Chapter 76
Chapter 76
We got into a tussle and during the struggle, he was able to push me down the stairs.
I hit my head and bled terribly. I was rushed to the hospital after that and needed stitches done.
That incident became a huge wake up call for my mom and she decided to separate us brothers apart. She moved here with me while my brother stayed back in England.
From there, I tried starting out a new life.
I tried my best to forget my life back in England.
But all these years apart, Alice continued writing to me.
She would never let me forget.
Every time my heart started healing, she would appear and tear me up inside all over again."
He closed his eyes as memories of his past life flooded his mind.
In the past, he tried his best to ignore her letters but they always contained words he wanted to hear. And he read them over and over again.
When Alice and Zhichen moved into the country during senior high, things only got worse. Every time Zhihao tried avoiding Alice, she would run to Zhichen and cry. And then the brothers would get into a fight. And then Victoria would get heart broken. And Zhihao would feel guilty. He would try to patch things up.
And the cycle would repeat.
When he finally moved on and fell in love with Ying Yue during their university years, he moved out of the Zheng Residences. Life was beautiful back then and every day, he would look forward to tomorrow.
But Alice would not let him live in peace.
She started visiting his new home, bothering Ying Yue under the guise of worrying for Zhihao. She sowed mistrust and doubt into their hearts and before long, the couple started getting into fights.
Finally unable to take it anymore, Zhihao cut off all ties with the Zhengs. He moved out of the city with Ying Yue, deciding to live a life of peace in the countryside.
Things were hard for them but he endured every day just to come home to see her smile.
But one day, he came home and she wasn't there.
He got a call two hours later saying that she was sent to the hospital.
He rushed to the emergency room but she was barely hanging on for her dear life. After an hour of battling with death, she lost.
And she was gone.
When he entered the room to see her off, the nurse gave him a note. She said that Ying Yue knew that she wouldn't make it but that she struggled to leave a few last words for him.
'Every day with you was beautiful. Up until the end, I regret nothing. I love you… and I always will.'
A flood of emotions came crashing onto him.
Sadness.
Despair.
Anger.
Rage.
He hunted Alice down and she denied the murder. She claimed that Ying Yue attacked her first out of jealousy and that she merely protected herself.
But Zhihao saw for himself the amount of stab wounds Ying Yue sustained. It belied Alice's claim of self-defense.
Blood rushed to his head and all around him he only saw red. When he came back to his senses, he had strangled her to death.
He fell to his knees, his eyes devoid of life and purpose.
Bob rushed into the room not long after that and the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance.
'Kill me.' He begged.
Hesitating to pull the trigger, Bob clenched his fists as tears streamed down his face.
'I'll be with you soon, Zhi.'
A gunshot was soon heard across the neighborhood before another one rang through the silence.
Four bodies were buried after that day.
Murder driven by jealousy.
Murder driven by rage.
Assisted suicide.
Suicide.
---
Daiyu hugged Zhihao tightly and his eyes widened. He didn't know that while reminiscing about the past, his tears had begun to fall unconsciously.
"Pain, pain, go away."
He bit his lip.
"Pain, pain, go away."
He sobbed and Daiyu held him tighter. They stayed that way for a while before Daiyu broke the silence.
"… Do you hate your brother?" She asked and he shook his head.
She smiled.
"That's good. Cause we need his help."
Zhihao tilted his head to one side in question.
---
Upon reaching the Wang Mansion, Daiyu escorted Zhihao to his room where she tucked him under a warm blanket. She then left to prepare something to warm him up while Nao Nao kept him company.
After downing a big bowl of warm soup, Zhihao fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing that Zhihao had finally calmed down, Daiyu gave Ying Yue a call.
"Jiejie, can you come over?"
"Yeah… Zhihao-gege's not feeling so great…"
"Alright. I'll see you soon."
After ending the call with Ying Yue, she called Victoria next.
---
An hour later, Zhihao woke up to the find Ying Yue gently stroking his hair. He smiled.
"What a beautiful angel."
She blushed but chuckled.
"Why are you here?" He asked.
"Daiyu called me over. She said that you were feeling under the weather."
He pouted cutely and nodded. She laughed and gently kissed his forehead.
"Where is she?" He asked.
"She went out on an errand. She said she'll be back later."
"Oh. Okay." He nodded and didn't think about it further.
He then pulled Ying Yue under the sheets with him.
"Wanna do something naughty?"
She pinched his ear in return.
"OUCH!"
"Looks like you're back to normal."
---
Meanwhile, Daiyu sat inside a renowned Italian restaurant, waiting.
"Xiao Yu!" A familiar voice called.
"Aunty!" Daiyu stood up and lightly kissed Victoria's cheek.
After exchanging short pleasantries, the two women sat beside each other.
"Aunty, I've called you today to talk about Zhihao-gege." Daiyu started.
Victoria tensed up but nodded.
"He has opened up to me regarding his brother…"
Victoria quickly turned her head to face Daiyu.
"He doesn't know that I'm about to tell you this, but aunty, as his mother, I think you should know about his feelings."
Victoria held Daiyu's hands and nodded.
"Please tell me, Xiao Yu." She looked at her with pleading eyes.
Daiyu nodded.
"He told me that he doesn't hate his brother, and that he holds no grudges against him."
Victoria tightened her grip on Daiyu's hand before letting out a huge sigh.
"That's great… that's great…" She started tearing up upon the news.
"But aunty, he doesn't like Alice."
Victoria stiffened.
"He said that she reminds him of a past he's trying so hard to forget."
Victoria paused before nodding.
"I understand…" She sighed.
"But I hope that in time they will fix things up together." She continued.
"Aunty." Daiyu shook her head.
"Some things are broken for good. Zhihao-gege has worked so hard for the past six years to forget her. Let him forget. Let him forget her for good."
Victoria paused.
"But his brother…"
Daiyu nodded.
"Zhihao-gege and his brother will eventually patch things up. And Alice doesn't need to be in the picture for that to happen. She's not family. But Zhihao-gege is your son. Please put his happiness first."
Victoria hesitated.
"Aunty, the way you're insisting for him to patch things up with Alice, is the same as scratching at his wounds. He will never heal."
"That's not what I –
Daiyu nodded.
"I know. But aunty, if you can give the brothers a chance at reconciliation in exchange for this small price, will you not do it? If Zhihao-gege can finally smile one day, knowing that his past no longer haunts him, won't you help him? Not all broken relationships need to be mended. Some are broken purposely for good. For Zhihao-gege's peace. For his own happiness."
Daiyu smiled and gently rubbed the back of Victoria's hand to comfort her.
"So aunty, won't you help him? Can you help us fix up a time for the brothers to meet and talk?"
Victoria's eyes widened.
"I'll talk to Zhihao-gege and convince him. Can you do the same for his brother?"
Victoria quickly nodded.
"Yes. Yes I can."
Daiyu smiled.
"Then I will contact you again when Zhihao-gege is ready."
Victoria nodded, her eyes growing teary.
"Thank you, Xiao Yu. Thank you." Victoria hugged her tightly.
Daiyu nodded and hugged her back.
"But aunty, please take my words into consideration. Please don't let Alice get in the way of the Zhihao-gege and his brother's relationship again."
Victoria nodded.
"I understand."
Daiyu smiled.
"Then I shall go now. I'll call you as soon as Zhihao-gege is ready."
Victoria nodded and smiled.
Truly, moving here was the right choice. For his son to have met good friends like Daiyu and Liu Jin, his son was really lucky. Perhaps… Daiyu was right. If Zhihao could continue living like this in happiness… perhaps sometimes, forging new bonds was better than mending broken ones.
---
After talking with Victoria, Daiyu went back to the Wang Mansion.
"Xiao Yu! Where'd you go?" Zhihao asked.
Right now, he was with Ying Yue in the living room, watching TV.
"I went to talk to your mother."
"EH?! WHY???"
"To set up a time for you and your brother to talk."