Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1232: Nostalgia

The lunch went reasonably quieter with Hou Luli primarily driving the entire conversation.

"Do you like the food, Lin?" She asked hesitantly.

"What’s there not to like?" Hou Fa pointed out, narrowing his eyes at Lin.

"I am asking Lin!" She glared. "Don’t force your opinions on him."

Lin slurped on the noodles, the familiar warm taste tingling his taste buds. He paused to let the feeling sink in. He thought he would have forgotten how her food tasted, but he hadn’t. A sudden gloom gripped him that she didn’t have the time to make such meals like before.

"It tastes the same as before... It’s good."

Shui saw his left hand trembling. Though it was supposed to be a happy lunch time, with Hou Luli’s condition, everything...seemed to feel like a ticking clock coming close to its end.

She tried to brighten up the mood. "It’s yum! Mrs. Hou is a great cook!"

"Aish, you don’t have to be so formal dear. You can call us Uncle and Aunt. Right, Fa?"

The chopsticks with the noodles were half inside his mouth. "I can speak now?"

"What’s with that tone? I never said you had to zip your lips forever," she frowned.

"You just said not to force my opinions."

"That was different and this is different, and you know that!"

"You always talk in circles," he grimaced and said, glancing a thoughtful gaze at Shui.

"Of course, you can address us that way. It feels more familiar, though...you should probably ask Lin if he is okay with it."

The focus shifted at him, who was peacefully enjoying the nostalgia.

"I am okay. Why wouldn’t I?"

It seemed like Hou Fa was about to express another controversial opinion so one glare from Hou Luli was enough to make him take back his words.

"...Nothing."

She just keeps changing her mind about me speaking or not...he grumbled.

"Thank you...Uncle, Aunt," Shui felt awkward at first.

"Good, good. This feels much better," Hou Luli’s expression blossomed.

When the lunch was done, Hou Fa and Lin helped with washing the dishes. The time passed in silence while Shui and Hou Luli chatted outside.

"Will you be leaving now?"

Since the lunch was over, he couldn’t think of a reason why Lin would want to stay back.

Lin glanced at his side. "I don’t know."

He didn’t respond for a few minutes. Then asked, "If you have some time, you can...go on a walk with Luli. Only if you want to though."

Lin’s pace slowed down. It was the first time he was listening to his mellow voice.

"Hm."

It was faint but he heard an audible sigh of relief as if a great burden was lifted from his shoulders.

Lin contemplated for a while and said, "I will keep dropping by to meet Mom. You can call me for her hospital visits too. I will take her."

He stiffened, but he kept quiet.

"...Is there really no hope?"

A heavy silence settled with the question.

Hou Fa slowly whispered, "She wouldn’t have returned otherwise."

"Returned?"

"From Tianjin. She was living there."

Lin’s brows crinkled, puzzled. "You had moved?"

He remained silent. He regretted answering his question in a way that brought forth this further line of questioning.

"We were living separately after you two left."

He turned towards him, staring at him unblinkingly.

"She returned one day months ago saying..."

Hou Fa trembled, clenching his jaw. "I wanted to make it right to her. I wanted to mend our differences. I had thought about...calling her many times. It was too late by then."

Lin shook a little. He had assumed that his parents were spending their life as usual.

"I insisted Luli stay here with me."

The silence drew on for a long time. None uttered a word next. In a daze, Lin continued thinking about them.

Living separately...? They were living all alone this whole time?

He knew their marriage wasn’t going so well, but he thought that leaving would help repair their relationship at least to some extent.

After finishing with the kitchen work, Lin proposed taking her for a walk, to which she happily agreed.

"I will stay back with Uncle," Shui grinned.

"No, no. We all go for a walk. Let’s enjoy some fresh air together!" Hou Luli clapped her hands once.

Seeing her determined, there wasn’t a choice left to stay back so everyone left for the park. Shui consciously drew some distance between Lin and Hou Luli and her and Hou Fa. She wanted her to be able to talk to him without feeling embarrassed.

"What do you..."

Shui glanced beside her, watching Hou Fa walk without any particular expression betraying his feelings. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"What do you like about Lin?"

Shui smiled. She slowed down her pace a little, clasping her hands behind her back.

"He is very cute."

"Huh?" Hou Fa threw a dumbfounded look, not expecting that kind of a response.

"And earnest, honest, resolute, caring and there are a lot more adjectives I can associate with him. It’s fun to see his awkward side at times. He doesn’t lose his temper and can look at things calmly and logically. It feels like when I am with him, I don’t need to worry about anything because he will figure it out somehow. Oh and of course, he is strong and will punch you if you try to hurt his loved ones."

His eyes widened. "Pu...Punch?"

"Yup. There was an ex-boyfriend harassing a woman in his cafe once," she cleared her throat, "She is a close friend of Cai’s."

"Close friend?" He blinked.

"Yup. Lin had twisted his arm so badly haha. He went viral on the internet. Then he also beat up that man in a bar because he had been stalking her. Lin is a super awesome fighter!"

The more he listened, the more her words served to stupefy Hou Fa.

Is this the same son we are talking about? When was he the kind of boy to get into fights?

Shui smiled, watching Lin’s back. "He said prison was a hard time but it also shaped him into the person he is now."

"...I see. You love him a lot, don’t you?"