She nodded, then changed the subject.
"Mom's calling to ask you something."
"What is it? Go ahead."
Steve was puzzled.
Nicole's tone turned even stranger.
"This afternoon, people from the government suddenly showed up. They said that, for special reasons, they want to move our whole family to the capital, and they even gave us a big resettlement fee. They also said it has something to do with you."
At this point, Nicole couldn't help raising her voice.
"Steve, be honest with mom—have you gotten into some kind of trouble? Or am I being scammed?"
Nicole was truly bewildered.
Her son had clearly said he was quietly attending university in Washington—how had he suddenly ended up working for the government?
Now, government officials had even come to their door, offering to relocate them to the capital and claiming it was related to her son.
No matter how she thought about it, it felt unreal.
Hearing the confusion and worry in his mother's voice, Steve felt a warm surge in his heart.
He immediately understood: this must be President Kennedy's arrangement.
Bringing his family to the capital and placing them inside the tightest core protection circle was the most direct and effective way to keep him safe.
"Mm, Mom, don't worry, it's not a scam."
Steve slowed his tone, trying to sound calm and reassuring.
"It really is related to me. My status is a bit special now; I'm doing something important for the country."
"So moving you, Dad, and sis to the capital is also for your safety."
He paused, adding apologetically,
"From now on, I probably won't have much time to return to Washington."
The other end of the line fell into long silence.
After a long while, Nicole asked in a trembling, incredulous voice,
"Really?"
"Mm, really."
Steve confirmed with a smile.
"So, Mom, are you willing to come to the capital? I can also arrange Stefanie schooling—absolutely the best schools in the capital."
The question clearly caught Nicole off guard.
Go to the capital? Leave this small city they had lived in for decades?
She didn't know how to answer and instinctively said,
"I'll ask your dad and the others."
With that, she covered the receiver and shouted to the middle-aged man lying on the sofa watching the news,
"Stephen, Stephen, come here. Steve says those government people this afternoon were for real—he's working for the country now and needs to keep us safe."
On the sofa, Steve's father, Stephen, bolted upright, his leisurely expression replaced by shock.
He strode to his wife, eyes full of doubt and inquiry.
"Really? So are we going or not?"
Stephen hesitated.
Moving to the capital meant giving up everything here—familiar surroundings, longtime neighbors.
But glancing at his wife's worried face and thinking of their son serving the country on the other end of the phone, after a moment his gaze firmed and he said in a deep voice.
"We'll go—of course we'll go. Since Steve is working for the country, as parents we absolutely can't hold him back or distract him with worry."
He paused, a proud smile appearing on his face.
"Besides, once we're in the capital we'll see him often. I want to see exactly what earth-shattering thing my son is up to, to merit such importance that the state sends people to escort us."
Stephen took the phone from his wife and said in a booming voice.
"Hey, you little brat, not bad!"
On the other end, Steve couldn't help laughing at his father's familiar tone.
"Mm, Dad, so you've decided to come?"
"Come—why wouldn't we?"
Excitement filled Stephen's voice.
"The capital—your old man's always wanted to own a villa there. This time I get to benefit from your success."
The more he spoke, the more enthusiastic he became, as if he could already see his son's brilliant future.
"I knew you'd be extraordinary—always different from other kids, so smart, never cried or fussed, learned everything fast."
Steve listened to his father's praise, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
A reincarnated soul like himself crying like an ordinary infant would have been the real oddity.
As for studying, with an adult's mind tackling grade-school knowledge it was pure dimensional suppression—especially since he had learned it all before. Before university he had always been the prodigy in others' eyes.
The reason he became ordinary only after university was that in his last life he had been run over by a truck right after the college-entrance exam, before even setting foot on campus.
Just then, a crisp, melodious teenage voice, tinged with excitement, cut in from the other end,
"Bro, bro, are we really going to the capital?"
It was his younger sister, Stefanie, a sixteen-year-old in the bloom of youth, pretty and sweet-looking, now eagerly pressing her face to the phone.
"Mm, really."
Steve had always doted on his sister and answered with a smile.
"The state even prepared a detached villa for me. When you arrive, you'll stay there; it's quiet, with no neighbors around."
"A villa?"
"No neighbors nearby?"
Though young, Stefanie was exceptionally quick.
She latched onto those two key points at once.
In the capital, where every inch of land is worth gold, living in a villa was already beyond an ordinary family's imagination.
Let alone having no neighbors around.
Combine that with the government's earlier visit about protection, and she instantly realized that whatever her big brother was doing must be extraordinary.
"Bro."
Stefanie's tone suddenly became excited.
"Does that mean I never have to work hard again?"
"Scram—you still have to go to school."
Yet he silently added in his heart,
"Honestly, there's really no need to strive; not just your lifetime, but the next few dozen generations of Stevensons have already been secured by me."
"Heh-heh, bro, you're the best!"
Stefanie exclaimed in heartfelt admiration.
Just as the family was about to chat more, Fred Jones in the driver's seat suddenly spoke softly through the car's intercom,
"Director, we've arrived."
"Mm, got it."
Steve glanced out the window; the familiar silhouette of villa was already in sight.