Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1215: Not so memorable gondola ride

Shui stared at the note, speechless. Lin, meanwhile, closed it with the quiet composure of a man who had already suffered enough today.

"...He bribed a staff member?" Her brow twitched incessantly.

Lin let out a slow breath. "It appears so."

"That man is unstoppable," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. Then she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "You..."

"No."

"...No, what?"

"I know the question you wanted to ask. I answered no to that."

"I-I knew that of course..."

She tried to play it cool, but her ears betrayed her by turning red.

They walked toward the boat ride station where the sunlight reflected off the water and soft ripples moved calmly. Shui stepped into the small wooden gondola first, taking her seat. Lin followed.

As soon as the boat left the dock, Shui relaxed, exhaling. The air was cooler here, soft and still, carrying the faint scent of water and nearby blooming flowers.

"This feels nice," she murmured.

Lin nodded. He enjoyed the sound of ripples and the birds chirping in the sky. He bent slightly, dipping his hand into the cool water and felt relief wash over him.

But then, a distant voice echoed across the lake, disturbing their peace and quiet.

"SLOW POKES!"

Both of them froze. On a bridge far behind them, Zhong Sihan waved his bubble tea cup like a signal flag.

"..."

Shui dropped her face into her hands. "I thought we lost him!"

"He is keeping tabs on us," he said plainly.

"Ugh. He has too much free time on his hands."

"I am sorry. This wasn’t the kind of date I had in my mind."

She shook her head. "It’s not your fault. Also, I don’t mind it. He is making it memorable."

"Not in a good way."

She coughed.

The boat drifted further, eventually turning a corner where trees hung low and the branches almost softly grazed past them. Shui felt the tension ebb away. She leaned her elbows on her knees, watching the reflection of lights dance on the water.

"We should treasure this moment - before he finds a megaphone next," she rolled her eyes.

Lin almost smiled.

Then something shifted in the quiet air. His gaze fixed ahead, not on the water or on her but somewhere to the left on the shore.

"Lin?" Shui followed his gaze.

A couple stood there on the nearby walkway. A man and a woman in their late fifties were walking down a narrow, clunky path at an elevated level from the lake. Shui looked back at Lin.

His expression had changed.

"Lin...?" she repeated, barely above a whisper. "Do you know them?"

Lin’s fingers curled slowly, his knuckles turning white. As if sensing his gaze, the couple turned to look at them too with the woman letting out an audible gasp the very next moment. Her hand flew to her mouth, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, but Lin had swiftly turned his head away.

The gondola kept moving past them as Shui saw the woman running to catch up to them.

"Lin!"

Still puzzled, she focused back on Lin, whose mood was swiftly taking the downward turn. He wasn’t panicking or anxious, but their presence had rattled him to some extent.

"...I didn’t expect to see them here."

"See who?"

"Mom and Dad."

Her eyes stretched wide. "W-What?"

She looked back at the couple and then back at him. "They are your parents?"

"The ones who gave birth to Cai and me. That’s all. We have been living estranged for years now."

They had already reached the end of their ride, circling back to the entrance. They hadn’t expected for Zhong Sihan to be still present, but he was there anyway, seated on a bench under a tree’s pleasant shadow along with Nuo.

"Hey you guys!"

He wasn’t interested in the get-together and came straight to the heart of the matter. "Did you kiss her while we weren’t looking? Is it official now?"

Shui cleared her throat with pressure, signalling him to keep quiet. "No, we didn’t. Also, why are you still here?"

He sneered. "You thought you lost us, huh?"

He then noticed Lin’s slightly discomforted countenance and frowned. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing. We will take our leave, and you better not follow us this time."

"Hold on," He stopped them in their way, narrowing his eyes. "I know that look. You are upset about something. What..Did you two already fight on your first date?"

"No, we didn’t. Everything is fine-"

"Lin!"

He stiffened.

The couple returned in a huff, catching up to them. "Lin, wait!"

The woman faintly grabbed Lin’s arm as she tried to catch her breath. "It’s you...It’s you, right Lin?"

He looked down at her hand without any drift in his expression. He then lifted his gaze, peering into those familiar eyes that were turning misty with every passing second. A strange emotion stirred his heart which he had always kept at bay. He looked at the man, who wasn’t meeting gaze as if still holding bitterness in his heart.

Lin slowly lifted her hand and parted it from his arm, to which she froze.

Zhong Sihan alternated his gaze. "Who are you? Why does this feel like some nauseating teary reunion?"

There was a long silence and nobody said anything. Nobody could say anything with how the past had gone through.

Shui tensely looked at her sister-in-law and Nuo signaled with her gaze.

What’s going on?

"...They are Lin’s...parents," Shui said slowly and quietly.

Nuo’s reaction was similar to Shui’s, while Zhong Sihan wasn’t much impressed.

"Wait, you are that Hou Fa and Hou Luli my future son left from? Huh. Fancy seeing you here."

Hou Luli was watching her son’s face, whom she had seen after a long, long time. She would have been lost in that daze had Zhong Sihan’s words not stirred her.

She and Hou Fa looked at him. "Sorry, what?"

"I am older than you but your hearing is worse than mine. What part of what I just said did you not understand? Oh, was it the term ’future son’?" He smiled. "Then you heard it right. You can end this teary reunion now because Lin has no need for you two. Very soon, I am going to be his father, hah!"