Chapter 370 - Can't Wait To Be Back Home

It had been already a few years since Hao Suyin left her family. Since she 'died'. But on those years that she had been away, she had always been a step behind Checks. Turned out, he was even more of a genius than their previous boss Jaws. She spent a lot of years trying to find him, leaving no stone unturned but it seemed they were not meant to cross paths.

Until that stupid The Zookeeper revealed to her son that she was, in fact, alive. She didn't really think that Qing Chen would look for her. Her sons saw her lifeless.

Qing Chen having her last painting tattooed on his back was the last thing that she had expected. All those years she thought that he had already burned it. But it was there, forever etched on his skin.

She underestimated her own children and was genuinely surprised that they had managed to break the code in her drawings. She knew that Qing Zihao tried his best to lead them off but those boys were real knuckleheads that was why her husband instructed some people inside the small team their sons built to be able to update them on how close they were with the truth.

Now, the sun was setting and the two of them were watching it. The waves crashing on the shore were getting stronger and stronger with each pull of the ocean. "The boys are getting nearer. What are we supposed to do now?" Qing Zihao asked her.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. She was not the woman she had once been. She was not even the woman who had raised her sons. It was like, this was the third version of herself.

Learning that her sons already had an idea with what kind of person she really was sent a cold shiver down her spine. She ignored it. There was nothing else that she could do. They must be so confused right now. They must be begging for answers.

"We do the thing that we should've done before," she sighed. "We go home. Then we're going to tell them the truth."

Over the years that she had been separated from her husband, they had only been able to see each other about a dozen times. It was always just one night. Sometimes it was a birthday, sometimes it was a holiday, and sometimes it was just a random day in the calendar.

It was not safe to be in constant communication so they hardly talked either.

Being away for that long, not being able to talk, not being able to see… to touch each other. It was painful. She missed her family everyday. It was like she was subjecting herself to her own kind of torture. 

Her feelings should've dried out—that was what she expected too. Maybe if she stayed away from her family for a long time, she would forget about them. Maybe she didn't even need to return. Maybe she could just start over again. As a new person.

The opposite happened. Her love for them was a fire that would never burn out in her chest. Everyday it burned a little brighter than the day before.

It was the only thing that kept her from completely disappearing off the face of the earth.

Now, with the activities that her son had been doing to be able to find her, her name kept on flaring up people's computers because of all the triggers that they had installed decades ago when someone would search for her.

Checks getting into the picture in this was not something she did not expect. In fact, it was something that she looked forward to.

It was kind of cute if you were going to think about it. She was chasing Checks; Checks was chasing her sons; Her sons were chasing her.

It was like they made their own little cycle of things. It was not going to end if none of them would be making a new move. 

"Are you sure you're ready to come home?" Qing Zihao asked her. 

"Yes," she said, smelling the clean scent of his clothes. "I didn't think I would ever say this, but I miss the smell of your tobacco."

Qing Zihao's shoulder shook under her cheek as he laughed. "You've got to be kidding me. You have tried for years to get me to quit."

"Yeah, I even had a sauna in our house for it, but I'm glad that you stopped now."

She had been able to catch glimpses of her sons now and then when she was away. She was there when Qing Chen graduated, she was there when Qing Lok celebrated his twentieth birthday, she was there when Qing Wei was targeting The Mantis (coincidentally, they were in the same area. She decided that she was going to make sure that he was not going to mess up with one of The Zookeeper's men).

The Zookeeper and her had a brief friendship. Hao Suyin sought his help when Checks got into the territory of the mafia poachers. She had the money and he had the men to scour the wild.

When they failed to find Checks, they separated ways like they had never met each other. Strangers.

Oh well, that was all in the past. She heard that her sons let The Zookeeper run in the wild and get torn to bits by a leopard. He had it coming.

Hao Suyin leaned her head on Qing Zihao's. "I can't wait to get back to the house."

**

The married couple and the rest of the house were all awakened by Ms. Shao, telling them that breakfast was ready to be served and they had a lot to do.

Qing Chen was already cursing Wuming inside his head—he must've been the one to tell the old woman that they have to wake up early.

They went to the kitchen, unaware of the surprise waiting to greet them.