"Mommy..."
The tender voice drifted over slowly.
Tu Dinh, who was in a state of tension, heard this familiar yet unbelievable voice. It was like a thunderclap, her body stiffening. She suspected if her ears were deceiving her, or if she was hallucinating due to constantly thinking about Nhuc Nhuc, thereby mistaking another sound for Nhuc Nhuc's voice.
Tu Dinh stiffly turned around, a look of hopeful expectation in her eyes. She knew this hope was non-existent.
Nhuc Nhuc was over there.
How could he be here?
When her gaze fell upon the direction the voice came from, a small figure appeared in her pupils. There was no mistake. She might not be familiar with anyone else, but this figure in her eyes, she would never, ever forget.
"Nhuc Nhuc!"
At this moment, everything around fell silent, without a single sound.
It was as if the entire space had frozen.
She had gone through countless hardships to come to the Duong Quang shelter, precisely to find Lam Pham, to seek his help, so she could bring Nhuc Nhuc back.
But now... why was Nhuc Nhuc here?
An illusion, this was an illusion.
Her mind was in a chaotic mess, finding it somewhat hard to accept.
"Mommy."
Nhuc Nhuc, drinking AD milk, ran towards Tu Dinh's side.
This "Mommy" thoroughly pulled Tu Dinh back to her senses.
"Nhuc Nhuc."
Tu Dinh rushed over, squatted on the ground, and hugged Nhuc Nhuc tightly, her voice choked with emotion, "Mommy's Nhuc Nhuc..."
Crying, not a sorrowful sob, but a sob of disbelieving joy.
Co Hang said: "Little Pham, I didn't expect Nhuc Nhuc to be her son."
Lam Pham sighed and said: "I didn't expect it either, but I've already figured out the truth of the matter. She went through countless hardships to come here, just hoping we could take her back to save her child. But she didn't expect that he would be rescued by Officer Hoang. This is the light in the world. Officer Hoang is that ray of light, shining on that pitiful child."
Co Hang said: "When the child was brought back by Officer Hoang, his clothes were very dirty. I smelled it; it seemed like the smell of sewage from the drains. He must have encountered danger and hidden in the sewers."
"I noticed that too." Lam Pham nodded. Those were all details, just not mentioned at the time.
At this moment.
In this area, everyone's gaze was fixed on this mother and son.
The most sentimental thing is to be moved by a scene.
The surrounding survivors were affected by the scene before them. Various past memories resurfaced in their minds. Some were moved to tears, while others thought of their own encounters, their lost moods also leading to tears.
Empathy.
At least this mother and son were lucky to be reunited.
There were many more who were separated by life and death, never to meet again.
"Mommy, you came back so late. Nhuc Nhuc thought that if mommy didn't come back, Nhuc Nhuc would be angry." Nhuc Nhuc really liked the smell of his mommy. "Mommy, this is the AD milk Sister Phi Phi gave Nhuc Nhuc. It tastes really good."
Tu Dinh's eyes were filled with tears. She stroked Nhuc Nhuc's face, never tiring of looking, feeling more at ease the more she looked.
"It's mommy's fault. Mommy got lost. Nhuc Nhuc, forgive mommy, okay?" Tu Dinh said softly.
"Waaah..."
Finally, Nhuc Nhuc couldn't hold back and cried loudly in Tu Dinh's arms.
Phi Phi looked at Nhuc Nhuc and Tu Dinh, a brilliant smile on her face. It was great, Nhuc Nhuc had a mommy; he wasn't a helpless orphan. Then she thought of something.
She ran at high speed into the distance, then returned to Su Tieu Hieu's bakery.
"Sister Su, I want to owe you an egg tart."
Su Tieu Hieu, busy in the shop, smiled and said: "Little girl, what are you owing for? What kind do you need?"
"A small one."
"Okay."
Su Tieu Hieu picked out a beautifully shaped and attractive cake for Phi Phi.
"Thank you, Sister Su."
Phi Phi carried the cake and ran towards the street.
Su Tieu Hieu looked at Phi Phi, smiled, and shook her head. Children were truly good, full of vitality. Living happily every day was what everyone wanted.
At this moment, Phi Phi arrived at the scene of the mother-child reunion. Nhuc Nhuc was still being hugged by his mommy. Phi Phi handed the bag containing the owed cake to Tu Dinh.
Tu Dinh looked at the cake in the bag in her hand, then at the unfamiliar girl, wanting to say something, but Phi Phi just grinned.
"Nhuc Nhuc, you just promised Sister Phi Phi that when your mommy brings back the cake, you have to let me have some."
As Phi Phi said these words.
Tu Dinh was suddenly stunned. That's right, when she left Nhuc Nhuc, she had told Nhuc Nhuc she was going out to buy a cake.
Nhuc Nhuc said: "Mommy, you really bought a cake back."
Tu Dinh looked at the cake, then at Nhuc Nhuc. After a moment, she smiled and said: "Yes, I got lost buying a cake for Nhuc Nhuc."
"Mommy, Sister Phi Phi is very good to me. She stayed with me when I was sleeping and told me stories. She also gave me milk to drink. I promised Sister Phi Phi that when my mommy buys a cake back, I will share it with Sister Phi Phi. Mommy, can I go over there with Sister Phi Phi to eat cake?" Nhuc Nhuc said in his childish voice.
"Okay."
Tu Dinh's voice trembled slightly. The Phi Phi before her seemed like a very sensible little girl. "Thank you for taking care of Nhuc Nhuc."
Phi Phi smiled politely and said: "Auntie, Nhuc Nhuc is my little brother. As his older sister, I definitely have to take care of my little brother. I really like all the little brothers and sisters in this area."
Phi Phi sensed that auntie wanted to talk to Uncle Lam and the others, so she pulled Nhuc Nhuc, "Nhuc Nhuc, let's go over there to eat cake. We still have to go to school this afternoon."
"Oh, I know." Nhuc Nhuc nodded his little head.
He liked class. When he was in class, he could play with a group of little friends. It was especially fun, and he especially liked it.
Phi Phi pulled Nhuc Nhuc and left happily.
Nhuc Nhuc was even happier, happier than before, definitely because he saw his mommy return.
Lam Pham took everything in, "This child Phi Phi is much more sensible than I imagined. She usually looks casual, but she's very meticulous."
Co Hang smiled and said: "Little Pham, do you think being the king of children is that easy? In the future, these children will have someone to manage them. I just don't know if Phi Phi can manage."
Phi Phi shared the pressure of raising children with many adults. After school, Phi Phi would transform into a little teacher, taking her younger brothers and sisters to play, and would also teach them what things they could do and what things they couldn't do. She was clearly a little adult.
If one had to point out Phi Phi's shortcomings, it might be that she wasn't too focused on her studies.
Tu Dinh walked up to Lam Pham, bowed her head in gratitude, "Thank you all."
This was gratitude from the bottom of her heart. If it weren't for their care, she really didn't know what would have happened to Nhuc Nhuc.
Lam Pham smiled, "It's nothing. It's just that until now, I still don't know your name."
"My name is Tu Dinh."
"Lam Pham."
"Co Hang."
After a simple self-introduction.
Lam Pham said: "It wasn't us who brought Nhuc Nhuc back, but Officer Hoang. He brought Nhuc Nhuc here. And the companions you just mentioned, I haven't seen them. I think they have also met with misfortune."
He definitely thought so.
Even when the child was brought back by Officer Hoang, the outcome was already predetermined. Officer Hoang would not give up on any ordinary citizen, nor would he let go of any evil person.
This was his understanding of Officer Hoang.
Tu Dinh thought of those companions, understood their thoughts, and also understood that everyone could gather together just to form a group. When encountering danger, it wasn't one person bearing it.
"Where is that Officer Hoang? I want to thank him in person." Tu Dinh had a lot to say, but it was hidden in her heart, and she didn't know how to express it. She really wanted to thank the benefactors before her. Yes, and those mysterious people wearing armor.
"Officer Hoang usually leaves early and returns late. It's okay, you'll be able to see him often in the future," Lam Pham said in a gentle tone.
He was very gentle with living people, but struck hard at zombies. When communicating between people, a harsh tone would often cause unnecessary trouble.
Lam Pham said: "From now on, you can stay here peacefully with Nhuc Nhuc, live a good life, and don't have too much burden. Everyone here is equal and friendly. If you need anything, you can find me, or find Vuong Khai, Han Suong."
Tu Dinh nodded, "Mhm."
At this moment, a voice came.
"Old sister, you're awake! As soon as I heard there was a barefoot woman, I imagined it was you."
Old Chung walked over with an honest smile, followed by Dong Gia and the others.
When Tu Dinh saw Old Chung, she recognized him at a glance, "Big brother, thank you."
Old Chung waved his hand, "No need to thank me, what's there to thank for? When you're out and about, who doesn't have problems? Besides, a living person, I, Old Chung, am not someone who would see death and not save."
Tu Dinh found that they were really good.
That kind of goodness came from the bottom of their hearts, not that kind of false pretense. She saw that the people living here were full of happiness. This was a scene rarely seen in the apocalypse.