Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1238: Only a memory now

The funeral was held on a sunny morning,

where the sky was fluffed up with white clouds that hung low, pressing with a dull weight that mirrored the mood of those gathered.

Lin stood near a tree, hands clasped loosely in front of him, dressed in black that felt too formal and too distant all at once. The scent of incense lingered in the air, mingling with the faint smell of white chrysanthemums in the cemetery.

The Hou family didn't have that many relatives, so the whole funeral affair was quite private with very few visitors. As the eldest son, it was Lin's responsibility to carry out the last rites. But he remained still where he was, unable to take a single step forward. He could only watch Hou Fa near the burial place, weeping like the man he never knew. He had never seen Hou Fa vulnerable, yet here he was, unable to hold back his tears.

Shui stood beside Lin and nothing needed to be said. Lin was supposed to leave to perform the last rites, but she knew he couldn't, as if he was instinctively trying to escape from the closure.

He closed his eyes once and opened them again. Shui's little warmth slipped into his palm that gave him the much needed courage. He gripped her hand for one long moment and then withdrew, slowly walking towards where Hou Fa was.

The last rites were performed in a grim silence. Prayers were spoken and rituals followed. The cemetery was filled with the soft murmur of voices and the shuffle of footsteps. A light overcast was now beginning to form in the sky.

Lin stood before the casket, watching his mother's face for the last time. There were no words forming in his mind, no apologies, no confessions, no unresolved questions demanding answers. He was quietly accompanied by Cai's presence, who stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother, both watching the lid dropping on the casket in silence.

"She was happy…that you came…" Hou Fa spoke, much to their surprise.

"I could see it in her eyes. She was…happy to see her two sons together one la…" his voice choked, "last time. I-I think…she was holding it together for this day. In a way then…"

Hou Fa stared at the casket with vacant eyes. "I guess Cai took his time to meet her," he whispered almost inaudibly. "At least she li-lived for this long…She didn't suffer much in the end."

Hou Fa's quiet sobs hummed in the air. Lin took half a step forward as if his hand would almost reach out to touch his shoulder. But he withdrew and remained where he was. He kept contemplating about it when he noticed a car outside the cemetery's gates. The window wasn't pulled down, but even if afar, Lin could tell who was inside.

His line of sight was breached when Jun stood in front of him, flowers in his hand.

"Sir, you…"

Jun's gaze was just as grim as Lin. "I am sorry for your loss, Lin."

His lips parted and closed and didn't know what to say.

"You thought I wouldn't come?"

"You didn't have to."

"Of course I did," he frowned, "Just because you don't work at Sky anymore doesn't mean I don't care about you. Also, I am not Sir anymore. Remember that I am actually younger than you," he smiled.

Lin took the flowers, his hands slightly shaking. "Thank you…"

Jin had also accompanied his brother, who quietly paid his respects. But Alix wasn't in the front, instead she stood and waited near a tree afar, observing them from a distance. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He took a step forward when Jin said, "She won't come. I tried to convince her, but…she wants to stay at a distance."

"..Okay."

When the funeral was over and the guests slowly began to leave, only Hou Fa had remained, as if he was frozen in time, staring at the place where the casket was buried.

Lin nudged Cai and urged him to take him back home.

"But I…"

"Please? You don't have to talk to him if he talks to you. Just get him in bed to rest."

He pursed his lips and slowly nodded.

It took much convincing, but Hou Fa finally stood up, barely able to walk. Wrinkles sagged his face and his eyes looked as hollow as the void. There was no strength to his feet as he walked and it was all on Cai's support that he could.

After his departure, Lin thought he would leave too. But he stayed where he was. He stared at Hou Luli's name engraved on the stone. He didn't know what took over him, but he softly knelt at the place where Hou Fa had been a few minutes ago.

Suddenly, the cemetery's silence hit him all at once. The wind pricked his face as if it stabbed him. It was too painful to even breathe when…somebody else too, knelt beside him. Lin didn't utter a single word for a long time and when he did, his cheeks ached to no end.

"When the nurse had come running with the news…I didn't know what to think," his misty lashes blinked as they quivered. "I thought she would live to see another day, then another…But…I didn't know she would.."

His breath caught in his throat.

"I-I mean I did know, but I also thought…"

"I understand what you are trying to say, Lin," Shui quietly said, "You don't have to try giving a form to your feelings. No matter the resentment, they are your parents. It's bound to bring a vacuum in your life even if there were misgivings."

"Did I…" his hands on his knees trembled. "Was I a good son in the end? Was I…able to make her happy?"

"You were always a good son, Lin. I believe the past few months, though short," her voice slightly choked up as well, "were the happiest for her rather than those long years your family lived apart. I had seen it. She felt the most alive because you were by her side. She cherished that time she spent with you more than anything else in the world."

Tears rushed down his cheeks before he knew it. His shoulders collapsed, every last strand of strength leaving his body. The only reason was his will that he could hold himself together until now. But now the loss hit him. Hou Luli's death, their painful past and present, the future of their family which could have been a happy one like the others, the years lost in pointless fights and disappointment…

A pair of warm hands pulled his face to her side, letting it lean against her shoulder. His tears plopped down and his grieving cries echoed in the somber air as he soaked into her warmth.