24 Promise (2/2)
”Yeah, I'm really fine.”
”How did you do?” father asked.
”I got a scholarship!”
He let out a little snort of laughter.
”Of course you got a scholarship. I mean what were the results.”
”My qi force was 286, and my affinity was 100%”
”Good! Good! Wow, 100% I knew it was high but…” he chuckled again, then leant closer to whisper in my ear, ”and how much qi in your soul did you let out?”
”A bit over a quarter.”
”286… a quarter of your soul… Hm! I thought your innate qi would be higher than that.”
”Carlo!”
”What? He's my son after all.”
Mother chided father, and we walked back home after saying good by to Tony, Lucia and Davide.
On the way home, I told my parents all the details of everything that happened, but I kept my promise with Davide secret for now.
When we got back, I waited a bit before going to Father's study. I explained to him what happened with Davide, but I changed the story a bit. I didn't want him to know about Sirius.
”I'm happy that you told me about this. But honestly, I'm a bit angry that you did that Oscar. I told you not to tell anyone, and that's the first thing that you did.”
My stomach dropped. Had I just put myself in unnecessary trouble?
”But this isn't about just blindly following what I tell you. This is about looking out for yourself Oscar! That's why I told you to keep it a secret.”
”And think about Davide. Forget about whether you helped him or not. This time he's fine, but what about next time?” he lowered his voice,
”That girl, Yao Daiyu, is stronger than him too. And that's just from our little area. If he really wants to be the best, there's plenty more monsters out there.”
Father was right. If Davide couldn't overcome those obstacles by himself, he'd never be strong.
”Yeah…”
”It's not your job to look after him. In fact, you have no right to be protecting him with your strength.”
”If there's anything good that's come out of this, it's that you made a mistake this early on. And if you learn from this, you won't make the same mistake when it matters more.”
”Listen Oscar. Being a man isn't about being strong all the time. It's about knowing who to trust with your weakness.”
I sat there silently. Father sat back a bit, and his tone raised slightly,
”Thankfully, you picked Davide. I see his father in him, and if he grows up to be anything like Tony, you can trust him with your life.”
Father smiled to himself, as if reminiscing about times gone by.
”Tony's been with me through the thick and thin. There have been times when everyone left me for dead, but Tony risked everything to stay with me.”
He leaned over and grabbed my hands,
”Of course, I want you to live out your dreams and become a strong cultivator,” he gripped my hands tight,
”But what I want for you most is to grow as a man. Learn how to take care of yourself as your number one priority. Forge bonds with people you can trust that will support you when you're weak.”
He let go of my hands and sighed,
”Now I hate to keep laying it thick on you. But you scared us today, running around in a panic at the school with no explanation for an hour.”
”You don't have a responsibility to protect anyone yet. But you do have a responsibility to be respectful of the people that love and care about you. You need to apologise to your mother and I.”
”Sorry father.”
He ruffled my hair.
”It's okay. All you needed to do was quickly say that you were in a panic because Davide was in trouble. Now, go talk to your mother.”
I walked out of the study and went to find mother.
”I'm sorry that I didn't tell you why I was panicking.”
”It's okay baby. You're a really bright boy, but you need to learn a bit of emotional intelligence,” she started stroking my hair,
”You always put yourself in danger, but never say what's going through your mind. There are people that love and care about you, and it makes them worry.”
Mother didn't seem sad. She was just concerned for me.
”I'm sorry…”
”Don't be sorry baby. This time it wasn't a big deal. Just make sure you learn from this,” she clapped her hands together and picked up her voice,
”Now, we need to pack up your things to get ready to live at school. Let's go to your room.”
As I was packing, I thought about what my parents had said. They had highlighted the same problems from my past life.
I thought that I was acting differently here, but my parents had seen right through me. If I didn't want to end up a loner who distanced himself from others, I had to change.