OFTLHFRO C37

Chapter 37: Old Scandals and a Letter

By the time the two reached the Lin household, they could already hear Yang Cuifen’s brash voice blaring inside:

“It was just a basket of vegetables! Mother, they’ve no respect for you at all. And to think Huo Yan grew up under our roof—yet he had the audacity to say he never ate a single grain of our rice, only that his eldest uncle raised him. Bah! What an ungrateful wolf!”*

Hearing this, Li Xianshu furrowed her brow.

She didn’t care whether Huo Yan and Luo Mingchen bullied Yang Cuifen or not, but if they refused to show her face, then the matter couldn’t be left alone.

“Mother,” Yang Cuifen pressed on, “that white-eyed wolf is getting too arrogant. You and Father must teach him a lesson. Otherwise he’ll walk all over you. Today he seized the vegetables I picked; tomorrow he’ll demand money right to your face, maybe even drive us out and sell our house and family away!”

At that, Luo Mingchen laughed. He pushed open the half-closed door and cut in: “Cousin, aren’t you describing yourself?”

Recalling the memory of Luo Mingchen crushing her wrist and hearing rumors he’d once felled a wild boar with one strike, Yang Cuifen paled immediately, running to hide behind Li Xianshu.

Li Xianshu cast her a look of disdain and addressed coldly, “Huo Yan, does your husband even know what manners are?”

Setting the basket of vegetables down, Huo Yan replied evenly, “My husband shows manners toward those who possess them.”

Her brows knit tighter. “What do you mean by that?”

“Second Aunt,” Huo Yan answered, “if Second Uncle is absent, then please convey my words to him. We won’t pursue the matter of Cousin stealing from our fields today. But if she dares again to engage in petty thievery, we won’t be lenient next time.”

Before her lips could open, a voice sounded from inside the house. “Not lenient? I’d like to hear exactly how you think you won’t be lenient.”

It was Lin Yuan, emerging. Calmly, Huo Yan stepped forward and handed him a sealed letter. “Second Uncle, perhaps you should see for yourself.”

Lin Yuan took it with a sneer. After reading, his expression shifted from one color to another.

“Second Uncle, you should know my character,” Huo Yan continued. “If, back then, you had given me so much as a single mouthful of food, things wouldn’t have come to this today. In fact, when my mother was alive, she owed you nothing. On the contrary—you always came demanding money of her.”

Pausing, he fixed his gaze on him. “Second Uncle, I’ve remembered clearly since I was three years old.”

Lin Yuan fell silent at that, his eyes complicated as he regarded the young man.

Huo Yan pocketed the letter and, on the way out, said coldly: “The Lin family is no longer what it once was. The Huo family, however, still stands. Mark my words, no one will clean up your messes for you anymore.”

With that, he turned, took Luo Mingchen’s hand, and left.

Even Yang Cuifen, fool as she was, sensed something was wrong. After they were gone, she demanded, “Father, Mother, what did that bastard mean?”

Lin Yuan pressed his lips tight. “From now on, don’t go near Huo Yan’s house.”

“Huh? Why? We’re just going to let him off like this?”

“Keep your mouth shut. If you dare again, I’ll make sure Tianlei divorces you.”

Face sour, he turned inside, Li Xianshu hastily following.

Yang Cuifen fumed but knew Lin Yuan was absolute in this household. If he said the words, her husband would obey. She could only roll her eyes, return the basket, and then sneak to the corner wall to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Inside, Li Xianshu asked, “That was a letter from the Huo family?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yuan rubbed his temples. “I don’t know why, but the Huo family has suddenly remembered their legitimate eldest son, and they want Huo Yan to return for Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“Mid-Autumn? But it’s only early August now. That means this letter came recently?”

Which showed the Huo family truly wanted him back. Shunned though he had been, they had never struck him from the clan register. As long as he remained their legitimate eldest son, he was entitled to a share of family property.

Even in its former strength, the Lin family hadn’t dared provoke the Huos. Now, in their decline, they had even less right.

Li Xianshu grasped it instantly—no wonder Lin Yuan forbade them to provoke. If Huo Yan killed someone, the Huo family’s honor alone would make them cover it up.

Frowning, she whispered, “Then… what about Qingfeng? Will he go after him?”

“If you keep pestering him, I can’t promise you he won’t. And if Qingfeng’s future is ruined because of you, not even your tears will fix it.”

Lin Yuan had already witnessed his brother-in-law’s ruthlessness. If the man could be so merciless to his own sister, what restraint would he show to irrelevant kin?

No matter how many years he’d been cast aside, Huo Yan was still his father’s eldest son. The letter was proof: he was still acknowledged.

On the way back, Luo Mingchen kept sneaking glances at Huo Yan.

Finally, Huo Yan sighed. “Do you want to read it?”

Without hesitation, Luo Mingchen held out his hand. “Hurry up, then.”

“….” Wordlessly, Huo Yan passed him the letter.

Watching him recognize every character fluently, Huo Yan couldn’t help wondering what world Luo Mingchen had grown up in—how he had earned money while still young, yet learned to read and write so well.

When finished, Luo Mingchen tilted his head. “So your father’s still alive?”

“…Yes.”

“Then why were you living out here in the village? Didn’t he give you money?”

Huo Yan shook his head. “My mother passed away. My stepmother and half-brothers accused me of theft. Father beat me and sent me to my maternal family.”

All sympathy showed in Luo Mingchen’s gaze. “Your father was as useless as mine then. Mine tricked my mother, too. If not for him, she would have had a bright future.”

“Why?”

Thinking he meant the deceit, Luo Mingchen said bitterly, “She was a sponsored orphan, and he lied about being unmarried. Turned out he had both a wife and two kids already. His wife stormed into my mother’s workplace, ruined her life, and kept driving her out of every new job she found. My father was spineless, hiding the whole time. To raise me, my mother scrubbed dishes, swept streets, delivered food… until she collapsed and died.”

In memory, she was always exhausted, always rushing between jobs.

Listening, Huo Yan felt a strange kinship—a shared sickness of fate.

“But later, once the apocalypse came, I kept him like a pet. I even saw him hand over his own wife and kids to zombies just to save his skin. He begged me snot and tears to save him.”

And Luo Mingchen grinned brightly. “Later, when he and the man who claimed to love me betrayed me together, I fed them both to the zombies.”

Huo Yan gave a small smile. “Tragic.”

“So don’t provoke me. If we fought in earnest, the outcome wouldn’t be obvious. That last time—I was going easy on you.”

“I know,” Huo Yan replied steadily.

He knew well Luo Mingchen hadn’t used his full strength. But neither had he.

And with Luo’s unpredictable abilities, a desperate battle might very well end in both of them destroyed.

Footnotes:

• White-eyed wolf (白眼狼, bái yǎn láng) – idiom meaning an ungrateful person who repays kindness with ingratitude.