The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

No matter what others say, until he saw his sister safe and sound with his own eyes, his heart was always in his throat, feeling anxious and uneasy!

Right now, he only has one thought in his mind: to get back to the capital as soon as possible!

Fortunately, he pushed himself forward with all his might during this mission and managed to complete it ahead of schedule, which was originally scheduled to take several days, thus securing the opportunity to go home and see his sister sooner.

Six hours later, the night was deep.

In the capital city military unit, the regimental commander's office was still brightly lit.

"Report!"

Bai Zhengyuan walked in with a straight posture, knocked on the door, finished his mission report quickly and efficiently, saluted, and then turned around and hurriedly left.

"Stop right there! You little brat, got a sty in your butt? What's the rush for?!"

Behind his desk, the battalion commander, his eyes bloodshot from working so hard, called out to him irritably. Though his face was stern, his eyes were full of praise: "Let me tell you, you did an excellent job on this mission! You've done a great job! But don't get cocky! Go back and write a detailed mission report to me tonight, you hear me?!"

"Yes, sir! Mission accomplished!"

Bai Zhengyuan yelled at the top of his lungs, stomped his heel, saluted, and then rushed out of the office like a gust of wind.

……

Ten minutes later.

Downstairs in Building 5 of the family compound.

Bai Zhengyuan stood alone downstairs like a tall, straight poplar tree. He looked up at the dark window on the third floor, and a trembling smile of excitement crept onto his cold, resolute face.

Judging by the time, Mom and Dad should have arrived by now.

Ten years! A full ten years without seeing my family!

At this moment, Bai Zhengyuan, standing downstairs, felt the blood churning wildly in his chest and his thoughts surging!

He wished he could sprout wings and fly up right now, push open the door, and hug his family tightly!

But those hands, which had never trembled even when killing enemies on the battlefield, were now gripping the seams of his trousers tightly, a sense of trepidation rising in his heart as he approached home.

"call--"

Bai Zhengyuan took a deep breath of the cool summer night air, steadied himself, and walked slowly upstairs step by step.

Standing before that maroon door, he stared at the door panel for a long, long time before his hand trembled as he pulled the key, its metal gleaming coldly, from the pocket of his military trousers.

With a soft "click," the door lock opened.

Bai Zhengyuan pushed open the door, and the lights in the room suddenly turned on with a "snap".

Hearing the noise, the elderly couple, who had come out from the inner room wearing clothes, stood blankly in the middle of the living room.

I'm getting old...

My parents are getting old; their hair has turned white, and their backs are hunched.

Bai Zhengyuan's heart pounded violently. He stared intently at his parents, a surge of indescribable bitterness and pain welling up in his chest.

Even though he had mentally rehearsed the family reunion countless times along the way and made thorough mental preparations, all his defenses crumbled instantly when his parents, whom he hadn't seen for ten years, actually stood in front of him!

No matter how tough or tiring the training was, or how he crawled and rolled in the mud, he never shed a tear. No matter how serious the injury he suffered on a mission, or how the knife cut his flesh, he never cried out in pain. But the moment he saw his parents' faces, his eyes instantly turned red and hot!

"Jung...Jungyeon? Is that you? Is it my Jungyeon who has returned?"

The mother still clutched the jacket draped over her shoulders, her cloudy eyes fixed on the tall, imposing man in military uniform standing in the doorway. Her voice trembled, filled with disbelief, fear, and anticipation.

"mom……"

Bai Zhengyuan opened his dry lips, about to answer his mother loudly, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

As soon as he opened his mouth, hot tears welled up in his eyes first!

"It's me... Mom, Dad, it's me! It's Zhengyuan! I'm back!" He sniffed hard, his voice hoarse and choked with emotion.

After saying that, this tough man, who was 1.85 meters tall, could no longer suppress the longing in his heart. Like a wronged child who had been away from home for many years, he strode forward and hugged his thin parents tightly!

"Oh dear! My son!"

Upon hearing this voice, Bai's mother was overcome with emotion and tears welled up in her eyes.

She stepped back half a step from her son's arms, raised her slightly hunched body, and, in the dim light above her head, gazed at her son intently, inch by inch, with greed. Then she cried even harder, almost unable to breathe.

Her hands, calloused and dry from years of farm work, trembled as she touched her son's sharply defined, rough, dark face. Her heart ached with a deep, gut-wrenching pain: "You've grown taller... my Zhengyuan has grown taller! You've become a big man! And you've gotten darker, thinner... My son, my darling, I miss you! I think about you every single day!"

For the past ten years, every day and night, whenever she closed her eyes and thought of her half-grown son who had just turned fifteen and left home to join the army with a tattered bundle on his back, her heart would bleed! She would hide under the covers and cry secretly, until her eyes were ruined from crying!

Fifteen years old! While other children are still being pampered in their parents' arms, her son has to go to the army to suffer!

Ten years have passed. Time flies. Her son has long since grown into a strong and resilient man, having experienced countless life-and-death situations in a distant place she can no longer see!

For the past ten years, Bai Zhengyuan has never dared to go home. His hometown is too far from the military base, and train tickets are expensive.

Although my parents own land in our hometown, the harvest is mediocre, and the family income is not much.

My younger sister needs to study and can't help with chores to earn money. The whole family is counting on his income to improve their lives.

When he first joined the army, he was just an ordinary soldier with a monthly allowance of only a dozen yuan. He used all the money he saved each year to support his family. He didn't dare to buy a train ticket because he was worried that if he did, his parents and sister would have to suffer for the next month or two.

Three months ago, he was promoted to battalion commander. At that time, he was thinking that if he saved up his allowance for a few more months, he could go home for a visit.

Unexpectedly, things didn't go as planned. When Qiao Xinxin asked for help, they simply applied for a house in the family compound so that their family members could come and join them in the military.

"Alright, old woman, stop crying, please stop crying..."

Beside him, Mr. Bai, his eyes red-rimmed, patted his wife's back reassuringly with trembling hands. Fighting back the soreness and tears welling in his throat, he said in a hoarse voice, "It's good that our son is back, safe and sound! This is a joyous occasion; you should be happy!"

"Yes, yes! I should be happy, you're right, old man, I should be happy! Our family is finally reunited, I should be happy..." Mother Bai said incoherently, but her hand stroking her son's cheek trembled incessantly, and her turbid tears could not be wiped away no matter how she wiped them away, falling down like beads from a broken string.

Bai Zhengyuan clenched his teeth, took a deep breath, and forced back the tears welling up in his eyes.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and said loudly and proudly to his parents, "Dad, Mom! Don't cry, your son has good news for you! I've been promoted to battalion commander! Aren't you happy? Your son hasn't let you down. I trained hard and did my best in the army, and now I've made something of myself."

"Happy! Of course I'm happy! I'm so happy, so incredibly happy! You've been a promising child since you were little, you're the pride of our Bai family for generations!"

Mr. Bai nodded excitedly and tightly grasped his son's large hands.

But the next second, Bai's father's voice suddenly caught in his throat.

He looked down and, by the light, clearly felt the thick, hard, yellow calluses on his son's palm.

Those calluses were even thicker and harder than the calluses on the hands of this old farmer who had farmed all his life!

Not only his palms, but also the backs of his hands were covered with deep and shallow scars, crisscrossing like centipedes!

Mr. Bai's heart clenched, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at his son's hand injury any longer. After holding back his tears for so long, he finally broke down completely at this moment, tears streaming down his face.

The tears of the mother seemed to flow endlessly, like a sorrowful little river, falling without ceasing.

"Battalion Commander...good, how could it not be good? Mom is so happy, and your father is happy too..." Mother Bai wiped away her tears, her voice choked with sobs, barely able to form a complete sentence. "But...but your hands...your body...how much suffering and hardship you've endured in these ten years, my son..."

Bai Zhengyuan was suddenly stunned.

His tall frame froze on the spot, and he didn't react for a long time.

He thought that the medals he had risked his life for and the battalion commander position he had worked so hard to earn would make his parents happy and make them proud and proud of him in front of others.

But he was wrong.

In his parents' tear-filled eyes, he saw not a fanaticism for power and status, but only unreserved, heart-wrenching heartache.

In the eyes of his superiors, he was a sharp blade, but in his parents' eyes, he would always just be that heartbroken child who had been away from home for ten years and suffered countless hardships.

"Dad, Mom... I'm okay, I'm really okay." Bai Zhengyuan's defenses completely crumbled. He hugged his parents tightly again, tears streaming silently down his face. "I missed you! Your son really missed you!"

"I miss you too... my dear son..."

The family of three was crying in each other's arms when the door to the master bedroom suddenly creaked open from the inside.

"Who's there, Mom? Why is it so noisy in the middle of the night..."

Qiao Xinxin, wearing a light floral jacket, rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned as she walked out of the house.

She was still half asleep, her mind not quite clear yet.

If it weren't for the suppressed sobs of her parents outside, she would have been too sleepy to get out of her warm bed.

Ever since she transmigrated here, she has been walking on thin ice in the Qiao family every day. Now that her biological parents have come, perhaps it is because the scent of her relatives around her has made her feel completely at ease, and she slept exceptionally soundly tonight.

Before she could even lower her hand from her eyes and get a clear look at the tall figure in the living room, she heard an excited shout that cracked in her voice:

"Xin Xin?!"

Qiao Xinxin paused, lowered her hand, blinked her watery almond-shaped eyes, and looked at the handsome man in a crisp green military uniform, his face streaked with tears. She tilted her head, a sense of instinctive closeness rising within her, and called out uncertainly, "Brother...?"

"Hey! It's me!"

Upon hearing that soft, sweet "brother," Bai Zhengyuan's eyes blazed with ecstatic joy.

He rushed over, grabbed Qiao Xinxin's armpit with his big hand, and just like when they were little, gently lifted her up and carried her in his arms!

Qiao Xinxin: "...???" Wait, is there something wrong with how I'm holding you? Do you think I'm a little baby? Don't I have any dignity?