HNYWEF -Chapter 17 Estrangement

The courtyard was so quiet that one could hear their own heartbeat.

Zhou Xiong stood at the doorway, motionless.

The people inside the house stood there too, unmoving.

Zhou Yi stood beside his father, tilting his head up to look at him, then at the people in the courtyard, then back at his father again.

He didn’t know what had happened.

He only knew that something was wrong with his father.

Something had been wrong from the very moment they stepped through the gate.

But he didn’t dare ask.

So he simply stood there, clutching the corner of his father’s clothes, waiting.

A long time passed.

So long that Zhou Yi felt his legs growing sore from standing.

Finally, someone inside the house spoke.

The man stepped forward and opened his mouth, his voice hoarse:

“Bear… you…”

Zhou Xiong’s eyes moved slightly.

That trace of confusion still floated on the surface, but underneath it was emptiness.

Zhou Yi saw it.

In his father’s eyes, something suddenly surged up—something he had never seen before.

It wasn’t fear.

It was deeper than fear.

Like someone had pressed a blade against his throat.

Like something was choking the breath out of him.

Zhou Xiong took a step backward.

Just one step.

Then he lowered his head and rushed into the inner room.

The door curtain swayed a few times before going still.

Zhou Yi remained where he was, his hand still frozen in the motion of grabbing his father’s sleeve.

His father had just left.

Left him here alone.

He lifted his head and looked at the people in the courtyard.

They were looking at him too.

Zhou Yi didn’t know what to do.

So he simply stood there, his hand dropping to clutch at his own clothes.

The people in the courtyard exchanged glances.

Someone opened their mouth but said nothing.

Someone lowered their head to stare at the tips of their shoes.

Someone turned to look at the person beside them.

Before coming here, they had imagined many possibilities.

They had imagined him ignoring them.

Imagined him refusing to speak.

Imagined that he might cry, or curse them, or even lash out.

But no one had imagined this.

No one had imagined that he would—

Run away.

As though he had been frightened by something.

That wasn’t the Zhou Xiong they knew.

That was someone else.

A stranger.

The house stayed silent for a long time.

Then Cheng Yaojin moved.

He walked over to the middle of the courtyard and stopped beside Zhou Yi.

He lowered his head and glanced at the child.

Zhou Yi looked up at him, eyes red, but he didn’t cry.

Cheng Yaojin looked away and turned toward the people inside.

They were all looking at him too.

Cheng Yaojin’s face slowly flushed red.

He opened his mouth.

Then he roared.

“Look at the damn stupid idea you all came up with!”

His voice was so loud that the birds perched on the wall scattered into the air.

No one inside spoke.

Cheng Yaojin took a step forward and pointed at them.

“I told you to give him time! Give him time! But all of you kept saying crap like, ‘Old brothers just need to see each other once,’ and ‘Once he sees us, he’ll remember the past’! Remember my ass!”

His chest heaved violently.

“Take a good look yourselves! Look at the state he’s in now! Happy now?”

Still, no one answered.

Cheng Yaojin advanced another step.

“Nine years! Nine whole years! Do you know how he lived through those nine years? You know nothing! Even I don’t know! But all you people cared about was ‘meeting once,’ ‘meeting once’!”

His voice suddenly dropped, low and rough, squeezed out between clenched teeth.

“Well, now you’ve met him. Satisfied?”

The people in the room stood there without moving.

Someone turned their face away.

Someone lowered their head, shoulders slumped.

No one dared meet Cheng Yaojin’s eyes.

Cheng Yaojin stood there, breathing heavily.

After a long while, he turned around.

He lowered his head to look at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi looked back up at him, his eyes still red.

Cheng Yaojin crouched down so they were eye level.

“Kid, your father, he…”

He couldn’t continue.

Zhou Yi looked at him and suddenly asked:

“Uncle Cheng… what happened to my dad?”

Cheng Yaojin opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He simply crouched there, staring at the child.

That face.

It looked like her.

Too much like her.

Cheng Yaojin suddenly stood up.

He didn’t look at the others in the courtyard again.

He walked to the doorway and stood there, staring at the curtain.

The curtain didn’t move.

So he just stood there.

The people in the courtyard stood there.

Zhou Yi stood there.

The courtyard was so quiet that it felt as though one could hear the sun moving across the sky.