Chapter 1009: Why Now?
Zhai Yanjun couldn't laugh anymore. His laughter was all gone and he turned serious. At first, he could take it very casually because even if there was another child of his father, he had nothing to do with it. At most, they'd see each other for their father's inheritance but Zhai Yanjun had never had any interest in his father's property so it didn't really matter to him.
But now, the situation took a drastic turn.
He couldn't avoid this situation because he seemed to know this half-brother. How did he know him? Why didn't he know?
But then he looked at his father and narrowed his eyes, feeling a little ease at heart knowing that even his own father didn't know. Why would he know?
However, now, he was really curious about who that person was.
"Who is it?" asked Zhai Yanjun.
Zhai Kuijun's lips parted but nothing came out. Nothing at all. It was as if the words were stuck in his throat and he just couldn't spit them out no matter how hard he tried. It was like an impossible task. But he was already at this point, how could he hide it from Zhai Yanjun?
He really didn't want to hide it from his son.
He was just worried about Yue Yue and Hyson. He didn't want Zhai Yanjun to hate the two of them. He believed in his son but it was difficult to grasp a human heart.
"Dad, why is it so difficult to say?" asked Zhai Yanjun in confusion. "Do you think I'll hurt him?"
"You can't hurt him," said Zhai Kuijun honestly,
"Are you saying I am weak?"
"No, your backing is weaker than his," was Zhai Kuijun's response. After all, Hyson had the whole Xiang family behind him. He had seen what he meant to that family. Even Elder Xiang called Hyson his little prince which was enough to indicate his status in that family.
He even had the backing of Mu Chenyan who doted on him with no scruples. And with that, he even recalled how Hyson always called Mu Chenyan his father and it left a very bad taste in his mouth. It was truly unacceptable the more he thought about it but he really couldn't do anything about Mu Chenyan either. He was no match for her.
"Are you looking down on your son?" asked Zhai Yanjun.
"Son, your half-brother's name is Yue Fai also known as Hyson."
Zhai Yanjun's eyes widened as if he was struck by lightning. He was frozen in his seat as he kept staring at his father for a long while. Zhai Kuijun also observed him as if waiting for something to happen but strangely, there was no severe reaction from Zhai Yanjun. At most, he looked shocked out of his mind but apart from that, there was nothing else.
Zhai Kuijun waited and waited and waited some more but there was still no reaction from Zhai Yanjun.
"Yanjun! Yanjun! YANJUN!"
"Huh?" Zhai Yanjun looked at his father. "What is it? What happened? I think I was hallucinating just now and heard you say that Fai is my brother."
Seeing him laughing so awkwardly, Zhai Kuijun felt like his eyes stung from this sight.
Noticing how Zhai Kuijun didn't react to his words, Zhai Yanjun fell silent. He silently contemplated for a while before he faced his father, "You're telling me that Yue Fai is actually my half-brother. As if Ayi gave birth to your son?"
Zhai Kuijun lowered his head but nodded.
"How is that possible?" asked Zhai Yanjun.
"I don't know either," replied Zhai Kuijun. "I have yet to learn about what really happened because I have no such memory."
"Then how do you know?"
"Your grandfather told me," answered Zhai Kuijun.
Zhai Yanjun's eyes widened again, "Grandfather Yue actually told you this? Why? How did that happen? I thought he always took mom's side. If he threw out Ayi to keep this secret, why spill it in front of you now? Does it even make sense?"
"Maybe because he is feeling guilty," replied Zhai Kuijun. "Seeing that Yue Yue lost her voice had struck him. His health had been going down since he learned about that. So, for the last time, he felt like he needed to do something for Yue Yue."
"But if Ayi wanted this truth to come out, she wouldn't have waited for so long," said Zhai Yanjun.
His reaction baffled Zhai Kuijun for a moment. He could feel any resentment or reluctance from Zhai Yanjun. None at all.
He seemed too calm and rational that Zhai Kuijun was momentarily at a loss.
"Yanjun, aren't you mad?"
"About what?"
"About the fact that Yue Fai is your half-brother?"
"Why would I be mad about that?" asked Zhai Yanjun in confusion.
"I thought you'd have some resentment towards Yue Yue. You'd think that she ruined the relationship between your parents and took your chance for having a complete family."
Zhai Yanjun gave his father an odd look, "Dad, you think too much. In all honesty, your and mom's relationship had never anything to do with Ayi. You both had your differences from the beginning. With or without Ayi, you both won't be able to keep this relationship. In fact, in my opinion, as long Ayi was around mom's focus was on her and you both had the illusion of having happy married life. But once she was out of the picture, your differences surfaced and took you both like storm. Don't always assume that I have no thoughts of my own. I'd never blame Ayi for whatever happened between you and mom. She is the only person in my life who offered me warmth unconditionally. I'd be a beast if I turned against her now."
Zhai Kuijun didn't know what to say for a moment but he was glad to see that his son thought so. It actually reduced half of his worries.
"Ayi has always mind her own business. She did her best to make sure she doesn't become the reason for destroying your relationship. Even if someone comes to tell me that she planned this all. I won't believe it. She can never do this. In fact, it's possible that she fell into someone else's scheme instead along with you."
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