After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

The courtyard was unusually quiet.

The main house was dark; Old Man Lin and Old Woman Lin had taken Lin Xiaohua to town to visit their younger brother-in-law who was studying, and they hadn't returned yet. The east wing was also dark; Lin Guozhong's family had gone to his father-in-law's house, agreeing to stay for a few days.

Lin Guozhu stood in the courtyard for a while, feeling that the courtyard was unusually quiet today. But he didn't think much of it and walked towards his house.

He paused for a moment as he passed the woodshed.

It was pitch black in the woodshed; he couldn't see anything. He opened his mouth as if to shout, but then closed it again.

Forget it.

He lowered his head and went into his room.

In the woodshed, Lin Yulong heard footsteps outside and suddenly sat up.

"Dad's back!"

Covered in wounds, he limped towards the door, shouting, "I'm going to complain! I want Father to know what kind of wicked witch he married!"

Lin Qianqian grabbed him.

"Don't act impulsively."

"Sister!" Lin Yulong's eyes reddened with anxiety. "He's my father! He has to take care of us!"

Lin Qianqian pressed him back onto the straw mat, her voice low: "You only met your father today, given his temperament?"

Lin Yulong was stunned.

"Even if he finds out, what can he do?" Lin Qianqian looked at him. "Go argue with Ding? Fight her? Or divorce her?"

Lin Yulong remained silent.

"He wouldn't do it," Lin Qianqian said. "In the end, it'll be the same as before—Ding will continue to beat and scold us, and he'll continue to turn a blind eye. Maybe Ding will even escalate the situation, and beat us even more severely because we complained."

Lin Yulong's shoulders slumped.

He knew his older sister was right.

That father never cared about them.

When his mother had just died, before Ding Shi entered the family, his father would hug him and buy him a piece of candy.

Later, Ding brought Lin Yuanyuan, and Dad went further and further away, until now, when he sees them being beaten, he can turn away.

"Sister, what should we do?" Lin Yulong's voice trembled. "It was one thing for her to beat and scold us before, and not give us food... but she almost killed you today! I can't swallow this!"

He clenched his fists, his whole body trembling.

Lin Qianqian looked at the nine-year-old child in front of her—skin and bones, his face bruised and swollen, his arms covered in pinch marks, yet he still had red eyes and said he would stand up for her.

Her heart softened.

The original owner's younger brother was not spoiled in vain.

"I know Ah Long is upset." She reached out and patted his head. "But this matter needs to be considered carefully. What good will it do to talk about it? Do you think Dad can control us? He won't."

Lin Yulong looked up, his eyes filled with suspicion.

He was afraid that his older sister would act the same way as before—shrinking back when bullied, enduring it, and pretending it never happened.

He knew his sister was gentle by nature.

Lin Qianqian could tell what he was thinking.

She leaned closer and lowered her voice: "Ah Long, let's separate now."

Lin Yulong was taken aback: "Separate the family?"

"right."

"Would Dad agree?" Lin Yulong asked instinctively.

Lin Qianqian didn't answer directly, but instead asked him, "Does it matter whether Dad agrees or not?"

Lin Yulong thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Whether that father agrees or not is the same.

"As long as the Ding family wants us to leave, that's fine," Lin Qianqian said.

"How could Ding possibly agree to this?" Lin Yulong exclaimed anxiously. "She'd love to make the two of us do everything! Washing clothes, cooking, feeding the chickens and pigs, digging for wild vegetables—we do it all! Her daughter doesn't do a single thing! How could she possibly let us go?"

"Then we'll force her to agree."

Lin Yulong was stunned.

"If he doesn't do the work, who will he feed with two meals of thin porridge a day? He'll make a fuss if he's not full. Auntie's temperament is such that she won't agree to let him eat for free. What will happen then..."

Lin Yulong's eyes lit up: "They'll be eager to kick us out then!"

Lin Qianqian nodded.

Lin Yulong excitedly grabbed her hand: "Sister! You're so smart!"

But after his initial excitement subsided, he calmed down, his small face showing worry: "But sister, we've been separated from our family. Where will we live? What will we eat? It'll definitely be tough at first..."

"It's tough." Lin Qianqian wasn't lying to him. "It's definitely tougher than it is now. No house, no land, no food, nothing at all."

She paused, looking at him, "But Ah Long, I promise you—it won't be long before we're able to live a good life."

Lin Yulong looked at her.

The woodshed was pitch black, with only a sliver of moonlight filtering through the window, illuminating my sister's face. Her eyes were bright, unlike before. Before, her eyes were always hazy, as if covered by a layer of dust. Now, her eyes shone like lamps.

"Sister, I'm not afraid," Lin Yulong said. "Nothing will ever be as hard as it is now. Wherever you are, that's home for me."

Lin Qianqian reached out and pulled him into her arms.

The nine-year-old child was so thin it was painful to hold. But she held him as if he were the most precious thing in the world.

"it is good."