Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1224: Decision point

Shui stepped out, peeking across the small corridor that led to the stairs at the other side. She let out a silent breath and then immediately berated herself for it.

"How many times should I remind myself? Just act normal. Normal! I-It was only just a small peck after all..." she didn’t know why she held her cheek.

She walked further but didn’t hear the morning chatter and chaos she had expected. At this time, the two brothers would already start for the prep in the kitchen, but the cafe felt awfully silent.

"Have they stepped out?"

"Who?"

She turned, surprised. "Ah. Ruyi," she breathed out. "Y-you just came out of nowhere..."

"Ah, sorry," she scratched her chin.

"Did you see Lin? It feels too silent."

Ruyi pressed her lips, her expression turning somber.

"What’s wrong?" Shui blinked. She gave it a thought and asked, "Between Cai and you, did something unfavorable..."

"No, no, Miss. Han," she quickly clarified. "Nothing happened like that. But...Cai was..."

She pursed her lips. "Mr. and Mrs. Hou, right? I knew it. He looked cheery on the outside, but he wasn’t looking so good."

The hesitation in her eyes suggested to Shui that something else was up too, which felt more serious than suddenly meeting their parents.

"I am not...liking the look in your eyes. What’s wrong?"

Ruyi said, "...You should stay by Bro Lin’s side today. He would need you today. Cai will tell him the truth today..."

"What truth?"

—

Shui rushed to the main dining area but only found Cai seated at the table.

"Where is Lin?" She looked all around but didn’t find him anywhere.

Cai remained silent, but his eyes were far from quiet as his tears made the most aching noise.

"He went out...He hates me now..."

"What? No. Lin would never hate you."

His vision blurred further. "I hid it from him. I had no right to do that..." he trembled, "But I shortened the time he could have spent with Mom. I decided for him what he should feel. It was selfish of me. Now...Now...he would never talk to me..." his head dropped as he broke down.

Shui took the other chair, raising his head up to make him look at her.

"Do you think he left because he was mad at you?"

Tears spilled from his eyes onto his cheeks. "He is surely di-disappointed in me..."

"Maybe. But that’s just your assumption. We should give him some time to process the news," her gaze turned solemn as she thought about Hou Luli.

"He is...juggling with his own emotions right now. But one thing I know for sure is that he would never hate you. You have stayed together for all these years and supported each other as brothers. He understands what you would have been thinking when you hesitated all this time. I have a big brother like that too, so I know. Big brothers are amazing and very forgiving."

Her words, though kind, did little to soothe his apprehensions.

"Do you know where Lin went?"

"No..." he sniffled. "He simply got up and left without a word. But I think he might have gone to meet Mom and Dad."

—

It had been well over fifteen years now since Lin had stepped foot into those familiar streets of his home he lived for eighteen years of his life. A lot had changed. A lot hadn’t.

One of the sights that hadn’t changed was his home. The walls and the exterior still looked exactly like the time he had left after high school. He felt as if time hadn’t put any dent in this place at all.

He breathed in and breathed out, taking a small step ahead. But he stopped when he saw Hou Fa and Hou Luli enter the lane on the other side of the road, taking a turn from the previous corner. He quickly hid in an alley and poked his head out just enough to watch them. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Hou Fa was holding Hou Luli’s hand, helping her walk. He walked painfully slow as he matched his wife’s pace. They stopped in the middle when Hou Luli felt tired.

Lin watched them from afar. If it was twenty years ago, then there was no force on the earth who could stop Hou Luli from rushing from one place to the other. She was always on the move, whether at home or at work. But now, walking just a few steps made her feel out of breath. Yet she had chased after him in the park yesterday despite her frail condition. Her hair had turned unnaturally grey and her arms looked too fragile to carry any strength.

Hou Fa waited for her to catch her breath and they resumed walking. They returned home and closed the door behind them. But Lin remained standing, staring at the closed door. He came out of his hiding place but didn’t move an inch after that.

Should he or should he not ring the bell?

He remembered Hou Luli’s face. Her eyes. Her expression as she had desperately caught onto his arm. There was a strange warmth in her gaze, which he had forgotten how her eyes looked like. In his memories, they were always stressed and troubled, especially because of him.

Lin couldn’t decide. He kept swinging between that yes and no decision point. He clenched his fist as he took one step forward when his phone buzzed.

"Yes, Mr. Zhong?"

He heard a painful bout of coughing noises from the other side. "Lin! I need your help...! Come to my house quickly!"

He blinked. "What happened?"

"I am dying!" He coughed hard, his breaths sounding shallow. "I am really dying..!"

That brought no change in Lin’s expression.

"Dying like the time you were in the hospital and eating pizza?"

"This is real, you dumbass...! *Cough cough* A-as my future son, how could you just ignore me...!"

Lin closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. "I am coming."