Father

Walking into the living room, the first thing that came into Xiao Yun's view was a middle-aged man, it was his father.

He should be in his late forties, yet he looked way older because of his almost full head of grey hair.

The middle-aged man looked at him with a weird face.

Nobody had told him his son has come back so he was baffled at this handsome young man's sudden appearance in his house.

While he was confused and surprised, the moment he saw this young man's eyes, he knew who this young man was.

Although it looked sharper and more mature than the last time he saw them, it was essentially the same pair of bright eyes.

The middle-aged man did not speak right away, he looked at his wife who was staring at him with a smile.

"Did I not tell you? That my son is not the type to die so easily? Hahahahaha!" he burst out laughing.

"Dad."

Xiao Yun called out.

"You little brat, you got some guts to not contact us for the last four years!"

"Sorry, the circumstances at that time had prevented me from doing so…"

"Circumstances? What have you been doing while you were in the military? Unlike your mother who does not like sticking her nose into other people's businesses, I will dive right in!"

Xiao Yun looked at him with a serious face and said, "I was fighting monsters…"

"...."

The room had turned quiet.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

His father burst out laughing again, shaking the air with his loud voice.

His mother also chuckled. It has been a while since she has last seen her husband laughing so heartily…

Xiao Yun also broke his serious face and laughed along with them.

It was a happy atmosphere.

"I don't care about your little job now. Are you finished or do you have to go back?" he asked Xiao Yun.

"Un. I am finished."

"I thought you would be the type to re-enlist. You even looked so serious when you had asked us to help you sign the contract."

"I also had that in my mind at one point, but things changed once I got transferred to a new unit. I'm surprised I even made it out alive…" he chuckled.

They were not sure if he actually found it funny because his tone had this sad tone hidden deep within.

"So what are you going to do now? Find another job?"

His father asked him.

"I want to go to college for a bit, mostly because I missed that academic atmosphere."

"What do you plan to do after college?"

Xiao Yun chuckled before saying---

"I'm retiring."

"...."

Both his mother and father looked at him with baffled expressions, they really did not expect such an answer coming out of his mouth.

Retirement right after college, and at such a young age? What?

"Hahahaha!"

Xiao Yun's father burst out laughing once again. The amount of times he laughed so heartily in the past few minutes has already surpassed the number of times he laughed the past year.

He did not know that his son was such a joker.

"Since when did serving the military for only four years turn you into a millionaire that can retire right after coming out? Why is nobody flocking to join the military then? I would have signed up long ago!" he also joked back.

Xiao Yun did not reply, instead, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of his father, it was a check.

"Dad, the countless time and sweat you have been putting out for the family since the beginning, the responsibility to take care of your family… you can pass it on to me from now on."

Xiao Yun stared into his eyes, this time with a serious gaze.

He also looked at his mother who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Mother, I also know you currently have a part-time job at a hotel working as a housekeeper..."

"The family's' finance, my sisters, the future of this household… you can leave it to me from now on."

Xiao Yun's voice was sincere, striking emotions into the heart of his parents.

His father slowly takes the check with trembling hands, and he reads the contents of the check.

"T-T-This…"

He begins stuttering, his hands trembling harder, spreading to the rest of his body.

"You serious?"

He looked at his son with a serious face.

Xiao Yun showed a gentle smile on his face and nodded.

"Yes, the both of you can retire now. We can even move to a mansion the next day if you so wish."

Xiao Yun's mother got closer and also looked at the check.

"O-O-One… One million? Where did you get this amount of money?" she asked him with a shaky voice.

Chuckling, Xiao Yun said, "Did you know that fighting monsters is actually a very convenient way of making money?"

"....."

His parents were speechless at his answer.

His father trembled a bit more before he burst out laughing for the fourth time. It also happened to be the loudest laugh he had since birth.

"I thought you had joined the military? Since when did you become a monster slayer? Hahahaha!"

"Good! Since you think you are ready to become the man of the family, then so be it! The future of this family is in your hands now, my son!"

His father said to him, tears flowing down his cheeks. Even his mother was silently crying while covering her mouth. Her son has grown up so quickly, going from a nerd who does nothing but play games to the man of the house in just a few years…

"Now you just need to get married and our family will continue," his mother added.

Xiao Yun made a weird face once he heard the word 'marriage' come out of his mother's mouth. He has never thought about marriage before, even before he had joined the military… And after he had joined, he was not in the situation to be thinking about something as useless as love.

Shaking his head, he said, "I will leave that job to my lovely sisters."

"Ah? That's not going to happen. Nobody will touch my little girls! As the man of the house, you also have the responsibility to continue this family!"

Xiao Yun laughed at his words and continued to chat with his parents until past midnight.

"I have exhausted myself from laughing too much, so if you'll excuse me, I will be heading to bed now," said his father.

"Enjoy your sleep, you do not have to go to work tomorrow anyway," said Xiao Yun.

"Then what should I do for the rest of my life? Go to a retirement home and play with old-timers? I am still too young for that."

"You can do whatever you want now. You deserve it."

"Not everybody will think that, though."

"Who cares what everybody else thinks? Who the hell are they to tell you that you don't deserve it? Just enjoy the rest of your life the way you want."

His father looked at him with a deep gaze.

"You have really changed…" he said to him.

Xiao Yun smiled, "If I didn't, then I wouldn't be here now."

"....."

His father roughly rubbed his head like he used to before going to bed. He has a lot to think about after the surprise he has received tonight.

Xiao Yun and his mother also went to sleep shortly after.