A BITTER LIFE

PART 67

A-yuan hugged Eros tightly while crying. "Dad, it's okay if you can't give me your time, as long as you get better. I just want to see you alive," A-yuan said between sobs, and Yibo's heart ached. Even though he couldn't remember A-yuan as his son, his heart told him that A-yuan was important to him. "From now on, all the time I have, I'll give to you. Dad will make up for everything," Eros said, which made A-yuan cry even more.

Eros was a bit surprised when a lot of people entered the room. Some of their scents were familiar, but there were four who seemed unfamiliar to him. Before Eros' parents could speak, Yibo gestured to them that Gu Wei was sleeping.

"Follow me," Yibo said as he walked to his wardrobe and opened the room behind it. They were still confused but followed him nonetheless. It was dark inside, and they couldn’t help but feel nervous. When the lights turned on, their reactions were the same—shock. But since Eros couldn’t see their expressions, he didn’t know what they were feeling, so he asked them to sit down. Then he explained everything—why the room existed and the struggles he had been going through. He didn't wait for Gu Wei to wake up because it would only hurt him more

Yibo’s parents cried uncontrollably. "So, that's why you didn’t seem to care when I told you not to come home—because of this. I thought you had completely chosen that woman," Katrina said.

"In truth, it actually worked in my favor, because I didn’t have to pretend that everything was okay anymore. Mom, I’m sorry if I made you feel unimportant because of what I did," Yibo said sadly. But his mother shook her head and sat down beside him.

“You don’t need to apologize because, in fact, we’re the ones who failed you. You’ve been going through so much, and yet I wasn’t by your side. I’m so sorry, baby,” Katrina said as she cried and hugged Yibo.

“We prayed for you, we cherished you, but we didn’t even know what you were going through,” said Diego, who had been quiet the whole time because he didn’t know what to say. He was the father, but he had no idea about the struggles his youngest child had been facing. “Forgive us for not being there when you needed us the most,” he added, joining the hug. Haikuan, too, was deeply hurt, feeling like a worthless brother since Yibo hadn’t confided in him either.

“I’m angry because I, your own brother, didn’t know what you were going through. But then I realized I had no right to be angry because you couldn’t even remember us or recognize our faces,” Haikuan said through tears. Everyone in the room couldn’t help but feel heartbroken for Yibo. Imagine living with your family but being unable to remember them, never telling them your struggles because you wanted to punish yourself.

Yibo’s parents came closer and also apologized for thinking he chose to marry Liying, their other daughter, instead of respecting the son they thought had died.

Moments later, Yibo spoke. “A-yuan, forgive me if I failed as your father,” he said, unable to meet A-yuan’s gaze. “I want you to know that just because I let you live with your grandparents and seemed to prefer having you stay there doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. I kept you there because I kept making mistakes with both you and Andro, and I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t love you, even though I know Liying treated you poorly and I was never home,” Yibo said, his voice breaking with emotion. A-yuan climbed onto Yibo’s lap, hugging him while crying.

“Dad, I’m sorry if I sometimes got mad because I felt like I didn’t have a family anymore. Both of you seemed distant. But I wish I had known about your situation so I could’ve understood you better,” A-yuan said, hugging Yibo tightly.

“At that time, I chose to distance myself from you so I wouldn’t hurt you even more. But I know now that it was wrong because it made you feel like I didn’t love you. I love you so much, even though I can’t remember you as my son. My heart tells me you’re important to me,” Yibo said, and everyone turned away, unable to bear seeing them in such a painful situation.

“Forgive me, I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Yibo said. A-yuan pulled away from the embrace.

“If you want to make it up to me, Dad, please get the surgery. That way, we can be together longer, you, me, and nana” A-yuan said, then hugged Yibo again. Yibo nodded. “For you and your nana, and for everyone here, I’ll have the surgery,” he promised.

An hour passed, and Gu Wei was still asleep, so Yibo sent the children outside and stayed behind with the adults. “A-yuan, Jingyu, and Jinling, please go outside and watch over Gu Wei,” Yibo said. Though confused about why they had to leave, A-yuan complied.

Once the children were out, Yibo sat down, wiping away his tears. The others noticed his trembling hands, and though he hadn’t spoken yet, Jiyang and Haoxuan exchanged looks as if they already knew what Yibo was about to say.

“If you can’t say it, we can speak for you,” Haoxuan said, catching everyone’s attention. Everyone looked curious, except Yibo and Jiyang. Even Mianmian and Youn were eager to hear what had happened.

Yibo gave Haoxuan a bitter smile and thanked him, feeling like he couldn’t open his mouth, his body shaking with anger.

Haoxuan sat beside Yibo. “It’s about what happened to Zhan,” Haoxuan said, and Lara immediately clutched Sebastian’s hand, her palms sweating. Haoxuan looked at Zhan’s parents, who were also Liying’s parents—the ones responsible for having Zhan kidnapped.

Haoxuan told them everything Zhan had gone through, and it felt like they had all been doused in hot water. Zhan’s mother seemed to wither before their eyes.

As Yibo listened, he unknowingly injured his hand.

Katrina, on the other hand, knew Zhan had been abused but not in such a horrific way. No one spoke; their faces were filled with rage. Sebastian started to leave, but Yibo grabbed him.

“Where are you going?” Eros asked.

“I’m going back to C, and I’ll personally k@ll her. I can’t believe I raised a monster—how could she do that to her brother?” Sebastian spat, shaking off Yibo’s hand. Lara immediately ran to him, hugging him tightly to stop him from leaving.

“Let go of me,” Sebastian said sternly.

Lara shook her head. “Let the law deal with her,” she said.

“Do you even hear yourself?” Sebastian retorted angrily. “Of all the people in this room, I’m the one who’s hurting the most because the children I carried in my womb are the ones who’ve hurt each other. The child I raised has harmed her own brother,” Lara sobbed, clinging to Sebastian. “Where did I go wrong in raising her?” she cried, not letting go of him.

They all fell silent when the door suddenly opened, and A-yuan was startled by the scene before him. "Dad, Nana's waking up," A-yuan said, and Yibo immediately stood up, saying, "I didn’t wait for him to tell you all because I didn’t want his trauma to resurface. He even fainted when I told him what happened to me. Please pretend everything is fine." Yibo said this before leaving the room.

Sebastian helped Lara stand up. "I don’t think I can face him," Lara said, her knees trembling.

Meanwhile, when Gu Wei woke up, the first thing he saw was A-yuan’s cheerful smile, but his nose was red, and his eyes looked like he had just finished crying. "Nana," A-yuan softly said, freezing Gu Wei in place. "What did you call me?" Gu Wei asked as he sat up, momentarily forgetting that his hands were tied. "Nana," A-yuan repeated before hugging Gu Wei tightly. As Gu Wei tried to hug him back, he realized his hands were still bound and glanced at Eros. Eros quickly approached and untied the rope. "Thank you," Gu Wei whispered, before hugging A-yuan back even tighter. "My baby radish," Gu Wei said tearfully.

Thank you for reading it☺️☺️