Chapter 1 Reality

With the sound of a car horn, I was pulled back from my memories into reality. Without realizing it, I had walked quite a long way. I had escaped the desolation of the prison and found myself sitting on a roadside step.

A car was parked directly in front of me. Upon closer inspection, it was the same car I used to drive. Xiao Wu got out of the car at the same time and immediately apologized, "Brother Lin, I'm sorry, I'm late! The car had a flat tire, so I had to call someone to help, which is why I was delayed."

I looked at him. He was the only one left of my five or six brothers. He was also the only one who had visited me. Maybe it was because I entrusted him with the house and car after I went in that he stuck around.

I didn't get into the car right away. I sat on the hood and reached for a cigarette. Xiao Wu reacted quickly and immediately pulled out a pack from his pocket, handing the whole thing to me.

Just as I put the cigarette to my lips, he diligently lit it for me. I took a strong puff and asked, "Are you alone? Where are the others?"

By "others," I meant the few who were usually loyal to me. I knew the rest would definitely scatter.

Xiao Wu looked at me and hesitantly replied, "Acheng and Xiao Hei went to Biao Ge's place."

Chen Biao was our old rival. Joining him meant betraying me...

Xiao Wu seemed to sense my thoughts and cautiously spoke up for them, "After you went in, they still had to live. They don't have high education, and Biao Ge took the initiative to find them."

I didn't answer. I didn't get into the car until I finished the cigarette. After three years, the car was a bit old, and the interior wasn't well maintained—it was dirty.

Before starting the car, Xiao Wu gave me the house keys. I didn't have much savings, so I wondered if I could even keep the house.

After three years of confinement, stepping back into society, I couldn't find that feeling of power I once had. Of course, I only occasionally showed off in front of a few of them.

Staring at the trees and cars flashing by the guardrail, I felt as if the bad luck on my body was being taken away, easing the depression in my heart.

As we approached my home, Xiao Wu glanced at me, seeming to have something to say. I dropped the superior attitude I had previously held over him and proactively said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

"That Pei Shi Yu..."

As soon as he said it, I perked up my ears, but Xiao Wu stopped talking, his eyes looking forward with a tangled expression.

"If you want to say it, just say it. It's making you uncomfortable to hold it in."

"I'm just afraid something will happen to you again," Xiao Wu said, giving his reason.

"What happened? Tell me first. Anyway, I've already been set up by them once."

"I saw her at a restaurant a while ago."

"So what?"

"She had a child with her."

"You want me to kidnap their child?"

"I didn't mean that. I'm just telling you about their situation."

I sneered inwardly. I almost got rough with this woman. It seemed the Lin Hai family was doing well.

At this time, Xiao Wu parked the car downstairs from my house and handed me the car keys at the same time, asking, "What are your plans for the future?"

"None! I'm going back to my hometown. I want to stay there for a few days."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

I looked at Xiao Wu and asked, "Aren't you working now?"

"Well, not at the moment."

"Then okay, we'll leave tomorrow. I need to pack my things now."

Looking at the clothes from a few years ago on my body, I added, "I'll go out and buy a few sets of clothes too."

"Then I'll come over again tomorrow."

After Xiao Wu left, I drove the car into the community. The parking space I used to have had been changed into an environmental garbage bin.

Upstairs, I didn't go straight in. I stood with the keys for a while. Just like three years ago, I was greeted by a cold, empty house.

I simply stood by the window in the stairwell and lit another cigarette. Xiao Wu's words just now brought back the scene of attending Lin Yang's engagement ceremony that day...

The night before attending the engagement banquet, I used the money Lin Hai had transferred to me to buy the most expensive suit I'd ever owned. I also hired a high-end hairstylist, dressing myself from head to toe in righteousness, like a prodigal son.

The next day, I arrived at the designated hotel on time and was immediately shocked. Lin Hai had booked the entire hotel. A red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way inside, with him smiling and welcoming guests.

When I arrived in front of him, he didn't recognize me at first, thinking I was some important guest, his eyes narrowed into slits with a smile.

As he reached out his hand, I calmly looked at him. More than a decade had turned him into a wretched old man. Besides the fat and grease all over his body, it seemed he was doing well. The lady next to him was also covered in jewelry.

I just looked at him coldly. The unusual reaction made him open his eyes and recognize me. He immediately withdrew his hand and changed his expression. Maybe it was because of the two million, or maybe he was never close to me to begin with. Anyway, he performed the whole face-changing process perfectly.

"Your grandparents are over there. Go find them directly." He told me briefly.

I first looked around at the atmosphere. There was a group of people gathered in a circle in the middle. I guessed correctly that Lin Yang was surrounded. I could only hear his voice, but couldn't see him.

I looked up and saw my grandparents. They didn't seem to have changed much, sitting peacefully on the sofa, the smiles on their faces enough to prove how happy they were at this moment.

A room full of strangers. If it weren't for that huge sum of money, I wouldn't have come to such an occasion even if someone pointed a gun at me.

Suddenly, I heard, "Lin Che, isn't that A'che!"

It was my grandmother's voice. The two of them immediately walked to me and looked me up and down. Grandma took my hand and said, "A'che, where have you been all these years? Did your mother take you back? Otherwise, you wouldn't have left without telling us."

"No," I replied simply and calmly.

"Then where did you go?" Grandpa asked with some concern.

Surrounded by guests, I didn't want to talk about it in the crowd...

"Let's go sit over there."

I turned and walked away first, leaving them with a belly full of questions. My grandparents raised me for more than ten years. I would always remember that kindness, because they had no obligation to bear that responsibility.

My departure must have been a good thing for them. It reduced a burden and allowed them to enjoy a better life. I didn't want to be a burden to them. That was the simple thought I had at the time.

As soon as I sat down, they followed me and continued to ask the same question.

"A'che, if you didn't find your mother, then where did you go all these years?"

"I supported myself. You won't starve with two hands."

I remembered that when I left home, I took all the savings they had hidden in the house. Now that I think about it, that was a bit reckless.