I AM

Chapter 43

"Hmph. Will it ever be the 'right time'?" the boy said sarcastically as he stood up. "Alright, I get it. Stay out of sight, but I will be watching over Shen Wei in my own way."

"Yunlan?" Zhao Xin Chi looked at the boy who seemed like another person.

"Yunlan is asleep."

"Asleep?" Zhao Xin Chi's blood froze. "Then who are you?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"I am...Kunlun."

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"So, Kunlun is because of you..." Zhao Yunlan could not look at his father.

"You have to understand that Zhu Ma was also my boss, and I had to stop you that day," Zhao Xin Chi began. "But you were so angry, and the only way I could placate Zhu Ma was to hit you," he said sadly. "I realized how protective you were of Shen Wei back then, but you were also too young to protect yourself from Zhu Ma."

"And that's why you made me get training as a bodyguard," Zhao Yunlan sulked a little. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did. It taught me many skills, and it eventually brought me back to Shen Wei," he added with a grin.

"Yes, Kunlun was determined to protect Shen Wei, and the both of you needed training to do it properly," Zhao Xin Chi said, putting a tentative hand on Zhao Yunlan's shoulder. "You weren't able to help him as a child, and I'm sorry Kunlun came to be."

"When I was young, I used to wonder why a doctor came to watch me now and then. He would ask many questions," Zhao Yunlan said. "You knew about Kunlun early on."

"I noticed you were 'different' after that day. Kunlun is very similar to you in personality, and you were good at covering up for your lost time. When you got older, we tried to get him to integrate with you back then, but he refused to, and he disappeared for several days," Zhao Xin Chi explained.

"Yes, I remember that time. I fell asleep on the couch in our living room, and I woke up on a park bench in Shaanxi. When I got my credit card statement, I realized we had travelled a bit, got to see the terracotta army in Xi'an, and also bought myself a Rolex watch. Rather, Kunlun did," Zhao Yunlan said dreamily. "At least we were still in China and not flying to Greenland," he said with a chuckle.

"He, nor you, were ready. Kunlun could not leave Shen Wei," Zhao Xin Chi said, looking at Shen Wei.

Shen Wei's heart hurt; HE was the cause for Kunlun's existence, and HE was the reason for the distance between Zhao Yunlan and his father. They were always so formal with each other and he never guessed that they were father and son.

"Don't look like that, Shen Wei," Zhao Yunlan started. "If we're going to blame anyone, it should be ME for disobeying my father and wandering around when I first saw you," he grinned.

"But -," Shen Wei started.

"The two of you were bound to meet up someday, since I sometimes brought Yunlan to your uncle's place when he had to suddenly meet with me," Zhao Xin Chi added. "Like you, Yunlan was also neglected because of my work, and I think it was fate that brought the both of you together, to help each other."

He paused, and then squeezed his son's shoulder. "This is the first time we've been able to sit and calmly talk to each other about this, man to man, and also father to son, I hope. I'm sorry it's been so hard for you all these years. It's something that should have been done a long time ago, but I never had the courage to...until now." Zhao Xin Chi looked at the man sitting next to him. "Can you forgive this old coward?"

Zhao Yunlan looked down at his hands in his lap and sat in silence for a few seconds.

"When I was a child, I didn't think you liked me very much. You were always 'too busy' to spend time with me, and if we were together, it was just in the car when you had to go to a meeting and didn't have anyone to watch me," Zhao Yunlan started, still looking down.