A serenade of the past

Chapter 6

As Jin Ling awoke from slumber, the first thing he became aware of was the coolness of the air and the blinding sunlight streaming in from the window.  Jin Ling blinked a few times before he sat up, dragging his feet off the bed and rubbing his eyes. 

He stretched his arms, yawning as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Eyelids half closed, Jin Ling sleepily shifted around to glance at where his uncle Jin Guangyao had been sleeping.

With a start, he realised his uncle’s bed was empty.

Oh, he must have woken up.

 Just then, Jin Guangyao came out of the shower room. He picked up a white towel from his bedside table and rubbed his hair with it, drying off the stray water droplets.

He took notice of Jin Ling staring at him. “You are awake? I tried to wake you up, but you were sleeping heavily.” 

Jin Ling felt embarrassment well up inside of him. “I am not used to waking up this early.” He slid out of bed and brushed himself off. “I will go get myself freshened up.” Cautiously, he made a wide berth around his uncle as he made his way out. Remembering what his uncle had done in his past life had invoked a gripping sense of worry of what would happen if he remained in his uncle’s company.

“Jin Ling. Wait.” his uncle ordered.

Jin Ling stopped in his tracks. He felt his body stiffen up, a single bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

“What?” Jin Ling asked. 

“Why are you avoiding me? Am I doing something to make you uncomfortable?”

Feeling a sudden flash of anger as he remembered the past, he willed himself to look into his uncle’s eyes. “You’ve done countless terrible things and hurt many people. I have nothing to say to you.” he said coldly.

He saw a flash of confusion in his uncle’s eyes.

“Jin Ling… I would never hurt you. Everything I do, I do for your mother,” Jin Guangyao said. “I have no intention to deceive any member of my family, nor will I betray anyone in it.”

“You can always count on that.” he added before turning away to make his bed. He paused. “Why don’t we walk together?”

Jin Ling bowed. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Silently, he walked off to prepare for the day.

He recalled that Wei Wuxian had shown his uncle the future a few days ago, the future where he distanced himself from Jin Guangshan. He couldn’t help but wonder what his uncle would ultimately decide to do with that knowledge.

Images, his memories of the future, danced through his mind like curling flames. Fearing what would happen, he couldn’t help but wish he had more time to prepare for it.

Jin Ling couldn’t decide whether his uncle distancing himself from his grandfather would be for the better or for the worse.

Because he knew that either way, the path ahead of them wouldn’t be an easy one.

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The first class of the day was sword practice and archery training. Jin Ling had mostly walked in silence alongside his uncle, who would occasionally stop to pleasantly point out the scenery or comment on the weather, to which he would give a polite nod to show his agreement. He followed his uncle’s lead when greeting people that they passed by. Jin Ling wondered if he should speak more, but he hadn’t yet determined whether he could trust his uncle or if he enjoyed his company.

The moment they stepped into the courtyard, Jin Ling began to scan the room for his mates. He needed the comfort of their presence. Suddenly, he felt a pat on the shoulder. 

Jin Ling turned around and came face to face with his father. Jin Ling’s breath hitched and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. Jin Zixuan was standing gracefully behind him, carrying his sword Suihua. Jin Guangyao smiled. “Da-ge, good morning,” he greeted. “Morning,” Jin Zixuan greeted back, but his eyes never left Jin Ling.

Jin Zixuan looked him up and down. “You are Jin Rulan, aren’t you?”

Jin Ling’s palm started to become sweaty as he tried not to bounce up and down with the excitement of finally meeting his father. He had tried to talk to his father, but every time he got close to him his hand and knees would tremble, making him go weak. When Jin Ling didn’t respond Jin Guangyao nudged him in the ribs. “Y-Yes, I am Jin Rulan. What can I do for you, Young Master Jin?” 

Jin Ling had to keep up the act. He didn’t want everyone to know that Jin Zixuan was his father and by extension, who he really was. 

“Are we related?” Jin Zixuan asked, looking into Jin Ling’s eyes. Jin Ling felt something electric run up his spine.

 Jin Guangyao pressed his lips together. Now that he mentioned it, nephew did indeed look a lot like da-ge. He cast a side glance at his nephew, waiting for his answer. 

Jin Ling swallowed. He had never expected this moment to happen. He couldn’t tell his father that he was his future child, but his heart had leaped just at the sight of him. Even though they weren’t close yet. 

“I am sorry, Young Master, Jin, but I do not know if we are related or not,” Jin Ling said, as formally as he could. “Both of my parents were killed when I was one month old. Master Baoshan Sanren was then kind enough to take me in.” 

Jin Guangyao listened to his words, feeling somber. His nephew’s words were like an arrow pierced through his heart. Guilt clawed at his insides, as he realised that he was one of the reasons why his nephew had to grow up without his parents. 

Before any of them could say anything more, a familiar voice called out, “Jin Ling!” It was Jingyi, and the rest of Jin Ling’s mates were all standing beside him. Zixuan looked over at them, a mildly startled expression on his face.

Jin Ling bowed towards him. “I am sorry, Young Master Jin, but I have to go now. My mates are calling me.” He turned away from his father, feeling a tugging pain in his chest. 

“Are you related to Jin Rulan?” Zixuan asked all of a sudden. He was staring at Jin Ling fixatedly.

Jin Ling stopped and turned around to face his father. “Yes, sir.”

“We shall speak again later.”

Jin Ling smiled and bobbed his head before turning around and walking away. 

For once, Jin Ling wasn’t so eager to meet with his mates. He felt like a child again. The excitement of finally meeting his father was alive and bouncing around inside of him. He wanted to stay and talk, to become closer to him. He wished that his father would someday find out the truth, and that he’d be able to experience the feeling of being loved dearly by someone who was his own flesh and blood; something that he’d thought was impossible.

Until now. 

He caught up with his mates, reminding himself to focus on them, but he couldn’t stop himself from grinning like an idiot. 

Jingyi glanced over at Jin Zixuan and Jin Guangyao quickly. He gave Jin Ling a wide-eyed look. “So what did he say?” he questioned.  They all looked eagerly at Jin Ling, excited to hear his reply.

“He wanted to know if we were related.” said Jin Ling, a warm feeling bubbling up inside of him.

“So what did you tell him?” Sizhui asked, tilting his head.  Jin Ling beamed brightly.

 “I told him I don’t know if we are related, but he said he wanted to talk to me again.” 

Sizhui and Jingyi both smiled, knowing that Jin Ling was happy to meet and talk to his father. 

“All’s well that ends well,” Jingyi said cheerfully. “I got us some Emperor’s Smile, who’s up for a drink?” The others laughed and they all left class together, chattering happily as they went off to drink wine. For now, it seemed that everything was going well.