I have a life simulator.

"No... Yingming just got home too."

“But if I don’t say ‘Welcome back,’ won’t my brother’s ‘I’m back’ go unanswered?”

“Then we can both say ‘I’m back’ together.”

"This won't work."

Ying said very seriously:

“If no one says ‘Welcome back,’ there’s no point in saying ‘I’m back,’ it would just seem lonely.”

Leaning lightly against the wall, she took off her shoes and went into the house first. In the darkness, she easily found the light switch on the wall, and a soft light that seemed warmer than usual quickly filled the living room.

Although it's called the living room, this is actually the only slightly larger room in the entire basement. The bed is also placed here. The only other room is a small kitchen and a combined bathroom/toilet.

"Hurry up and take a shower, then turn off the lights."

Liang earnestly advised that this month's electricity bill seemed to be exceeding expectations, and it would be better to save some money at the end of August.

Before her father passed away and she found a stable job, she couldn't afford to waste any of her remaining money.

The two acted quickly, and in less than half an hour, around 8:30 p.m., they lay down on the bed together, turned off the lights, and stared blankly.

The basement has only one ventilation opening and no windows, so once the lights are turned off, darkness quickly envelops the room.

"Tell a story!"

Ying lay down next to Liang and shook his arm. Although children are sleepy early, she couldn't fall asleep right away after taking a bath.

"Yes, tell a story."

Liang wasn't sleepy, so he got up, leaned against the wall, and grabbed a fan.

The fan has an advertisement for a men's health hospital on it. It was distributed for free during a street promotion last month. Now, without air conditioning and unwilling to use an electric fan, it's the only way to beat the heat.

"...Where did we leave off yesterday?"

"I've forgotten too."

"You forgot and yet you're so self-righteous."

"Didn't my brother forget it first?"

"Okay, shall we start over?"

Cooling one side, I fanned the lying firefly with a fan. Children are like fire on their bodies; they might be warm to hold while sleeping in winter, but getting close in summer can be a bit of a hassle.

"Hmm, let me think, I'll stick with the life simulator approach today."

"First, please have Ying name your character."

"Firefly! Firefly is firefly!"

Just like answering a teacher's question in class, Ying immediately raised her hand.

"Alright, then please have player Ying draw her talent."

"First, she is in good health. Ying's body will always be healthy and she will never get sick."

"yeah!"

Ying excitedly kicked the blanket next to her feet to the side again:

"I always manage to draw this talent."

"Second, she has a happy family. Ying has a loving father and mother, and the family is harmonious and happy."

"Add a little firefly."

"There must be an older brother."

"Well, all right then."

"Hotaru has a loving father and mother, as well as an older brother."

"Brother is Liang!"

Ying scooted closer to Liang so that the fan could blow on both of them at the same time.

"Third, everyone is captivated by her; Hotaru will grow into a beautiful young woman."

"Four……"

"No need for that many, too many would be greedy, the first three are enough."

Hotaru stopped Ryo from continuing. She seemed genuinely satisfied, squinting her eyes and giggling.

"Alright, let's begin."

"Year One: Ying was born, the second child in the family. Her father and mother were overjoyed at her birth, believing that she was a treasure bestowed upon them by God."

"What about brother?"

"Your brother is only two years older than you. Do you expect me, a two-year-old, to happily clap for you?"

"It's possible in stories!"

"Ok."

Liang sighed softly, and then added:

"The two-year-old brother, Liang, was also very happy, and he clapped excitedly."

Then Ying started laughing again, her series of silvery laughs particularly moving in the dark basement.

"The following year, Ying grew up healthy and strong. The doctor said that Ying was the healthiest child they had ever seen."

"In the third year, Ying grew up healthy and strong, and her family bought her building blocks and puzzles."

"In the fourth year, Yingjian grew up healthy and strong and is ready to go to kindergarten."

........................

Children's sleepiness always comes suddenly. Just a few minutes ago, Ying was full of enthusiasm, but now she is lying down next to Liang and sleeping, breathing evenly.

Given Ying's physical condition, it was already quite an achievement for her to be able to go out and take a stroll around the fireworks festival. It's normal for her to be tired when she came back.

Liang Fang softened and slowed his tone:

"In the fourteenth year, Yingjian grew up healthy and became more and more beautiful and cute."

He patted his sister's back and gently hummed a lullaby.

You could faintly hear the sound of fireworks exploding, but you couldn't see any dazzling display of light.

-------------------------------------

Online cemeteries are an emerging industry in recent years due to rising land prices, and are a choice made out of necessity for many families.

Liang finished his work for the day, shook his tired wrists, stood up and stretched his stiff body, and reached out to wake up his dormant phone screen.

He used the auto-clicker software for about three hours, and after watching more than 300 ads, he could afford to buy all the virtual goods in the entire store.

You have chosen a teddy bear.

You have selected a blueberry pie.

…………

Your balance is insufficient; you cannot select any items.

May the living be healthy and the dead rest in peace.

I got up, took a shower, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

Damn it, I can't sleep.

Chapter Two: The Thief and Hot Cocoa

The night my mother left home, it was snowing heavily outside the window; it was a cold winter day.

It is said that Ying saw her one last time by looking out the window. She was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat and scarf, looking like a tightly wrapped rice dumpling. Her pockets were bulging as she hailed a taxi and left without ever glancing back in the direction of home.

Later, Ryo and Hotaru learned that when their mother left home, she took all the remaining cash, bankbooks, and gold and silver jewelry with her.

Ryo noticed his mother's disappearance first, because his father was hanging out at a casino at the time.

Liang knocked on his mother's door, but no one answered. He pushed it open and found the blankets on the bed empty. The woman was curled up there, thin and frail, as if someone was still lying inside. But when he reached in, he found only a little bit of warmth left. Liang climbed onto the bed and searched the entire blankets, but he couldn't find a trace of her in any corner.

Hotaru was already up. The nearly ten-year-old was intently pressing her face against the windowpane, looking at the ice flowers. Overnight, the outside of the window was covered with snow-white ice flowers. Hotaru's mouth was pressed firmly against the glass, as if she was trying to lick them through the glass.

Her breath wafted onto the glass, and she reached out to draw patterns on it, one here and one there.

When his father returned, he didn't immediately fly into a rage. What truly angered him was that the other party had taken all the valuables in the house before leaving. He grabbed his hair in frustration, his fingers trembling violently, as if he had been dealt a bad hand.

Ryo and Hotaru moved with their father to a cheaper place. Their father did not change anything because of their mother's departure. He switched between alcoholism and gambling, and would only come back to sleep for a few hours in the morning, as if he were using the house as a temporary hotel.

At that time, a multi-functional pencil case became popular in the elementary school where Ryo and Hotaru attended. It was said to be the latest technological product. When you pressed the power button, it would unfold on the desk like a castle, with all kinds of stationery neatly arranged everywhere. Every time you took out a pencil, eraser, or other stationery, it was like a king choosing his favorite treasures in a treasury. It became a popular item among the students at the time.

One, two, three...

More and more students in the school have this kind of pencil case. Every morning when they come to the classroom and open their schoolbags, they look like triumphant knights. As soon as they sit down, they can't wait to show it off. With just the press of a button, a magnificent castle rises up on the desk.

Hotaru showed interest in this thing. At that time, she was completely unaware of the changes in her family's circumstances. Fortunately, the first person she contacted was Ryo.

Ryo quickly stopped Hotaru from asking her father for the pencil case, but Hotaru pouted and said that her tenth birthday was coming up soon and she wanted it as her birthday present.

Because everyone else, including my friends, has one, I want one too.

Liang knew very well what his sister was thinking, and he knew even more that he couldn't stop her from thinking about it. Although he could suppress it for the time being, as long as his sister went to school again tomorrow and saw the castle a few more times, she would start thinking about it again.

So Ryo decided to find a way to buy one for Hotaru himself, because he felt that this was not just a stationery item, but more importantly, he needed his sister to fit in.

Two years younger than him, Ying looked like a little radish head. She had been ridiculed by other children for her weak physique. At that time, all the students in the class had left. Liang ran to Ying's classroom and saw her sitting on the ground, crying quietly by herself. After hearing the noise, she raised her head and looked at him with eyes like a little animal.

However, Hotaru eventually made friends. Once she fit in, she wouldn't be isolated or become a target of bullying. Thinking that her younger sister might become unsociable because of a pencil case, Ryo felt that she could still try to work harder.

Theoretically speaking, twelve-year-old Liang would not be able to find a place to work, and places like convenience stores would not hire him.

So the first place Liang went to was a coffee shop, where he had once inadvertently witnessed an interesting scene while passing by.

This coffee shop has a mascot designed by the owner himself, which looks like a pink bunny. Its cute design is especially attractive to children from nearby elementary schools. So, in order to attract more customers, he spent money to make several mascot suits so that his employees could wear them and stand at the shop entrance to distribute flyers and promote the business.

However, this strategy backfired because children would love cute pink bunnies, but definitely not real-life bunnies that were several heads taller than them and looked like they could kill a cow with a single punch.

Actually, the shop owner had considered designing the rabbit costume to be smaller and cuter, but after it was actually made, he found that there were no suitable shop assistants in the store who could fit inside. It would be a waste to hire someone with a petite build, since this was just a whim of the shop owner and there was no long-term mascot plan.

Just then, Liang came to the door.

Because they work inside a suit, no one can tell they're children. And because they're children, their wages are also reduced by half. The shop owner, humming a song and in an incredibly good mood, quickly accepted Ryo's suggestion.

However, for Liang, as long as the wages for these few days are enough to buy a pencil case, that's fine.

So from that day on, Ryo would go to the coffee shop for two extra hours after school to do her job, which involved wearing a bunny costume and standing at the shop entrance to hand out flyers and serve customers.

It has to be said that perhaps only children are suitable for wearing such cute costumes. The mascot's reputation was instantly restored, and the shop owner breathed a sigh of relief.

Sometimes, some adults would notice something amiss, but the shop owners would always manage to fool them with the excuse that "it's one of their own kids, just helping to attract customers."

"Today is the last day."

The shop owner spoke to Liang, who was putting on the headgear.

"Yes, shop owner."

"Oh dear, actually, there have been more customers in the store these past few days. We might want Liang to work here for a few more days."

"Sorry, I only intend to do this for today."

Liang put on the headgear and answered with a rabbit-shaped smile.

"That's such a shame."

After a brief sigh, the shop owner left the changing room first.

Although it was winter, because I had to wear a leather coat, I could only take off the outermost thick cotton-padded coat. But in fact, this leather coat, which looked quite thick, wasn't that warm. It wasn't the plush type; it was just a layer of artificial leather.

Liang stomped her feet as she handed out flyers, looking quite fitting for the mascot persona of a "little bunny who likes to hop around."

Many elementary school students from the neighborhood choose to come here after school to drink something while doing their homework. Liang looked at the menu and the prices were quite astonishing.

"It's getting cold, would you like a hot cocoa?"

A few more girls walked over, and Liang quickly went up to hand out flyers:

"It's very warm."