"..."
Inside the hotel.
When Tang Luochuan returned, the gazes of Tang Ziran, Lang Yue, and Tang Wulin were all fixed on him.
"Brother, you're back."
Tang Wulin was the first to speak, while Tang Ziran and Lang Yue also looked at him with smiles that carried a hint of something more.
"Who would have thought that Luo Chuan actually went shopping with that princess? If Wu Lin hadn't told us, we would never have believed it," Tang Ziran mused thoughtfully.
"Huh?"
"It was... just a coincidence, really."
Tang Luochuan shook his head with a wry smile, his expression helpless as he glanced toward his younger brother Tang Wulin. He was certain Wu Lin had seen it too.
"It really was just passing by."
Tang Wulin blinked and nodded in agreement.
They had indeed been passing by—but they had also ended up going shopping.
"Passing by..."
Tang Ziran sighed deeply at this. Passing by and running into a royal princess, then immediately going shopping together?
This kind of luck with women...
He knew his son had an alarmingly strong appeal to the opposite sex, but this... this was on another level entirely.
Not only Tang Ziran, but even Tang Luochuan himself occasionally pondered this issue—all because of that damned system.
Twenty thousand years' worth of romantic fortune...
Who could withstand that?!
"Who would've thought..."
"Our Luo Chuan has already gotten so close to Her Highness the Princess, hitting it off so well."
Beside them, Lang Yue also wore an expression of amazement, clicking her tongue in wonder.
She had witnessed Luo Chuan and the princess meeting right before her eyes, yet judging by the current situation, their relationship had progressed at an astonishing speed!
"Hmm..."
"Hit it off?"
Hearing this peculiar description, Tang Luochuan couldn't help but laugh bitterly. The phrase would be more fitting between guys—using it with girls was... not exactly appropriate!
Early the next morning.
After leaving the hotel, Tang Luochuan and his family boarded the Soul Guidance Train bound for Star Sea City. Fortunately, the train-killer's malignant buff didn't trigger this time.
Green Skull Organization: Narrow escape.
Before long, the train arrived at their destination—
Star Sea City.
Located at the heart of Star Luo, though not a major metropolis, its economic development was quite robust, giving it significant standing within the Star Luo Empire.
And for those who had once lived here, this place held an especially unique significance.
"..."
Standing on the familiar streets, Tang Ziran unconsciously paused, gazing at the scene before him, unable to calm his emotions for a long time.
Some shops might have expanded, others might have closed down, but to his eyes, everything carried a sense of warmth.
Like an old friend unseen for years—no matter how much they changed, their place in one's heart remained incomparable to others.
"Just like back then..."
"It hasn't changed at all."
Tang Ziran snapped out of his reverie, his eyes lingering on places that had once mattered most to him, murmuring softly.
Yet the moment memories of the past surfaced, his heart clenched involuntarily. His gaze instinctively drifted toward a particular spot—a special place called home.
Of course, his home now was in Orlais City, in Eastsea City. That place was...
His former home.
"Ziran."
"Let's go over there."
Noticing his distraction, Lang Yue gently took his arm and spoke softly.
"Alright."
"Kids."
"Let's keep moving."
Tang Ziran smiled warmly as he looked toward the two children. Leading the way, he began walking in that direction.
Soon after, a modest yet tidy and fresh-looking cottage came into view.
Its neat and clean appearance was clearly the result of careful upkeep by its residents, not at all the look of an abandoned home.
"So someone is living here after all."
Tang Ziran wasn't surprised by this sight.
This had once been the home he shared with his mother, but decades had passed since her departure and his own farewell to this place. It was no longer his home.
But it could be someone else's.
Neither he nor his mother would have objected to this place becoming a haven for another happy family.
Just then, at the front door, a mother and child stood engaged in conversation.
"Mommy."
"You can't peek! I'm going to hide now."
"You have to count to thirty before coming in!"
The speaker was an adorable little boy of about six or seven, his face lit up with an innocent, cheerful grin.
"Mommy knows, no peeking."
"One, two, three..."
The woman's face was full of affection as she turned away with a smile, dutifully counting while looking elsewhere.
"..."
Watching this scene, Tang Ziran's expression shifted. His already unsettled emotions now rippled with waves of nostalgia. For a moment, it was as if he was seeing his younger self.
Hadn't he been exactly like that child once?
He also remembered Wu Lin as a little boy, clinging to him to play games, with Luo Chuan and Lang Yue watching from the sidelines.
These thoughts brought an involuntary redness to his eyes.
Both scenes shared one common thread—they were his home. The home of his past was gone, but his current home...
He would protect it forever.
As a devoted father, he would always cherish his two precious sons.
"Hmm?"
"Are you...?"
Noticing Tang Ziran's gaze, the woman turned toward them with a questioning look.
"It's nothing. Just that my sons used to do the same. Now they've grown so big."
"Brings back memories."
Tang Ziran shook his head with a smile, emerging from his reverie. His expression calmed as he spoke.
"Let's go."
With that, he stopped staring wistfully and turned his gaze elsewhere—toward...
the direction of the cemetery.
"Dad."
"What was the meaning of that house earlier?"
As they walked in the new direction, Tang Wulin's face showed curiosity. He wondered why his parents had brought them to linger outside someone else's home.
Was there some special significance?
"That was where Dad used to live."
"When I was little, just like that child, I was dearly cared for by Luo Chuan and Wu Lin's grandmother..."
Tang Ziran's face softened with affection as he spoke.
"Grandmother..."
Hearing this, Tang Wulin visibly paused, falling silent for a moment. Dad's mother...
At the mention of this, he suddenly froze.
Because in his memory, he had never heard his parents discuss anything about his grandmother. As a curious child, he had wondered about this.
But his brother had told him not to ask, so he obediently complied. However, in his heart, he had formed his own guess—that his grandfather and grandmother had gone to a very, very distant place.
Now thinking back, his father must have been from the Star Luo Empire, born in Star Sea City, just like he himself had grown up in Aolai City as a child.
But where was his grandmother...
Slowly, as they arrived at a solemn and dignified public area, the answer in his heart seemed to align with reality.