Chapter 217 - 216: Your Dream

Chapter 217: Chapter 216: Your Dream

Feng Ling froze, not comprehending for a moment.

She was an acquaintance from long, long ago. It wasn’t as if they had a deep connection, but hearing the sudden news of her death still stirred a faint sadness in her heart.

Ling Feiran spoke in a low, gentle voice. "It’s normal that you don’t know, Xiao Ling. Not many people were told about the funeral. Wind Mother was sick for a long time. In a way, her passing was a release."

Feng Shao took a sip of beer, also looking wistful. "The way I see it, her spirit just gave out. The orphanage was her reason for living. When it couldn’t go on, her body couldn’t either."

Then he put on a smile and said jokingly, "It’s for the best she’s gone. Living now would be even worse. Alien Species killing people every day, a depressed economy, public order in chaos... It’s hard enough for ordinary people to get by, let alone an old woman taking care of orphans."

Ling Feiran reached out and pinched him, then turned to Feng Ling. "Let’s change the subject. Tell us how you’ve been doing."

Feng Ling raised her beer and gently clinked it against Ling Feiran’s. "Let’s talk about you two instead," she said with a smile. "How did you two get together? Aren’t you going to explain?"

Ling Feiran blushed and glanced at Feng Shao. "He’s the one who chased me. Stuck to me like glue, couldn’t get rid of him."

Feng Shao grinned sheepishly, his gaze on Ling Feiran filled with affection.

"What a shame," Feng Ling lamented at the sight. "Sigh! I can’t believe I missed you two’s wedding. Such a pity!"

"We’re not married yet," Feng Shao told Feng Ling. "Feifei doesn’t want a wedding ceremony. You know we’re both orphans, and on Feifei’s side... her adoptive parents got divorced. They both have new kids now, and we don’t really keep in touch. So even if we had a reception, we couldn’t invite many guests."

"A wedding is just a ceremony; I don’t care about that." Ling Feiran’s cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at Feng Ling. "We’ve saved up some money and are planning to find a city with good public safety, buy a condo, do some simple renovations, and then pick a day to go register our marriage."

Feng Ling said, "The cities with the best public safety right now are probably Yanjing and Yunhai."

Ling Feiran shook her head vigorously. "No, no way. The cost of living there is too high, and the housing prices are insane. The main cities we’re considering right now are Guangshan City and Yuquan City."

Feng Ling thought of Pei Xianjue and couldn’t help but chuckle. "I wouldn’t really recommend Yuquan City."

’Although I find Pei Xianjue to be an interesting person, I don’t exactly trust his ability when it comes to maintaining public safety in the city.’

"Huh?" Ling Feiran asked, confused. "Why not? Yuquan City is in the top ten of the public safety rankings. The number of cases of Alien Species attacks is very low."

Feng Ling said, "The number of Alien Species cases is only one metric. You should also look into the relative strength of each city’s Inspection Bureau. Alien Species don’t stay in one city forever; they move around. Some cities have a low case count simply because Alien Species haven’t been very active there. If a large number of them suddenly show up and the local Inspection Bureau can’t handle it, the residents’ safety still isn’t guaranteed."

Feng Shao immediately chimed in, "Xiao Ling’s right. If you ask me, we should just stay in Guangshan City. The Inspection Bureau here is pretty good. Captain Han and Vice Captain Duan are both really strong Inspectors!"

Ling Feiran shot him an exasperated glare. "I know you. You just want to stay because you don’t want to give up your job as a Cleaner Fish!"

"Being a Cleaner Fish is great! The pay is so high, way more than I made as a delivery guy..." Feng Shao cast a pleading glance at Feng Ling. "Right, Xiao Ling?"

Ling Feiran disagreed, her brows knitting in complaint. "The pay is high, but so is the risk."

"What risk? I only deal with the dead ones. The stuff Xiao Ling does is the real high-risk work!" Feng Shao said with an exaggerated laugh. "She takes on a hundred at once! She’s terrifyingly strong!"

Feng Ling held up her beer and laughed nonstop. "If that rumor keeps spreading, it’ll turn into me taking on a thousand at once."

Ling Feiran also gave a helpless laugh and looked at Feng Ling. "I tried to convince him to quit the Cleaner Fish job before, but he wouldn’t listen. Now that he’s found out you’re a Hunter, he’s even more determined not to quit."

Feng Ling quickly waved her hands. "Hey, don’t pin that on me. I’ll gladly take all the food in the pot, though."

All three of them burst out laughing.

The meal was a lively and happy affair.

Feng Ling had thought that dinner and catching up would take two hours at most. But with such a sumptuous spread of dishes and such a wonderful atmosphere, by the time she realized it, it was already midnight.

Feng Shao was dead drunk, passed out on the table.

Feng Ling helped Ling Feiran get him to the bed and couldn’t help but laugh. "He can get this drunk on just beer?"

Ling Feiran brought over a basin of warm water to wipe Feng Shao’s face and hands. She sighed. "He’s just too tired. His schedule has been flipped for days, and he hasn’t adjusted back yet. Add to that, he’s a lightweight drinker, so... this happens."

Feng Ling stood aside, quietly watching Ling Feiran.

’Ling Feiran was the same age as her, but their personalities were completely different. Ever since they were little, Ling Feiran had loved taking care of people. She was meticulous, considerate, and gentle... the big sister and confidante to all the kids at the orphanage. She was also one of the few warm memories from Feng Ling’s own childhood.’

"Are you really not having a wedding?" Feng Ling asked. "I remember your childhood dream was to wear a wedding dress, wasn’t it?"

Ling Feiran turned back to Feng Ling with a smile. "You still remember that? When we were little, all we wore were hand-me-downs from other people’s donations, so we had no resistance to pretty dresses. I remember the first time I saw a wedding dress in a shop window on the street, I was completely mesmerized. Haha... Kids are so adorable, when you think about it."

She looked down, wrung out the towel, and wiped Feng Shao’s face again. In a soft voice, she said, "Whether I wear a wedding dress or not isn’t important. What matters is being able to build a steady life together... To be honest, my dream has never changed. I just want to have a home of my own, have a few kids, I’ll be the mom, he’ll be the dad, and we’ll all be a happy family together every day."

She paused and looked at Feng Ling again, her eyes brimming with a smile. "Xiao Ling, I’m so, so happy I got to see you today. It feels like, besides Feng Shao, I still have family in this world."

A smile played on Feng Ling’s lips as she nodded. "Yeah, you and Feng Shao should get to it. Have a few kids and grow the Feng Family. I’ll be their godmother."

Ling Feiran let out a little laugh, a bit shyly. "What are you talking about, ’the Feng Family’!"

Feng Ling laughed too. "Okay, okay, enough of that. You must be exhausted after cooking that huge feast today. Go get some rest. I’ll come back and freeload off you guys again soon. I’m heading out~"

"I’ll see you downstairs," Ling Feiran said, hastily putting down the towel.

"No, no," Feng Ling refused. "Didn’t you just say I’m family? And since I’m not a guest, you don’t need to see me out."

Ling Feiran smiled helplessly. "Fine, I won’t go all the way downstairs. But I can at least walk you to the elevator, can’t I?"

Feng Ling reluctantly nodded. "...Alright, fine."

Since no one else was using the elevator in the middle of the night, it arrived at the 7th floor quickly after the button was pressed.

Feng Ling stepped into the elevator and was about to say goodbye when Ling Feiran couldn’t resist asking one more thing. "Xiao Ling, what about your dream... has it come true?"