The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, and the stars twinkled gently.
Renee Jennings stood by the window, sizing up Zephyr. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Hey, what are you doing here again? Another case to report?"
"CHIRP?" Zephyr tilted his head, declaring matter-of-factly, "Can’t I come if there’s no case? This falcon wants meat."
Renee: "Where am I supposed to get meat from?"
Zephyr: "There’s meat in the kitchen. You go cut it."
Renee: "..."
’This guy has some nerve.’
Considering Zephyr’s contribution to the last case, Renee Jennings chuckled. "Come with me."
She led Zephyr downstairs.
When they reached the living room, she saw Michelle Fuller and her brother sitting on the sofa looking dejected.
"What’s wrong with you two?" Renee Jennings asked, amused.
Michelle Fuller looked up and sighed. "Renee, Hank and I just weren’t born to cook."
Renee Jennings agreed with that.
After all, for a young master and lady born with silver spoons in their mouths, learning to cook was no easy feat.
"So is Zane cooking now?" she asked.
"Yeah." Sean Fuller’s tone was filled with shame. "Aunt Rae is helping too."
"Where’s my dad?"
Michelle Fuller: "Your dad went upstairs to take a shower."
Blueberry chimed in at the perfect moment: "Meow~ Dad was starving, he’s sneaking snacks in his room~"
Renee Jennings couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Michelle Fuller blinked her eyes. "Renee, what are you laughing at?"
"It’s nothing. I’m going to the kitchen to get some meat for Zephyr." Renee Jennings glanced over and saw that Zephyr had flown off to bicker with Slider again.
She shook her head helplessly and walked toward the kitchen.
**
Inside the dilapidated old house, even the lights were pitifully dim.
Willow sat cross-legged on a floor covered in pieces of plastic flowers. In front of her was a small stool with a wrinkled notebook on it.
Her small, calloused hand held a ballpoint pen, and she painstakingly copied out an ancient poem, her expression exceptionally focused and serious.
Glenn’s stomach was rumbling. He sat to the side, gnawing on a flavorless white steamed bun, his childish face full of grievance. "Why isn’t there any meat to eat today?"
The movement of Willow’s hand paused for a moment. Without a word, she lowered her head and continued writing.
Seeing this, Glenn asked, his face full of confusion, "Sis, Dad won’t even let us go to school anymore. Why are you still writing?"
To be honest, he was happy about not having to go to school.
He didn’t like school at all. He didn’t want to go, and he didn’t want to do homework.
Hearing this, Willow turned to look at her brother, her thin face showing determination. "Mom said that knowledge can change a person’s destiny."
"Why?" Glenn asked.
Willow bit her lip, not knowing how to explain.
To be precise, she didn’t know why knowledge could change a person’s destiny either.
But since her mother said it, there had to be a reason.
Because she knew her mother would never lie to her.
Thinking of this, Willow said softly, "You’ll understand in the future."
Glenn pouted and went back to gnawing on his bun.
After a while, footsteps sounded from the hallway outside.
Willow immediately hid the notebook in front of her and started doing her craftwork.
A moment later, the door didn’t open. Willow’s tense nerves relaxed, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Glenn grinned. "It’s not Dad."
"Yeah," Willow replied. She didn’t go back to writing, though, instead lowering her head to string the plastic flowers.
James Yelric didn’t come back all the way until bedtime.
Willow lay in bed with her brother, unable to stop thinking about their mother, her tears soaking the pillow.
’Mom has been gone for nineteen days.’
’Mom, I miss you so much...’
「The next day」