Free Web NovelChapter 190: WHERE IS THE BOY?
It was an older uncle from the western branch who first voiced what others had been circling around, and he spoke with the kind of ease that came from believing his complaint was entirely reasonable within the setting they were in.
"We have been seated for quite some time now, and yet the meal has not even begun because we are still waiting for him to arrive, which is something I genuinely do not understand given that everyone else has managed to be punctual."
The words landed without hesitation, and several people around the table immediately reacted as though he had only said what they themselves had already been thinking but had not yet chosen to voice aloud.
A woman across from him gave a small, dismissive laugh before setting her chopsticks down with controlled irritation, as though the delay itself was becoming personally insulting to her sense of order.
"It is not even the lateness that bothers me anymore, because lateness implies that there is at least some awareness of obligation, whereas this feels more like a complete disregard for the fact that other people exist at all."
Her tone drew agreement from a few others seated nearby, and the atmosphere around the table began to loosen into open criticism rather than restrained complaint.
Deyong remained silent at his place, but the angle of his posture had subtly changed, and anyone paying attention would have noticed that he was no longer sitting with the same ease as before.
An uncle closer to the head of the table leaned forward slightly, his gaze shifting toward Deyong with something halfway between curiosity and challenge, as though testing how far he could push without consequence.
"You are his father, so perhaps you can explain to us whether this is normal behaviour for him, or whether we are all expected to simply adjust ourselves around it whenever it happens."
The question was framed politely, but the implication beneath it was not, and it caused a faint ripple of attention to move in Deyong’s direction as the table quietly waited for his response.
Deyong kept his voice controlled when he finally answered, and it came out evenly despite the tension that had begun to gather beneath it.
"He is on his way, and that is all that needs to be said at the moment, so I would appreciate it if we did not turn a delay into something more than it actually is."
His response did not settle the room, and in fact it seemed to encourage further commentary rather than silence it, because the expectation had not been satisfied in the way people had wanted.
A younger relative let out a short laugh that carried across the table before he spoke without bothering to soften his tone.
"I find it interesting that we are all being asked to be patient for someone who does not seem to extend the same courtesy to anyone else in this room, including the patriarch who specifically called for this gathering."
That remark drew a few low murmurs of agreement, and the discomfort on Deyong’s side of the table deepened slightly as he realized the conversation was no longer about timekeeping but about respect.
Zhou Meilin sat rigidly beside him, her expression carefully controlled, but the tension in her posture made it clear that she was absorbing every word without the ability or willingness to respond.
Another voice joined in, slower and more deliberate, as though choosing each word with care but no less intention behind it.
"There is also something unusual about the way he has always been treated within this family, because it often feels as though expectations are lowered in his case for reasons that are never properly explained out loud."
A few heads turned at that, and the speaker continued without interruption, emboldened by the attention.
"I am only saying that in most families, someone in his position would be reminded very early what their place is supposed to be, so that misunderstandings like this do not continue into adulthood."
A faint shift moved through the table at that point, not disagreement but a kind of collective approval that came from shared sentiment rather than explicit agreement.
Deyong’s fingers tightened slightly against the armrest, and for a brief moment it became clear that the conversation was no longer something he could easily redirect or soften through restraint alone.
Then, from further down the table, someone finally said what the others had been circling without fully committing to.
"It is always the same pattern, because no matter how much is given, there are always people who behave as though it was never enough in the first place."
A pause followed that statement, heavier than the previous laughter, because it carried a more pointed implication that did not require further explanation.
Another voice followed immediately, quieter but sharper.
"At some point, it stops being misunderstanding and starts becoming character."
The atmosphere shifted slightly after that, because the tone had moved from complaint into judgment, and judgment carried a different kind of weight within a room full of family members who believed they were speaking objectively.
Deyong looked down at his glass but did not drink, and for the first time that evening his silence was not composed but restrained.
Shen Zihao remained seated at the table without reaction, though his presence had begun to register more clearly in the room as the conversation edged closer to subjects that reflected indirectly on everyone connected to the situation.
The older man at the far end of the table finally spoke again, and his voice carried the kind of finality that made the surrounding noise fade slightly in anticipation.
"It is not even about lateness anymore, because lateness is something that can be corrected, but what we are observing tonight is a pattern of disregard that has been allowed to develop without consequence."
He leaned back slightly as he spoke, his expression calm, almost reflective, as though he were discussing something abstract rather than a person who was expected to arrive at any moment.
"And when behaviour like that is allowed to continue unchecked, it eventually becomes normal for the person involved, even when it should not be."
