“You silly boy, this no longer matters to you. Stop punishing yourself over it,” Jiang Feng said, placing a hand on Ming Yao’s shoulder and giving it a gentle pat, his voice growing steadily lower.

He took a deep breath, trying to comfort the young man beside him.

“You have to understand: not all children are born into this world because their parents had high hopes for them; not all children receive their parents’ love; and certainly not every parent loves their own child. Children… rather than being the continuation of life or the fruit of love, are often nothing more than the product of a momentary passion—or even just tools used to fulfill some expectation they hold.”

“For them, whether the child is happy, healthy, or safe doesn’t matter at all. All they care about is the practical benefits the child can bring them. Once those benefits are secured, who would even care where the tool is tossed aside?”

Jiang Feng’s voice grew softer and deeper, tinged with a hint of weariness and sadness—almost as if he weren’t speaking to the young man standing before him, but rather to himself.

After a long pause, he let out a heavy sigh, patted the boy’s shoulder once more, and said to the older youth by his side, “It’s all fate… something we can’t change.”

“Brother-in-law…”

A trace of confusion appeared in the boy’s clear eyes as he pondered the words just spoken. It was as if he could sense a subtle, different meaning hidden within them.

At that moment, Jiang Feng spoke again: “Of course, that’s all in the past—just a path we couldn’t choose. But since we’re here in this world, having only come once, we shouldn’t be so pessimistic.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted slowly toward the woman not far away, who seemed completely transformed, happily playing with little sister Yaoyao. A glimmer of light began to shine in his eyes.

Then he stood up, stretched his muscles, and slowly forced a smile. “So we should cherish the present—the life we have now, everything we have now. We can’t change the past, so let’s learn to accept it. But the future is still in our hands. Therefore, we must do our utmost to strive for it, to pursue it, and to pave the brightest, most open road we can achieve in this lifetime!”

With that, he turned to Ming Yao, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Yaoyao, don’t you think that’s right? Isn’t that the truth?”

“Mm!” The young man also stood up, gradually melting away the frost on his face and letting a smile return to his still-youthful features. He nodded and said, “Brother-in-law is absolutely right! We can’t just dwell on the past. The road ahead is dim, but we should put all our energy into exploring and striving for it. No matter how difficult or arduous the future may be, no matter how winding and bumpy the path, we must face each day with the best attitude and the greatest hope!”

“That’s the spirit! That’s what a spirited young man should be like!”

Jiang Feng was genuinely delighted for the boy.

The two of them gazed together at Ming Yue in the distance, exchanging a few quiet words. When Ming Yue finally came over, tired from playing, they seamlessly dropped the subject and chatted casually about this and that.

“What are you talking about? You look so happy!”

Perhaps it was because Jiang Feng had already blended into the family, or maybe it was simply that Jiang Feng made his younger brother so happy—either way, Ming Yue found herself increasingly fond of him.

When Jiang Feng rose to pull out a chair for her, she sat down without any hesitation, letting him stand behind her and give her a shoulder massage. It really did seem as though they were a natural pair.

End of Chapter 123: Counterattack 49