"You better take a break first, you need to rest. We'll talk when you wake up. Ian didn't answer Lance's question directly, and turned to leave the room, the sound of cautious footsteps fading away, and all the noise in the bedroom settled.

Lance put the glass on the bedside table,

Turn on the hot water, watch the basin be gradually filled, and then plunge into the hot water, hold your breath, feel the whole world fall into a vacuum of silence, the pores slowly open, the hot air drills into the blood along the pores, so that the muscles slowly relax, and the panicked heartbeat gradually returns to the normal rhythm.

Until the suffocating fear invaded, it was a very real reminder: he was still alive. Then he suddenly raised his head, the mirror in front of him was contaminated with fog, blurred, and he could only vaguely see his own outline, the floating feeling between dream and reality slowly faded, raised his hand and put it on the mirror, gently wiped it clean, and the illusion of the dream dissipated little by little.

After taking care of himself, Lance left the bedroom and made his way to the guest room. The apartment was a three-bedroom apartment, one of which was originally a study, but it was also converted into a bedroom, so that all three rooms became bedrooms, which were reserved for Ian and Gawain, and even though Theo was in Los Angeles, he occasionally stayed here.

"Knock", Lance knocked on the room door, "Ian, are you asleep?" ”

"No, come in." Ian's voice came from inside, and Lance opened the door directly, and then saw Ian sitting at his desk.

At this time, Ian didn't even change his clothes, and was still wearing the dark gray shirt. It's just that the button on the neckline is unbuttoned, and it looks a little decadent, but the panic and grandeur in his expression have disappeared, as if he has regained his usual chic and free prodigal appearance.

Reims

Ian snorted and laughed. "Then you went to check it out, and found that the water heater was frozen, and you and Gawain just sat there worrying about what to do. Miss Larson said. The shelter doesn't have any extra funds left, and even the Thanksgiving turkey was donated by the police/prosecutor's office. Following Lance's words, Ian's memories were awakened, and he continued. In the end, it was your idea, Mrs. Leah of Swinton Street had been dead for two weeks, but the house had never been repossessed. The water heater was still there, and then we secretly went and carried the water heater back, which solved the problem. ”

"On the way back, the chick named Ella came over and asked you to help her take the math test, and you said that you had to take a hundred dollars, and she said fifty dollars plus a mouth/job, and you refused without raising your head, and she was so sad." Lance gloated, the youthful memories that made Ian laugh dumbly, "I bet she's got a crush on you, and the math test is just an excuse." ”

Ian tilted his head and looked at Lance speechlessly, "Are you sure she doesn't have a crush on you?" ”

"Me? A thirteen-year-old with an elbow like spaghetti, are you sure? Lance's self-deprecation made Ian shake his head and laugh helplessly. Later, when we returned to the shelter, we saw Theo. ”

"Yes, when we walked into the shelter, we saw Theo. He sat at the dining table, like a plaster statue. The smile on the corner of his mouth gradually dissipated, and Ian's memories returned to the distant past, which was nearly twenty years ago, and he thought that those memories had been blurred, but every time he mentioned it, every detail of that day was so real and beautiful that it was hard to believe that this qiē had really happened, "Then Theo stood up and beckoned us to go to the courthouse together, his movements stiff and stiff, almost like a machine. ”

"yes, Gawain and I both said that he was like a C-3PO possession." Lance chuckled.

"Yes, C-3PO." Ian nodded in agreement, but soon, the voice fell silent, caught in the distant memory.

Not only Theo, but Ian, Gawain, and Lance also froze in place, as if they were machine people. The other children in the shelter applauded and celebrated, sending their blessings; Miss Larson, who managed the shelter, was even more joyful, and she didn't know how to express her feelings incoherently. In the midst of the noise and applause, they stood stiff like statues, for they could hardly believe that this was how it had happened.

On August 18, 1984, a serious incident occurred at the Strello family, in which all three children were injured in a violent runaway case, and a large amount of evidence of violent abuse was found, which ended in the death of Frank Strello in a car accident and Fiona Strello's death from a drug overdose. But what happened that afternoon, only the three children knew, and the police did not conduct further in-depth investigations, such things are common in foster homes, no one cares, and no one cares.

However, by law, due to the death of the foster parent, the minor child must be resent to the Child Welfare Bureau and then start looking for a foster family again. However, when the Child Welfare Bureau arrived at the foster home, it found that all four children had disappeared.

The four of them are not related by blood, but are just one of many children that Frank and Fiona have adopted for government-subsidized benefits. So, they all know what is going to happen next, they will be re-admitted to the foster care system, and then back to a different foster family, and there is a good chance that they will never see each other again -- because no foster family wants to take in four children at the same time, which is impossible. So, they chose to run away.

Until November 19 of that year, because the next day was Lance's birthday, Gawain in order to surprise Lance, sold the stolen cable for a good price, and then went to town to order a birthday cake, but was accidentally found by the school teacher at the door of the cake shop. After the teacher called the police, the police found the four children hiding in an abandoned power plant and forcibly returned them to the Child Welfare Bureau.

Due to Theo and Ian's strong protests, Lance was in a semi-coma with a high fever at the time, almost unconscious; Considering the domestic violence endured by the four children, the Child Welfare Bureau finally agreed to Theo's request to place them in the same juvenile shelter after Lance was discharged from the hospital and waited for the foster care system to be re-screened.

Twenty-one children lived in the juvenile shelter, which was a special shelter for children who had been beaten and abused by adults. Those souls who had been tortured and destroyed were gathered together stiffly and awkwardly, guarding what little warmth there was. Then, after twelve months, they may be sent to another strange foster home, they may be completely forgotten, they may be lost in the chaos of crime, they can only stay for a maximum of twelve months due to the limited funds of the shelter, and then they must leave.

On December 24, 1985, Theo's twentieth birthday, he finally reached legal age, filed a list of personal income banks for the past year, and applied to the court for legal custody of Ian, Gawain, and Lance on the grounds that his adoptive parents had not been able to fulfill their parenting responsibilities and both died—in other words, the four of them would no longer have to be separated, and they would no longer have to wait for the unknown and panic that the foster care system would bring.

After a court trial, Theo legally took custody of his three younger brothers, and the family left Green Bay and came to San Francisco with nothing.

"You know, that's the best birthday present, and it's the best Christmas present." Lance said in a deep voice, which made Ian raise his head, and then he saw Lance's calm eyes, like epiphany, blooming in the middle of the night, silent, but thrilling.

Ian only felt a little sour in his nose, and the surging emotions almost made him lose control at that moment, he lowered his head in a little panic, and let out a long breath, letting the boiling emotions in his chest slowly settle down. Theo's list of personal income banks is that after Theo and Ian worked together day and night, they barely reached the minimum annual income for legal guardianship.

"The best?" Ian smiled lightly, "I thought Gawain gave you the best birthday present last year. ”

Lance chuckled, but didn't speak.

In those dark and long years, in those confused and lonely days, in those struggling and painful lives, the four brothers were each other's dependence, the only support. They supported each other through those thorny, sharp, and chaotic years, and sought a ray of life in this cold and frozen world step by step, and they were each other's only.

Theo, Ian and Gawain's existence even made him almost forget the period of life that belonged to Li Jin, and made him almost forget that there was a family that belonged to him in another distant time and space, for Lance now, this is his home, this is his roots, this is his dependence, this is the best gift God has given him.

There is no substitute.

"So, aren't you going to talk to me about funding? You know, I'm not going to accept 'no' as an answer. Lance looked at Ian in front of him and smiled mischievously. (To be continued.) )

ps: Today's fifth update, nine 10,000 tips, the ninth update of the series! Complete! Thanks again for the tip from the elves, the outbreak is not over yet, continue later!