"Ah, these are my two daughters, Petunia and Lily," introduced Mr. Evans.
Lily was very brave and never afraid of strangers. She stepped forward, took Linda's hand, and began to introduce herself to the children. "Hello, my name is Lily, and I'm turning ten this year. From now on, we can play together."
Lily really liked the little girl in front of her. She had long, pale golden hair and sparkling black eyes, round and innocent, like a kitten's eyes—looking both innocent and adorable.
After Lily spoke, Petunia introduced herself as well.
The family chatted at the door for a while, then Mrs. Evans invited them in. This weather wasn't suitable for staying outside for long periods.
Linda made a very good impression on her first English meal. Aunt Flora Evans's cooking was delicious, much better than her mother's. Her mother only knew how to make one dish: fish and chips. Normally, it was Mr. Evans who did the cooking at home. He was thankful that his cooking was at least edible; it managed to get him by so far.
After dinner, the elders of both families went to the living room, drank black tea, and discussed future plans. Lily and Petunia took Linda upstairs to play.
"Linda, are you planning to live in Britain permanently?" Mr. Evans took a sip of his sweetened black tea with a satisfied expression on his face and sighed.
Linda shook her head and sat down opposite him. "No, William, we need to return to the States. Our hometown needs me, and I can't leave easily."
Linda's identity was somewhat special. She was a practitioner of an ancient tradition who had practiced since childhood. She was considered exceptionally talented, having broken through the initial stage of training at a young age.
When a practitioner reached a certain level, they needed to enter the mortal world to gain experience and temper their body and mind. After stepping into the mortal world, she accidentally went to New York and met Cindy, who had just arrived in the States. The two discovered each other's unique qualities, became instant friends, naturally got together, and soon married and had their daughter, Linda.
They thought life would continue peacefully like this, but an unexpected chaos arose. In recent years, control and pressure on their community had gradually increased, and many people had been put under pressure. Linda was afraid that such an environment would harm Linda and Cindy, so she brought her wife and daughter to Britain, hoping they could spend a few years peacefully here and escape this great disaster.
However, her community was still in the States and would not easily give up its responsibilities.
William Evans never doubted the patriotism of the people. He nodded and said, "Yes, I understand your resolve and wish your country well, but..."
"Brother, I'll follow Linda back to the States. This time, we came to ask you to look after Linda for a few years. We'll return to pick her up after our affairs are settled," Cindy suddenly said with determination. She looked at Linda, her eyes filled with love and resolve.
She had known for a long time that her husband wanted to protect her, but she also wanted to be with him and face the hardships together. Linda looked at Cindy, his heart filled with gratitude. He knew that his wife had always supported him, ready to face everything with him. Although deeply guilty, he was also immensely cheerful. It was an indescribable joy to have a partner who loved him so deeply and was willing to accompany him through hardship.
"Ah, no, even though we're eager to take care of Linda, you want to leave a little girl alone in an unfamiliar place. This is truly terrible; Linda will definitely be very upset," Flora exclaimed, feeling that this idea might cause psychological harm to Linda.
"We want to be there for her too, but my 'community' needs me so much right now, and I think I have to go."
The community Linda belonged to had always had few master-apprentice heirs, and due to various upheavals, even fewer survived. He suspected that the events targeting the community were deliberately orchestrated by some forces taking advantage of the chaos, and he needed to go back and investigate thoroughly. This was a critical time for the community's survival, and it could not be hidden. Fortunately, Linda had not yet entered the community and did not need to shoulder this responsibility, so she was able to come to Britain to seek refuge.
Seeing Linda and Cindy's determination, Mr. and Mrs. Evans had no choice but to agree. They promised to take care of Linda as their third daughter and refused to accept any large sum for her care.
After all, how could they compete with the Chinese in terms of "pulling strings"? In the end, they obediently accepted.
Meanwhile, the three girls upstairs, unaware of the discussions, were still happily playing. Lily had a lot of toys, all very trendy. She had the latest Lego sets and a large colorful television. The room also had two separate fantasy book series such as "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Lord of the Rings."
Linda had never seen these before and was immediately enchanted. She opened "The Lord of the Rings," read a few chapters, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Could such a magical world really exist?"
This was her talking to herself, but Lily leaned in, surprised, and whispered, "Of course, there is magic in this world. I'm a wizard, and I have such magic. Do you want to see?"
Linda's eyes widened in shock at these words. Could it be said so casually? Her parents often warned her not to mention her magical powers or make special movements. Would Lily really get in trouble for saying it so openly?
"Lily! You're talking nonsense again. Don't listen to that ridiculous girl." Petunia, who was nearby building with Legos, heard Lily's words and immediately intervened, trying to deny what Lily had said.
"Okay..." At that moment, Lily and Petunia were still on good terms, and Lily listened to Petunia's words. Seeing her vehemently object, she stopped speaking.
Linda was curious about their conversation, but she wasn't overly inquisitive. Seeing that they had dropped the topic, she didn't insist further.
The trio played with other toys for a while and chatted about different subjects.
Dinner was eaten outside that evening. Linda's parents, when they returned, told her the outcome of their afternoon discussions and said they would be returning to the States in a few days. After that, Linda would be left alone with the Evans family.
Linda had anticipated this outcome before leaving the country, but she was still very upset. She was just a ten-year-old girl, and the thought of living alone in a foreign country with a foreign family filled her with fear at first.
She hugged her mother tightly, not wanting to let go, and silently cried for a long time.