Chapter 218 - Red shiny wrapper

....

When her grandfather passed away, Fan Shaohang was nowhere to be found. When he returned a long time after her grandfather was buried, he suddenly disappeared for a few days without letting anyone else know about his whereabouts.

Fan Lei sent people out everywhere to look for him. Eventually, he found out that Fan Shaohang had gone to visit their father's grave. Leaving Chen Qingting at home to take care of things, Fan Lei took the then seven-year-old Fan Wushuang to her grandfather's grave, where they found Fan Shaohang staring at his father's tombstone with bloodshot eyes.

Based on the state Fan Shaohang was in, it was clear that he had been drinking a lot and did not shower since he disappeared a few days ago.  

At that time, Little Fan Wushuang felt sad when she looked at him. He was older than her father, and yet at that moment, he looked like a little boy.

Fan Lei glanced at his daughter, worried that she might be afraid. To his relief, Little Fan Wushuang did not have any fear when she looked at Fan Shaohang. She was merely pouting.

"Go, Wushuang..." Fan Lei whispered as he gently patted his daughter's back. 

Little Fan Wushuang nodded, and she took a step forward. Before she reached him, she suddenly stopped and put her hands into her pockets, rummaging around as if she was looking for something. 

She then pulled out a candy with a bright red shiny wrapper. It was the last candy that she had on her.

But to cheer him up, Little Fan Wushuang went over and tugged on his sleeve, and when he looked down at her with a blank expression, she gave him the candy. 

As he looked down at her, Little Fan Wushuang gave him a hug and said, "Eat a candy... It will make you feel better..."

Fan Shaohang stared at his little niece for a long time before bending down to hug her. He hugged her so tightly that Little Fan Wushuang thought that she would die as well, but because she could feel his sadness, she did not say anything and merely endure the lack of air in her lungs.

When Fan Shaohang's body trembled, Little Fan Wushuang could tell that he was crying, and she started crying as well, causing her father to reach out and pat Fan Shaohang's back. 

"Dad never blames you..." Fan Lei said softly as he tried to console his older brother. "He told me to tell you that he's sorry... That he didn't mean to hurt your mother or you."

Fan Shaohang did not say anything as he continued to cry against his niece's tiny shoulder. He thought that he would be happy to see the death of the man who caused his mother to be so lonely that she thought that the only thing she could do was to suicide.

Because of what Fan Shaohang's father did to his mother, he spent years fighting his father, fighting everything that his father set for him, because he swore to his mother that he would never forgive the man... But now that his father was gone... Fan Shaohang felt empty inside. 

"Don't cry..." Little Fan Wushuang sobbed quietly as she patted her uncle's back. She could feel her back getting slightly wet from her uncle's tears. "Daddy, help..."

....

Xiao Lei frowned. She had forgotten about that piece of memory. It was so hazy that she wasn't sure if it was a real piece of memory or a figment of her imagination.  

She wrapped her fingers around the melted red candy as she asked in a soft voice, "What happened to that someone?" 

"I lost her. She went on a holiday and disappeared."

Hearing that, Xiao Lei hesitated for a while. She then took Fan Shaohang's hand and placed the candy back in his open palm as she said in a cold tone, "Maybe if you were by her side, you wouldn't have lost her..." 

She then let go of his hand and said in a cold voice, "Our car is here. We have to go soon." 

She then opened the passenger seat door and went in, closing the door loudly behind her. 

Meanwhile, Han Ye looked at Fan Shaohang and said, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Fan." 

He then nodded before walking to the driver seat. 

After they drove off, Fan Shaohang stood there for a long time. In his hand was the melted piece of candy that he had kept with him all these years. He took it with him everywhere he went, and it was his most treasured item, especially after he received news of Fan Wushuang's disappearance. 

"Master Shaohang..." One of the butlers called out to him. It was the old butler who recognized Xiao Lei earlier. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly when he saw the sad expression on Fan Shaohang's face.

Fan Shaohang glanced at the old butler. He had known this old man for a long time. After all, he had been working here even before Fan Shaohang's father passed away. Of course, at that time, he was only slightly older than the young masters who he had to take care of. "Pang, what do you think of her?"

The old butler smiled. "She looks a lot like the late madam... But she's not our little lady..."

He knew how Fan Shaohang felt upon finding out that he lost his brother, sister-in-law, and his niece shortly after he left them. The old butler watched Fan Shaohang and his brothers grew up, and he had seen how close Fan Shaohang and Fan Lei was. They were even closer than real blooded brothers.

When Fan Shaohang returned and found out that his beloved brother and sister-in-law were dead and that his niece was gone, the butler was afraid that the man would descend into insanity. For almost a year, not a day went by without Fan Shaohang coming back home drunk and disheveled. 

And the old butler knew that Fan Shaohang made it his life mission to find his missing niece; a person who could have been dead for years.

As much as the old butler wanted to see his little lady again, he did not believe that she was still in this world. If she was alive, why didn't she return home to where she belonged?   

Fan Shaohang sighed when he heard the butler's reply. He then turned to go back into the mansion, and the old butler walked beside him. As they walked, Fan Shaohang asked, "Do you believe my little brother? That my precious niece is gone? That everything was an accident?"

The old butler sighed. "It's been so long... Please let it go, Master Shaohang."

Fan Shaohang clenched his fists tightly as he mumbled, "I can't..."

When he was in the hall, he watched as his youngest brother continued to entertain the guests, as if nothing had happened earlier, and he could not help but sneer. He then looked at his sister-in-law and frowned. He never liked that woman. 

She was supposed to be his fiancee. His father arranged it so that he would have the backing of her family. The day after he was forced to sign the engagement agreement by his father, who threatened to cut Fan Lei off knowing that Fan Lei was the only person that Fan Shaohang cared for, he went out and slept with multiple women. And he made sure that he left enough evidence to create a huge sensation. He wanted her to be the one to break it off.

Even so, Yi Xia "forgave" him. She said that she was willing to accept him. Fan Shaohang continued to do things that he should not do, in hopes of her breaking off the engagement. However, she always remained eerily calm. The only time she showed any temper was when he openly declared at a party that he was letting go of all his rights to the company and swore that he would never be involved in the management of Fan Entertainment for as long as he was alive. 

That was a public declaration made during a live televised program, and if he were to take it back, it would reflect badly on him. He knew this, and Yi Xia knew this as well. And an ambitious woman like her would never let it affect her. She pretended to be sad over the end of the engagement, and when Fan Chuan went to comfort her, she seduced him. 

From the start, her goal was the position of "Madam President Fan" and she knew that Fan Chuan wanted the position of the next heir as well. 

Fan Shaohang cursed under his breath and looked away from her. He felt that looking at her or his youngest brother would only taint his eyes. He went back to his old bedroom, which was across Fan Lei's old bedroom. 

He felt uncomfortable and dirty just by being in the same room as them, and so, he decided to take a quick shower.   

As he took a shower, he thought, "What is Mr. Han to her?"

xxx

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