Huí Guāng Fǎn Zhào - 回光返照

Prologue

Gao Dongmei always liked to remind her son that the first life he ruined was hers by virtue of existing. At the time of his conception, she was in her final year of high school and had a bright future ahead of her. She was the youngest child and only daughter of the Gao's and there seems to be no limit to what Dongmei could do. However, the existence of her son brought all of this to a screaming halt.

Like a story from a drama, Dongmei had originally wanted to go and get her eggs frozen and somehow ended up getting inseminated instead. It was shortly before her graduation when her body began to show that she finally went in for a check up to find out what was wrong. When the news was delivered to her family, no one would believe that Dongmei had never been with anyone. Her father had demanded that she tell him who the person responsible was and only thought she was in love and trying to protect them. It was only her second brother, Gao Chaoxing who believed her and found out the truth that her family would trust her words again.

At that point, it was already too late to salvage her reputation and it had left a deep scar in her heart towards her family. It was also at that point that she learned that it would be too late to rid herself of her unwanted burden. Dongmei was forced to graduate with a big belly amidst rumors and face her classmates harsh words. She had wanted to make the child disappear after the birth, however her second brother had stated that he would help raise her unwanted child.

Only hours after giving birth to her son, Dongmei departed, leaving behind a name, Gao Guiren, for her child. "So that he can remember my benevolence for not ending his life," she stated leaving towards the resort where Dongmei would spend the next few months recovering. With the dark shadow in her heart towards her family, Dongmei would depart abroad and cut most of her contact off to her immediate parent's dismay.

When the truth had been uncovered, Gao Jinhai and Xie Yingtai had rushed to apologize to their daughter, however Dongmei kept them at a distance. They knew the damage had already been done when they did not believe their daughter, but they still tried to bring the warmth back into their family. They had told her that they would support her decision regarding the child and knowing about their daughter's ambition they were surprised that she decided to keep the child.

From the moment of Gao Guiren's birth his grandparents would not hold him, only seeing him as the mistake that cost them their relationship with their only daughter. He would grow up in the main house raised by nannies and occasionally his second uncle. Guiren believed this was just how everyone was raised, as the children he went to school with had absent parents and were also raised by nannies. 

Everything in his life was normal to him, the distance from others, the lack of affection, and his powers. It wasn't until the death of his cousin Gao Huiqing that he first realized something was wrong with him. Looking back as an adult, he knew that his powers were anything but normal and his use of them had freaked out his family.

At the time, he was young and was told by the caretakers that his older cousin Gao Huiqing had taken a bad fall and passed away. Guiren had replied stating that he knew when he saw his cousin that morning that he would fall off a very tall building and into the red mud below. A eerier silence had passed thru the caretakers and maids at that point unbeknownst to Guiren, and they did not know what to do as he ran off to play. 

The true damage would not be until a few months later when Guiren began to miss his cousin and asked the maids what passed away meant. One of the maids would say to him, "Little master, passed away means that your cousin went somewhere far away and won't be back for a long time." Guiren had nodded and replied that he wanted to play with Gao Huiqing and he hopes that his cousin returns soon. The maids had then sent him away to play for the afternoon, and when it came time for dinner no one could find Guiren

Scared they notified Gao Jinhai and Xie Yingtai of the young masters disappearance, and yet no one could find him. As if knowing that they were looking for him, Guiren suddenly appeared laughing and saying he was only playing with Gao Huiqing. The scream from his grandmother as she saw her grandsons standing next to each other hand in hand deafened the room. Like a sick twisted nightmare, Gao Huiqing stared at his grandparents from his dead body, legs akimbo, holding onto Guiren's hand as if escorting a child home. 

Guiren doesn't remember much of what came after that, only that there was more screaming and then he was in his room. No one would answer his calls or open his door until his Second Uncle arrived telling him they were going to go on a long trip together. He remembers leaving in the arms of his Uncle as the fearful face of his grandfather watched him leave the main house. 

With one death, a nine year old Guiren left the Gao main house for the next 20 years and it would be another death that would bring him back to the house. A voicemail from an unknown person left on his phone, a short message that his Second Uncle had passed and to come home for his funeral.