A long silence followed before Zhuocheng continued. "Sometimes I secretly visit Zhan in Manila. I visit him at his school. Ziyuan wouldn't allow me to see him. She hated me, I think because of that insult I hurled at her a long time ago." Zhuocheng raised his eyes to Yibo who was standing on the balcony railing with his back turned. Hands are in jeans pockets.
"Ziyuan moved heaven and earth, for Zhan to only win. I was worried about him because he was still very young. Instead of being he is with the same age as him, his companions are all commercial models. Although our communication remained, when Zhan won in Supermodel China and he and his mother went to America, we never saw each other again except for when he came home."
When Ziyuan died, Zhan called him. When Zhan expressed his desire to bring his mother's remains home, Zhuocheng suggested that Ziyuan be buried in Chongqing. That cemented Zhan's decision to come home.
"How will you explain to Aunt Yingchun my arrival?" Zhan asked Zhuocheng."You've lived here for seven years, Zhan. Even if Mama won't admit it, I know she likes you. I know she was hurt when you left. And every time she gets postcards from you, she smiles. Great, she says you're young and know how to show gratitude. And when she heard the news of your mommy's death, she was so worried. She says you're all alone. So, you see, she'll be glad you're coming home."
"D-doesn't she know who I am?" Zhuocheng sighed heavily. "She doesn't need to know, Zhan," Zhuocheng answered in a strained tone. "It wouldn't change a thing if she knew. I'm even more afraid that it will hurt Mama if she finds out. I can't be sure how she will accept that during those times I adopted Uncle Fengmian's son with another woman. It would appear as if I betrayed her since she hated those women...
"I hated his father," added Yingchun when Zhuocheng finished speaking. "Worst, I hated myself for being weak and believing Fengmian's sweet words and marrying him when I was not yet done mourning my husband's death.
"I wanted to blame Zhan for his father's sin. Fengmian sold half of the land I inherited. I couldn't remember signing any deed of sale, but my signature was on the document. It was genuine. How Fengmian did that I can't remember. Perhaps one of those times when he gave me drugs every time, I suffered a nervous breakdown..."
"When did you find out the truth," asked Ziyi, glancing at Zhuocheng.
"The day Fengmian died. I saw Zhan crying in one corner. The young stranger wouldn't cry like that if it had nothing to do with the deceased." She took a deep breath. "I want to hate him because of what his father did to me... for the loss of livelihood that caused our financial status to be in jeopardy. But what is the sin of a child who even suffered bad treatment from his own father?"
No one spoke. Not even Yibo who was clenching his jaw. "Zhan was a good kid, Mr. Wang," Yingchun continued. "And yet it hadn't been easy to forgive and forget. When my heart was slowly loving him, his mother took him. I was hurt."
Yibo turned and spoke after a long silence. "Would anyone know where I could find him?"
"If I knew I would tell you, Yibo," Zhuocheng said sincerely. He turned to Yingchun. She shook her head sadly. "This morning he was here. He greeted me and made sure nothing bad happened to him. He took some of his things including his passport."
Passport. damn Why didn't he think of that? If Zhan was here this morning it would be a long time before he would get to the airport and become a chance passenger.
"Zhan will probably be back in America tomorrow, Mr. Wang. I'm sure he'll call me. I'll let you know right away."
