Free Web NovelThere was Hai and before him stood the twins, occasionally exchanging sneaky glances. The entire ordeal with Jin had strangely left Hai in a somber mood - that was what they could sense. The usual chirpiness in his eyes had gotten lost somewhere.
"So you locked up Jin?"
"...Jun is there with him now," Jian said very slowly.
"That's because he insists."
Nian cleared his throat. "We weren't gonna keep him locked up forever. Mom is sick but he was being mean to her! He still wanted her to cook for him. How can Mom cook if she is sick?"
Jian nodded. "Jin cannot be too selfish."
There was no response from him. Eventually, he sat down and exhaled softly.
For the twins, this was a new side of their grandfather. They weren't really used to witnessing his serious expression because he had never made one. But now that he did, they had no clue how to tackle this version of Liu Hai.
"Grandpa…" Jian's palms clasped together. "Did we do something wrong?"
Hai watched their expressions unfold from their usual cheekiness to genuine stress and worry.
"No, you did nothing wrong. Jin indeed acted a little selfish. Nana is sick, after all. We shouldn't trouble her. You two are good sons."
They nodded.
"But…"
They swallowed a gulp.
"A dark room is scary for a child. A dark room is very scary for a…hungry child."
His faintly trembling fingers pressed upon their shoulders gently as he pulled them towards him. He smiled.
"I know you two meant well for Nana. It's really good. But I think a dark room should be kept for very, very bad people. Because a dark room is very, very scary. If you want to punish Jin, you can keep him kneeling for the entire day. Or make him face a wall. Or take his favorite toy away. Jin is still small. Of course, we need to teach him boundaries, but…"
Not in a way that could scar him was he left unsaid.
When tears pooled in the twins' eyes, Hai was left completely speechless.
"W-What? Why are you two crying!"
Nian sniffled. "We made Grandpa sad?"
Making a happy-go-lucky grandfather genuinely distraught was a big, big deal for them.
"No, you didn't!" He stuffed them against his chest and ruffled their heads hard. "Idiots, I am not sad. I just felt a little bad for Jin, that's all. Being hungry is a real pain in the ass haha!"
The twins wiped their tearful faces.
"You two look sooo ugly."
They glared. "Shut up, Grandpa!"
Then Jian pursed his lips. "We will not do this again, Grandpa."
Nian flared his nostrils. "We will think of better punishments next time!"
Hai burst out into laughter. "Better punishments. Hoho, that sounds so dubious."
Patting their heads, he looked into their eyes with a smile. "Jian. Nian. Be good brothers."
They blinked twice and flailed their arms up. "We will be good brothers!"
He walked to the room next where Jin was and where he had seen Jun enter sneakily. Nudging the door by just a tiny slit, Hai saw something dim illuminating the dark room from somewhere. Then he noticed the toy electric torch Jun had kept switched on.
The faint illumination could barely light the room, yet the two brothers inside couldn't be any happier. Jin, though his eyes and cheeks moist with tears, was happily gobbling down the spaghetti Jun cooked for him. His eyes shone like two black pearls.
"Is it good?" Jun asked, a little nervous.
"Itsh yummy brooo!! Itsh suppeer yummy!"
Jun wiped the sauce off the side of his lips. "Good, good. Eat slowly now. There is no hurry."
Hai watched the two with an unreadable gaze.
Now that I think about it…even some dim light would have been enough… fгeewebnovёl.com
Yes, it would have been enough…
His lips ever so faintly curved.
It doesn't matter anymore though. My past was in the dark a long time ago, but…
He lifted his gaze and watched Jun and Jin again. He closed his eyes once.
Not the future.
As he opened them again, he felt a soft jerk to his knee.
"Grandpa!"
Hai stirred. From the long past, from the days that spanned decades ago, he eyes now looked at the present - at his great-grandson.
"Ailun."
"Grandpa I-"
From the corner of his eyes, Ailun noticed his cousin, Taio, stumble and fall. He zapped to his side with lightning speed and helped him stand back on his feet. He wiped some dust off his clothes.
"Are you okay?"
Taio beamed. "Yes!"
"Good, good. Be careful."
He sent him back and returned to Hai's side. "Grandpa, I made a drawing!"
He happily showed his drawing book and Hai took a look. The entire Liu family was drawn, smiling, playing and fooling around.
"Hoho, it's cute!"
"Thank you! I will show it to everyone now!"
"Ailun," he stopped him.
He turned and blinked.
Hai smiled. "You are a good brother. Always be a good brother."
Ailun blinked again and nodded hard. "I will always be a good brother!!"
He hopped away like any other child eager to show his drawing. Hai's gaze then drifted over to his family.
"That's my piece of the cake, stupid Uncle!" Jin cursed Jing.
"It's the one who grabs the plate first!" He glared back.
"Don't bring nonsense logic!"
"So Jun-cute, how about we take a picture?" Zhou Yichen grinned.
Jun grimaced and pulled Zhou Nuying to his side. "Mom, please tell Dad that I am not Jun-cute."
"But it's been your nick-name for years now," she pouted.
Ai nodded. "Jun-cute is Jun-cute."
"..."
The twins laughed, pointing their fingers at him. "There is no place to escape muahahaha!"
"Come on, Liu Jun, be a good sport about it," Yating smiled, raising a brow.
Jun's gaze darkened.
He tried to find some support in Lin, but the latter was quietly testing his new coffee concoction.
Zixin placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, the women gang somewhere was completely absorbed in numerology, something which Alix came to learn recently.
Shui asked, "So, so what does my number chart say? Does it show a good date for my wedding?"
Leina, Xing Bi and Guiying were also in the queue.
Guiying nervously asked, "What about my next book?"
Alix took a look at the queue. "I should start charging you people."
Leina grinned cheekily. "It's free for in-house~"
Hai watched the laughter spread. Heard the joy echoing against the villa's walls.
Three generations of his family laughing, smiling, cheerful, happy.
On Hai's side were Jinhai and Nana. By now, the entire tissue box had gotten emptied out, thanks to Nana's overflowing tears. As a dutiful husband, Jinhai ordered more tissue boxes, though he did worry about his wife's dehydration.
Chunhua sat on his other side. Hai looked at her and smiled. "Did your dream come true?"
Just like Hai, her gaze, too, drifted across her family. Loud, chaotic and warm - just like she wanted.
"I wanted a big family. If possible, I wanted to live till we see our great-grandchildren. Everyone happy and warm in the big living room. In the home that I would have built with my own hands…"
Warm tears gushed forth as she trembled lightly, but she quickly wiped them away. "So yes, Hai. My dream came true. I am living my very dream..."
She turned to look at her husband and smiled. "Hai."
"Yes, my lovely wife."
She placed her hand on top of his. "Does the world look red to you?"
Hai peered into his misty eyes. His eyes drifted towards his family next - a family that wasn't surrounded by red anymore. Not even the finest hint of crimson hovered around his vision. All he could see and listen and feel was joy. Lots and lots of joy. Lots and lots of laughter. On his lap jumped Jun-kun and Ai-chan, wagging their furry tails and perching as if his lap was their royal throne. They stayed close to each other, softly purring.
Hai ruffled their heads once, chuckling - then bent down to peck his wife's forehead, his lips lighting up with the brightest grin Chunhua had ever witnessed.
"No, it's not red anymore. The world looks colorful to me, Chunhua. The color of happiness."
