Chapter 72—His Story (3)
29 years ago, Country X
Xu Long Wei ran to the back garden of their house and stayed there the whole afternoon. Butler Yang tried to talk him back to the mansion for lunch, but he rejected the offer; instead, he played in the lake, where he found his cousin sitting at the bank of the river.
"What are you doing here, Draco?" He looks around and bends down to pick up a smooth and flat-looking rock. He tossed it to the water; it slid multiple times and made a ripple as it cut through the surface. The splashing noise coming from the river caught the young boy's attention.
"I am hiding from my father. He is angry again, and I don't want to stay in the house." Draco said and stood from his spot. He tried to mimic Xu Long Wei's action but couldn't successfully glide his stone on top of the water.
"What is wrong with the first uncle?" Xu Long Wei asks.
"Daddy is angry a lot lately. I don't know, but Mommy and Daddy fight a lot. I am scared to stay there." His small voice quivers at the memory of his parents' fight. Draco composed himself after a while and continued to choose the next rock to throw.
"What about you? What are you doing here? He can't help but ask. Compared to his family, Xu Long Wei's parents love each other. He never sees them argue, and they appear to be a united couple, not like his parents. The vast difference is noticeable even for him. It made him jealous every time his cousin told him about his father and mother. Staring at the ground to hide his emotion, he fisted his small hand. How he wishes he was born from them as well.
"My dad is living again today. Apparently, there is something he needs to settle in Country S. I don't like it since he just came home today. I miss him a lot." Xu Long Wei pouted as he explained what happened.
Draco just listens quietly. He is too small to comprehend his cousin's situation since he has the opposite situation at home. So, he stops himself from giving any comment.
The two boys stayed and played more in the river until sunset. Xu Long Wei returns to the mansion after calming down. When he arrives, his father has already left, so his lousy mood worsens until dinner.
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It was time for sleeping when Xu Long Wei got startled by his mother's high-pitched cry coming from the study. Frantic that something has happened to her, he runs and opens the door roughly.
What he found imprinted in his young mind would haunt him even when he got older. His mother is kneeling on the floor, looking distraught while she clasps the telephone to her chest as he swings her body back and forth. It is apparent that she was in complete shock and is unaware of her surroundings. The sorrow and pain in her eyes made his heart tighten. Xu Long Wei approaches his mother slowly, not wanting to surprise her.
"Mom?" He softly called out.
Young Madam Xu raised her red and puffy eyes to her son and cried out in pain again. "Long Wei, your father." The woman tried hard to utter the word, but she couldn't speak the unthinkable.
After a few minutes, she tried again. "My love, your father. He is gone."
BOOM!
Xu Long Wei's body froze from shock. He stayed in his spot for a long time while her mother's cry echoed in the room. As if the world crumbles underneath him, he kneels and cries his father's name for a long time until he loses his voice.
"This is not real; he was just here. This is not real." He keeps repeating. He moves to his mother and hugs her. She's so fragile and lost. "Mom, this is not real; Dad is not dead!" Xu Long Wei shouted.
The staff who heard the tragedy couldn't help but cry as well. They never expected their master's early passing. In order to give the mother and son some privacy, they move out of the study and return to their room to weep for their loss privately.
On that night, all the occupants of the house mourn after the passing of their beloved master. Mother and son's lives altered significantly. Xu Long Wei's faith changes drastically. For how much, please check the next chapter…