Chapter 9 - 9

At first, Yibo was genuinely shocked by Erland's words. He never believed Erland meant them seriously; he thought Erland was only trying to scare him or provoke a reaction. Because of that, Yibo didn't take the conversation seriously at all...he simply wondered where Erland even got the nerve to say such things to him.

When Erland noticed how casually Yibo dismissed the issue, he realized Yibo hadn't taken his words to heart. Disappointed, he let the matter go and turned his attention elsewhere. He began reconnecting with his former girlfriend, 𝐀𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐢, who had been clinging to him and hoping they would get back together. She was also part of his close social circle.

After Erland's father visited and spoke privately with Zhan, nothing was explained to Yibo or Popo Yuli. Zhan personally called Erland and informed him that he should stop visiting Yibo. Yibo knew nothing about this arrangement. For Erland, that call was the final push...he completely let go of Yibo and officially rekindled his relationship with Anmei. Even then, Yibo still occupied his thoughts more than anyone else.

Under the influence of his reckless friends, Erland quickly slipped into a lifestyle filled with temptation. His physical relationship with Anmei gave him temporary relief, and for a while, he felt calm and satisfied.

As Erland grew more comfortable with Anmei, he gradually stopped calling Yibo altogether. Whenever Yibo tried to reach him, their conversations ended in arguments.

Erland was still angry that Yibo had chosen patience and obedience over him...agreeing to wait for a year.

Yibo, on the other hand, was deeply hurt by Erland's sudden absence. Calls went unanswered, messages ignored. What started as anger slowly turned into anxiety and emotional distress.

Even Popo Yuli noticed the change. She became worried after seeing Yibo restless and troubled for days. She tried calling Erland herself to understand what was happening between them, but he didn't answer...and never returned the call. She knew then that something serious was wrong, yet she had no way to tell Zhan or ask him directly.

Time passed, and exams arrived. They completed them and were given a short two-week break before final exams.

Yibo studied obsessively. He felt that if he didn't focus completely...if he failed his exams...he would lose Erland forever. His studies became an escape, a form of silent retaliation fueled by heartbreak and exhaustion. By then, he had accepted the truth: they were drifting apart. Weeks passed without a single call.

On one side, Zhan became increasingly attentive to Yibo. He noticed how seriously his son was taking his studies. Although he knew Yibo was under emotional pressure, this dedication aligned perfectly with his expectations for him. On the other hand, seeing Yibo's distress unsettled Zhan. He did not want anything to harm his son emotionally. Because of this, he personally withdrew the restriction on Erland's visits and allowed him to see Yibo again, especially since graduation was approaching.

Yibo was overwhelmed with happiness the day Erland returned. The restriction imposed by Zhan had pushed Erland away...and had also driven him fully into Anmei's arms.

That day, Yibo's joy was so obvious it surprised Zhan. Though Zhan no longer felt entirely comfortable with Erland, sensing that something about him had changed, he chose to observe quietly and see how things unfolded.

Yibo's heart finally felt at ease. Erland had returned, acting just like before. What Yibo didn't know was that Anmei still existed in Erland's life. Erland, now closer than ever to meeting Zhan's conditions for marriage, became extremely cautious. He began distancing himself from Anmei, terrified that Yibo...or worse, Mr. Zhan...might discover the truth. He knew Zhan would not hesitate to destroy his future if he believed Erland had played with his son's life.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Zhan eventually agreed to the marriage. A date was set for five months later, just one month after Yibo's graduation. Preparations began immediately on Yibo's side, filled with celebrations and wedding planning.

From the moment the date was fixed, both Yibo and Erland were overwhelmed with happiness. Erland's parents were even more eager, especially his father.

Popo Yuli's joy was beyond words. She woke up and went to bed smiling every single day.

Her greatest wish was to see Zhan finally take a wife before Yibo's wedding...hoping that Zhan's own marriage would come first, followed by Yibo's. Still, she was deeply grateful that Yibo's wedding was finally on the way.

Zhan planned for the wedding to take place in China, after which they would return. This decision filled Popo Yuli with even greater excitement...she had longed to return to China and reconnect with the people she once knew.

Despite how seriously Yibo and Neesah focused on their studies, they still found time for intense wedding preparations...shopping, beauty routines, and planning. Yibo did this secretly, knowing Zhan had forbidden spa visits.

****

Meanwhile, Anmei grew increasingly restless. The news of Erland's upcoming marriage shook her deeply. She began considering exposing her relationship with him to Yibo...but fear held her back. Zhan's reputation terrified her. She had no family support, no protection...just her studies and a reckless lifestyle.

If not for Zhan, she would have already destroyed Yibo's dignity without hesitation.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐬

With just one month left before exams, Neesah dropped Yibo off at home and drove toward her parents place. On the way, she unexpectedly came face to face with Erland's car. Anmei was seated beside him, and they were driving unusually slowly.

Neesah looked again...carefully this time...to be sure.

It was unmistakably Erland's car, and there was a woman with him.

Without thinking too deeply about it, she overtook his car and honked lightly in greeting as she passed.

Erland didn't notice her at all. His attention was completely on Anmei, who was teasing him playfully, making him laugh.

Anmei, however, saw Neesah.

With deliberate boldness, she leaned in, kissed Erland's lips, and slowly licked his cheek.

Neesah slammed the brakes hard and pulled over to the side of the road, her heart racing.

"𝐺𝑜𝑑…" she whispered in shock, disbelief flooding her chest.

"𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑? 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛? 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡?"

Her hands trembled.

"𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑? 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜'𝑠 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑...𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑠𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒?"

"𝑂ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑑… 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒."

Cold sweat broke out across her skin.

"𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜. 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡. 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑤 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓."

Fear and panic overwhelmed her. Before the wedding, Erland was already betraying Yibo...despite knowing how deeply Yibo loved him, trusted him, and dreamed of a loyal marriage.

𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒀𝒊𝒃𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆?

Yibo was extremely sensitive. His heart was fragile...he would never survive this.

"𝐻𝑒'𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠," Neesah murmured.

"𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠?"

With great effort, Neesah steadied herself, restarted her car, and drove home...her body shaking. It felt as though the betrayal had been done to her personally.

She made a decision:

She would tell no one...for now.

But she would watch Erland closely and uncover the truth before the wedding.

From that day on, Neesah kept careful watch over Erland and Anmei. It didn't take long before her worst fears were confirmed...they were deeply involved, passionately and without restraint. Her anxiety grew, but she still couldn't bring herself to tell Yibo.

Exams were approaching, the pressure was heavy, and she feared what the truth might do to him.

And Uncle Zhan....was not someone to involve lightly.

So she watched silently, helplessly, as Erland continued deceiving Yibo.

Soon, exams began. Forced by necessity, Neesah pushed everything aside and focused on her studies alongside Yibo.

During this time, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢 continued helping Popo Yuli prepare for the wedding and their upcoming trip to China, scheduled for after Yibo's exams.

Meanwhile, Erland found himself unable to let go of Anmei. Despite the fact that Anmei didn't hold even half the place Yibo did in his heart, temptation had wrapped itself tightly around him...and he couldn't escape.

𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐬

The day Yibo finished his exams was filled with joy. He celebrated at home with his Dad and Popo Yuli, laughter filling the house.

Two days later, preparations began for their trip to China. The wedding was only three weeks away. And after two days, they went back to China.

Yibo tried calling Erland, but couldn't reach him. Since he couldn't lie to his Dad to leave the house alone, he said he was taking Neesah home. Zhan insisted that Popo Yuli accompany them...to personally thank Neesah's parents.

Yibo didn't object. He knew Popo Yuli would never stop him from visiting Erland afterward.

That evening, they set out. Yibo dressed casually...black Nike shirt and pants, white sneakers. He wore a face mask and a cap, hiding his face. He didn't want anyone recognizing him at Erland's place...especially not someone who might report back to his Dad.

At first, Popo Yuli refused to allow the visit. But Neesah pleaded earnestly, hoping that...if fate allowed...the truth would come out today and save Yibo from a lifetime of misery.

When they arrived, Erland's car was parked outside.

Without hesitation, Yibo and Neesah went inside. Popo Yuli stayed in the car.

They rang the doorbell repeatedly. No answer. Yibo, knowing the door code, entered it himself...and they stepped inside.

Yibo rushed toward Erland's bedroom, calling his name.

He stopped at the door, choosing not to enter. Softly, lovingly, he called out again.

Erland was in the kitchen with Anmei, eating pizza they had ordered. He had planned to visit Yibo later, knowing they had already arrived in Chinq.

It was Neesah who heard their laughter. She quietly walked toward the kitchen and peeked inside.

There they were...laughing, eating, barely dressed. Erland's hands were inside Anmei's loose nightshirt, unmistakable signs that they had spent the entire night together.

Neesah rushed back to Yibo, grabbed his hand tightly, and whispered:

"𝐻𝑒'𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑛."

Together, they walked toward the kitchen.

Yibo called out romantically,

"𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦…𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢?

𝐵𝑎𝑏..."

𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞.

The sight before him shattered his world.

He rushed forward, seeing Erland trying to push Anmei away, panic written all over his face.

"𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜?" Erland stammered.

"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?

𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑑 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒?

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑛'𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡?"

Turning quickly to Anmei, he said desperately,

"𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒

..."

Neesah stepped forward, her face cold with fury.

"𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔," she said sharply.

"𝐼'𝑣𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒. 𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠."

She grabbed Yibo's hand and pulled him away.

They left immediately.

In the car, Yibo was completely silent...his mind frozen, his heart shattered.

Popo Yuli kept asking what had happened, but neither of them answered. Only Yibo's broken breathing filled the air.

When they reached Neesah's house, Yibo finally turned to her, his voice barely audible.

"𝑁𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑎ℎ…𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑤 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛, 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡?"

Neesah inhaled deeply and nodded.

Popo Yuli's eyes widened in shock.

"𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡… 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡," Yibo whispered.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑤 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛....𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔?"

"𝑌𝑒𝑠," Neesah answered firmly.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑎𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦. 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ...𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎. 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒."

Yibo's breath hitched violently.

Before he could collapse, Popo Yuli, now fully panicked, tore off his face mask and called his name urgently.

With deep worry, Popo Yuli spoke, her voice heavy with frustration.

"𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑜𝑓. 𝐼 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝑍ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑦 ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐼 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑎ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘....𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦?"

Inside the car, she called Yibo's name sharply, her voice rising with urgency.

"𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜. 𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑡. 𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒...𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑎𝑤. 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛? 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛? 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑑-ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑, 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑟𝑢𝑠ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝑊𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒."

Yibo, overwhelmed by fury and heartbreak...crying in a way he never had before in his life, and never over any man...burst out:

"𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜 𝑌𝑢𝑙𝑖, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑤. 𝐼 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠...ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑏𝑠...."

Popo Yuli gasped in shock and cut him off immediately.

"𝐸𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜. 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑍ℎ𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑'𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦."

Neesah stared at her in disbelief.

"𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜 𝑌𝑢𝑙𝑖, 𝑠𝑜 𝑖𝑓 𝑈𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑍ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟?"

She sighed deeply.

"𝑁𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑎ℎ, 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦. 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑦. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑?"

She paused, then continued quietly.

"𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠, 𝑦𝑒𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑓 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠, 𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑. 𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒...𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒. 𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒. 𝑊𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔; 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦."

Yibo struggled to contain himself as they entered the house. Everyone welcomed them warmly, greeting them with smiles and excitement. Neesah's mother and aunt were especially happy to see them, particularly Popo Yuli, whom they regarded with great respect as Zhan's mother.

After greetings and discussions about their safe return and the upcoming wedding, Popo Yuli and Neesah remained visibly tense, both still in shock over what had happened. Yuli were eager to leave before Yibo completely broke down in front of everyone. By sheer willpower, Yibo managed to hold himself together.

They soon excused themselves, saying Yibo wasn't feeling well and needed to return home.

Everyone walked them to the car, with Neesah's mother standing at the door until they drove off.

As soon as they left Neesah's street, the tears Yibo had been holding back finally spilled over. His heart burned with a pain he had never known before. In his entire life, he had rarely known true suffering. His pains were few: his father's anger,

the absence of his mother,

and the small everyday worries of life.

He had never known poverty or deprivation. Even when his father had struggled earlier in life, Yibo had been too young to understand hardship...and never once had he been left wanting.

Now, however, the pain was overwhelming.

Because Yibo was driving, Popo Yuli said nothing. She knew he needed to cry, to release the pain somehow. So she remained silent, watching him drive faster than usual, his grief filling the car like a storm.

Yibo's heart burned with a sharp, unbearable pain.

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙀𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣...𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢?

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙀𝙧𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜?

His entire body began to tremble from intense disgust and heartbreak.

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜?

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩, 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣...

𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧?

Yibo cried uncontrollably until they reached home.

He parked the car carelessly, jumped out, and rushed inside, wiping his tears as he went, unsure whether his Dad was home.

He went straight to his room, sat on the sofa, and tried desperately to stop the tears with his shaking hands.

Popo Yuli entered the room and closed the door behind her. She walked over and sat beside Yibo, picked up some tissues from the dressing table, and gently wiped his tears with calm care, preparing him for what she was about to say.

"𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜, 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑜𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑛...ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐é'𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒. 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑦, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑢𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡."

"𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑎𝑤, 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠, 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒...𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ a 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝐼𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐷𝑎𝑑. 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑓 𝑍ℎ𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛."

"𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑤𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛, 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒...𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑝 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑓 ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑠."

Yibo couldn't speak. He only cried harder as Popo Yuli continued wiping his tears.

With great effort, she finally soothed him. They agreed that Zhan must not hear anything yet...not until they were certain the issue was beyond fixing. Yibo had sworn that he would never marry Erland if it was confirmed that he truly chased women and slept with them. In this regard, he had inherited his father's extreme sense of disgust toward infidelity...he could never share his spouse with another person.

Yibo turned off his phone because Erland kept calling repeatedly, and he knew he couldn't answer. Normally, he never turned off his phone completely in case his Dad called...but he had no strength for any conversation. Ironically, his Dad often turned off his own phone when at home, using it only when necessary.

That evening, Popo Yuli encouraged Yibo to come out for dinner. They both tried to act normal so Zhan wouldn't notice anything was wrong.

Zhan took one look at Yibo as he approached the dining table, dressed in thick white 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐚 trousers and a matching top, with a small cap...looking almost like a child. His appearance was calm and fresh, clearly freshly bathed, wearing no makeup or accessories...only his soft perfume lingering lightly.

Zhan knew Yibo better than anyone...he was his father. One glance at Yibo's face and demeanor told him his son was deeply troubled. He watched closely as Yibo ate slowly, his movements weak, not because he was hungry or enjoying the food, but simply forcing himself to eat.

Zhan briefly shifted his gaze to Popo Yuli and noticed how she kept wiping sweat nervously, despite the cool air from the air conditioner filling the room.

He looked back at Yibo quietly...his attention wasn't truly on the food either.

At that moment, Zhan completely lost his appetite. He knew something was being hidden from him. Both Popo Yuli and Yibo knew his character inside and out...he was not careless, especially when it came to his family's well-being and discipline. Popo Yuli had lived in his household long enough to become his family as well.

He slowly lifted his glass of lemon water, took a sip, set it down, wiped his mouth with a tissue, stood up, and left the dining area.

Neither Popo Yuli nor Yibo said a word as he left. Their silence only confirmed his suspicion. Normally, whenever he stood up from the table, they would ask if he was full or encourage him to eat more, knowing how little time he had to eat properly.

As soon as Zhan left, Popo Yuli turned to Yibo with quiet frustration.

"𝑌𝑖𝑏𝑜, 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔? 𝐷𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝐼 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ?"

Yibo looked at her anxiously.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐷𝑎𝑑… 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠. 𝐻𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡."

"𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤," she replied softly. "𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡."

Yibo couldn't say anything. He stood up, picked up a tissue, and said quietly,

"𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦, 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑜. 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡."

With great effort, he composed himself so his father wouldn't notice anything. He walked into the living room calmly, told his Dad he was feeling sleepy and wanted to rest early, wished him good night, and left.

Zhan didn't watch him go. He didn't need further confirmation...he was certain something was wrong. When such situations arose, he preferred silence. Within two days, he knew he would uncover the truth himself.

As Yibo left the living room, tears filled his eyes again. Not being able to tell his Dad about his pain hurt deeply...because his father had always been his refuge, the answer to every worry, a support placed in his life by God Himself.