Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1262: In cold blood
Dressed in black clothes, Chunhua and her family quietly stood at the backside, attending the Liu family’s eldest son, Liu Jinhai’s funeral. Chunhua stared at the photo frame from a far away - the same lecturer and the man she had a brief date with.
"This is such a tragedy..." Chunhua’s mother whispered. "It was just a few months ago when Chunhua met him and now he is already..."
Her father cleared his throat. "Well, for better or for worse, it’s good that the marriage didn’t go through. Otherwise, she would have already become a widow. Which other man would have looked at our widow daughter in the future then?"
Chunhua clenched her jaw, trying her best to keep her voice as quiet as possible. "Mom. Dad. Do you really think this is the time to be talking about such things? Their son has died and you feel...relieved?"
Not wanting to stay beside them any longer, she silently approached the funeral service. Needless to say, the parents were devastated. Liu Jinhai’s mother looked pale and frail as if she had aged by several years and his father could barely keep standing.
For him and his ambitious ideals, his eldest son was the core of his family and business. His pride. His dream. But like a snap of the thread, that dream had fallen apart. The most important pillar from his life had left him forever.
"This is so heartbreaking," voices murmured beside Chunhua. "Passing away so young..."
"I heard the car crash was horrible and so violent. He died on the spot."
"He was such a bright man. Now who would have the reins of the family?"
"Liu Hai, who else? That’s such a pity. I heard how he mingles around with the underworld people. All bad apples and bad influence."
"He is such a rebellious kid. Always getting into trouble and fighting with his family. And now all the business will be upon his shoulders. I see the Liu family falling to its doom pretty soon."
One woman darted her eyes left and right and whispered. "Do you think he could have anything to do with his brother’s death?"
They gasped. "Sshh! You will get into trouble if anyone hears that!"
"But it makes so much sense. The most capable elder son died and now all wealth and business will naturally fall into Liu Hai’s hands. How convenient is it?"
"D-Do you really think he could go as far as killing his brother in cold blood?"
"Wealth is very tempting, you know," she snorted.
"Excuse me."
The huddled women looked taken aback by Chunhua’s sudden interference.
"I think that if you are here to attend the funeral, then...you should refrain from saying mean and hurtful things. The family is already grieving. Your words and insinuations would only bring more pain."
"W-What? Who are you? We were just talking alright.." they all got defensive and quickly dispersed before any attention would fall onto them. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
Chunhua pursed her lips and turned around, her eyes searching for Hai. He stood right beside his parents, silently listening to and acknowledging people’s condolences. Two steps away from him was Liling, standing with her head lowered, her hands clasping against one another. Standing even farther away from the crowd, she saw Guiren, a somber countenance across his face.
The funeral soon came to an end and the guests began to leave one by one. Her parents were also stubborn to exit, but she chose to stay behind. Chunhua sat beside Liling on the bench, placing her hand on top of hers.
"...I’m truly sorry for your loss."
Liling only offered a weak smile. They remained in silence for a long time.
"That day, you had come to visit with your...brother, didn’t you? You didn’t come alone."
"...No."
And then she had witnessed her brother scolding and humiliating Guiren, the love of her life, right in front of her eyes. Chunhua couldn’t imagine how she would have felt at that moment.
"You came together, but you didn’t leave together?" Chunhua then bit her tongue, panicked. "I’m really sorry...! I-I wasn’t meaning anything bad by it. I’m really glad that you weren’t in that car..." her eyes ached.
"No, please. You don’t have to apologize. It was just a stroke of good luck, it seems that I wasn’t accompanying Bro..." her gaze drifted to the other side.
"Chunhua," Liling held her hand, pressing upon it with trembling fingers. "Pl-Please be with Bro Hai i-in this time...He-he is..."
"You don’t have to tell me that," she shook her head. "How could I leave Hai alone at this time?"
"You..." tears rolled down her reddened cheeks, "O-only you can pull him back, Chunhua...I beg you. Please don’t leave his side."
—
Chunhua peeked inside the funeral service hall and found Liu Hai standing in the distance before his brother’s photo. Walking down the center path, she stood beside him quietly. She took a good look at Liu Jinhai’s picture, the small table filled with white flowers around it. Then her gaze turned towards Hai, whose expression didn’t hold any particular light within it. He was simply staring at the picture as if he alone was in a different space altogether.
Her lips parted, but she lacked the words to comfort him. No matter what she would say, it was a significant loss to overcome. Looking down, she slowly slipped her hand in his, interlocking their fingers.
"...It’s a hard time but," her lashes quivered, "I’m here with you."
Hai looked down and smiled. "I heard some interesting rumors."
Chunhua wondered if he was referring to the gossip floating around his brother’s death.
"Don’t pay any attention to them. Some people just like to gossip..." she quickly said, squeezing her palm against his.
Hai dropped a peck on her forehead. "My Goddess is cute."
She looked up, peering into his black eyes.
Was his mischievous side a way to cope with the new reality now? A hint of mistiness laced her eyes.
Silence hung in the air for a while, and she eventually said, "I didn’t...know you had a brother too. So-Sorry..."
"Hm? Why are you apologizing?" He tilted his head. "You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you. Why should I waste time talking about unimportant people who don’t matter?"
