Chen Kai expected to be tired from his first day of work but not emotionally tired. Rubbing his heavy lidded eyes, he glanced at the rewards issued to him by simply understanding the aning of family.
The wording and abrupt reward reminded him of the hidden missions being completed in VR gas.
He sighed and thought of the request he wanted to send to the System Administrators. His mood was sowhat stable but he was still low in spirits and his thoughts were on one thing.
There’s a reason why mories are washed away when souls enter the wheel of reincarnation.
Can one truly ignore the past life they have lived? Can one forget the loved ones they left behind while one lives a new life?
Chen Kai was experiencing one of the downsides of transmigration.
He has a full recollection of mories for every life he lived due to him being a stand-in for each Sons of Destiny. Each mission he completed was recorded and Fate points were accumulated, also the skills he retained from one world helped in other worlds.
Yearning for the past in the form of seeking information and looking into its tiline was warned against with respect for the host’s ntal faculties.
Chen Kai recently stabilized himself, looking into the tiline of Deluge Royal bloodline may affect him but he couldn’t help his yearning.
No matter what na and title he wears on different stars, it won’t hide the fact that he’s a father.
What parent doesn’t miss and love their child?
When he was nearing the end of his life as Emperor Vincent Deluge, he was reluctant to leave his children and the mourning site of his brother and wife.
But. He had to let go.
‘I can’t look at their lives after my death but I can request a nto of them,’ he said within his thoughts.
‘System, I would like to issue a request.’ He said inwardly.
[Please state your request, host.]
When was the last ti he was nervous like this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At Binhu District, Da i and her friends were tiredly making their way to their apartnts. In their hands were takeaway boxes, knowing that their energy to cook a decent al wasn’t there.
Three were relaying their day while one was distracted. Da i realized Su Lian’s condition and subtly teased her. “My day could have been better if soone gave a huge slice of cake. What was it? Strawberry Cheesecake and Confetti Cake. Half and Half.”
“I was stuffed with dog food instead when I saw that post.”
“It looked really good though. I wonder where Brother Chen bought the cake.”
Su Lian temporarily chased away her distracting thoughts. “Nope. He had his chef personally bake it for ,” she boasted.
“His chef. Brother Chen’s change is so big,” Lin Fa comnted with a shake of her head.
The four convened at Lin Fa and Su Lian’s apartnt to have dinner and re-cap their first day with more details that they wanted to share.
They can’t help it. Fresh office gossip ca across them on their first day, how can they not share it?
Sitting on the floor, they swapped stories.
“Internship at a broadcasting company is wild. You’re randomly placed in a departnt but touch things that may be relevant to other departnts. The number of interns is about twelve or so, the majority of us are strears who either want to sign up to get better benefits or who are curious about streaming behind the scenes. I was pushed into the Planning Departnt. They are the ones who create the signed strears’ show agenda to harvest more fans or put into an acceptable plan the strears’ thoughts. A certain strear wanted to switch to outdoor streaming. At first, I was feeling good about it, then she gave a sowhat vague description.”
Lin Fa paused and rubbed her temples. “My dear strear is a xiaosan and wanted to use her channel to show her present hubby’s wife all that he’s giving and doing to her while she – the wife- sits at ho with the snot nose kids. My brain was screaming ‘No. That’s ssy. Worse, lawyer letters and a big stamp of pity on the wife’, but who am I but the intern? The Planning Manager thought it was a good idea though. His words were – Is everything PG-13?”
“Wait. Is the company you’re interning at the one that got shut down three years ago for that Internet Star birthday party that turned into a sex party?” Ye Jun asked, eyes full of excitent for internal news.
“Yes.” Lin Fa hides her face in sha. Not only was it a rival company of her present broadcasting platform but this company is known for taking risks that incites the public’s moral high ground.
“The seniors are talented and the pay is good,” Su Lian explained to her friend.
“Well paying a good salary will keep future employees tied to them,” Da i comnted on Lin Fa’s new workplace.
“It’s ssy behind the scenes. The top strears are treated like gold with fake fans and fake personalities. The contracts are suffocating and the goal is clear – make money. Besides that, it’s alright. I’m only there for experience. My channel makes enough money.”
The other three shook their heads, silently guessing how long she would keep this job. They all knew their friend only accepted this job to get her parents off her back. Being a strear was enough for her. Lin Fa is a good host with great communication skills and creativity. If she wants to put in work, she can study to beco a director or a web-show planner.
Ye Jun took this ti to give a small recap of her experience as a newbie.
“I have to thank Brother Chen for his generosity. I never knew a workplace could be a small-scale fashion show. The first thing I noticed was the high appearance whether it was in beauty or fashion. The mont I stepped in I was under full scrutiny. The clothes I chose were passable for an intern and won the approval of my ntor. I can tell that my inco is being used for luxury goods in the future.”
“Sa.” Su Lian and Da i interjected simultaneously.
They both got a taste of being silently judged. The influential seniors didn’t care about your educational background, your looks and family situation are the cards you can play.
Chen Kai talked to them about this during their shopping trip but they only listened half-heartedly since he was the sa age as them. After experiencing this, they realized that this was the true face of society. It was this way in the past and it will be in the future.
“Apart from the two-week training, there isn’t anything major to report yet,” Ye Jun continued.
“Two senior accountants at my company got arrested for embezzling funds today and one of them was the wife of the Director,” Da i stated unhurriedly while taking a piece of shrimp from soone’s food box.
Ye Jun: “...”
Su Lian: “...”
Lin Fa: “...”
This is a clear example of ‘Saving the best for last’.
Dinner ended, and everyone returned to their respective rooms, Su Lian tucked herself under covers after a warm bath, staring at the saved voice ssage on her phone. She received this unexpected ssage hours ago and didn’t have ti to fully digest it. She went through many emotions and finally stayed on acceptance.
“Is it your goal to ruin the family na with your antics? You’ve shown your ungrateful self, four years ago yet you return to show how disappointing you are by being a filthy xiaosan for a man double your age. What cri did we do to have a she-demon like you in our family? You are no longer a part of the Su Clan.”
This was the fourth ti Su Lian listened to the cold unfeeling voice of her brother. The first ti she listened, the only thing she had on her mind was the fact he contacted her. She didn’t pay attention to the voice ssage and texted him that she was at work.
ssage Failed. Unable to reach other party.
Three tis she tried.
She was only removed from the other party’s blacklist to deliver a ssage.
The voice ssage was listened to again.
Sothing reached the ears of her family with her na at the center of it. Su Lian hasn’t returned to her ho in four years, how did she ‘ruin the family na’? When did she beco so old man’s mistress?
Su Lian didn’t think much about the source of such a rumor, she focused on how easily her family believed it. Her heart was halfway there in cutting ties with them after they ended communication with her, now it is fitting to follow their lead in cutting ties fully.
To check, she ssaged the contact numbers of her parents.
ssage Failed.
“I guess Mother finally bent to the old man’s will.”
Screen-shotting the ssages and moving both them and the saved voice ssage to a folder, Su Lian finally deleted the contacts of her now non-existent family.
Turning under the sheets, she stared blankly at the ceiling. There were no tears of hurt, nor was the stupid question of ‘why are they doing this to ’ being yelled. She steeled her heart when she refused to go along with their plan for her life, she just didn’t expect they would easily believe such rumors.
As for the rumors after a night of circulation, she had an inkling of what happened.
“A woman who’s doing well for herself must have a backer. Wow.” She muttered mockingly.
She thought of the spoiled princess treatnt she received from Chen Kai and laughed. “Well, at least this backer is handso.” Her laugh turned into a hum of satisfaction.
The one who started that rumor took a lot of effort to let it reach their ears. Is their hate for her so strong? If anyone asks her to recall their faces or even state the relationship between them, Su Lian won’t be able to answer. If that girl didn’t say her na then she won’t know who it was. Since they want to sully her reputation, they’re only hitting cotton with their efforts. Her life is in Nanjing whatever happens in Hangzhou is none of her business.
Going back to her phone, she sent a quick WeChat ssage to Chen Kai. It didn’t take a long ti for a reply.
Husband: It was a bit ntally draining but nothing big, tell about your day.
A frown ford on her lips. Chen Kai was shifting the attention to her, he does this when distracted and has a lot on his mind. She played along and sent a voice mo about her day.
Husband: That’s great.
Her reply was straightforward: “Why don’t you bow out? You don’t need to strain yourself into having a talk with . It’s okay, baby.”
After her voice mo was sent, a call ca in minutes later.
“I love you.” The three words were soft coming through the phone but loud in Su Lian’s heart. Translation: ‘You knew. Thanks for understanding. I truly love you’.
Three words have three anings, one can hear it in the tone of Chen Kai’s voice. The two stayed in a warm silence, quietly supporting each other. She didn’t ntion the episode with her forr family. It will add to his current vulnerable state.
The call tir passed seven minutes and neither one spoke. Their breathing can be heard through the line, both going through the emotions that fogged up most of their day.
Ten minutes passed.
Chen Kai spoke.
“Soon. I want to start our family soon.”
Instead of being shocked and becoming a bumbling idiot, Su Lian kept his words in her heart. Sitting up, she went through a lot of ideas as to why Chen Kai would bring up this subject so early in their relationship. Though they had four years to know and be comfortable with each other, their physical relationship was on the level of exploration – passionate kisses and testing of limits.
“I know but can you tell why you inford so early? You haven’t placed a ring on my finger yet. The promise bracelet doesn’t count, dear husband.” Her teasing voice didn’t hide her firm attitude towards the subject.
“..... I touched a part of my life that I ignored for years. A few things happened today that affected more than I thought. Auntie Lan called to check up on . During the call, my appreciation for the old couple rose. They were my foster parents in spoken words. After work, I visited Auntie outside our school to deliver the graduation invites. They were so happy to be invited and their fussing over affected more than normal...”
Su Lian didn’t let him continue and interjected her words gently. “.. and you realized from this type of familial love, you want more. You want a family who carries your bloodline.”
“Yes. I have XiaoYan but he will get older in the years and have his own family.” Chen Kai spoke softly, letting down all his emotional defense he had all day, and told Su Lian what he wanted to say all day. He couldn’t tell her that he was a transmigrator and had a family light years away but he spoke with her things that the System couldn’t help him with.
In the end, Su Lian told him what happened earlier.
A bitter smile was on her lips when it was all said and done. A sentence was spoken by her that simply represented their hidden turmoil that most wouldn’t understand.
“Two lonely souls walking on one path.”
Both thought to themselves after that sentence that they were no longer lonely, they have each other now. That’s a good start to have the type of family they wish for.
(Author: Let the Chapters stack up, man. Thanks for the motivation and for paying an inco!)
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