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Standing in front of a small two floored house somewhere in New York City, the young man could feel his emotions that has been sealed for many years pour out like a broken dam.

Memories of his teenage days flashed inside his head like a film being played.

After standing in front of the door and reminiscing for many minutes, he lifted his hand and went for the doorbell.

His hand froze an inch away and no longer continued.

Fear.

An emotion that has been long forgotten for the past four years reemerged, causing his hand to tremble slightly.

With his left hand grasped into a fist, he rung the doorbell.

*Ding* *Dong*

His heartbeat quickened, his blood turning warm.

He was nervous. He has not seen the face of his family ever since he had left, and he did not inform them prior to his return.

A minute had passed, yet there was still no answer.

He went for the doorbell again.

*Ding* *Dong*

A voice resounded from inside the house.

It was a female's voice. Although it sounded unfamiliar to the young man, an image of a middle-aged woman still appeared inside his head.

He fixed his clothes, brushed his hair with his fingers, and forcefully coughed, clearing his voice.

The door finally opened, and a pretty middle-aged lady wearing an apron came into his view.

Four years and countless hardships had passed with many of his memories forced out and replaced with combat knowledge, but no matter how many knowledge was forced into his brain, he would never forget the face of his own mother.

The middle-aged woman, his mother, stood there with a blank face while staring at the young man in front of him.

She did not recognize this handsome young man in front of her for a second.

His face was sharp and healthy looking. His black eyes was bright like black pearl and gave off the impression that he was intelligent. His body gave off this invisible aura around him that gave her the chills when his gaze landed on hers.

She opened her mouth for a second, but no words came out.

An image of one of her child who had left four years ago to join the military and never contacted them since then appeared in her head, yet she did not dare to speak of his name.

The handsome young man standing in front of her right now and her son who was known to be a nerd, other than a few noticeable features on his face, they looked like two different people. She was afraid that she might be wrong.

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

The young man was patient, much more patient than her.

And finally breaking the awkward silence, a name came out of the middle-aged woman's mouth---

"Xiao Yun?"

Her voice was trembling.

The young man smiled gently upon hearing that name being spoken with that voice. He nodded and said, "Mother, I have returned."

The mother covered her mouth with her hands, and tears began flowing down her face.

The young man, Xiao Yun, silently hugged her.

Only after many moments had passed did the mother speak, "Xiao Yun, why are you still standing here? Come in, we have a lot to talk about."

They walked into the house, and Xiao Yun placed his small suitcase by the shoe rack.

"Your room was left untouched, it is the exact same as before you had left."

Sitting inside the living room that also had a kitchen, they both began to catch up on the times they had missed with each other.

The first question that came out of his mother's mouth was---

"Why have you not contact us until today?"

A bitter smile that will stay there until the end of their conversation hung on his face.

"Because of many circumstances, I could not contact the outside world, including my family…"

"Even though you promised to? Was a letter even not allowed? I have decided to learn a few things about the military since you joined, but I have never heard of such cases where you cannot contact anyone. Do you know how worried I was?"

"I am sorry," he said.

His mother shouted at his apology.

"I thought you had died in war or something!"

Her tears started to form again.

"I am sorry."

She suppressed her tears and continued, "So? Are you done with the military?"

"Yes, I am finished with serving the military."

"Will you continue living here?"

"Yes."

"What are your plans now that you left?"

"College."

The way this pair of mother and son talks to each other was simple and straightforward.

"Is that so? That is all I have for you."

Xiao Yun looked at her with a surprised face.

"Are you not going to ask me what I have been doing while in the military?"

"All I need to know is that you are safe and sound. What you did while in the military, I have no interest. Not that I will understand it if you told me anyways."

Xiao Yun smiled brightly for the first time, his face was a bit red.

Seeing her handsome son smile like that, she sighed with emotions,'Can four years really change a person that much?' she asked herself.

Her son was not ugly before he joined the military, he was actually considered above average. But now that she thinks about it, he must have undergone extensive training that refined his features even more.

He was also not as bulky as she had imagined. His figure was slim, and looking at him with a sweater and long jeans on, it looked as if he rarely exercised.

Xiao Yun looked around while his mother inspected her son that looked entirely different.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"It is still early in the morning, your sisters are still in school right now. And your father is at work."

"They should be 10 and 17 now, right?"

She nodded, "Yes, and your sisters are growing up to be beautiful like your mother."

Instead of smiling, Xiao Yun spoke with a weird face, "Did you tell them?"

"I told them you went to school overseas, so they still have no idea about you serving the military."

"Sorry… and thank you," he said.

Shaking her head, she said, "Your reasons, I will not ask about it. I only ask of you to spend some time with them now that you have returned."

"The younger one is still naive and innocent, she really missed you while you were gone, even spending the first week crying nonstop."

The mother massaged her temples remembering the hassle she had to go through just to make her stop crying.

"What about…"

"She has changed a lot since you left, so instead of explaining it, I will let you experience it for yourself."

"How cruel," he chuckled.

"Okay, I will unpack my luggage now before heading out."

"You are leaving already? You just got back a few minutes ago."

"I want to walk around the neighborhood and see what is new and what I can remember."

"I will return before they return."

"Okay, I still have dishes to wash so I will leave you by yourself for now. Don't think we are finished just yet. We have four years to make up!"

Xiao Yun smiled, "Yes, mother."

And he left the living room to unpack.

His mother silently watched him leave with a warm smile on her face. She was really happy and relieved at the same time.

Her son has returned safe and sound...