Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

962  A father to father

Late, late, late! I am getting late!

Shui did a last touch up to her makeup and hurried down the hallway. Zhiyuan beamed upon seeing his daughter.

"There you are."

"And there I go. I cannot stay for breakfast. I am getting very late!"

Siying snorted. "Somebody overslept."

Shui glared. "Shut up."

Nuo pulled her down on a chair. "Eating a proper breakfast is more important than getting late."

Everybody else seriously nodded. Xinyi said, "Listen to your sister-in-law."

Zhiyuan pouted. "You should take it easy a bit. You had such a successful art exhibition. Look at all the comments on social media flowing with your praise," he proudly showed them.

Helpless before her family, Shui was forced to sit down for a proper breakfast meal. She buried herself in the food to fill her belly.

Zhiyuan shared a sneaky glance with the rest of the family members, signaling them with eye contact.

'Somebody ask her. Siying, you do it!'

Siying's eyes widened.

'Look, she will just end up beating me with her heels for annoying her. Why don't you do it? You are her father!'

Zhiyuan gritted his teeth.

'Don't you care about your sister?'

'Don't you care about your daughter?'

He banged his palm on the table, making Shui jolt.

"What's wrong Dad?"

Everybody let out a cough.

"Sorry for startling you, dear. Happened by accident…" Zhiyuan threw deadly glares towards Siying, the latter glaring at him in return.

Xinyi and Nuo stared at their husbands with a grimace.

So hopeless…

Nuo took upon herself to become everybody's hero. She cleared her throat and looked at Shui.

"By the way, I heard something incredible yesterday."

"Hm?" Shui gave her a questioning look in return.

"That Kang Yuze confessed to you…?"

"Ah…"

Zhiyuan feigned a look of shock and disbelief as if he was hearing this for the first time.

"That brat confessed to you? How dare he!?"

"Calm down, Zhiyuan," Xinyi tried to placate her fuming husband.

"How can I? He didn't even have the courtesy to meet us!"

Siying gave him a dry look. "He only confessed to her, not proposed to her to ask for your permission."

"He should ask our permission for a confession too," he sneered. "Who does he think he is?" n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Wouldn't you have killed him had he asked for your permission?"

"Isn't that the whole point?"

"..."

Zhiyuan ignored his son and focused on Shui. "He really confessed to you?"

Shui slightly fiddled with her chopsticks. "Yes, he did. When we were taking a stroll around the gallery."

A beat of silence hung in the air.

"So um," he coughed. "Do you…or what do you think about it? Are you going to a-accept it?"

Please say no, please say no, please say no! Zhiyuan desperately prayed.

Shui gave a light smile. "I haven't really thought about it. Yesterday was so busy…"

Siying nodded furiously. "Of course, you don't have to hurry. It's an important decision after all. Take as much time as you want. Long, looooooooong time."

The next question in everybody's mind was about the dynamics between Jin and Shui. Through Jun, Nuo learned that Jin had, once again, drawn a clear line between them. Any little hope for a possible relationship between them was almost close to diminishing now.

Shui quickly ate her last bite and hurriedly got up. "I am done. Thanks for the meal. See you all!"

Everybody released a sigh.

Siying asked, "What do you think of Kang Yuze?"

"Doesn't deserve my daughter," he coldly said.

"Yeah for you, no man deserves Shui. I excluded you when I asked that question," he rolled his eyes.

"You brat…"

Xinyi gave it a thought. "He seems to be a decent man. He is good friends with Shui and cares about her. I thought with Alix as her friend too, it could get awkward considering they dated in the past…but I guess they look alright to me."

Nuo pursed her lips. "I guess so too…"

Xinyi held her hand and smiled. "I know what you are thinking, dear. You really root for Jin and Shui to be together. I feel the same. But we cannot force them into a relationship. If Jin doesn't feel the same way as Shui does, then we should let him decide that for himself. And for Shui's sake as well."

She sighed. "It will be hard for Shui to move on. But if giving Kang Yuze a chance would help her find love once again, then I will respect Shui's decision whatever that might be. Whether she accepts or rejects his confession, I will always support her."

Siying said as his gaze flickered a bit, "I agree with Mom. I cannot see Shui holding on to her hope anymore and continuing to wait for brother-in-law Jin. It is just hurting her too much…If Kang Yuze could give her the happiness she deserves, then I am all up for it."

Zhiyuan's expression didn't look so well.

That damn Liu brat! How dare he hurt my precious daughter?

—

"Tell your son to stay far away from my daughter from now on!"

Zhiyuan's voice almost broke through the speaker. Jinhai was forced to distance his phone from his ear, lest it would become deaf.

But as a father, he also understood where Zhiyuan was coming from.

"I will speak with Jin on this-"

"No," Zhiyuan icily cut him off. "Not anymore Liu Jinhai. My daughter won't beg for your son's love."

"That is not what I meant."

"A part of me knows that. But another part of my heart - a large part of it - cannot see my daughter getting rejected every single time. First he left for Paris, leaving Shui devastated. You didn't even see in all these years how hard it was for her to just…get through her day," Zhiyuan's voice quivered with pain. "I have seen it every single day, Liu Jinhai. I have seen her fighting her grief every single day, every single moment."

Jinhai said nothing.

"He returned and Shui hoped for a change. But yesterday - once again - Jin made his stance pretty clear. Crystal clear in fact," Zhiyuan coldly smiled on the other end. "So now I firmly believe that Shui should give up and move on and I will support her wholeheartedly. I just called to warn you and remind you."

His eyes narrowed. "This is Jin's decision. He better stick by it because I as hell ain't gonna accept his regrets in the future."