Sometimes letting go of the past isn't as easy as it actually seems. On top of that, if there's something that's holding you there, it can turn into a heartache that torments you every moment. The nightmare of the past can haunt you until you die, when you finally decide to face it yourself.
Wang Yibo had the same thing... so many years had passed, but he still couldn't escape from that nightmarish night. It seemed like every night, he went back there again and again and saw that picture. How he lost his family and how the people closest to him turned into strangers. He was only 12 at the time, he was just a kid who didn't even know about the hardships of this life. But in an instant everything changed so much that in one night he had to realize all the bitterness and injustice of this life.
Then for the first time he had tasted the real anger that craved bloody revenge. But ten years had passed, and he had long ago suppressed that insane desire. Or perhaps it was because he had never returned to the capital since then...
Passing through that gate, which probably preserved in its memory the way he had left the city in a hurry, he felt a long-forgotten longing in his soul. Ten years had passed... he'd been able to let go of the anger, but... but him, no....
- Young Master, Madame Wang had a hard time saving you back then. Please don't get involved in this, - came the voice of Jiashuo, his aide who had been by his side ever since. They had first met when Aunt Wangjuan had brought him to the country estate. That first night in a house unknown to him was full of fear for him. Then a helping hand for him was given by a skinny boy, somewhere around his age, who decided that telling various tales might calm the unexpected little guest. Yibo still remembered those moments vividly, as if it was only yesterday. Though he and Jiashuo had never interacted that closely, deep down he was still grateful to him and considered him his family. And he felt the same in return, so when Jiashuo learned why they had come to the capital in the first place, he immediately fussed.
- I'm not going to do something that will put our lives in danger. Even if I wanted to, there's no evidence or witnesses. I just want to know how my old... old friend is doing, - he said, calming his aide, who was ready to climb to the ceiling from anxiety. - Don't follow me, stay here, - he added, and without waiting for an answer he left the walls of the inn where they were staying.
He didn't want to go to his aunt's house. She would be sure to have someone to watch him day and night. Yibo realized that she was worried, but he wasn't going to do anything wrong, right? So there was no need to notify her of his arrival. In any case, she would be informed soon enough. Jiashuo wouldn't wait patiently for him all night...
He didn't walk around the city. It seemed like every street corner reminded him of that night, so he simply decided to head to a tavern where he and his "friend" used to enjoy a meal. It turned out that the owner had changed long ago, and the food tasted different from the way it had in his childhood. He decided to sit there for a while before returning to the inn, taking a table on the second floor and watching the people coming in.
Even though he had come to town to check on his old "friend", he couldn't just pick up and meet him. It was unlikely that the latter would want to see a person who...
Just unlikely that he would want to.
So, watching every visitor that came in and out, Yibo didn't even notice how slowly it started to become evening. For a moment it seemed like he was back in those days and he and his "friend" were now sitting and giggling raucously discussing something. He no longer remembered what they might have been talking about back then, but his memory was forever filled with their laughter, which flowed into one, filling the entire room. There were times when their owner would sometimes scold them for it, but not much. The man was too kind to scold for real. From these memories became warmer and warmer in his soul, that when he saw those familiar facial features again, not immediately realized that in front of him now stands his very old "friend". From such a surprise he even held his breath and could not take his eyes off him. It was definitely him. Xiao Zhan.
