Luke pulled her small hand away from the middle-aged man's grip and looked gratefully at the man who had come to their rescue.
Thank goodness for kind-hearted people, otherwise she would have been beaten again today.
"Do you want to interfere?" The middle-aged man glared angrily at the man in front of him, his whole demeanor becoming fierce.
"Brother, they're just two small kids. Let's not resort to violence." Logan James smiled and let go of the middle-aged man's hand. He took out two hundred dollars from his pocket and handed it to the man. The middle-aged man, seeing the money, cursed a few times and left.
James turned around and looked at Luke's naturally friendly face. When he looked at Nita, he couldn't help but pinch the little girl's cheek.
"Although I don't know why you two are homeless, you shouldn't steal, you know?" he said. "If you don't have a place to go, you can go to the orphanage."
James let go of Nita's face and took out four hundred dollars from his wallet, handing it to Luke.
"Don't do bad things anymore in the future."
Luke stared at James's face, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity. However, he couldn't remember where his had seen this man before.
"Thank you, uncle," he said, taking the money and putting it back in James's hand.
"But my dad told me and my sister not to accept favors from strangers. We're not beggars."
"Also, our orphanage certificates have already come through. Someone will come to take us to the orphanage in a few days."
Luke's words made James pause for a moment. So they were orphans after all... But these two children were still so young.
However, in this world, there were countless unfortunate events, and there were millions of people who were homeless. Although he had the grand ambition of owning countless mansions. As a soldier, he knew that all he could do was to defend his own territory.
He couldn't control these misfortunes. James furrowed his brows and squatted down to pat Luke's head. His own son, Luke, should be around the same age. If Mary's child was born, the little girl should also be around that size.
Perhaps out of sympathy, or perhaps out of the blood ties that he couldn't let go of, James took out a piece of paper and pen from his inner pocket and left a phone number.
"This is my phone number. If you encounter any problems that you can't solve, come find me." After leaving the phone number, James put his hand down, stood up, and turned his head. His heart was set on returning home, and he didn't want to linger any longer. He had done his best.
When Luke saw James turn around, he didn't know why, but he couldn't help but open his mouth. "Uncle!" James turned his head.
"I didn't do anything bad. I didn't steal anything to eat. I thought no one wanted the food because that uncle had been gone for a long time." Listening to the little boy's loud explanation, James nodded with a smile. "I believe you."
With that, James turned his head and waved goodbye. Watching his receding figure, Luke tightly clung to his clothes, as if he had lost something.
Just now, he couldn't figure out why he needed to explain himself to a stranger.
°°°°°°
8:20 pm.
Phoenix Villa Area.
On the hillside, there was a single villa, which was originally the new home of Miss Mary from the Smith family.
Outside the villa, a man walked into the yard, nervously standing at the gate, constantly adjusting his clothes, even the collar had been adjusted countless times.
He was too nervous.
He hadn't been home for six years, and scenes of the family reunion kept flashing in his mind.
What expression would Mary have when she see him?
Surprised?
Excited?
Or maybe a little angry?
"She should be a little angry, right?"
James patted his own face to ease his nervousness.
With Mary's temper, she would definitely blame him for not even making a phone call to the family in six years, but this was indeed his own problem.
Who knew that he was selected into the special forces right after joining the camp... The place where he trained had no signal at all.
James took a deep breath, his fingers lightly tapping on the door, three times in a row.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Mary, I'm back!"
James shouted loudly, afraid that the family of three inside wouldn't hear him.
His hands were already covered in sweat, and he swore that he had never been so nervous even when leading troops to fight the Eagle Country.
"Creak!"
The door was suddenly pulled open, and James's deep eyes were filled with joy.
"Uncle...Mar..." James looked at his uncle with a sour face and awkwardly smiled.
"Uncle, you came to visit our home today. Please don't say anything yet. I want to surprise Mary..."
"Mary?" Uncle glared at James with a fierce expression. "You, this animal, still have the face to mention Mary!"
"Where have you been for the past six years?" Uncle stared at James, his eyes filled with anger. "You coward! Did you desert?"
In the second year of James's military service, news came from the army that he had died in battle. Now that James had not died, there was only one possibility: this kid couldn't take the hardship of the army, faked his death, and ran away. The army couldn't find him, so he was declared dead!
"What are you talking about, Uncle? Deserting and all that..." James frowned and looked at his uncle, involuntarily taking two steps back. As a seasoned general, he could gather information from words better than anyone else. His uncle's words made him feel uneasy.
"Uncle, let me go in and see Mary first, to see how we can help each other..."
"I told you to get out!" Uncle pushed James hard and pointed to the gate of the courtyard. "You ran away, you lived a cowardly life, do you know what happened to Mary?"
"Mary is dead!"
"Dead!"
The last two words were shouted by Uncle with all his strength. James was struck by lightning, his mind went blank.
Mary, dead?
How could it be possible!
James grabbed Uncle's arms fiercely, his eyes like a demon, "You're talking nonsense.
How could Mary possibly be dead? I haven't received any such news in the army!"
"Why would I lie to you!"