi’s pale face regained a bit of color. Her hand gently stroked Lin Luoxi’s hair.

“I waited so long for my daughter to return. Big girl, you’ve really made your mother wait so painfully long!” The return of Lin Luoxi overwhelmed Lin Wangshi with emotion, her eyes filled with tears as she murmured about how her daughter had been cruel in staying away for so long, only now deciding to come back…

For over a decade, Lin Wangshi didn’t know how much gossip and hardship she had to endure, but now, she had finally waited for her daughter to return.

“Mother, I’m sorry…” Lin Luoxi could only say this. She didn’t know how to express herself fully.

When she first opened her eyes, she had thought she had borrowed someone else’s body. She was afraid of being discovered and burned.

Now, after hearing Lin Dayou and his wife’s words, it seemed that she was not using someone else’s body, but rather, her soul had returned to its rightful place. She wasn’t borrowing a body from the dead—she was simply returning home.

After sharing some tender moments with Lin Dayou and his wife, Lin Luoxi reluctantly wiped her reddened eyes and stood up.

“Little sister, I’m the one who has been waiting for you the most. How come you didn’t give me a hug?” Lin Wenqian, who had been waiting by the door for a long time, finally got a little jealous when he didn’t receive the hug he had been waiting for.

“Big brother!” Seeing that her family had endured so much with her, Lin Luoxi couldn’t help but give Lin Wenqian a warm hug, and also sweetly called out to him as “brother.”

“Second sister, I really like you…” The three-year-old Lin Luoling, seeing that her older sister had hugged everyone else but her, had to be bold and approach her.

“Wow, fourth sister, you really are my little sister!” Lin Luoxi couldn’t hold back any longer when she saw how cute Lin Luoling looked. She gave her a passionate kiss.

“Hee hee…” Lin Luoling was so overjoyed by the affectionate kiss that her heart blossomed. Laughter filled the room, adding a sense of warmth and joy to the atmosphere.

“Ah, if only Wentao were fine, he would be even happier than us about your return,” Lin Wangshi said, her eyes once again filled with tears as she looked at Lin Wentao, who was bandaged up with thick gauze.

“Don’t be too sad, child’s mother. Just now, Luoxi said she has a way to help Wentao wake up…” Lin Dayou, deeply saddened as well, used Lin Luoxi’s words to comfort his wife.

“Really?” Lin Wangshi, who had just learned from Doctor Yang that her youngest son might never wake up, was still in disbelief even as Lin Dayou mentioned that their daughter had a way to help.

“Mother, I’ll do my best.” Lin Luoxi saw the hope in Lin Wangshi’s eyes and could only promise to try her best.

If too much hope is given, and then she fails to meet their expectations, it will only cause more hurt to everyone.

Lin Wentao’s situation, in the modern world, could be resolved with a simple surgery. But here, the risks were much greater.

“It’s alright. We’ll think of a way together later,” Lin Wangshi said after hearing Lin Luoxi’s words. She didn’t have overly high hopes and thus didn’t put too much pressure on Lin Luoxi.

“Wenqian, your sister has just woken up, she’s probably hungry. Hurry up and cook some food!” Lin Dayou’s spirits, which had been low from earlier, were now lifted again by Lin Luoxi’s recovery.

“Father, Mother, you should also rest. I’ll call you when the food is ready…” Lin Wenqian, still just a child, had been deeply shaken by the events of the day. Seeing his parents faint earlier made him anxious and unsure. Now that things had calmed down and his younger sister had recovered, he feared that Lin Dayou and Lin Wangshi might fall ill again.

“Alright, we know!” Lin Dayou replied, his voice a mixture of joy and concern, agreeing to his eldest son’s request to rest.

“Father, Mother, let me help Big Brother…” Seeing that Lin Dayou and Lin Wangshi had already laid down, Lin Luoxi didn’t want to sit idle and pulled Lin Luoling into the kitchen to help.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Lin Wenqian was pouring a bowl of grain husks into the pot. Curious, Lin Luoxi asked, “Big Brother, are we still raising pigs at home?”

In the modern world, Lin Luoxi enjoyed working in the lab, but she knew that the grain husks in Lin Wenqian’s bowl were typically used to feed pigs and chickens.

Lin Wenqian paused for a moment before answering, “This is our family’s dinner.”

Given their family’s situation, being able to have grain husks for dinner was already considered fortunate.

“In two months, when winter sets in, we might be gnawing on tree bark,” Lin Wenqian added with a sigh.

“Dinner?” After Lin Wenqian’s reminder, Lin Luoxi finally remembered that when she had been in her “silly” state, this was the kind of food they had to eat.

However, the mere thought of eating grain husks made her feel like she would have to stretch her neck and force herself to swallow them, which made her expression stiffen.

“Big Brother, with so many injured in the family, just eating this isn’t going to help Father, Mother, and Wentao recover…” Lin Luoxi was deep in thought, wondering if she should go out tomorrow and try to find something…

“I know, but right now, this is all we have. There’s nothing else to supplement our diet,” Lin Wenqian replied.

“The two hens that Father and Mother used to raise were also taken by the Lin family’s grandmother when she came for the autumn wind. We didn’t get to keep them…” When Lin Wenqian mentioned this, he was visibly upset. The word “filial” had led his parents into financial ruin.

Lin Luoxi’s eyes flickered as she listened to Lin Wenqian’s words, and an idea formed in her mind.

“It’s okay. We’ll finish cooking dinner first, and tomorrow, Big Brother can take me around to look for some wild vegetables,” Lin Luoxi suggested.

“Second Sister, don’t bother. The nearby mountains have been scavenged by the villagers and are now much shorter. Even if there is something good, it won’t be left for you…” Lin Wenqian immediately discouraged her when he heard Lin Luoxi’s plan.

“Hmph, you haven’t been out there, so how do you know there’s nothing to harvest? If you don’t want to go, I’ll go with Little Sister,” Lin Luoxi said defiantly.