Chapter 02: Rebirth

“JinCheng? JinCheng!”

Li JinCheng was awakened from his nightmare, and when he woke up, he saw Wei ChunFang who was calling him. He was a little unable to recover for a long time.

Wei ChunFang had taken care of him since he was a child, but before that, Li JinCheng had not seen her for more than four years.

After thinking about this, he got up and looked around again.

The room was his own room from his home in Hong Kong. Looking at the familiar furniture and layout, Li JinCheng stroked his neck unconsciously.

There was neither pain nor tenderness there, but how could it be? Wasn’t he already dead?

“JinCheng, it’s time to go downstairs to eat, and...” Wei ChunFang looked at him hesitantly and said, “Your father seems to have something to say to you.”

“Sister Fang, what year this year?”

“It’s 2011, what’s the matter?”

Li JinCheng looked something wrong today, his expression was in a daze, and there was a cold breath out of his whole body, ‘Did he already know about that?’

Wei ChunFang watched Li JinCheng grow up since he was a child. After thinking about it this way, she couldn’t help feeling a little distressed. She was about to sit on the bedside and comfort him a few words, but Li JinCheng looked up at this moment and said, “I see, Sister Fang, I’ll go down right away.”

Everything around was all too real, so he was reborn?

Li JinCheng watched his clenched and released hands and sat on the bed for a long time before he got up and went downstairs.

It should be summer at this time. Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room, the brilliant sun fell on the dark blue water of Tai Shue Wan (Tai Shue Wan bay) opposite, the water and the sky blended in one color, and the crystal water sparkling under the sun.

His father, Li YaoZu was sitting at the dining table for dinner, and when he saw Li JinCheng coming downstairs, he raised his chin and beckoned him to come over for dinner.

Li YaoZu was still the same as in his memories; well maintained, and in good shape at a glance. From the outline of his facial features and face, he must be a handsome man when he was young.

Thinking of what Liao ChangYuan said to him before he died, Li JinCheng couldn’t help but clenched his hands.

At that time, Liao ChangYuan accused him of having no eyes to see right or wrong and not knowing people, but in fact, Li JinCheng’s biological mother had passed away when he was just two years old.

He only knew that his mother was suffering from severe depression. Soon after she was admitted to the hospital, she jumped out of the window of the ward. But at that time, his father told him that his mother was cut off from her family and she also suffered from postpartum depression, that was why she chose to end her life in that way.

What could a two-year-old kid know? In addition, his father kept repeating such words in his ear since then, which made him believe it was true.

He was really so stupid that it was beyond redemption, and now that he thought about it carefully, he discovered that there were indeed many fishy things, especially the look in the eyes of other people, which seemed sympathetic yet ridiculing.

Like what Liao ChangYuan said, many people in the upper circle on Hong Kong Island were well aware of the troubles in their family. Unfortunately, he was open-minded and optimistic by nature. If he couldn’t figure it out, he would simply throw them aside and ignore them!

Looking at Li YaoZu who was eating not far away, Li JinCheng really wanted to rush to him and question him, asking him how he treated his mother at that time.

Over the years, even if he didn’t say anything, when he faced his so-called family members, he could still feel the obvious estrangement.

In order to work hard to integrate into them, he had always been very good to these people, and even his monthly salary, excluding necessary expenses, was spent on these people.

At that time, when they found that he wanted to please them humbly, would they have laughed at his stupidity and naivety in their hearts?

“JinCheng, why are you in a daze? Still not came here to eat?”

Li YaoZu had always been a bit harsh to him. Li JinCheng used to think that it was because he was the eldest son in the family. But, now that he thought about it, perhaps, it was simply because he had no feeling for him.

After letting go of his clenched fist, Li JinCheng sat down opposite Li YaoZu without saying a word.

“Come to my study after dinner, I have something to say to you.”

Li JinCheng remained silent, Li YaoZu was accustomed to it, and gradually, only the slight clinking sound of the bowls and chopsticks remained on the table.

“Brother! You woke up! What are you eating?”

As he was talking, Li JiaJun,who had just finished swimming in the backyard pool and came downstairs after he had already taken a bath, put his arm on Li JinCheng’s shoulder. When he saw a peeled shrimp in Li JinCheng’s bowl, he picked the shrimp and threw it into his mouth.

In the past, Li JiaJun was the one who Li JinCheng thought the best to him in his family. Although Li JiaJun was only two years younger than him, he treated Li JiaJun as a treasure in the palm of his hand!* under the teachings of Li YaoZu and Song WanRu.

*(T/N: Someone who was loved and protected at best)

He took him to and picked him up from school, played with him, and helped him take a bath.

In the past, Li JiaJun was domineering and self-willed. Later, he did not treat Li JinCheng a little better until he started high school and his rebellious period was completely over.

It was a pity that he was only good on the surface. Li JinCheng couldn’t help showing a self-deprecating smile when he remembered that he had been relieved by Li JiaJun’s changes.

Normally, the relationship between the two was pretty good. Seeing Li JinCheng ignore him, Li JiaJun cried out in confusion: “Brother?”

Li JinCheng followed Li JiaJun’s voice and turned to look at him. Then, he was frightened back by the scene in front of him.

Li JiaJun in front of him was shrouded in a layer of black mist, and his facial features became abstract and distorted due to the black energy moving around him like a living thing.

This kind of feeling was a bit like watching a ghost movie, but because it was close at hand, the horror effect was also multiplied.

Li JinCheng squeezed the chopsticks in his hand and tried to suppress his scream. After a while, Li JiaJun’s face emerged from the mist.

Compared with Li JinCheng’s gentle and delicate appearance, Li JiaJun looked more sunny and heroic. This was also what Li YaoZu was most proud of in the past, saying that Li JiaJun’s appearance followed him.

Thinking of what Liao ChangYuan had said to him before his death, Li JinCheng finally recovered.

The black mist still didn’t disappear, but floating around Li JiaJun. Li JinCheng didn’t know whether it was a problem with his eyes or a psychological effect. After sitting upright, he only replied, “I’m fine.”

His attitude made Li YaoZu feel some dissatisfaction, but thinking that they have to ask for help from him, he had no choice but to turned and kindly looked at Li JiaJun, he said: “JiaJun, come here to eat, or the food would get cold,”

The family dinner time always had everyone’s fixed seat, being Li YaoZu in the center, Song WanRu was on the right, and Li JiaJun was next to her, Li JinCheng was in a seat exactly facing Li JiaJun, forming a group of their own and a clear, not mixing and opposite situation with him.

The two father and son were talking intimately at the dinner table, and not long after, Song WanRu, who was out shopping, also returned.

Song WanRu and Li YaoZu were the same age, but she looked much younger than her actual age.

In the early years, she was in charge of the financial department of the plastic factory they owned. In recent years, she became aware of herself getting older. In addition, she hoped that Li JiaJun could be independent sooner, so she became the upper-class woman at home with peace of mind.

When Song WanRu finished her bath and came out, the servant had put her separate lunch on the table.

Song WanRu was the most meticulous person Li JinCheng has ever met. She strictly controlled her diet. Since childhood, Li JinCheng had never seen her bare-faced.

Looking at the exquisite and low-calorie western-style food, and when Li JinCheng looked up, he realized that Song WanRu’s body was also covered with a cloud of black mist, but the color was not as dark as Li JiaJun’s.

Li JinCheng did not understand the situation in the past, but when he saw the three people who were talking and laughing constantly, he quickly lost his appetite.

“JinCheng, wait a minute, I.......”

“I have something to do.”

Li YaoZu was interrupted by Li JinCheng before he hadn’t finished speaking. He was stunned, and then he frowned and said, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m not feeling well, I want to go to the hospital and have a check.”

“Humph, look at his big temper!”

Li YaoZu looked at Li JinCheng’s back with dissatisfaction.

After undergoing a series of examinations in the hospital, the doctor told Li JinCheng that there was no problem with his eyes. Li JinCheng nodded and went to a special psychological clinic nearby.

The result of the psychological evaluation would take two days to know. When Li JinCheng walked out of the building, it was getting late. He didn’t want to go back to the home that was so disgusting that he wanted to vomit. He ate outside and sat in that restaurant for a few more hours before he drove home.

It was late at night when he arrived home. As he expected, Li YaoZu was still sitting on the sofa in the living room waiting for him.

“JinCheng, come here, Dad has something to say to you.”

Li JinCheng sat down beside Li YaoZu without saying a word. Li YaoZu gave a dry cough and said, “Are you busy with work these days?”

Li JinCheng did not like doing business, plus he had long noticed that Li YaoZu and Song WanRu had set their mind on letting Li JiaJun inherit the family business. So, after Li JinCheng graduated from the university, he chose to work as a Chinese teacher in a famous private primary school in Hong Kong island.

Knowing that Li YaoZu was just trying to make conversation, Li JinCheng just shook his head.

“Then....... do you have a boyfriend?”

Li JinCheng had come out with them calmly in his second year of high school. Thinking of Li YaoZu’s expression of hating iron for not becoming steel* and Song WanRu’s uncontrollable excitement that time, he still shook his head expressionlessly.

*(T/N: 恨铁不成钢 (lit. to hate iron for not becoming steel) - to  feel resentful towards sb for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement (idiom) <from Pleco>)

“It’s like this...... Do you know the RongSheng Group? The Executive Chairman He ZongTong and the President He ZhenXuan, the two have a grandparent and grandson relationship. Like you, He ZhenXuan also likes men.......” After a pause, Li YaoZu said: “If you’re okay, I want to introduce you two to know each other......”

At this point, Li JinCheng finally raised his head and glanced at him.

His eyes were sharp, as if he could see through all Li YaoZu’s thoughts. Li YaoZu was helpless and sighed before he said: “Actually, He ZongTong thinks you are pretty good..... You also know what kind of power and wealth their family has on Hong Kong, He ZongTong. He ZongTong was worried that He ZhenXuan would be deceived, so he came up with such a method, similar to a blind date......It just so happens that you don’t have a boyfriend......Why don’t you meet him first?”

As if to increase the credibility of his words, he continued: “Don’t worry, He ZongTong and I have already made it very clear that if you think each other is right, he will not object to your marriage. Also, he had taken your birthday horoscope to have a check. The fortune teller said that you two are very suitable for marriage......”

He talked about it for a long time, and when Li YaoZu recovered, he realized that Li JinCheng hadn’t said a word since entering the door. Li YaoZu thought himself that he had performed very well, but at this moment, he couldn’t help being a little angry and heavily put down the teacup in his hand. He said: “Li JinCheng, do you know the most basic etiquette? I have said so much to you, now, shouldn’t you tell me what your thoughts are about this?”

Li JinCheng looked as usual, just leaning on the sofa and looking towards him.

There was a calm expression in the eyes of Li JinCheng. The two looked at each other for a few seconds. Li YaoZu admitted his defeat first. Thinking of Li JinCheng’s character that was always amenable to coaxing but not coercion, he had to soften his tone and said, “There are some things I haven’t told you yet. It’s because I’m afraid that you’ll worry about me....... JinCheng, the family’s business is in trouble. If this continues, I’m afraid it will go bankrupt within a few months. He ZongTong told me that if you agree to marry He ZhenXuan, he will consider about injecting capital into our plastic factory.......”

Li JinCheng sneered in his heart, thinking that Li YaoZu finally revealed his true purpose.