"Itâs utterly unreasonable. Even if heâs an old leader, he canât just take people from me. No, I canât swallow this anger." The old man was furious, ready to roll up his sleeves and grab his cane, and Mr. Chen couldnât stop him.
"I have to reason with him about this." As he spoke, he looked up to see Mr. Hai being supported by Hai Shen as they came in. The living room suddenly quieted down significantly.
Everyone unconsciously turned to face him, the atmosphere a bit awkward.
"Old Hai, have you eaten?"
"Whereâs the mood to eat?" Mr. Hai sighed and sat down in his favorite spot, "Old Su, Iâve come to apologize and express my gratitude."
"This... what do you mean by saying this? Thereâs no need for gratitude."
"No! Itâs the Hai Familyâs mistake, itâs me being blind. Iâm unworthy as a person; Iâm not even as good as you. At least when you saw Ningning, you could recognize her, but when Baoâer was right in front of me calling me grandpa, I couldnât recognize her." Mr. Hai insisted, having fainted in a fit of rage earlier. After the doctor revived him and advised him to rest in bed, he couldnât bring himself to rest.
The Hai Family made such a huge mistake, he couldnât sleep a wink. Yun Feng went out, not knowing where he went, and the first thing Mr. Hai thought of was to come and apologize to his old friend.
"How could I be so useless, so much a failure? Our Hai Family prides itself on being clever, yet we didnât even recognize Baoâer. I deserve to die, I really deserve to die."
Hai Shen stood by, looking dejected, not even uttering a word of consolation to his grieving grandfather. Clearly, the old man had spoken his heartâs truth. He too had seen Sheng An, and genuinely liked her, yet never considered she could be his sister.
"Thatâs enough, itâs not your fault. Youâre old enough, why speak of deserving to die like a child?" Mr. Su unhappily encouraged him.
"Itâs me being too soft-hearted towards those I shouldnât be, while being so cruel to Baoâer." Mr. Hai spoke as his eyes gradually welled with tears. His hands, mottled with age spots and shaky from age, couldnât even hold the teacup steadily.
"Let it go!" Mr. Su patted his hand and comforted him: "I just heard about this myself; who could have imagined such a coincidence in the world? Iâve even seen Mommy Ningning myself but didnât notice."
Mr. Su and he had joined the union together back in the day, starting from the underground, and weathered storms side by side for so many years. The bickering and anger were merely playful quarrels. Even in this situation, where the two families have torn faces, it wouldnât break their friendship before.
Watching his old friend in intense pain, Mr. Su felt deeply troubled.
"Donât be upset. Iâll help you with this. Anâan is so gentle, she wonât blame you."
"Even if she doesnât blame me, I canât get over the hurdle in my heart."
"Old Hai," Mr. Su suddenly said sternly, "You must get over that hurdle in your heart, or at your age, you might not have many good days left. Can you bear Baoâer just coming back and you dying?"
"I... I..."
"If you die, who will be there to back Baoâer?"
"Baoâer has old leaders." Comparing like this, he really is a disgraceful grandfather.
"Ahh... cough cough... Is that the same? Your thinking is too narrow. No one dislikes having more power and influence. I now wish I could live to be one hundred and twenty, so I could protect Ningning for decades more."
Mr. Suâs words enlightened Mr. Hai, and the originally dim eyes slowly regained their brightness.