When he heard this, Lin Fan couldn't help knitting his brows.
Tu Hong didn't react to this and just calmly looked at Lin Fan with the same determined look.
It was clear that he had already made up his mind that he would be leaving the Tiger Race forever and it didn't seem like anything that he thought Lin Fan might say would change his mind.
But Lin Fan didn't agree with his idea.
That was because he knew…that he was being a coward.
Lin Fan didn't accept this kind of school of thought from Tu Hong, so he wouldn't let him go through with it.
So Lin Fan shook his head and simply said, "No."
Tu Hong couldn't help revealing a shocked look when he heard this before he stammered, "No? What, what do you, you mean by that? You're saying that you won't take care of Xiao Bai?"
Lin Fan shook his head before saying, "That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I don't accept you leaving the White Tiger Race."
Tu Hong couldn't help being even more taken aback when he heard this.
He never would have thought that this was the reason why Lin Fan would deny his request.
At the same time, he couldn't understand why Lin Fan would say something like this.
Since he had been the one that had saved Xiao Bai, he should have also felt some kind of hostility towards the Brown Stripe White Tiger Tribe, if not the entire White Tiger Race. He should have been the only one that would have supported him in this decision since he knew how he felt.
So why had he said no?
Tu Hong was about to say something to try to convince Lin Fan, but Lin Fan spoke first.
"You are a coward."
When Tu Hong said this, his mouth couldn't help dropping in shock as he looked at Lin Fan in disbelief. There wasn't a single trace of understanding in his eyes as he had no idea what Lin Fan was saying.
Coward?
How was he a coward?
Tu Hong just kept looking at Lin Fan with the same complicated and confused look, trying to figure out exactly what Lin Fan meant. But in the end, he wasn't able to understand at all.
So he said, "How am I a coward?"
Lin Fan calmly looked at him and said, "You aren't taking responsibility and instead are running away from it. If you don't call that being a coward, what would you call it?"
"Running from my responsibilities?" Tu Hong repeated in a slow voice before shouting, "Who's running from their responsibilities? I am going to find my wife and repent, if anything, that is taking responsibility for my past mistakes!"
Lin Fan didn't mind his sudden outburst and just calmly looked at him as he said, "Then what about your current responsibilities? What about Xiao Bai?"
The moment that he said this, Tu Hong's expression collapsed.
The rage and anger that he felt because of Lin Fan's words completely disappeared and he calmed down. He looked over at Xiao Bai who had hidden behind Lin Fan after his sudden outburst and he was filled with shame.
That was because he knew…Lin Fan was right.
He was saying that he was taking responsibility, but in truth, he was just trying to run from his responsibilities as a father.
He had failed as a husband and he was afraid of failing as a father, not to mention that there was already someone else who would be able to take his place as Xiao Bai's father. So he wanted to run and avoid taking responsibility for his child, leaving it to someone else to take care of.
So Lin Fan was right to call him a coward because that was what he was.
But he really didn't know what to do when it came to Xiao Bai.
The guilt that he felt towards Yu'er and his other children that had already died, that was not something that could be erased.
So whenever he approached Xiao Bai, he would always be restrained by that guilt.
Whenever he saw Xiao Bai, all he could think of was how he had let down his wife and his other children.
It was that that filled him with fear…
There was an awkward silence that filled the room after they heard this.
All of the elders watched this with complicated looks because they all had been in this situation before. Even if they were elders, that didn't mean that they didn't have families.
They had all been in the same position as Tu Hong at one time.
They had been in his shoes as a new father, so they knew what kind of fear he was facing.
But at the same time, they couldn't help looking down on him for the way that he had been acting.
All of them had overcome their fears in the end and had acted as proper fathers to their children. If any of them had done less than that, they would have looked down on themselves as men.
Even Tu Lei sympathized with Tu Hong at this moment because he had been in his shoes when he was faced with…Tu Hong.
He was a father just like him and he had wanted to do the best for Tu Hong, even if that meant things had turned out a bit wrong.
After that long silence, Tu Hong still said, "I…I can't. I bear too many sins to be a good father."
There were traces of disdain that appeared in the eyes of all the elders that were in this room, but not a single one of them said a thing as they turned to look at Lin Fan. They hadn't been curious about it before, but they were wondering just how mature this young man was now…
He had hit the crux of this matter before any of them and had spoken in a manner that made it clear that he understood the struggles of being a father.
But there was still just how young he was.
They wanted to know just what kind of experience he had before.
Lin Fan looked right at Tu Hong and said, "There's no such thing as being a good father."
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help being taken aback again.
Even the elders who had been parents before couldn't understand where Lin Fan was going with this.
Lin Fan ignored all of this as he continued, "One is a father whether they want to be one or not. It all depends on whether you want to be that father or if you're too scared to be one."
When the elders heard this, they couldn't help giving a nod of approval.
They were confused about what Lin Fan said at first, but then they understood that he was thinking much deeper than just being a good parent.
After all, sometimes one couldn't choose to become a parent and it just happened. At that time, it depended on if one was able to step up or not, it wasn't about if they were good at it or not.
Tu Hong suddenly broke out in laughter when he heard this before saying, "That's right, I'm not man enough to be a father." As his laugh continued, there was a bitter tone that filled that laughter, making it seem like he was laughing at himself.
Lin Fan once again shook his head and said, "It's not about whether you're a man or not, you just haven't given yourself the right to be one."
"Right?" Tu Hong asked in a confused voice.
Lin Fan gave a nod before saying, "You have to remember that a child isn't a toy or a possession, it's an actual living being. So you have to ask yourself if you have the right to love them as another person, because that is what they are." After a pause, Lin Fan added, "And you haven't given yourself that right yet."
Tu Hong's body trembled the moment that he heard this.
The right to love another person…
That was right, at the very crux of it all, that was what being a parent was.
He hadn't given himself that right because he didn't feel like he deserved that right…
But had he ever thought about how Xiao Bai felt?
Tu Hong couldn't help looking down at Xiao Bai who had been peeking out from behind Lin Fan's leg to look at him.
Xiao Bai might be a child, but when they made it this clear with what they had said, he could understand that this person in front of him was his father. While he didn't know anything about this birth father of his, he was still curious about him since he was his father.
When Tu Hong looked at Xiao Bai like this, he realized that he had been nothing but selfish.
This just made him hate himself even more.
He really wanted to smash his head into a wall and end it all when he saw the way that Xiao Bai looked at him, but he took a deep breath before revealing a calm look.
He slowly walked over to where Lin Fan was before bending down.
When Xiao Bai saw this, he couldn't help taking a wary step back at first, but then he took another step forward to cancel that out.
Tu Hong came down until he was at eye level with Xiao Bai before reaching out his hand and saying, "Xiao Bai, I am a terrible father, but can you at least give me the right to love you?"
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