HLM -Final Chapter Tomorrow Will Be Better

Spring passed, autumn came.

Autumn went, and spring arrived again.

When another spring returned, Sunset Town once more turned lush and green, brimming with life.

At noon, the gates of the mountainside castle suddenly opened, and Little Wang burst out at a full gallop.

On Little Wang’s broad back was a sponge-padded soft saddle. Sitting atop it was a pink-cheeked, jade-carved little boy, his tiny feet braced firmly in the stirrups, his little hands gripping the handle in front of the saddle as he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Little Wang, run! Run faster!”

A little girl with a high ponytail darted out like the wind, yelling, “Erwa, if you’ve got guts, don’t you dare come back! I swear, if you come back and I catch you, I’ll make you regret it!”

The little boy giggled. “I’m going to find Daddy. Bye-bye, Sister. With Daddy around, you can’t do anything to me!”

The little girl clenched her teeth. “Then I’ll tell Mom! Commander, where are you? Hurry up and come—go tell Mom that Erwa is being naughty again. He won’t eat his lunch!”

The Commander flapped his wings and flew over, shouting, “Ah—Erwa naughty! Ah—Erwa not eating!”

When the little boy saw the girl stop, he tugged hard on the saddle. Feeling the pull, Little Wang slammed on the brakes—and, thanks to the inertia of his oversized head, promptly toppled forward and crashed to the ground again.

Luckily, he fell headfirst, so the little boy on the soft saddle didn’t fall off.

This disappointed the little girl. “Little Wang, you’re so useless! Why didn’t you throw Erwa off?”

Having finally steadied himself, the little boy turned back awkwardly and shouted, “Are you really my sister? No, you’re not—you’re a little devil! Aunt Dale was right, you’re a little devil!”

A clear voice rang out from the road ahead. “Erwa, what did you just call me?! Didn’t I tell you—you have to call me Sister! Sister! It’s Sister Dale, not Aunt Dale!”

A girl of fourteen or fifteen came speeding over on a bicycle. Even though she was riding uphill, she showed no strain at all. Her long, slender legs pumped like wind-and-fire wheels, carrying her swiftly upward.

The moment they saw her, both kids’ expressions changed. The older girl looked at the little boy with pity. “My dear little brother, you’re doomed. How dare you call Sister Dale ‘Aunt’? Sister Dale, block him!”

The girl had a delicate, pretty face and short hair, looking beautiful and carefree. She carried a confidence rare for her age, and as she rode forward, she looked like a valkyrie charging into battle on her steed.

The little boy hurriedly patted Little Wang’s mane. “Get up, buddy! Let’s run!”

“Run? Where do you think you’re going?” the girl snapped. “Little Wang, you lie down right there like a good boy! Otherwise I’ll smash your food bowl when we get back!”

Hearing this, Little Wang—who had just struggled to his feet—immediately behaved. He lay back down obediently, folded his big paws, and buried his head between them.

Seeing this, the older girl dashed over. The little boy tried to run but was too late—she grabbed him and yanked him down, pulling his ear as she demanded, “I’ll ask you again—are you eating lunch or not?”

With tears in his voice, the little boy said, “I’m going to tell Daddy you’re bullying me!”

“Will Daddy care?” the older girl said smugly. “Daddy knows you’re the one being naughty. This time it’s your fault—Mom told me to watch you eat lunch, and you wouldn’t eat.”

The little boy thought hard, then said, “Then I’ll go tell Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa and Grandma love Erwa the most!”

The older girl rolled up her sleeves and punched him once. “Hey! You’ve got some nerve—going to tattle?!”

After getting hit, the little boy was furious. He turned around and shoved her, shouting, “You hit me! Sister’s hitting her brother! Auntie, come quick—Sister’s bullying her brother!”

“Still calling me ‘Auntie’?” Dale was about to explode. Her cheeks puffed up, forming the early outline of her childhood dumpling face. “Sorry, I didn’t see anything!”

The older girl grinned triumphantly. “Heh heh, you’re in trouble now. No one’s helping you here. Sisters don’t bully brothers—sisters discipline brothers!”

The little boy clenched his teeth. “Don’t think I’m easy to bully! We Chinese are not the Sick Men of East Asia! Ata! Ata!”

Shouting as he went, he swung his fists and caught the older girl off guard with a few blows.

But there was a two-year age gap between them, and girls mature faster than boys at that age. The older girl quickly recovered and counterattacked, punching the boy until he burst into loud sobs.

Seeing this, Dale rolled her eyes and pulled them apart. “Erwa, you’re a boy—why do you cry all the time? And you too, Wawa, don’t bully Erwa so much in the future. Sisters bullying brothers isn’t right.”

“Then is it right for an aunt to bully her niece?” the older girl complained. “You used to bully me all the time—I remember it clearly!”

Dale’s pretty face darkened. “What did you say? Who’s an aunt? Erwa, watch closely—this is how you fight. Ata! Ata!”

Wang Bo was trimming his beard when he received a call saying that both his eldest daughter and youngest son were crying their hearts out.

Completely confused, he hurried back to see what was going on, only to find that Eva had already arrived and was looking helplessly at a dejected Dale.

“So Dale bullied her niece and nephew again?” Wang Bo said as he got out of the car. “That’s not right.”

The Commander swiftly landed on his shoulder and said, “Ah—Erwa cry. Ah—Wawa cry. Ah—Wawa hit. Ah—Dale hit.”

After spending so much time with the Commander, Wang Bo could already understand him. “Oh, Erwa cried first, then Wawa cried? Wawa started the fight, and then Dale joined in?”

The Commander replied, “Ah—yes. Ah—yes.”

Eva wiped the tears from her daughter’s and son’s faces. “Alright, alright. Tell me—what happened?”

The little boy rushed to speak. “Sister hit me and made me cry, then Aunt Dale hit Sister.”

After saying that, he started sobbing again in grievance.

The older girl wiped her tears and said, “You’re twisting the truth! Mom told me to feed him lunch, but he wouldn’t eat—he just played and tried to run away. I stopped him, and he hit me first. I only fought back.”

Dale said guiltily, “Um… actually, this doesn’t really have much to do with me. Can I leave first?”

The little boy shouted, “Auntie, don’t go! Uphold justice—hit Sister again!”

“Call me ‘Auntie’ one more time and I’ll beat you first!” Dale snapped.

The little boy opened his mouth and burst into tears again.

Eva pushed Dale toward Wang Bo and went off to comfort the two children herself.

After calming them down, the parents had no choice but to each take one child along to work.

That evening, talking about the kids, Wang Bo rubbed his temples helplessly. “Why are these kids getting harder and harder to manage as they grow up? They were much more obedient when they were little.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard footsteps outside. He opened the door and saw his daughter and son crouched outside Dale’s room, listening intently.

“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

Seeing him, the older girl made a shushing gesture and whispered, “Don’t talk. Aunt Dale is asleep—we’re going to beat her up while she’s sleeping!”

“Yes!” the little boy nodded firmly.

With a face full of resignation, Wang Bo could only grab them both and carry them back to their room to calm them down and put them to bed.

The two kids were restless and refused to sleep, insisting that he tell them a story.

Eva brought up two cups of warm milk and had the children drink them, smiling gently as she watched Wang Bo and the kids battle wits.

It took a full half hour before the two children finally closed their eyes and fell fast asleep.

Seeing this, Wang Bo let out a sigh of relief. “Sigh… raising kids is really exhausting.”

Eva gently stroked his head. “Compared to this, you’d rather raise two babies, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, but unfortunately they’ve grown up,” Wang Bo said helplessly.

Eva smiled. “It’s fine, dear. In a few months, you’ll be raising babies again.”

“What do you mean?” Wang Bo looked shocked, then delighted. “Another one?”

Eva pressed her lips together in a smile. “This time, it’s two—two babies.”

Wang Bo collapsed onto the carpet, playing dead. “Oh God, are you trying to kill me?”

But he quickly got back up, scooped Eva into his arms, and planted a big kiss on her pretty face, laughing softly. “That’s wonderful! Our family’s getting bigger again—four kids!”

“Not worried anymore?” Eva asked.

Wang Bo patted his chest. “Worried about what? I believe tomorrow will be better!”

Eva wrapped her arms around him and said softly, “Yes, tomorrow will be better. We’ll have a big family—a wonderful family.”

Wang Bo held Eva tightly, then looked at the two peaceful, adorable little faces beside him, and finally gazed outside.

Beyond the window, the night was deep. In the distance, the town glowed with countless lights. Above, the night sky was filled with brilliant stars.

Looking at his children, then at the scenery outside, his heart settled into calm:

This is my home.

These are my dearest loved ones.

With them by my side, no matter what tomorrow brings, it will be a beautiful tomorrow…

【The End】