Chapter 7 (1/2)

Once he heard the news in the afternoon, An Yudong immediately rushed over to the hospital. Because of his wound infections, An Luo was placed in a completely sterile area in the ICU. Originally, no one was allowed to visit, but Zhou Chengping was a family acquaintance so that rule was let slide. After the nurse’s thorough explanation on the ‘dos and don’ts’, An Yudong was dressed from head to toe in sterile clothing and was finally permitted to enter the ward.

An Luo opened his eyes and watched as a strange man walked in the room.

He appeared to be in his fifties, yet he still had very elegant and handsome facial features, his posture was straight and tall. There was no doubt he’d been an extremely gorgeous man when he was younger, but at that moment, it was clear that the marks of time had not spared his body.

For a while, all he did was stare at An Luo, his eyes were filled with gentleness and affection.  Then, he opened with, “Chengping told me you’ve lost your memories. You can’t remember anything?”

Strictly speaking, An Luo doesn’t think he has amnesia; he can distinctly remember his past life. However, he was completely ignorant to the life of this current An Luo, so he could only use memory loss as a reason.

He softly asked, “Are you my father?”

Due to illness, his voice sounded slightly rough and hoa.r.s.e.

An Yudong smiled. “You guessed?”

An Luo nodded. “Based on your age, I inferred you are unlikely to be my grandfather, so you must be my father.”

An Yudong stared blankly at him, then helplessly asked, “Can’t you just say words like ‘you look very kind and familiar’ and so on to comfort your father? Going as far as to deduce from age, you really don’t remember anything at all?”

“I really don’t remember.” An Luo replied.

At that, An Yudong sighed, then smiled fondly and said, “Although you lost your memory, your temper is still the same as before, like a hard stone.”

His son stared at him without answering.

A moment of silence pa.s.sed before An Yudong spoke again, “Xiao Luo, your memory loss…don’t let it become too big of a burden. You can still live well after all of this is over… Maybe it’ll all slowly come back to you.”

“Ah.” An Luo nodded.

An Yudong smiled. “Your current physical condition is not yet stable. The surgery for your fracture is scheduled for the day after tomorrow in the afternoon. Don’t worry, Dad found you the best orthopedic surgeon.”

“Ah.”

“Your younger brothers are unable to come back for the time being, but once everything is settled, they’ll return to see you. For now, Chengping will take good care of you in the hospital. If there’s any problem, you can find him directly.”

“Ah.”

“Then I’ll go back first. There are many important things I must deal with at home.”

“Okay.”

As he watched An Yudong’s back getting further away before disappearing, An Luo’s mood turned complex.

Such a mild-tempered and warm father… Once, he had yearned for such a figure, but that wish was left unattained.

As a part of the underworld, his father in the previous life was a grim and strict patriarch. Since he was fostered in his grandmother’s house in childhood, An Luo had a very vague impression of him. When he was taken to his place, he had already grown up, the man known as his ‘Father’ was awfully unfamiliar and strange. In his subconscious, only An Yan Gege was his own flesh and blood.

He never would’ve thought that in this life, his father would be so gentle and amiable. His small wish was satisfied.

Thinking of his old father looking at him with those affectionate eyes, An Luo laid in bed with his heart palpitating in fear for a long time.

He was used to living in a dark world-how many years had it been such he’s seen such warm eyes?

This An Luo, at least, was happier than the An Luo who died.

Maybe it was better to let go of the past and start anew.

After a week, An Luo was transferred from the ICU to the VIP ward. During that week, An Yudong visited him a total of three times: before surgery, after surgery, and on the day he transferred wards. The other family members never showed up.

According to Zhou Chengping, when An Laoye Zi caught wind of his amnesia, his weak heart couldn’t take it and he collapsed. For the past several days, he was in the hospital where they kept a tight watch on his condition. The other three brothers were busy with their own affairs; An Yan was still in Paris partic.i.p.ating in Fas.h.i.+on Week, An Mo was in New York preparing for his art exhibition, and An Ze was in the middle of carrying out a task for the military. All three individuals were unable to withdraw from their work and return just to visit a sick patient.

Not that An Luo minded.

For him, those three younger brothers were complete strangers he didn’t even know existed until a week ago. An Yan, An Mo, An Ze-their names didn’t ring a bell. They haven’t come to see him, but that only made him feel more comfortable and at ease. To say the least, he doesn’t need a whole day of dealing with, “You really don’t remember me?”, “I’m your younger brother,” and, “We grew up together.”

Zhou Chengping’s bombardment of questions from the last few days had been enough to give him a headache. He didn’t need another three people attacking him with the same questions.

However, things didn’t turn out the way he hoped.

In the afternoon, just when An Luo thought he’d have another couple more days of leisure, the ward’s door suddenly opened-

In came a man dressed in an all-body tailored white suit. He wore a wine-red blouse, the top three b.u.t.tons were arrogantly undone, exposing a large section of his honeyed hued chest. His hair was dyed a natural maroon, looking chic and fas.h.i.+onable, while his neck was claimed by a silver necklace, glistening enough to dazzle a person.

A pair of large sungla.s.ses covered half of his face but left his tall nose and beautifully shaped, slightly curved lips (that was letting out an unruly smile,) for all to see.

His attire was like that of a superstar about to be interviewed by the paparazzi, all the more so one about to walk down the red carpet to an award ceremony. Visiting a sick patient wearing sungla.s.ses is ridiculous, but he had to go as far as to come in holding a bouquet of white roses.

In his heart, An Luo prayed this man just went into the wrong room. Having him as a ‘younger brother’ cannot be good.

“Gege.” The other party’s voice was low and soft, his smile was warm.