Under the warm light, the tip of the long spear emitted a cold gleam.
What the hell... She really keeps a spear in her room?!
Lin Qiye swallowed hard and hurriedly spoke, "No, Red Ying, I just wanted to ask... do you have any paper and a pen?"
Red Ying blinked in surprise, "At this hour, you need paper and a pen for what?"
"To write a letter."
"Hmm... I think I have some. Wait here for a moment!" Red Ying placed the spear aside and began rummaging through her room.
Standing at the door, Lin Qiye could clearly see the state of Red Ying's room.
Surprisingly, Red Ying's room was very simple, almost sparse.
In the room, there was just a hardboard bed, a desk lamp, a study desk, and a plush toy sitting beside the bed.
There were no extravagant decorations, no fancy mattresses, no sofas, no air conditioning... Lin Qiye couldn't imagine that in this luxurious mansion, Red Ying's room could be this bare.
Rather than a master bedroom, it seemed more like a hermit's humble abode.
The only thing that seemed to match her age was the cute plush toy in the room.
"Paper... paper, here it is!" Red Ying's eyes lit up as she walked over with a pen and some paper, handing them to Lin Qiye.
"Red Ying, do you... usually sleep here?" Lin Qiye asked.
Red Ying turned around and glanced at her room before nodding, "As a Nightwatcher, I can't indulge in material pleasures. I always have to keep my will sharp... If this mansion weren't my parents' legacy, and required so much upkeep, I would've probably sold it and moved back to the dormitory."
Lin Qiye was silent for a moment. "I see, thanks... Good night."
"Good night, you too, rest well." Red Ying smiled and waved at him before gently closing the door.
Lin Qiye walked downstairs and sat on a chair in the living room, turning on a light overhead.
On the table were a piece of paper and a pen.
Outside the window, the faint sound of cicadas echoed, and the summer heat had dissipated after the rain, with tree silhouettes casting shadows on the desk in the moonlight...
Lin Qiye picked up the pen and sat motionless at the desk.
He didn't know how long had passed before he gently put pen to paper.
He wrote the first line:
"To Auntie, Yang Jin..."
"Mom, Mom!"
Yang Jin shook his aunt, who was sleeping at the dining table, calling softly.
His aunt groggily opened her eyes, rubbing her sore neck as she asked, "What is it? Did your brother come back?"
Yang Jin shook his head. "No, but there's a letter..."
"A letter?"
"Yeah! It looks like it's from my brother."
"Xiaoqi? Quickly, quickly, let me see!" His aunt said anxiously, as she watched Yang Jin open the letter. "This child... hasn't come home all night, didn't even let us know. He gets to the door and doesn't even come in... what's the meaning of leaving a letter like this?"
Yang Jin opened the letter, and his aunt took it from him. They both looked over it carefully.
After a long while, his aunt's hands trembled as she set the letter down and stared blankly ahead.
"Mom, he says he's joined the military," Yang Jin picked up the letter and turned to his aunt.
"Joined the military... Joined the military?" His aunt mumbled, "He never mentioned anything about this..."
"No, he did say it." Yang Jin nodded seriously.
"He said it?"
"Yeah. He often told me privately that his biggest dream was to join the army. But because his eyes weren't good, he put that dream on hold for a while." Yang Jin paused, then pointed to the words in the letter.
"And look, he says in the letter that his eyes are better now, so he secretly enlisted, but he didn't tell you because he was worried you'd stop him. Last night, he quietly got on the train to Qiqihar..."
"But that doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't make sense?"
"This letter... you only got it today, but according to what it says, he should already be on the train now!" His aunt's mind seemed to be working suddenly.
"Uh..." Yang Jin scratched his head, "Actually, I just found the letter this morning. It's possible it was already there last night, and I just didn't see it."
"That... that's way too sudden!" His aunt couldn't accept it, "And Xiaoqi just got his eyes fixed, what if they relapse while he's in the military? No... I can't let this happen! I'm going to the government, I need my nephew back!"
In a hurry, his aunt stood up and rushed for the door, not even noticing she was still wearing slippers.
Just then, she stopped in her tracks.
Standing outside the door were two men in military uniforms, awkwardly standing there, seemingly about to knock.
If Lin Qiye were there, he would immediately recognize them—these two were Chen Muye and Wen Qimo.
"Who are you?" His aunt frowned and asked.
Chen Muye and Wen Qimo exchanged glances, and Wen Qimo's face immediately broke into a warm smile as he gave a less-than-standard military salute.
"Hello, are you Ms. Wang Fang, the guardian of Lin Qiye?"
"Yes, I am."
"We're from the Cangnan Military Affairs Office. We're here to deliver some paperwork and subsidies regarding Lin Qiye's enlistment."
"The Military Affairs Office?" His aunt looked suspiciously at them, "What is that?"
"It's... the department in charge of new recruits." Wen Qimo smiled warmly.
"Oh... then please come in." His aunt stepped aside to let them in, still uneasy. As she walked back to the kitchen, she added, "I was just about to find someone from the government... this situation doesn't feel right!"
Chen Muye and Wen Qimo sat down, and Wen Qimo immediately stiffened when he heard this.
Wen Qimo quietly leaned in to whisper in Chen Muye's ear, "Captain, do you think... this is really going to work?"
"What's there to be afraid of? We've got official paperwork straight from the regular army. It's all real!" Chen Muye answered with a faint smile.
"But... you only submitted Lin Qiye's application yesterday. How could the paperwork come this quickly? Are you sure this is all legit?"
"... " Chen Muye's mouth twitched slightly. "Soon enough, it will all be real."
"But I don't understand. We could have waited for the formal documents to arrive before going to her. Why rush?"
"It's not that we're rushing, it's Lin Qiye. He's the one in a hurry." Chen Muye glanced toward the kitchen where his aunt was busy, then whispered, "He was worried his aunt wouldn't believe the letter, so he figured the government people wouldn't know who we are. He's trying to cover his tracks."
"I get it now."
Wen Qimo nodded and sat up straighter, putting on a perfect smile.
"Ms. Wang Fang, don't worry. We're the regular army. Lin Qiye's enlistment in the army has been approved, and everything is in order. There's no issue whatsoever!"
Yang Jin, who had been standing off to the side, helplessly rubbed his forehead.
Meanwhile, his aunt, who had been making tea, froze. The teacup slipped from her hands and spilled across the table as she turned and stared wide-eyed at the two men.
"He... he didn't go to Qiqihar?!"