Chapter 373 - Goddamned Parents

Qing Chen listened at how absurd the story sounded. Well, it was not absurd per se. What was absurd was the decision-making.

Their mother let them suffer because she didn't want them to know about her past. Because then she would come off as a hypocrite for hating them becoming 'killing machines'.

Qing Chen was just fascinated about the ridiculousness but he sat through it. He listened as the story unfolded right in front of him.

His mother had been an orphan, plucked from the orphanage by a head of an assassin group, got trained to kill people, and then in the future, make it her job. That part of the story was fast.

Then her storytelling got a bit slower when his father entered the picture. Originally, she was sent to Chengshi to kill Qing Chen's great grandfather. But what she did is get a new identity and left her old life behind by blowing it up with three hand grenades. 

Then they got married, the children got into the picture, and she lived like she had never been an assassin. She got into the society and acted like she was the normal mother…

Yada… yada… yada.

Then there was the note… the fire… her 'death'… then her disappearance.

Qing Chen could not help but laugh. "This is funny. I'm sorry I can't help it." He was laughing so much that his shoulders shook.

This was stupid, he knew it. He should've walked away like his brothers.

"I'm sorry," he said again, coming up for a breath. He wiped a non-existent tear from the corner of his eyes. "Correct me if I'm wrong… but you had spent all of these years away from us and it didn't amount to anything."

He saw the hurt in his mother's eyes and he wanted to instantly regret it but he did not. A small part of him said that she deserved it. 

"Chen," his father warned. It seemed like he had been this gatekeeper at a school telling kids that they could not get inside without their IDs. 

He shook his head. "I have to say, that was the stupidest decision you could have made. We could've helped you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I supplied your mother with the right people," his father countered. "The best ones."

Qing Chen shook his head again. "You didn't have the best one. I had the best one. I had Qing Lok and Wuming."

He wanted to stop talking because he saw that his father took offense with what he said. He didn't want to hurt his parents but it was because of their decisions that their lives somehow went to shit.

"If she hadn't left," Qing Chen said, "and you told us everything… I think this would've been finished in less than a year."

"You can't say that," his father said. "Your mother wants you protected—"

"And look where it got us," he cut off. "She had been gone and all we have for her at the moment is anger and we still have a deranged assassin wanting heads from this family on a platter."

Nobody spoke so he sighed. He didn't want to deal with all of this today. He placed his napkin on the table and stood up. "I'll be back by tomorrow."

He didn't look back at his parents.

**

Feng Xuan was feeling anxious. Breakfast had been sent to her upstairs and she could not eat properly. She ever turned on the TV to distract herself from the anxiety that was pulling her in.

Maybe if she strained her ears hard enough, she would be able to know what was happening downstairs. Wuming popped in earlier already dressed and packed and broke the news to her that Hao Suyin was back in the house. 

Wuming said that he was leaving the house with Addison and they would inform them where they would be staying. Feng Xuan just nodded, understanding his need for space and hugged Addison before they went down the stairs.

She was back in the room before she could even hear the front door slammed close.

It had already been an hour since Wuming left. She was gnawing on her thumb when the door finally opened and Qing Chen went in. She quickly jumped up, eager to hear everything.

Qing Chen looked annoyed and there was tension on his shoulders. He didn't look like he wanted to talk so she just asked, "How was it?"

He shook his head. "Not good," he answered and went to the bathroom. "We're leaving. We're moving back to our house."

She didn't have to ask why and started packing their bags. They didn't have much with them as they got a new set of clothes per week in their own house. 

After changing clothes, they went out of the room. They passed by Qing Lok's room but he was no longer there. No doubt he and Liu Meilien also left the house.

Feng Xuan was wishing that she would not see Qing Chen's mother yet—this was not making sense for her to meet her supposed to be dead mother-in-law in this kind of scenario.

So she followed after Qing Chen and once the bags were loaded in the car, they rushed out of the driveway. Qing Chen was driving and was massaging his temple as he told her the summary of the story.

"It's all kind of messed up," she commented when he finished.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Everything they did was just unnecessary." 

She could tell that he was really frustrated with everything. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I'll think about that tomorrow. I don't want to talk more about my mother for the rest of the day. If that's okay."

"Of course," she quickly answered. 

Qing Chen's was drumming his fingers along the steering wheel, unable to calm down and as if it wasn't enough, he slammed a palm against it. He huffed and stepped on the gas. "Goddamned parents."