Chapter 140 I'm Back
Lin Yao wondered what Xie Xingchen was thinking about every morning when she woke up during those four years.
The ringing of the bell went unanswered, day after day.
Just like now, no matter how many times he said it, he still couldn't get a single "Get up, good morning" from the other person.
“Brother, we all underestimated Xie Hengzhi’s love for Yun Qing. He’s really a madman.” Lin Yao looked at the endless sea and said in a hoarse voice, “If it has to be a life for a life, I really wish it was me who was on duty today.”
“Xingchen would think the same way, or perhaps he already guessed it, but still resolutely decided to go in your place,” Xie Yunhuai said.
Lin Yao suddenly looked up, his eyes red: "Has he gone mad too?"
“This is just my guess.” Xie Yunhuai sighed softly. “He feels guilty. He has carried too much pain for you, for me, and for Father Yun, but he had no choice.”
"So, he might be thinking that if this journey to the death can break this deadlock, he will go. As for whether he can survive or be reborn, he will leave it all to God and fate."
Lin Yao stood frozen in the wind.
This is so much like something Xie Xingchen would do.
Especially on the day before, Xie Xingchen asked himself, "If I hadn't been born, would everyone be happier?"
But if this fool dies, what's the point of my life?
Lin Yao swallowed his grief and said softly, "Even so, heaven will still look after him. He once said that he has survived many near-death experiences. He's just lucky, isn't he?"
Xie Yunhuai nodded: "Yes, when he was a child, his father had someone tell his fortune. It said that Xingchen was destined for a happy and long life, and that he would be fine."
Even though he knew it was meant to comfort him, Lin Yao still nodded emphatically.
The search and rescue vessels continued their work without stopping, and the search area was getting larger and larger, but they were still out of contact, out of contact, out of contact.
He Li accompanied Lin Yao to the temple where he had heard the bell that day, kneeling there for one day, two days, three days... day after day.
Lin Yao clasped his hands together, bowed his head in repentance, and prayed sincerely.
"I pray to the Bodhisattva to protect Xie Xingchen and keep him safe. I only ask for his safety."
He couldn't believe that day was the last time he would see Xie Xingchen. They hadn't even kissed properly, or even said goodbye.
But five days passed and there was still no news. The search and rescue boats had slowly withdrawn, and the people around him changed their words of comfort to advice.
Lin Yao stubbornly refused to listen to anything, refusing to listen, believe, cry, or make a fuss.
He would simply go to the temple every day to burn incense and pray for Xie Xingchen, and then set sail to search along the boundless sea route.
Pei Yizhong couldn't bear to watch any longer and decided to take him home. After watching him finish his meal, he finally spoke up and advised, "Stop looking. Give up. Even if he's still alive, there's no way we'll find him at sea. We can only wait."
"Can we wait until then?" Lin Yao's nose tingled with emotion.
Pei Yizhong stared at his increasingly haggard face, his heart aching terribly. Four years had passed, and he still didn't know how to speak to his own child.
But at this moment, Lin Yao felt as if he had been abandoned by the whole world without Xie Xingchen. He had to tell this poor child that Xie Xingchen was not the only one in the world who loved him.
“Yaoyao, we will wait.” Pei Yizhong said, “Your mother and I waited for you for eighteen years before we finally brought you home.”
Lin Han was drinking soup when the soup spoon clattered to the ground, and tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Lin Yao was momentarily confused, not understanding what he meant: "What do you mean?"
Pei Yizhong didn't say anything, but reached out and grabbed his wrist, leading him into the back garden.
Lin Yao was completely bewildered. He usually spent his free time here with Pei Xiang and the others, but he had never noticed that there was a small, locked garden at the end of the garden. It looked very clean and full of flowers.
He walked over and saw a tombstone inside, without a name or photo.
"Whose is this...?"
"We searched for our first child for ten years, and in the end we only found his body, which had been burned to charcoal in the laboratory. There was no DNA, but there was your necklace and bracelet. At the time, we thought you were dead, so we built a blank tombstone for you."
Pei Yizhong said in a low voice, "You were stolen before I even had a chance to name you, so you don't even have a nickname yet, so it's just left blank."
Lin Yao looked at him blankly, then at Lin Han: "Are you sure you're not mistaken? How could I be your child? I'm an orphan, a test subject that Yun Qing and the others got from somewhere."
But for some reason, he also hoped that he really was the child his parents missed so much that they even kept his tombstone at home.
It must be true love that makes you keep it in front of you and think about it all the time.
“That’s right. The first time you came to Nanhe Star, you were hospitalized because of the blood epidemic. I took your DNA for a match, and we are related as father and son.” Pei Yizhong took out his military officer’s ID card, which contained a folded old report.
When Lin Yao opened the paper, his hands were shaking. There was a 99.99% chance that it was his biological father.
"Why didn't you tell me back then?"
"I was afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it. You gave the tag on your wrist and the necklace around your neck to another child, right? You faked your death and escaped, missing me who came to save you. I was afraid you would regret your choice, so I've been hesitant..."
Pei Yizhong raised his hand and wiped his face. "Besides, you would be very resistant if a stranger suddenly claimed to be your relative... So at the time, Xingchen suggested that we start by building a relationship with your godfather first, and then talk about it after you completely trust us."
Lin Yao's eyes stung with tears: "So you came here, right? You came looking for me?"
“We’ve been looking for you for ten years. We only lost all hope when we saw your body in the lab. That’s when we brought you back and erected this monument.”
Lin Han burst into tears, "You don't know how close I came to tears the moment I saw you. I knew at a glance that this was my son, there was no mistake."
The amount of information was too much; my brain felt like it couldn't process it, and it was buzzing.
Lin Yao's lips trembled: "What about Pei Xiang?"
“You’re a boy and a girl, and you’re only a few minutes older than her, so it’s not a coincidence that you share the same birthday,” Lin Han said, her voice choked with emotion. “Yaoyao, you really are our baby.”
Lin Yao thought that when he was little, the uncle who was taken away with him always said, "01, your parents will come to pick you up someday. They will come to take you home one day."
Lin Yao went from being full of hope to waiting and waiting until the fire broke out and no one came to save him, and he was completely desperate.
He went from waiting for his parents to becoming Lin Yao, struggling in the realities of life, and he no longer trusted anyone.
They're all liars. That's what he said to Xie Xingchen when he was drunk.
"So, you weren't lying to me after all." Lin Yao trembled violently, wanting to laugh but also seemingly crying. "You weren't lying to me."
His parents did not lie to him.
Xie Xingchen didn't have it either.
During those long, dark years, he was loved quietly by many people.
“So Yaoyao, you’re not alone. We’ll always be with you.” Lin Han reached out and hugged him, patting him gently. “I know you’ve been really sad lately. If you want to cry, just cry.”
Lin Yao lowered his head, belatedly feeling his mother's embrace, feeling helpless yet incredibly warm.
When we parted, I was still an infant in swaddling clothes. Now, at twenty-two, I am finally officially married, but I am still awkward and nervous.
"I'm sorry, but I still can't quite bring myself to call you that."
“It’s okay, it’s just a form of address. You can still call us godfather and godmother,” Pei Yizhong said softly. “I chose to tell you today because I wanted you to know that you can still come home when you feel pain.”
Lin Yao gave a very soft "hmm".
He felt a soreness and tightness in his chest, a flood of emotions welling up inside him, yet he didn't know which words to utter.
She simply gave him a light hug and said, "Yes, I'm back."
It was an ordinary sentence, but now it's only now that I'm uttering it awkwardly.
The night felt like walking on clouds. Lin Yao went back to his room, took a hot shower, and, as usual, sat on the edge of the bed looking at the stars.
That's how it's been for the past few years.
Xie Xingchen once boasted that he had bought a star with a secret hidden on it, but he has never revealed what it is; it was probably just empty talk.
But ever since the day they parted, Lin Yao would look at that flickering dark star whenever he was in a bad mood.
Then, I would slowly tell Xie Xingchen the things I didn't know who to tell.
"You know what? My mom and dad really came to pick me up, Xie Xingchen."
The star twinkled very faintly, as if in response.
"Oh, you should have known this already." Lin Yao chuckled. "I've been holding back for four years because of how you say it in that nonchalant tone. Every time I see you call me 'godfather,' I want to laugh, right?"
"Sometimes life is really strange. When I had nothing, you were the center of attention, and I envied you to the point of loathing. Now, I have parents, relatives, and friends, so why are you starting to lose everything?"
"Xie Xingchen, I wish you were still the same as before. Young master it is, a little arrogance doesn't matter, I can tolerate it."
"So, Young Master Xie, where are you? Please give me an answer."
"If you show up now, I can forgive everything and promise not to beat you up."
Lin Yao stared at the twinkling star, then felt his phone vibrate. When he swiped to check, the previous message was the confirmation notification Xie Xingchen had sent when he handed over the mission.
As if possessed, he clicked the login button and entered Xie Xingchen's military identification number.
I tried using my birthday as the password, and surprisingly, I logged in successfully on the first try.
"Such simple numbers, aren't you afraid of them being stolen?" Lin Yao muttered, swiping to view his task records, then suddenly stopped.
Half an hour before the task handover, there was another system notification:
The will has been successfully modified. The file will be uploaded in encrypted form. Please be careful and return safely.
Lin Yao clicked on the interface, but could only see a blank, blocked screen.
He could only hold back his tears and look up at the star, cursing it.
"Xie Xingchen, stop dreaming. I will never commit suicide with you. Get back here right now."
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"Dark Star Shines Brightly" will be the main title of this book; if you recommend it to someone, that name will appear in their search results. Seeing the new cover today, I realized that the background coincidentally looks like the sea where Chenzi fell...
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