The rain fell harder, the relentless wind carrying the moans of thunder, as dark rain clouds swept in, with blindingly white lightning serpents dancing between the dense layers.
And at this mont, the dim and silent living room was enveloped in the vast sound of rain.
Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo Case stood facing each other from opposite ends of the long hallway.
A fleeting flash of lightning elongated Gu Zhuo Case’s shadow, casting it onto the wooden floor, and the wind chis on the ceiling swayed urgently.
"Qiye, I have sothing to tell you."
Gu Zhuo Case stood motionless at the doorway, head bowed, letting the wind and rain outside beat against him.
"What can’t you say directly?" Gu Qiye looked at the man standing at the door, puzzled.
He didn’t understand why this man was just standing there motionless in the rain. Could it be he had done sothing shaful again?
After a mont of silence, Gu Zhuo Case suddenly said, "Qiye... don’t join Rainbow Wings."
His voice was hoarse, his tone seemingly pleading, yet it contained an undisguisable anger.
Gu Qiye was slightly startled, raising his head to look at him: "You, who did you hear this from?"
Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly froze.
Thunder roared, and at that mont, blindingly white lightning sliced through the rain clouds, illuminating the sky.
In that fleeting brilliance, Gu Qiye suddenly saw the mask clutched in Gu Zhuo Case’s right hand. He stared at the silver-black respirator mask in a daze, his pupils contracted to the extre, his lips parting but unable to speak.
Gu Qiye’s body trembled amidst the ever-increasing sound of wind and rain. Gu Zhuo Case, with his back to the storm, turned his face away, not daring to look him in the eye.
"It’s you... it’s you... why?"
Gu Qiye slowly lowered his head, retreating step by step, muttering hoarsely.
A mont later, he bumped into the hallway wall, his fringe falling over his eyes.
Gu Qiye suddenly understood. Why he saw that dark figure at the auction, why he heard that deafening bell chi at that ti.
He recalled the cris Ghost Bell had committed over the years:
Repeatedly challenging Rainbow Wings on television, yet never harming ordinary people, always targeting those overstepping superpower police officers in front of the cara, or destroying expensive artifacts.
It was because Gu Zhuo Case was trying everything without violating his principles to attract official attention.
In his heart, he hoped that one day that lofty group known as "Rainbow Wings" would co to punish him, and by that day, he could finally uncover the truth behind his wife’s death.
After a mont, the silence shrouding the hallway was finally broken by soone.
Gu Zhuo Case spoke, word by word:
"Qiye, don’t join Rainbow Wings. It’s their trap, once you join Rainbow Wings, there’s no turning back."
Gu Qiye hung his head in silence for a long ti before asking hoarsely:
"Why... didn’t you tell earlier?"
"I will get to the bottom of it... Dad will investigate the truth about Mom’s death, you don’t need to interfere."
"Why didn’t you tell earlier?"
"Everything will be alright, I will make everything right, you can stop, live a normal life like other kids."
"I’m asking you, why didn’t you tell earlier—! You just disappeared for years, without even saying a word... you are Ghost Bell? You beca a criminal! Maybe even if you died out there, we wouldn’t know! Do you plan to hide it from us forever? If you get killed by people from Rainbow Wings, how are we supposed to know where you went?! Will you just suddenly vanish without a trace? Have you thought... thought about what we would do?"
"I just... worried that you would be affected, I hoped you could live a normal life, have a good education, so I left."
"It’s too late!"
Gu Qiye roared, lifting his head to coldly stare at Gu Zhuo Case: "Xiaomai is gone too, she beca an Exorcist, does that satisfy you?"
"I know, but there’s still room for redemption..."
"You don’t know at all! She went to Tokyo, beca a guard for that auction! She almost died, just a little bit more! If you were at ho, if you could even care a little more, would this happen?"
Gu Zhuo Case lowered his head, speaking softly:
"I know I’ve never been a good father, but just this once, I hope you can trust Dad, stay away from Rainbow Wings, don’t be drawn to the fla... They’re using you, Black Cocoon is also using you."
Gu Qiye leaned against the wall, slowly sitting down.
He lowered his voice: "You shouldn’t have co back... You shouldn’t even have told that you’re that damn Ghost Bell. What do you want to say now, want to say that you’re also working hard for Mom, so we should forgive you?"
"Don’t join Rainbow Wings..." Gu Zhuo Case said, "just end it like this, let Blue Arc disappear, then... I will end everything, Su Ying’s matter, Rainbow Wing’s matter, I’ll settle it alone, I’m not so pathetic that I need my own child to do such dangerous things."
"And then what? Do you think you can co back alive with the title of a criminal."
"I might... not co back."
Gu Qiye was taken aback. At the mont he heard this sentence, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, as if there was a fire burning, about to crack open his entire chest.
"Then just get out of my sight!" he growled lowly, "You’re just a bastard, a bastard who’s only ever had eyes for himself, and now suddenly cos out pretending to care. Do you know what I’ve been through these past few years?"
"Qiye, it’s enough... You’ve done enough these years, so leave it all to ..." Gu Zhuo Case said hoarsely, "I beg you as your father, don’t get close to Rainbow Wings. Those people are dangerous, you don’t know what will happen if you join Rainbow Wings..."
"Do I need you to manage ?" Gu Qiye suddenly laughed, his forehead’s bangs covering his eyes, "Do you know why I initially chose to beco a Mutant?"
"Why?"
"Because every day when I got ho, I could see a man drunk as a skunk. I wanted this man to pull himself together, to realize that after losing mom, there were still several kids at ho waiting for him to pick himself up, but I couldn’t do it... I couldn’t do it, no matter how hard I tried, you never even once looked in the eye. That’s why I beca a Mutant. I always thought if I could find out the truth about mom, the dependable dad from before would return,"
Speaking up to this point, Gu Qiye paused, bowing his head to gaze at the floor:
"But you left... you left without a word."
Gu Zhuo Case stood there, stunned. He slowly lifted his head, looking in astonishnt at the young man sitting on the ground. The wind and rain outside grew stronger, almost howling, and his back was completely drenched.
After a mont of silence, Gu Qiye suddenly rasped:
"Tell ... at the auction that ti, why did you save ?"
"Because I am... your..."
The words from his heart were like a tidal wave, already surging to his throat, about to drown him entirely, yet Gu Zhuo Case couldn’t utter them. He didn’t know if he still had the right to call himself a father, wasn’t sure if he still counted as a father in this child’s eyes.
He had made too many mistakes, too many to be rectified. A final cold sentence echoed in the hallway, interrupting his thoughts:
"I will join Rainbow Wings."
"No! You absolutely cannot..."
Gu Qiye abruptly raised his head, cutting him off: "I said, I will join Rainbow Wings! Who are you to control ? I will investigate the truth about mom, but not for you, not this ti! It’s for myself, I’ve worked hard for so many years, so many years... Why, why can’t I have a good ending? Why do I have to accept that I’m a failure? What gives you the right to make give up?"
He paused, hoarsely shouting:
"Anyway, everything I do is wrong, isn’t it? No matter how hard I try, it’s still the sa as before! Even coming ho from school, trying hard to make the ho a little decent on my own, cleaning up all the ss you left, you never noticed , not even once."
He suddenly laughed, "Even throughout these years... you’ve tried to kill many tis, haven’t you?"
Gu Zhuo Case hung his head, weakly defending himself: "That’s because, back then, I didn’t know, I didn’t know you were Blue Arc..."
Gu Qiye laughed with relief.
His voice suddenly cald, weak and hoarse as he said:
"Yes, of course you didn’t know, because you never knew, but now you’re acting like you understand so well, and that’s what makes it disgusting..."
Gu Zhuo Case remained silent.
Gu Qiye kept his head down, lips slightly moving, slowly saying:
"Go... don’t let see you again."
Gu Zhuo Case kept his eyes lowered, staring at the ground: "Don’t worry, Qiye... Daddy will take care of everything." After speaking, he clenched the Ghost Bell mask, turned around and walked into the wind and rain, his rigid back swallowed by the overwhelming rain curtain.
A mont later, a bolt of sudden thunder rumbled down.
Gu Qiye suddenly paused, slowly raising his head, turning to look at the figure standing in the living room.
Gu Wenyu said nothing, slowly walked over, and sat beside him, keeping his head down without speaking.
After a mont, Gu Wenyu suddenly spoke, saying in a low voice:
"Brother, didn’t you say... you wanted to reconcile with dad?"
Gu Qiye slightly opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. He lowered his head, swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving up and down.
Gu Wenyu raised his head, glanced at the heavy rain outside, even the shoe cabinet and floor at the hallway were wet, so he moved to the darkened hallway and closed the door.
At this mont, the sound of wind and rain was isolated outside, and the whole world seed to quiet down, leaving only the static noise of a TV malfunctioning. After standing still for a while, Gu Wenyu slowly walked back.
He lowered his eyes to look at Gu Qiye sitting on the ground, gently asking:
"Brother... it’s dad’s birthday tomorrow, shall we still order the cake?"
Gu Qiye still didn’t speak.
After waiting for a long ti, Gu Wenyu softly said: "Well... then forget it."
He squatted down, placing the phone next to Gu Qiye, "Here’s your phone back, tell the boss I said to cancel the cake order." After that, Gu Wenyu turned around, without looking back, went upstairs.
The hallway was left with only Gu Qiye alone.
After being silent for a long, long ti, he slowly tilted his head back, resting the back of his head against the wall, taking deep, repeated breaths.
"Mom, what should I do?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)