The housekeeper took the tea away and left the room. The room then became quiet. Yuchi Jin gazed at the texture of the table cloth and let out a heavy sigh. When his great-grandson was still here a few days ago, the room was always lively and filled with the sounds of their laughter. Now that he was gone, the room felt cold and empty again. Just like how it was in the past as he spent countless days alone.
Oh, Yuchi Jin. You’re getting so old. You used to spend your days alone like this. Things are just going back to the way they were. What’s so hard about it? Indeed, it was hard for him to get used to the bitter cold again after the warmth he felt.
Yuchi Jin sighed continuously. The two housekeepers standing by the door looked at each other but were too scared to say anything. They were afraid of getting in trouble if Old Master Yuchi heard them and got mad. In moments like these, any person who was able to read a room knew better than to make Yuchi Jin mad.
Yuchi Jin did not know how long he sat for but his waist started to grow uncomfortable. “When you’re old, you really do become useless.” He sighed.
Just when he was about to get up, he suddenly heard a child’s voice. “Great-Grandfather!”
Yuchi Jin froze. He thought he was hallucinating. How else did he hear that cute little fellow’s voice? T-This is definitely a hallucination!
As he got up all the way, he heard the sound of footsteps running toward him from behind.
Thud, thud, thud.
Thud, thud, thud.
The footsteps closed in and stopped right behind him. Then, a child’s voice called out, “Great-Grandfather, I’m back!”
Yuchi Jin was in disbelief and froze for a few seconds before he pulled himself back together. He saw Little Bean standing right in front of him. He did not dare believe his eyes. He is supposed to be on the plane heading back home with his daddy and mommy. Why is he here now?
The both of them looked at each other for a few seconds. Then, Yuchi Jin just walked past Little Bean and went out. “Yu Bo, Yu Bo!” I’ve started hallucinating. I have to get Yu Bo to find me a doctor.
Little Bean thought Yuchi Jin would be pleased to see him but he was just disregarded. He tilted his small head from side to side. Is Great-Grandfather angry that I came back?
Little Bean hurriedly went after Yuchi Jin. “Great-Grandfather. Are you angry with me? I wanted to stay and accompany you.”
Thump.
The little fellow bumped his head against Yuchi Jin’s leg as the latter came to a halt. Yu Bo appeared at that moment and smiled. “Old Master.”
“W-What happened?” Yuchi Jin noticed his voice was shaking. “Did they board the plane?”
“Yes.” Yu Bo nodded. “They’ve boarded the plane.”
Yuchi Jin let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good.” But his eyes dimmed at the same time. Turns out it was a hallucination. I saw Little Bean come back even though Yu Bo already sent them off. When Little Bean bumped into his leg earlier, he assumed it was a hallucination.
“Old Master,” Yu Bo called but was slightly hesitant. “Young Lady Ye informed me that Little Bean will stay here with you so I just brought him back. I hope you won’t blame me for making that decision on my own.”
Yuchi Jin’s eyes widened. He almost did not want to believe it. He mumbled, “What did you say? So everything that happened just now wasn’t my hallucination?” Little Bean was back? He didn’t board the plane?
Yu Bo thought it was strange that Yuchi Jin did not acknowledge Little Bean earlier but now that he knew the reason, he could not hold back his laughter. “Old Master, how is this a hallucination? Little Bean is standing right behind you.”
At this moment, Little Bean’s sorrowful voice came from behind. “Do you not like me anymore, Great-Grandfather?”
Yuchi Jin was speechless. How is that possible? How could I dislike my precious and sweet great-grandson? That will never happen in a lifetime! He immediately turned around and bent down to hug him while he explained anxiously, “Don’t misunderstand, Little Bean. How can I dislike you? I just thought you boarded the plane already and did not expect to see you come back!”
Little Bean still looked sad. “But you didn’t look happy at all when you saw me earlier.”
“I’m happy! I’m the happiest person right now. But why didn’t you board the plane? I thought you were going to go back with your daddy and mommy? Why are you…”
Little Bean grinned and showed a perfect row of teeth. “Mommy told me that Great-Grandfather is lonely here so she let me stay back to keep you company! She and Daddy are going to think of a solution and then come back for us as well!”
There she goes again. Yuchi Jin felt distressed. He did not think that his granddaughter-in-law would be so understanding of his pain. But the more she did these things for him, the more he thought of the things he did to her in the past and felt ashamed.
“Did your Daddy and Mommy talk about this?”
Little Bean nodded his head firmly then reached forward to pinch Yuchi Jin’s face. “Will you go back with us when the time comes, Great-Grandfather?”
Go back with them? Yuchi Jin was slightly ecstatic. It was his lifelong wish to be able to go home with his children and be with everyone again in a lively atmosphere. But if I just leave like this, what will happen to the Yuchi Group? What will I do then? I wanted to give everything to Ye Moxuan but I don’t know if he’ll want it… Should I give it to Song An? But Song An would probably roll her eyes at me. ‘Just give it to anyone you want. Do you think I care about your rotten company?’ At the thought of that, his head started to hurt. This is giving me such a headache!
“Let’s talk about this later. Since you’re here to stay, I’ll take you out to play today. How’s that?”
Little Bean titled his head then nodded. “Okay!”
…
After a flight that was over ten hours long, Han Muzi did not feel so good anymore. It might have been because she was pregnant. When she got off the plane, her face was pale. She did not have a bite to eat on the plane either. Even though Ye Moxuan took good care of her, she still felt unwell.
Once they got off the plane and she sat on a reclining chair in the lounge, she started to feel the tension leave her body.
“Are you okay, Muzi? Do you feel a little better?”
Yan squatted down in front of her and handed her a cup of warm water. “Here, have some water.”
