Trust

The words of the beautiful young woman caused a sour memory to sprout up within Tylem's mind.

. . .

"Tylem, why are you so selfish? You should have helped that poor lady!"

Staring his sole companion straight in the eye, Tylem coldly sneered at her, which he had instantly regretted afterward when she began crying in disappointment.

"No one helped me when I was down."

"So why must I?"

. . .

Shaking his head, Tylem stopped thinking about the matter. The argument had only gotten more emotional afterward. For him, he had grown up with nobody at his side, sorting everything on his own.

Officer Emily had caught wind of the child's brief mature look. The two human beings wordlessly stared at each other, as if exchanging a thousand words through their eyes.

Tylem's feelings could not be hidden from Officer Emily's sharp intuition. With a single glance, she could tell that the boy's mind was lost, and he was trying his best to keep it hidden and buried away.

Clenching her teeth, Officer Emily thought to herself, [No child should have to hide their feelings like this.]

"You can place your trust in me, Tylem. I promise. I will treat you like a real family should."

The words were not quite right since Tylem's mother was also his real family, yet she had abused him without end.

It didn't matter though. Tylem could see the beautiful young woman's genuine wish to help him, but he felt that he did not deserve to receive this pure help. There was no way he could ever wholly treat her, a stranger, like family. To him, the world was full of evil: everything could change in the blink of an eye.

However, the human mind was weird.

It would often act out in a way different to what one had meticulously planned out.

In the distant future, Tylem was still unsure of what exactly was running through his mind at this exact moment, but there was one thing he was certain of.

This choice was the right one. Tightly holding onto her outreached hand, Tylem had a surge of unprecedented warmth flow through his veins.

Smiling, Officer Emily happily ruffled the child's unique silvery-black hair, pinching his soft, fleshy cheeks.

"From this moment on, you are the family of I, Emily Xin!"

"Never forget that!"

"I will never let anyone mistreat my family."

* * *

The next day, the sun had not risen at this time.

The procedures to become the official parent and caregiver of Tylem weren't too difficult considering the child's predicament and Emily Xin's honorable status. It wasn't too long before the two left the police station together, hand in hand. Soon after, the two had departed to the nation's capital, where his new home rested.

Tylem did not have any lingering attachments to Chengyang Village. Besides the future funeral for his mother, there was nothing else. The officers had discouraged him from doing so when he had brought the matter up. In their eyes, this evil mother did not deserve such a filial son.

In the first place, Tylem needed money to host a funeral, and no one would attend anyway.

"Hey, I thought I told you to get some rest, young man!"

Looking out the car window of the silver Toyota Corolla, Tylem admired the boundless lights of the capital. In the driver's seat, Emily glanced at the rear-view mirror, nearly losing herself to the cute sight.

Tylem's large eyes were sparkling with life, and within, they seemed to hold an entire galaxy—peerlessly bright.

Way too cute. When the two were home, she would definitely pinch his soft cheeks again.

Undoubtedly, this child would grow up to become a lady killer. [Oh boy, those future youths sure have it coming!]

Emily wasn't too worried about how to explain the situation of her adopting a child out of the blue to her doting husband. However, it was different for her eleven-year-old daughter; she would undoubtedly raise a big fuss.

Regardless, Emily could not have this. The child could not afford to go through more hardship, and he had to feel welcome. This entire time, she had made sure to not speak about anything that could make the child recall his sadness.

"Miss Officer, why are you helping me?"

For the first time, Tylem spoke up with some confusion. In truth, he was curious. Was it because she pitied him?

The childlike voice was not meek nor overbearing. It was just that—normal.

When Emily heard his question, she sighed. In the end, such a conversation couldn't be avoided, so she might as well get it over with now. It would also ease his doubts.

"I'll be honest. To begin with, I definitely did pity you, especially when I was driving to the crime scene. Even now, I still do."

"However, I didn't choose to adopt you for this righteous, selfless reason. Rather…"

"Tylem, I saw myself in you. You see, your current situation is quite similar to my childhood, but that long story of mine is for another time."

"So I guess you could say that I adopted you for a rather selfish reason. I wanted to give someone who went through similar hardships to myself a chance to experience a normal, carefree childhood."

"And just maybe, I'll get to see the child-like me, who was never happy, shine within you while watching from the sidelines."

The feeling of loss was something Emily could never forget. She was alone and lost in this vast world with nowhere to go.

Smiling, Emily carefully examined Tylem's unchanging expressions in the mirror. What she had just said were her true heartfelt thoughts. There were no sugarcoated words.

"I see. Thanks, Miss Officer!"

Revealing a row of cute straight teeth, Tylem chuckled.

"It's my pleasure."

Nearing her home, Emily was grateful to see Tylem's smile, at least her heartfelt story had shortened the wide emotional gap between them.

Nevertheless, she had time: a lifetime to build their mother-son bond.

* * *

Beijing, China's capital.

Luli District, within a modern building.

The house in front of him was neither small nor big. It gave off a peaceful, homely feeling.

It was the weekend, so Emily's husband would be home along with her cute daughter.

The two were not aware that she would be returning today. Taking into account her hefty work schedule, she could be called to another province at any moment.

Thus, when the father-daughter duo heard the familiar knock on the door and Emily's gentle voice, the two instantly raced to the front door at a frightening speed.

"Listen, Tylem. Like I explained before, my daughter may come off as a little rude, but she is a good girl. I'm certain that you two will end up becoming great friends."

Nodding, Tylem showed that he would be fine; he wasn't a true eleven-year-old child after all. Words from a little kid, he would not take them to heart.

"Good child."

Stroking his soft hair, Emily was happy that he was such an understanding child; however, that fact also pained her. For him to have matured at such a young age, he must have done everything on his own.

"Mommy!"

When the door flew open, the first thing that Tylem saw was a young girl around his age. The child's features were exquisite and adorable, her little lips a beautiful cherry blossom shade.

However, it was her fluttering lively eyes that drew his attention the most. With one glance, Tylem could see that this child had lived in a completely different world to him.

For him, he grew up without anyone caring about him, struggling to live day in and day out. Whereas this girl would have grown up without lacking anything, showered with all the love in the world.

Despite his beliefs, an imperceptible flash of jealously appeared. In the end, Tylem was a youth who lacked parental love growing up.