I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

As he finished speaking, Li Cheng couldn't help but blush. He was indeed quite embarrassed. If it weren't for the fact that the other person was an elderly man he had only met once and probably would never see again, he probably wouldn't have dared to reveal these little secrets.

"So, how much effort have you put into achieving your goal?"

The old man didn't laugh at Li Cheng's wish; instead, he immediately pressed for an answer. His eyes were noticeably brighter than before, as if he had found something extremely important.

"I guess you could say we did everything we could to try..."

Unexpectedly, the other party pressed him for a question like this. Li Cheng hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly.

"Is that so? Then it must have been quite tiring..."

To his surprise, the old man didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he sighed, turned his head, leaned back on the bench, and his expression became sad.

Did I just touch on something painful for the old man?

Li Cheng was somewhat taken aback by the old man's sudden reaction. He coughed, thinking he should quickly say something to avoid an awkward silence, and began to speak haphazardly:

"Actually, it's not that hard. Although training and studying are tough, and working overtime and staying up late is bad for your health, I'm really happy to be able to help others and make a contribution. Is your son pursuing something idealistic? I think pursuing something isn't a bad thing, after all, it's a kind of life experience..."

"Well, no need to comfort this old man. I'm just feeling a bit emotional about those hardworking young people," the old man waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care. "But how's your pursuit going? Are you still continuing?"

"Well, I guess we've given up on this."

"Oh, why?"

"Ah, there are many reasons, people do change after all."

"I find such words rather disrespectful. How can someone lack any resilience?"

"Haha, there's no way around it. I really want to believe in those old things, but it's really hard to stick to this kind of thing. To help everyone I see who is in trouble is too difficult. I'm only brave enough to do this kind of thing back then."

Li Cheng gently stroked the long hair of tide, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms, and spoke softly.

"For me now, that kind of life was too hard. Now I just need to take good care of this girl, watch her grow up, watch her become an adult, and watch her pursue the dreams she wants to pursue."

"Oh, so you mean the choice between career and family?"

The old man said thoughtfully.

"Pretty much. A person's energy is always limited. I'm not some saint reborn. Just taking care of this child will take up my whole life. Let her suffer through her dreams and pursuits."

Li Cheng pinched tide's cheek and looked at her unmoved sleeping face as he spoke softly.

"To say something like that, you really love her. Ah, even this old man like me is starting to feel a little jealous of this child."

The old man smiled and patted Li Cheng on the shoulder.

"But... if she's pursuing something and might get hurt, fail, or even pay a terrible price, what would you do?"

"The price?"

Li Cheng was somewhat stunned.

He suddenly recalled that during his first arrest mission after starting his job, he was slashed in the stomach by the suspect because of his carelessness, and collapsed on the ground clutching his protruding intestines.

He spent several days in the hospital and underwent a series of surgeries before finally escaping danger. When he woke up, he learned that his uncle had been watching over him tirelessly for the past few days, and he only collapsed from exhaustion after the doctor told him that his life was saved.

If one day, Xi grows up and begins to have her own pursuits and ideals, if she gets hurt because of it, if she suffers pain because of it, or even pays a heavy price, what should I do then? Should I continue to support her as always? Or should I persuade her to give up? Or...?

"I don't think I can answer this question."

In the end, Li Cheng could only reply with a wry smile.

"I'm sorry," the old man said apologetically. "It was just a problem for this old man, but I dragged you into it too. I'm really sorry, young man."

"...I don't know how to say it," Li Cheng said, his expression troubled, as he tried to think. "I hope she can live a fulfilling life and pursue what she desires, but I also don't want her to suffer pain and setbacks because of it. It may sound greedy, but I really hope she can be happy forever."

"It's ridiculous, isn't it? Wanting a good outcome but not wanting to pay the price. One of the worst things about humans is this insatiable greed. But I really don't want her to suffer. This child is too lazy, greedy for food and sleep, and always likes to cling to me and refuses to be independent. Letting such a person suffer is something I simply cannot imagine and absolutely cannot allow."

"When you talk about your son, you must be thinking the same thing. I'm sorry, but I think there's no solution to this kind of problem. As long as we are still the elders, this kind of worry will never be eliminated. I think the only thing we can do is to do our best to clear the way for them and make the most of the hardships along the way."

After saying a series of words, Li Cheng stopped, pondering, wanting to add something. The old man patted him on the shoulder again, then stood up.

"That's enough. I have to say, being lectured by a young man much younger than myself, I'm such an old man, I guess I've lived like a dog all these years."

The old man's expression was much more cheerful than at the beginning, and under the white light of the street lamp, his wrinkled face had relaxed considerably.

"I can tell you truly love this child, which is why you thought of so many things just because of one sentence I said. I have to say, she is so lucky to have a father like you that it makes people envious."

Li Cheng scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, unsure how to respond to the old man's words.

"Anyway, that's all for today. Thank you so much for keeping this old man company."

"Haha, it's nothing. I hope what I said can help you."

Both stood up, but Li Cheng and the old man were heading in different directions, so they had to part ways on the spot.

"No matter what, I hope that you and this child will have the strength to protect your happiness. It may sound strange to say these words, but they are my sincere blessings."

Before leaving, for some reason, the old man spoke very earnestly to Li Cheng. He stood at the edge of the streetlight, the light only illuminating half of his face, and said those words to Li Cheng. Then, somewhat stiffly, he turned and slowly walked away.

"I also hope that you and your child can live peacefully and happily, and no longer be troubled by such problems."

Standing behind the old man, Li Cheng called out to him earnestly. In the darkness, the old man seemed to wave his hand, but it was too dark to see clearly what he meant.

Li Cheng didn't look closely. Holding the sleeping tide in his arms, he turned around and walked towards his home. The two parted ways, one heading towards a dark road, the other towards a brightly lit street.

…………

Thank you to readers Alice's Loving Father Kozo (what a nice name!), White Reimu, Terrifying Rabbit for their monthly tickets, and White Reimu for her knife.

Thank you to the readers Tang Mu-Di Xie, Shuke14261886930, Jiujie Zhongyan, Qiluoxing, Hun Dun E Gudafu, ???Liuli???, Ai Li's Kind Father Xiao San, Feng Yong Sui You Fei, Bifang's Fantasy Land, Wu Ye, Mou Lei 9 Hao, Bai ● Lingmeng, Terrifying Rabbit, Mirror Wholesaler, and He Deng's Joy for their recommendation votes.

After a long day of running around, I quickly wrote this chapter when I got back. I'm exhausted, so please vote and support me!

Writing about the thoughts between parents and children evoked complex emotions. It always reminded me of my own mother. I can only say that parents' hearts are full of love and concern for their children. Sometimes, it's hard to describe this feeling.

Section 73, Chapter 8: The Daily Life Collapses at This Moment

In the early morning, under the warm sun, it is the time when all things awaken.

"tide, the sun's already high in the sky, time to get up."

It was just another ordinary day. Li Cheng woke up, got up, washed up, made breakfast, and went back to the bedroom to wake the sleeping Xi. After a routine tug-of-war, Li Cheng, who was stronger, finally managed to pull Xi off the soft bed amidst her pitiful cries.

"tide, go to sleep, go to sleep, don't get up, don't get up."

Like a sloth, tide clung tightly to Li Cheng's arm, making a final, desperate struggle.

"If you do that, tide, I'll put the dining table in front of your bed, sit in front of you and make you watch me eat breakfast, and you're absolutely not allowed to get up."

Li Cheng, who was already familiar with this, said it casually.

"Waaaaah, Cheng, you're bullying me, you're so mean Q_Q"

Helpless, tide was forced to leave her beloved and tender bed under the coercion of a powerful criminal force.

Then, when she sat down at the table and started eating breakfast, her previous deep attachment to the bed was immediately forgotten.

"Slow down, no one's going to take it from you."

Li Cheng wiped the soup that had splashed onto tide's lips and said irritably.

"Eating so fast, that's not like a little lady, tide."

tide responded indifferently, "What is a lady? Can you eat her? Is she delicious? Is she as delicious as breakfast? No, then throw her away."

In tide's mind, the world is a dialectical unity of contradictions, clearly divided into two parts: one called "edible" and the other called "inedible." All things in the world are derived from these two basic concepts, defining all things on this planet.

Li Cheng was unaware that tide's thoughts had risen to such a lofty philosophical level; he was currently still at a low level, focused on what to eat, how to eat, and what tide liked to eat.

After breakfast, they cleared the dishes. tide stood on a small stool and washed her own dishes. This was Li Cheng's special request, so that Xi could be able to take care of herself when she wasn't home. She wasn't the kind of parent who spoiled her child irrationally. Although she wanted to give Xi the stars in the sky, she was actually quite strict with her in some daily matters.

tide was quite obedient in this regard, and she understood Li Cheng's requirements for her. Apart from the fact that she consistently performed very poorly in getting up on time, she did quite well in everything else.

So, it's time to go out.

After putting on his shoes, Li Cheng picked up the small white hat from the coat rack by the door and put it on tide. He then opened the door, took tide's little hand, and walked out.

This morning's plan is to take tide hiking.

Children are naturally playful, and tide is also at a stage of development where she is very curious about everything. Therefore, allowing her to experience the outside world and see new things can have a very good effect and is very beneficial to her growth. This is what Li Cheng thought, and this is what he arranged and did.

While the hustle and bustle and convenience of big cities were conducive to ensuring tide's standard of living, she also wanted to see the natural scenery properly. So he took Xi by taxi to the outskirts of the city, chose a mountain that wasn't too high, and climbed it all the way up. Finally, they found a flat spot at the top of the mountain, spread out a blanket, and had a picnic.

tide said that picnics were a lot of fun and she would like to try them again next time.

Li Cheng felt that something was wrong, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that nothing was wrong.

After descending the mountain, Li Cheng took tide on an anti-gravity train ride. It was a new type of train currently undergoing trial runs in the world, and only a small section of it existed in the entire New Tokyo Special District of Japan. As a rare experience, Li Cheng felt that tide absolutely couldn't miss it.

tide, who had some snacks at the onboard restaurant, said the anti-gravity train was a lot of fun and she wanted to come back to eat... no, ride it again next time.

Li Cheng's plan for the afternoon was to go to the aquarium.

Li Cheng took Xi to the largest and most comprehensive aquarium in the special zone, showing her various exotic marine animals and explaining their characteristics to her one by one. Xi, on the other hand, stared at the animals with the same eager eyes she had when watching grilled fish, shrimp, stir-fried squid, sashimi, crab rolls, and grilled squid, occasionally drooling.

For dinner, Li Cheng had no choice but to take tide out for a seafood feast.

Later, on his way home from a walk, Kiritsugu Emiya sent a message saying that Touma Kamijou, a member of his group, had been mistaken for a shoplifter and detained by the supermarket security guards. Li Cheng had to go and get him out, and with Kiritsugu's remote assistance, he caught the real shoplifter.

When the thief, who usually only stole snacks for fun, saw an A-level action team member appear in front of him, he didn't even have the courage to run away and collapsed to the ground, wetting his pants.

After expressing his deep gratitude to Li Cheng, Touma Kamijou left by car after chatting with him for a while. When he got back to his house, he realized that he had lost his keys and had forgotten to buy Index the late-night snack she wanted.

That evening, a nearby clinic urgently admitted a teenager who appeared to have been mauled by a wild animal and was in serious condition.

Li Cheng, who was completely unaware of this, was taking a stroll with tide along the riverside path, slowly making their way home.

"tide, did you have fun?"

Walking on the smooth stone-paved pedestrian path, Li Cheng looked at tide skipping and hopping ahead and asked with a smile.

"Yes, I'm happy."

She jumped up, spun around, letting her long, golden hair dance in the air, and looked at Li Cheng with a happy expression.

"Yes, as long as you're happy. I'll take you out again next time."

Li Cheng smiled with satisfaction, feeling inwardly pleased with himself for his thoughtful selection of amusement parks. Indeed, the places he had carefully considered were all suitable; children like Xi loved novel and unfamiliar places.

"Picnic, delicious! Seafood, delicious!"

tide raised her hand and spoke loudly.