*Present*
"You broke the promise just like I had expected you to," Jinhai balled his fingers into his palm.
His eyelashes trembled, thinking back to the time when Jun had come to visit him to tell him the truth about his rebirth.
"But I showed mercy to that unborn child. I broke my own underworld law and let a family go, trusting Zhan Kai-Ming's promise and giving her a chance to live her life anew. But what you did only reinforced my beliefs. Thank you for proving to me that I should have killed you and Zhan Kai-Ming back then. My mercy…only brought ruin to my son's life."
"Dad, it's not your fault!" Jun hurriedly bent on his knees and held his trembling palm in his. Tears brimmed in her eyes, feeling the shiver in his voice. "What the hell, Dad? You are crazy! Are you seriously blaming yourself?"
It was harder to speak for Jinhai as an overwhelming feeling of guilt erupted like a dormant volcano in his heart.
"I know what you want to say and I am already saying that it's bullshit. I know you are not the sort of a person to bend to give any chances, but you did which only makes me happier. You showed kindness to them and I am proud of you for that."
"That kindness…turned out to be a big mistake," he quietly said.
Jun gritted his teeth. Jinhai was his father but for the first time, he felt like scolding him like a little child.
Xing Bi gasped. "That's not true at all, Uncle!"
The twins spread their arms as if they had already tasted this defeat. "That's what we have been trying to say to him ever since we got to know about Zhan Yahui's involvement, that he is not at fault, but he is being a stubborn mule."
Chyou frowned. "Being stubborn is not nice."
Xing Bi flared her nostrils from the other side. "Uncle, you should learn from your son, Nian. He doesn't accept his mistake even when he is at fault, especially all those times he fooled me, used my precious Ai and stalked me like crazy."
Nian - "..."
"And here, you didn't make any mistake in the first place, so you should definitely take inspiration from Nian's traits."
Nian clutched his chest. "Xing Bi, I-I am definitely not crying, okay? I am fine. I am totally fine."
"Hmph."
Jin took out his phone amidst the two cats jumping on his head and shoulders, treating him like a trampoline, "Should I call Mom? She always smacks sense into Dad."
Jinhai gave him a cold look. "Don't bother my wife."
"So you want to bother yourself instead?" Ai slightly bent and narrowed her eyes. "Dad, look at me."
Jinhai pursed his lips but didn't raise his head. Jun was in utter disbelief to see his father act like that. "Are you seriously my Dad or has somebody taken over you?"
"Dad," Ai called him a bit more sternly this time, "will you look at me or should I call Mom?"
He immediately met her gaze, making her feel satisfied. But that only made Jin seething in anger.
The hell!? He didn't even flinch when I used the Mom card but to Ai, he does? What is this bias!?
"Good," Ai nodded. "Now repeat after me. I made no mistake."
Jun and the twins' brow twitched hard.
Ai is really treating Dad like a child…The great Liu Jinhai…
Jinhai couldn't say it no matter how hard he tried. "I cannot fool myself into thinking that, Ai."
"You are not fooling yourself because this is the truth. Showing mercy to a mother and her unborn child wasn't a mistake. Despite the fact that Jun was hurt, you let them go. You had no obligation to show any sympathy or grant them a new chance, yet you did and that was your kindness you should be proud of. Your conscience is clear."
"That kindness only ended your lives and I should say…quite literally," Jinhai lamented.
Ai shook her head. "No. It wasn't your kindness but Zhan Kai-Ming's selfishness. It was her responsibility to tell the truth to Zhan Yahui. If Zhan Yahui had known that Ouyang Haitao wanted to sell her, do you think she would have had any feelings left towards him as a daughter?"
Jinhai blinked. "Of course she told her the truth. I was standing at a distance when she told Zhan Yahui everything in her ward where she was admitted."
Xuan Hui nodded. "Yes, Miss. Zhou. Boss wanted to see for himself how Zhan Yahui would react to the news and if she would continue to pose a danger for young master Jun. Initially, she did cause a fuss and scene but after Zhan Kai-Ming's continuous hugging and reassurance, she had calmed down and accepted that Ouyang Haitao was at fault. We heard Zhan Kai-Ming telling everything and saw Zhan Yahui accepting the truth too."
Ai asked, "Then why does Zhan Yahui still want revenge? Why does she still think that Ouyang Haitao was a good man?" Why did you have to reiterate the past to her when she should have already known that from her mother?"
Neither Jinhai nor Xuan Hui could quite answer her. Jinhai stared at Ai in a stupor but was actually thinking back to the time in the hospital.
A moment later, his expression hardened as something dawned upon him. He slowly turned to face Zhan Yahui, who was shivering after the bombardment of the truth. "What did Zhan Kai-Ming say to you when she was hugging you?"
Zhan Yahui stared back at him.
"She hugged you when you were crying and acting out of control, which was the only time she could have whispered something to you that I wouldn't have been able to listen to."
She said nothing.
Her silence only made Jinhai sure of his conjecture. "You were making a fuss but then slowly, you stopped crying. Is it because Zhan Kai-Ming whispered something to the effect like, 'Please pretend to accept it or Liu Jinhai will kill us.'"
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