Chapter 7 AM I BEING HATED?
But honestly speaking, it’s not just his new identity, there’s still one thing he couldn’t get quite used to. That was the love and care his new family was showing him. Well, except for his younger brother. That one always seemed to be angry for some reason. With his exception, Luo Yan’s father and older brother kept showering him with love, completely spoiling him. It was even much harder because he could feel that that love was genuine.
It was something Luo Yan never thought that he would ever feel in his life. He always scammed people and acted in a way they wanted so they would be kind to him. He never felt this kind of unconditional familial love. Even though he knew that that love was for the original owner of this body, he couldn’t help but want to return it back.
Maybe it’s the lingering feelings of the original owner. But he really did want to treasure these people, even that seemingly annoying younger brother. For the first time in his life he wanted to treat people sincerely. Was it wrong for him to feel this way? No, it was just his cynical self talking. As always. How could returning the kindness of others be wrong? If he did, then maybe... maybe he could finally have the kind of family he always wanted.
Speaking of, Luo Yan turned to the side where his father was sitting with a laptop on top of a table in front of him. Ever since Luo Yan woke up, his father had been doing his work here. If he could, he would have already put another bed in this room so he could just sleep here. But even with that, it almost felt like he had been staying here overnight. Because he only left whenever Luo Yan fell asleep. And then when Luo Yan woke up, his father was already here.
"Dad, is it really okay for you to stay here all the time? Don’t you have to go to work?"
Luo Wei Tian looked up from his laptop and showed a rare smile to his son. He walked towards his bed and sat on the side. "It’s fine. I could work at my own time. It’s the advantage of being the president. Or don’t you want Dad to be here?" the last one he asked with a bit of grievance in his voice.
[What’s this? You’re supposed to be a cold president. What are you doing selling meng to your own son?] Luo Yan just chose to smile. "Of course not. I enjoy having Dad here."
Which was true. Suddenly waking up in this kind of situation would be daunting for anyone. Even for him. Having someone staying by his side was pretty reassuring. It actually helped him in his transition in this new life, emotionally at least.
"Good. Because I also love being here with you," his father said while gently stroking his head.
After lunch, Luo Wei Tian had to leave because of a situation in the main office that he had to deal himself. He didn’t really want to leave Xiao Yan by himself. Doctor Han said that they shouldn’t treat him too much like a child. Because it would be even harder for him to transition to his real age which was 17. But Luo Wei Tian couldn’t help himself. For him, Xiao Yan was still that ten year old child. He just wanted to spoil him for all the years that Xiao Yan missed with his family.
As he was about to tell his assistant to handle it, his eldest came. He was finally relieved to leave Xiao Yan.
Luo Ren sat on the chair beside the hospital bed. "Have you eaten lunch?" he asked.
Luo Yan nodded. "You don’t have class, Brother?"
Luo Ren immediately smiled when he heard what Yan Yan called him. "This is my last semester in university so I don’t really have that much class anymore."
Luo Yan looked at the smile of this older brother of his. It was no longer that stiff, unlike the first time he smiled at him. His smile was slowly starting to be natural. Luo Yan guessed that his older brother probably originaly had a very gentle personality. But due to that accident, he probably started turning cold. Emulating their father.
He heard about it, the accident that caused the original owner to fall into coma. He wasn’t really sure about the whole detail. But apparently it was a car accident where he, his younger brother, and their mother were in. While he suffered severe brain trauma, their mother died on the spot.
He found out about it when he asked his older brother where their mother was. Because he remembered a certain part of the original owner’s fragmented memory. That of a beautiful woman smiling gently at him, the same peach blossom eyes looking at him with love. His older brother’s face was suddenly filled with sadness and grief. And then he told him that their mother was already in heaven, guarding them as an angel.
His older brother probably phrased it that way because he thought that Luo Yan’s mind was still that of a child. But since he really wasn’t, he immediately understood that their mother was gone. A sadness he had never felt before suddenly filled his chest. Before he knew it, tears were already falling from his eyes. Like he lost something very important.
That was five days ago, the same day that his younger brother last visited him. Luo Jin was here when their older brother was telling him about their mother. After seeing him cry, he suddenly stormed out of the hospital room. And he never visited since.
Luo Yan thought of many possibilities. But the only thing he could think of was that he was angry with him. Maybe he’s blaming him for that accident or something. As much as possible, Luo Yan didn’t want to clash with any of his new family members. Because that would just lead to a not so peaceful life. This was his second shot at life, he didn’t want to spend it fighting with someone.
But for some reason, Luo Yan thought that his younger brother might not really hate him. Because despite Luo Jin’s rude attitude, Luo Yan never felt any hostility from him. He was angry, yes. But that anger might not be totally directed at Luo Yan.
"Brother, why is Ah Jin not coming to visit me anymore?" he asked Luo Ren, trying to figure out what he thought of their younger brother’s attitude. "Does he... does he hate me?"
Luo Ren stared at his younger brother’s big watery eyes, as if he would cry any second. He suddenly had an urge to drag Xiao Jin here and make him apologize to Yan Yan. "Of course not. Xiao Jin doesn’t hate you. He just has school so he couldn’t visit."
"But, he seemed to be always angry with me," Luo Yan said trying to look dejected.
Luo Ren sighed. "He’s not angry with you, Yan Yan." He just had anger management issues. But he couldn’t tell that to Yan Yan because he might not understand. "Then, when he comes to visit next time why don’t you ask him if he hates you. Then you’ll know the answer for sure."
[Brother, what kind of advice is that? You’re not being helpful at all.]
Luo Yan just sighed in his heart. But he guessed he really had no choice but to ask the person himself.