Meeting Sister’s family

Xihu District, Hangzhou City;

The doorbell's tune echoed through the quiet morning.

Jiang Xueli, still wrapped in a thick robe, shuffled toward the entrance, rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she pulled open the door, she blinked in surprise. "Xiao Zhu?"

Qin Tianzhu stood there in a sweatshirt and joggers. His hands were in his pockets, shoulders relaxed like he had been at her house multiple times. He gave a small, pleasant smile. "Morning, Jiejie. Sorry for not calling ahead. I was out to jog around the Qiantang River but stopped by, realizing your house is nearby."

A beat passed before she stepped aside, letting him in with a smile. "Not a problem. Come in."

The living room was warm, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee lingered in the air. Xueli sat across from him, her husband, Zhao Mingze, slouched beside her, still groggy from being woken up.

Tianzhu couldn't help but activate "inspect skill", the system's skill, which compensates for the lack of his Quantum Artificial Intelligence assistant.

Birth name: Qin Li

Legal Name: Jiang Xueli

Age: 41

Ethnicity: Han Chinese

Arcane Path: Fighter

Ability: One Punch

Ability Rank: S

Mana Reserves: Tier-3 (Max)

One Punch: Gather all strength into one fist and punch the opponent with 100,000 Newtons of Force. Carries a side effect when utilized to its maximum potential.

[Available for Extraction. Proceed?]

*

Name: Zhao Mingze

Age: 45.

Arcane Path: Mage

Ability: Gravity Suppression

Ability Rank: A

Mana Reserves: Tier-8 (Max: Tier-4)

Gravity Suppression: Create a gravitational spell on the target, increasing gravity up to four times for 30 seconds.

[Available for Extraction. Proceed?]

*

Tianzhu shifted awkwardly on the couch, fingers wrapped around a cup of coffee as the process of ability extraction was going on in the background.

"So, I, uhh... heard that you stayed 15 years in Russia," Mingze finally said, breaking the silence. "So, what happened out there… if you don't mind answering."

Qin Tianzhu exhaled and, in a slow movement, reached up, removing the contact lens from his left eye. In its place, a bionic eye gleamed faintly in the dim light. "To be brief, I was in an accident just before the finals," he explained, altering the events slightly to suit his fake identity. "I should've died, but a girl saved me. During my recovery period, we fell in love, and I stayed there ever since."

After a brief pause, he glanced at his sister and added. "Brother-in-law is aware of mine and Jiejie's terrible relationship with our father. We just want to get away from him as far as possible, all of our lives. So, I, uhh... just took the opportunity to stay back there, living under a new identity as Alexander Qin. My late father-in-law helped me forge that new identity."

Before Zhao Mingze reacted to his explanation, Qin Tianzhu pulled out his smartphone and showed them a picture, a teenage girl with striking green eyes, and a teenage boy as tall as him, looking almost identical to him. "By the way, this is my daughter, Veronika. You can call her Vera. And this is my son, Theodore. You can call him Theo."

Mingze blinked, staring at the screen. "Both of them... elder than my daughter, Soojin. If I remember correctly, aren't you only like 33?"

Tianzhu gave a small, rueful smile. "Yeah. It was a drunken mistake, but... Hmm…" He was momentarily distracted by a pair of notifications in his head and gave a pause and said, "My wife wanted to keep them."

*Ding!

[Ability: One Punch has been added to Mimic]

[Ability: Gravity Suppression has been added to Mimic]

He continued, explaining how he had abandoned music because of his high profile back then, finished high school in Moscow, and attended law school instead. Later, settled in St. Petersburg. Now, he has resigned from his job and decided to move permanently to Hangzhou. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "Vera's here too, by the way. But she's at the hotel, though. Still hasn't woken up, I guess. Theo is still at home."

Mingze leaned back on the couch, arms crossed, still processing Qin Tianzhu's words. "So, you're planning to stay here permanently," he pondered. "That's a big change."

Tianzhu nodded, swirling the remnants of his coffee in his cup. "Yeah. Kremlin gave me everything, but here... we have family. This is our home. And, of course, my children are bigger now. Before they become too independent and have thoughts of moving to the west, I thought I should let them grow in their homeland for a few years."

Xueli observed her younger brother carefully. On the surface, Tianzhu looked like someone more composed, more deliberate. Like a proper parent who went through much. But at the same time, she felt like he hadn't changed much from the person she remembered, the same old reckless, carefree brat who does things on a whim and lets things fall into place.

"I still think adjusting to this place isn't going to be that easy for your children and you as well," she said, setting her cup down. "Considering the fact that Vera wants to pursue an idol career…"

"Well, being an idol is so much better than becoming a hunter." Qin Tianzhu shrugged, placing the phone away. After a brief pause, he further added. "Unlike my son, who has inherited our musical genes but wants to become a hunter."

"That's not surprising. Mom was a singer. I'm in the acting field. You were a…"

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from down the hallway. A moment later, a girl's voice rang out. "Auntie! Where's my hairbrush? I can't find it."

"Excuse me…" Xueli sighed, already pushing herself off the couch. "It's in the bathroom drawer, second row!"

"It's not there… Fetch it for me!"

A few seconds later, a teenage girl appeared in the doorway, her hair half-brushed, her pajamas wrinkled. Her eyes darted to Tianzhu, and she froze.

"Who...?"

Tianzhu smiled gently. "Hello. You must be Park Soojin."

Park Soojin

Age: 14

Ethnicity: Han Chinese/Korean

Current education status: 8th Grade (ongoing)

Awakening Status: Unawakened

*

Park Soojin was Zhao Mingze's first wife's daughter, who had been living with him and Xueli for the past couple of years. Because Zhao Mingze had not officially obtained her custody yet, she retained her mother's surname.

Soojin subtly narrowed her eyes, then turned to her father. "Dad, who is he?"

Mingze chuckled. "That, sweetie, is your uncle, your mother's younger brother. Qin Tianzhu."

Soojin blinked, her lips parting in surprise. "Wait… Mom's brother? The one who disappeared? The musical prodigy from 15 years ago?"

As Qin Tianzhu smiled and gave a slight nod, Soojin glanced at her own clothes and hurriedly hid behind Xueli, peeking out shyly. "Uhh… I'm sorry. I'll just be in a minute. Be right back."

Soojin awkwardly bowed before dashing back to her room and shutting the door.

Xueli and Mingze exchanged glances; the latter looked at Qin Tianzhu. "Don't mind her. She is just not good with first meetings."

A few minutes later, she returned, now dressed in proper clothes, her expression carefully composed as she sat beside her father. Taking a graceful bow, she greeted Tianzhu once again, "Hello, uncle. I'm Park Soojin."

Mingze scoffed. "And now you're acting like some graceful lady?"

Soojin shot him a glare before turning to Qin Tianzhu with a polite smile. "Uncle, I didn't know you were coming. I never expected to meet you in person."

"Oh?" Tianzhu raised a brow.

Soojin nodded eagerly. "You're famous at my school, atleast in our club, you know."

Mingze blinked. "What club?"

Xueli smiled. "Xiao Zhu, she is going to your alma mater."

Qin Tianzhu was visibly surprised. "Oh"

Soojin leaned forward excitedly. "You're really well-known in our Orchestra club. Our instructor always talks about his favorite student. He either uses your name to motivate us or to scold us. You're like a legend in the club—the prodigy who never took a break and dominated every competition and the first-ever Chinese who reached the semifinals of the WTC (World Tchaikovsky Championship) in the violin category."

"Is Teacher Han still there?" Qin Tianzhu asked, curiosity evident in his eyes. In both of his lives, he respected this music teacher who even took private time to look after his practice.

Xueli and Mingze then exchanged surprised glances. "Wait... since when are you in the Orchestra club? Aren't you in the Archery Club?" Xueli asked, interrupting them.

Soojin shrugged. "A couple of years now, Auntie. And our school allows us to sign up for multiple clubs anyway."

"Is that why you weren't doing well in Archery competitions lately?" Xueli's eyes narrowed.

"A couple of years..." Zhao Mingze looked betrayed but held his tongue, stealing a glance at Qin Tianzhu.

Noticing the slight tension, Tianzhu took his phone into his hands again. "Ah, Vera seems to have woken up. I need to go."

"Eh? So urgently?" Xueli was taken aback.

Qin Tianzhu smiled. "We have a few things to do at the immigration office today, Jiejie. The rules are a bit strict for those who are from free cities like us. And it will take more time to reach the hotel if traffic increases." He then got up. "I'll be back later with Vera."

Mingze nodded. "Come back for lunch or maybe dinner?"

Tianzhu tilted his head. "Don't you both have work? We can visit on the weekend. No rush."

Xueli waved him off. "It's fine. Consider it a welcome home meal." Mingze added. "And who knows whether one of us will suddenly become busy on the weekend?"

Tianzhu thought for a bit and nodded. "Alright. Let's have dinner."