Chapter 68: The Decision

After the middle-aged man left, Katerina locked the bedroom door and hid under the covers, crying for a long time. Chang Yu lay outside the door, listening for quite a while, and sure enough, he heard the heart-wrenching sobs coming from inside the bedroom.

Though Katerina tried her best to suppress her cries, the sorrowful sound still reached Chang Yu’s ears with clarity.

What a wonderful sister she was!

Even her tears had to be muffled for fear of frightening her little brother.

Hearing Katerina’s desperate weeping, Chang Yu felt both sadness and worry in his heart. He longed to comfort her, but had no idea what words might help.

As an orphan, Chang Yu’s understanding of familial affection was limited, and so he could never truly grasp the depth of feeling between Katerina and her parents.

All he could do was stand silently outside the door, waiting for Katerina to emerge on her own.

Since she had locked the bedroom, she must have wished for a moment alone. Or perhaps she simply didn’t want her younger brother to see her vulnerability.

At times like this, it was best not to disturb her, Chang Yu thought.

Katerina cried the entire afternoon, and when she finally came out, her eyes were swollen and red, like the eyes of a goldfish.

Upon seeing Chang Yu waiting outside, Katerina’s first words were: “Youcai, Mom and Dad have gone very, very far away.”

“They won’t be coming back for a long time, so from now on, it’s just the two of us depending on each other.”

Ignoring Chang Yu’s stunned silence, Katerina strode toward the sturdy wooden wardrobe in the central hall.

Using a stool for height, she rummaged inside the wardrobe for quite some time, finally fishing out a small blue notebook.

Driven by curiosity, Chang Yu approached Katerina to see what the blue notebook was.

Katerina made no attempt to conceal it from him; she straightforwardly showed the notebook to Chang Yu.

To her, since Chang Yu was her “brother,” he was naturally a member of the family, entitled to know everything that concerned their home.

“This is the family’s savings book, not the same as the one Uncle Sun brought earlier. This one was left for us by Mom and Dad,” Katerina explained.

Unlike the ubiquitous bank cards of today, ten years ago, savings books were still quite common.

Chang Yu had seen the director at the orphanage handling such things as a child, so he recognized the little notebook as a savings book, serving the same purpose as a modern bank card.

He glanced at the numbers printed on it—astonishing, there were a full five hundred thousand yuan.

Even in today’s H City, that was a considerable sum; ten years ago, it was even more impressive.

At that time, five hundred thousand was enough to buy a spacious 100-square-meter apartment in H City.

“All of this money was earned by Mom and Dad, risking their lives to complete missions. We must be careful with how we spend it,” Katerina cautioned Chang Yu.

“Earlier, Uncle Sun brought a condolence payment of one million five hundred thousand, so our total assets now amount to two million yuan.”

“It may seem like a lot, but in reality, it disappears quickly.”

“We’re both young, still in school, and these days, education is a major expense.”

“Tuition, books, workbooks, and the high cost of tutoring—perhaps this money will be gone sooner than we think.”

“If we just sit here and live off our savings, someday we might not even have enough to eat.”

At this moment, though Katerina was still young, she possessed a composure and wisdom far beyond her years.

With just a few words, she analyzed their current predicament thoroughly.

“What should we do then?” Chang Yu asked, now fully immersed in the role of Zhen Youcai, able to interact naturally with Katerina.

Katerina replied earnestly, “I’ll find a job. I don’t expect to earn much, so long as we have a steady source of income.”

“That way, our savings won’t be a stagnant pool that only empties, but will have fresh water constantly flowing in.”

One had to admit, Katerina’s outlook was far-sighted.

If another person had received such a windfall of two million, perhaps they’d already be thinking about how to idle away the days at home.

But Katerina was different—she was a girl always aware of looming crisis.

Living off her savings wasn’t in her nature; she was determined to seek out new opportunities.

Even if not for herself, she needed to leave a way forward for her young brother.

“You’re still underage. Where can you find a job?” Chang Yu stared at her in surprise.

Her thinking was correct in every respect, except for the matter of finding work, which seemed rather unrealistic.

She was far too young—not yet of age, and wherever she went, she’d surely encounter obstacles.

“That’s an adult matter, children shouldn’t worry about it.” Katerina wrinkled her nose, striving to appear mature. “There’s always a way.”

...

That night, Katerina spoke on the phone with someone.

She thought she had been careful enough, but Chang Yu managed to overhear her conversation.

“Uncle Sun, I have something I need your help with,” Katerina said directly, without any pleasantries.

“You know, my parents were both gifted members of the Disaster Investigation Bureau.”

“Though there’s no scientific proof, these abilities really are hereditary.”

“We all know, if the parents are gifted, their children are very likely to inherit those abilities.”

“There’s something you may not know—I awakened my gift quite some time ago.”

“I hope you can use your connections to help me join the Disaster Investigation Bureau in H Province.”

“I am a gifted individual, so I’m certainly qualified for the Bureau.”

“My parents were both investigators, serving in the Bureau for most of their lives. My background is spotless in the eyes of the leadership.”

“From the Bureau’s perspective, I was born to be a reserve member, and I have a natural affinity for the Bureau.”

“I believe the leadership would welcome loyal, reliable new blood like me.”

“I don’t want you to do this,” came the deep voice from the other end of the line.

Chang Yu recognized the voice—it was Uncle Sun, who had visited earlier that afternoon.

In this moment, it was clear whom Katerina was speaking to.

“You’re still young. You have so much youth ahead of you. Fighting disasters is too harsh at your age.”

“Even if you want to join the Bureau, there’s no need to rush. You’re still young; now is the time to focus on your studies.”

“Wait until you’re grown and have finished your education; it won’t be too late to join then. Don’t let worries over daily expenses interrupt your schooling.”

“If you run out of money, you can come to me. I have savings, enough for you and your brother to live comfortably.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Sun.” Katerina’s gratitude was heartfelt.

Anyone willing to lend a hand after her parents’ passing deserved her sincere thanks.

“But I want to join the Bureau early—not just to support us, but to grow stronger as quickly as possible,” she said with conviction.

“Battling disasters is the fastest way to increase my power.”

“I don’t want to miss any chance to get stronger. Someday, I hope to have the strength to avenge my parents myself.”

“Uncle Sun, you were their dear friend. Surely you don’t want their deaths to go unanswered?”

“We can’t always live under your shelter; sooner or later, we must face the world ourselves. Isn’t that right?”

“You wouldn’t want us to become people who can’t withstand any obstacles or difficulties, would you?”

“If you truly wish to help us, please introduce me to the leadership.”

The person on the other end was silent for a long time, as if persuaded by Katerina’s words. “I understand your situation. I’ll inform the leadership about it.”

“As for whether you can join the Bureau, that’s not up to me—it depends on their approval. All I can do is recommend you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Sun. Your recommendation is more than enough,” Katerina replied, her voice filled with joy.

“Let’s hope this isn’t a mistake,” the man on the other end sighed.

“Little Osmanthus, promise Uncle you’ll always protect yourself, no matter what.”

“Your parents’ spirits would never want to see you harmed, let alone killed.”

“I will,” Katerina promised solemnly.

After hanging up, she noticed Chang Yu lurking outside, listening to her conversation.

“So you’ve been deceiving me all along?” Chang Yu said softly.

Since he was borrowing Zhen Youcai’s body, his words of accusation sounded childish, in that little boy’s voice.

It was Zhen Youcai’s tone.

“I didn’t deceive you,” Katerina crouched down in front of him, rubbing his head.

“You told me you wanted to join the Bureau because you needed a paid job,” Chang Yu said worriedly, “but actually, you want to grow strong enough to find that disaster and avenge your parents.”

“I don’t see a contradiction between the two,” Katerina smiled. “Earning money and seeking revenge are both things I want.”

Chang Yu sighed, swallowing all the words of persuasion he’d prepared.

Katerina was stubborn—once she made a decision, she rarely changed her mind.

Even if Chang Yu managed to persuade her, what difference would it make?

This was a dream; everything happening here had already occurred in reality.

Even if he convinced her in the dream, it wouldn’t alter her course in the real world.

Some things, once they’ve happened, are simply done.

No one has a time machine; the past cannot be changed.

“Tell me about Mom and Dad,” Chang Yu said wistfully. “I suddenly want to know what kind of people they were.”

Katerina paused for a moment, then began to speak: “All right, that story begins more than ten years ago...”