569: A father-in-law's hug

A father-in-law's hug

Ai stared at him and thought of all the past days where she could hardly see him at all.1

"Did you two fight?" Ai couldn't hold her curiosity at bay. Jinhai was different from Zhou Yichen in the sense that he wouldn't ever argue with Nana because he preferred doting on her more.

Jinhai looked away. "More like she passed her judgment on me and that is to reflect on my actions by staying away from her."

"What actions?"

"Throwing Jun out of the house when he confessed to me the truth about his rebirth."

Ai's unblinking stare at Jinhai was filled with a sense of trepidation. "Rebirth?"

"Nana knows now about the whole truth."

A shocked gasp escaped her lips. "Ev-Everything?"

Jinhai nodded.

"W-when? Since how long?"

"Since the hospital when you and Jun collapsed. She had kind of figured it out that something more was happening in the background regarding Jun and Jin that she wasn't aware of. She also had the inkling that I might know what's going on. So, I didn't tell her, but I was interrogated more to spill it out."

It then made sense to Ai as to why Nana's behavior seemed a little different these days. Sometimes she had noticed her watching Jun and Jin with a melancholic yet warm gaze filled with emotions that she couldn't decipher. She assumed though that it might be due to their accident that she was worried so much.

Ai quickly asked, "What did she say…?"

Jinhai smiled. "She had a lot to say. She actually does want to talk to you three, but she doesn't know how to broach that subject. She is just trying to find a good chance for it. As for me, she had a lot to punish me instead of talking to me…"

His eyes flickered with lament once again. "She was naturally too furious to know that I threw our son out instead of being an understanding father. Which I really do regret now…But coming to know that Jun gave up on his life was hard to bear too…" his voice lowered down by a notch.

Ai pursed her lips in understanding. As a mother what Nana felt was valid and as a father how Jinhai thought was equally correct in that regard too.

"That's why…" Jinhai quickly grabbed her wrist and pleaded. "Please help me soothe her anger."

"..."

"...Mom has already warned me not to listen to any request of yours."

His brow twitched. "You are my last hope, Ai. Only you can help me. She will definitely listen to you. Please, please talk to Nana and tell her that I have really reflected upon my mistakes and so please allow me to come back to our room. I am dying here."

Jinhai's image of when she had first met him in the wedding anniversary banquet and that of now when he was sincerely pleading for her help was in stark contrast.

Ai felt a pang of sympathy for her father-in-law and said. "I will do my best."

That brought a bright ray of hope in his otherwise dead eyes. "Thank you! I am forever in your debt."

Ai stiffened as that sentence triggered the memory of her past life which she saw when she had collapsed. 

The scene of the hospital after Jun and her death when Zhou Yichen and Xie Nuying met with Jinhai and Nana was still fresh in her mind.

'I, Liu Jinhai, am forever in Zhou Ai's debt.'

Tears plopped down her brown eyes even before she knew it, and the sorrow and grief laced in that memory shook her body.

Jinhai's eyes widened in shock, and he jumped on his feet, taking a step closer to her. "Why are you suddenly crying? Did I say something wrong?"

Ai wiped her eyes but they only reddened further with tears, making Jinhai panic.

"O-okay, I was just kidding. You don't have to talk to Nana."

She shook her head. "It's not…that…" she wanted to say more, but her voice was too choked to clearly articulate her feelings.

Her sniffles grew slightly louder as those painful memories twisted her heart. "Dad…"

"Yes? Tell me what's going on. I will solve everything for you," Jinhai tried to calm her down.

A small smile managed to shine amidst her tears.

Ahh…that felt like just my Dad…

Zhou Yichen, too, always carried that air of confidence within him.

'Ai-chan, just come to your awesome father whenever you are in trouble~ I will defeat all your problems for you!'

Remembering her two fathers bowing their heads in gratitude in the past made her heart feel numb.

Jinhai looked left and right, thinking of what to do to soothe her sudden burst of emotions. He paused for a moment and asked, "Did I say something that made you recall your past?"

Ai bobbed her head hard in agreement. She was too emotional to express herself so she felt relieved that Jinhai figured it out on his own.

"Oh. I am sorry," Jinhai sincerely apologized. "I don't know what it is I said that made you sad, but…"

He awkwardly raised his arms and fiddled with his hands for a few moments before he finally pulled Ai into his hug. Ai blinked her misty eyes, stupefied.

Jinhai cleared his throat. "Nuo says that she always feels better whenever she is sad and I hug her like this. So…" he patted her head and continued, "I hope you don't mind this…"

If before, Ai was struggling to talk then right now, even the last strength to utter anything vanished. Jinhai's hug took her by a sweet surprise.

She was well aware that Jinhai naturally loved all his children but somewhere she imagined that considering his nature, it would be hard for him to express his affection physically.

At that moment, his hug felt so warm and assuring that those looming and despair filled emotions gradually started to wash away from her heart. She hugged him tighter and said, "Dad…"

"Yes."

"P-please don't bow y-your head again," her lips trembled as she spoke amidst her soft gasps.

Jinhai tilted his head.

Was it in the past?

"And…and y-you are not in my d-debt…I really…I really d-did nothing for you to f-feel so indebted to me…In the past…you said that to my Dad…after Jun and my deaths…"

"Did I say that to your father?"

"Yes…"

"Then I won't take my words back. You and Jun were together when you two…So you must have done something to make my son happy in his last moments. If that is so, then I am indeed in your debt," he smiled. 

"You-you are bullying me now…"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I am not. You will understand this feeling when you become a parent yourself one day. You will then know what exactly I mean."

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