POV ZHAN

When Yibo was finally feeling a little better after a week in bed, I called his brother and asked him to come over because I wanted to talk to both of them. Hai Kuan immediately agreed, as he also wanted to apologize to Yibo for his behavior. He had been totally shocked when I told him that I had to take Yibo to the hospital after he collapsed sick.

This conversation last night, I had practiced for a long time with Yanli. I may have a way with words in my books, but talking to people in person about something important has always been difficult for me. Especially with people who, like my Yibo, mean a lot to me.

I brought Yibo downstairs to the living room last night and wrapped him in a blanket on the sofa. Because even though he is finally feeling a little better, he is still far from healthy. We went to the doctor yesterday morning and he said Yibo would have to rest for at least another week.

Anyway, when Hai Kuan came to us in the evening with Cheng, the plan was that he would come alone, the two sat down in the living room, where Yibo and his brother talked and got along again. In the time I cooked for us all a tea and sat down then also to them in the living room.

Yibo had been nervous all week and kept asking me what I wanted to talk to them about, and now he was finally going to find out. Only, will he like what I have to tell?

I straightened my shoulders, sat up straight and began. "After your father's surgery at the hospital, after I got a call from there. I didn't want to go at first, but then I thought I'd listen to what he had to say."

Hai Kuan interrupted me and said, "Nothing good will come out of his mouth anyway."

"Why don't you let him talk first?" Said Cheng.

I cleared my throat and continued speaking. "Your father had been alone and seemed like a different man to me. Of course, I immediately thought he was pretending to me. But then he told me this: 'During the many examinations here, it was discovered that I have incurable cancer. With luck, I have a few months left. That was also the reason why the health insurance refused to pay for the operation. They didn't want to waste money on a doomed man. Well, I have accepted that I will die soon. But before that, I want to take care of a few important things. First, I want to divorce my wife. You know, 18 years ago I made a big mistake and fell for a cheater. At that time, he told me I could become a shareholder in a planned large project involving the construction of several condominiums. Together with others, I decided to join this project. I took all the money we had saved, took out a mortgage on the house, and also took out a loan to get the money together. Everything seemed genuine. But then, no sooner had I and the others paid up than it turned out that we had fallen victim to a fraud. Or rather, a gang of scammers. All the money was gone. Even worse, I hadn't told my wife about it beforehand, because I wanted to surprise her. But instead of surprising her joyfully, I had to tell her the devastating news. Our marriage suffered very much from it, the money was not enough in front and behind any more and the bank threatened already to seize our house. Then my wife turned to her father, who gave us the money so that I could pay my debts. But in return, I had to promise to do whatever he and my wife said and asked." I asked him if the same was true for his sons and he nodded."

"So our father treated us so badly because of our grandfather?" Hai Kuan asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Your grandfather was informed by your mother about everything that was going on at home. He admitted to being shocked at the time when he learned that his eldest son was gay. He admitted to overreacting out of shock at the time. But, he also said that he wanted to get you back just a few days later. But, your grandfather told him not to. And when he and your mother suspected that Yibo was also gay, your mother immediately told your grandfather, who then demanded that they kick him out of the house. And because your mother and grandfather watch your father closely, he could never explain."

"Mhhh, that would explain why our father became a huge asshole overnight back then. But, in all these years, he must have had a chance to talk to Yibo or me once." Hai Kuan replied.

Yibo, who didn't say anything the whole time and just sat there listening, asked me, "So what does he want now?"

I took a deep breath and said, "Before he dies, he wishes that he could go out for ice cream with his sons and that he could apologize to you personally. He told me he has no expectations and certainly doesn't expect you to forgive him, but before he dies, he wants to apologize at least once."

"Is there more?" Yibo asked me.

"Mhm, your mother had overheard the conversation and came to your father's hospital room in a rage, screaming, "Do you think I wanted to throw our sons out of the house? Do you think it was easy for me to be so hard on Yibo? I was under as much pressure from my father as you were!" The two then argued and blamed each other until your father spat blood and fainted. I then also spoke briefly with his attending doctor and he told me that your father had maybe 8 weeks left."

"So our mother didn't want to kick us out of the house at all?" Hai Kuan asked.

"Well, I'm sure about your father. About your mother, I'm not. She was bubbling with anger, but couldn't provide any arguments as to why she always refused to have contact with you, at least secretly. She also seems very composed that your father doesn't have much time left. The nurses said she comes by once a day for a short time, there is an argument, and then she leaves. According to the nurses, they keep fighting over the two of you. They say your father keeps saying he wants to see you and she is against it. However, I have to say that it is hard for me to judge your mother. I think she is under a lot of pressure from your grandfather. Especially because your parents still have to pay off the debts to him. He practically owns the house and if he doesn't like something, he can just kick your parents out the door."

"So you think we should give in and grant our father's wish?" Asked Hai Kuan.

I put my arms around Yibo, who looked at me sadly and said, "I just told you what he told me. You must decide for yourselves. Take your time thinking about it."

"Time? If he has what 6-8 more weeks, then we hardly have time." Replied Hai Kuan bitterly.

"So I want to see him and grant his wish. But only if you are with me Hubby." Said Yibo without reacting to Hai Kuan's comment.

I know that Yibo always longed for his parents despite all that what had happened, and I already guessed that he wanted to see his father. And of course I promised Yibo that I would accompany him.

Hai Kuan thought for a moment and finally said. "Okay, I also want to fulfill his last wish and then I will take Cheng with me." I nodded.

"And I will help your father with the divorce. Not financially, but I'll find a good lawyer for him to get the divorce done quickly, since he wants it before he dies." I explained.

"Um, I know a good lawyer and I'll call him tomorrow. Is that okay?" Cheng asked me.

"Yes, of course. That would be very helpful." I replied.

Although I said everything I knew, and also what I thought, I kept thinking about Yibo's mother. I somehow don't think she really doesn't want to see her sons. It seems more like she has a secret that she doesn't want revealed. Perhaps a secret whereby she can be blackmailed from her father?

However, since I can't reason with this woman, because she always gets angry right away, I just can't figure it out. I wish she would reveal herself, if only because of Yibo. Since he, longs very much for loving parents.

When Hai Kuan and Cheng left again, after we agreed to visit Yibo's father in three days, I brought Yibo back upstairs. He was really thoughtful and sad. I was about to ask him if he wanted to talk. Then he said, "I think my mother is hiding something. When she says she didn't want to kick us out, I kind of believe it. I mean, with her financial worries, my brother and I could have helped her at some point. I think there must be something behind it."

I looked at him and nodded. "I also think she's hiding something. But we can't force her to talk about it."

"Do you think my father was telling the truth about everything? I mean, about the money."

"Yes. I asked a journalist I know if he could ask around and he confirmed the story. Back 18 years ago, more than 200 men and women fell victim to a gang of scammers. Until the victims noticed what actually happened, the fraudsters were of course already up and away with all the money. Those scammers have not been found to this day."

"Wow, that many? They must have really been professionals if no one noticed this scam."

"Mhm, in a police press release, even they admitted that the scam was perfect and the unsuspecting victims couldn't help it."

"I see. You know, I've been trying to remember my grandfather all this time. But somehow it doesn't work. He never came to our house and we were never at their house together. My grandmother and my father's parents, I saw regularly. But not my grandfather. I always thought that maybe he hadn't lived at all."

"Your brother said the same thing to me when we said goodbye earlier. He, too, can't remember ever meeting your grandfather. That's kind of totally weird."

"Yeah right? I mean 16 years I lived with my parents and I never even heard them talk about him. My grandmother never talked about him either. How can a man I don't even know judge my brother and me like that?"

"I don't know Yibo. But your father said his parents, that means your grandparents would also like to see you and Hai Kuan again."

"They're still alive?"

"Mhm, they are both very old, but still alive and well."

"Then I want to meet them soon too. When we see my father in three days, I'll ask him for the contact information for my grandparents."

"You should do that my cutie. And after that, we'll find out what your mother is hiding."

"You'll help me with that?"

"Of course. We'll hire someone to do a little digging into her past, maybe he''ll find some answers."

"That must be expensive."

"You're worth it to me. Besides, I want to know what your mother is hiding, too."

"I'm worth it to you? Mhhh, prove it."

"How am I going to prove it to you?"

"Kiss me Hubby." I smirked and kissed Yibo. Kissing is still one of his favorite activities.

We cuddled some more until Yibo fell asleep in my arms. Then before I fell asleep too, I already made a plan of what we will and must do next to find out what Yibo's mother is hiding. And who knows, maybe we can uncover the secret. Maybe then she will have another chance to be a mother to Yibo and Hai Kuan. Even if it won't make up for her past culprits.

And I can understand why Yibo misses his parents. After all, they created him. For this reason, I had also been looking for my own parents for a long time, even though they wanted to sell me abroad at that time. They are nevertheless my parents, the people from whom I descend. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find them until today. Because I would like to know what kind of people they had become.