Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1217: Blind and biased

"People like whom?"

Alix slurped on her ice-cream softie. "Lin's parents."

His eyes widened. "Hou Lin's parents? Why are you suddenly talking about them?"

"They are here - which I find to be very strange and 'undigesting', if that's even a word. Those two oldies always did two jobs without fail in their lives - fight and work like they were on steroids. Lin and Cai had gotten lost somewhere between these two modes of operation. I am surprised they found their way to spend time in a place like an amusement park."

"...Did they happen to meet Hou Lin?"

"Yup."

"I see. Did it feel like a reunion?"

She smiled. "More like the perfect opportunity to bash on the orphaned bad influence who sent him to prison."

His gaze darkened. "Did they talk trash about you? Where are they? I need to have a word with them."

"And say what? Can you deny that he was in prison because of me?"

"Yes, he colluded with you, but it's not all on you. It was Hou Lin's choice to help you. He could have walked away but he didn't, so it was as much of his decision."

"You are not supposed to say things in my favor when I was the trigger for wasting his precious six years in jail."

"...I am just saying you shouldn't be taking all the brunt…" he mumbled. "And what's done is done. Hou Lin is living a good life now and for the world…Zhan Yahui is dead. They should leave you alone. Not like they were some flawless parents themselves that they get to point fingers at you."

"Love makes one really blind, doesn't it?"

"I am not blind."

"And biased too."

He held her hand in his, drawing circles on the back. "You are my lovely and beautiful wife. I am supposed to be biased towards you."

"Cheesy."

He looked up. "Are you feeling sad?"

"Only thinking that he could have done so much more in those six years."

He stayed silent. "I know we cannot get the six years back but those six years also made him tough as hell. He is a good man, but I feel much more comfortable knowing that Shui is with the present version of Hou Lin."

"Did you just call my best friend weak?"

"His past self. Your best friend confessed to my best friend so of course, not only should his heart be kind but his body should be just as strong."

"Why do you feel like a father giving away his daughter's hand?"

"After all the shit I put Shui through, the least I can do is be the guardian angel who will only accept a man for her who is strong, loving and kind. Emphasis on strong and loving."

"Aren't you cute?"

He frowned. Then his expression turned into displeasure. "I think you are spending too much time with sister-in-law."

She kissed his cheek. "Is it bad?"

His face lit up with joy with the peck. "...Not really." He kissed her forehead and said, "You are not allowed to feel bad, got it?"

"I guess I am fine. I never really cared what they thought about me. I just hope that this is the end of it and they never meet again."

—

As Shui took bites of her sandwich, she followed Lin's pacing, who was going back and forth in the cafe cleaning it. It was evident to her how he was using it as a means of distraction.

Shui pursed her lips and stepped off the stool. She walked with quiet steps as she approached him and waited beside him. She looked at him dusting the same patch of the floor even though it was sparkling clean.

She reached out and placed her hand over his. He stopped and turned towards her, surprised.

"Youe cafe is already sparkling and shining, Lin."

"Oh."

A tinge of embarrassment greeted him, but he didn't let go of the groom.

"It's alright. It doesn't hurt to clean it once more."

"It doesn't, but something else is also hurting in you, doesn't it?"

"...No."

Shui took away the broom from him and pushed his shoulders a bit to make him sit on a chair. She took a seat on an adjacent chair and gently held his hands, squeezing it.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He slightly bit his lower lip. "No. There is nothing to talk about. It was just a coincidence."

"Yet you are affected by it."

"No. I had already left their house long ago."

"They are your parents, Lin. It's okay to think about them or feel something after meeting them. Close relationships like family…don't get so easily cut off even if we want to."

An uncomfortable silence remained.

"If you are bothered by your father's words, then don't be. I know he said some unpleasant things, but then I started to feel like he didn't know any other way to talk to you. Probably, he didn't want to say those harsh things himself, but he was just as shocked to see you again like you were. He probably fumbled."

His brows crinkled.

"I know it's not enough of a defense nor am I defending him. I just…don't want you to take his words to heart. He has not seen what you and Cai have built for yourself. The only way you will live your life is with your head held high and mighty with pride," her nostrils softly flared.

Lin stared at the genuine light in her eyes.

"...Do you really feel that?"

"Of course."

He pressed his lips further. "Even with my prison past?"

"I thought we have already moved past that."

"I have…or at least I am trying to. But the world would always see it through the lens like Dad did today. To have a partner who has served prison time would affect your reputation too. A part of me knew this when I confessed, but-"

"But no! There are no buts!" She glared. "If you had held back thinking this, then I would have really rejected you. I know the kind of a man you are, the world doesn't. Do you think Han Shui is so weak to falter with some few ignorant words!"