Unexpected Second Chance at Love

Liu Shan focuses his attention in the direction leading to the front door. He hears the faint sound of footsteps as it near him and Manager Lou.

A small silhouette soon steps into view, revealing a little boy. He wore a traditional black changshan made of silk and white trousers.

The sudden appearance of the boy shocked Liu Shan. When he spoke to the boy on the intercom, he thought he would meet a little brat. However, seeing the boy now was indeed all in his head.

This little boy looked well-kept and like someone who knew his good manners.

The little boy steals a glance at Liu Shan, but he has a straight face despite being adorable. He looks away from the assistant and skips over to Manager Lou.

However, unlike the stern expression he gave Liu Shan, he was now expressing a joyous smile.

”Grandpa, did you call for me?”

Manager Lou laughed when his grandson hopped onto his lap. He held onto the boy to make sure he didn’t fall over as he looked across to Liu Shan.

”Shan, this is my grandson, Edward Lou.”

Liu Shan stares at the little boy and then at the old man. No matter how many times he looked at them, he couldn’t find any resemblance between them. Not even the tiniest.

However, knowing it is impolite to question family, he smiles at the little boy.

”Hello, Edward. I’m Liu Shan, an old friend of your grandfather’s.”

Edward Lou greets Liu Shan with a slight nod of his head. His eyes never faltered away from the assistant as his lips slowly pursed.

”How can you be an old friend of grandpa’s? Are you also 70-years-old?”

Liu Shan: ”…”

Manager Lou: ”…”

Both men were flabbergasted by the question. Liu Shan’s good opinion of the boy gradually fades, but he quickly keeps calm and maintains a smile.

”I’m much younger than your grandfather, but that doesn’t mean we cannot be friends.”

Edward slowly nods his head in understanding. He glances down at the pile of papers neatly put together on the table, then looks at his grandfather.

”Grandpa, can I go now? I want to read before bed.”

Manager Lou felt his heart soften at his grandson. He pats the boy on the head and puts him down.

”Go ahead. Grandpa will be up to read with you soon.”

As Liu Shan’s introduction to Edward comes to an end, he looks at the old man with a faint frown.

”Old man, would you care to explain?”

Manager Lou’s head was turned to the direction his grandson had gone. Once he confirmed the little boy was no longer in view, did he look back at Liu Shan.

”It’s a long story, but Edward is indeed my blood.”

He glances at Liu Shan, and seeing the young man’s expression, he sighs.

Liu Shan was looking at him as if saying, ’go ahead, I have all night.’

He reaches for the cup of tea he had set down but doesn’t take a sip right away.

”As you know, my line of work is dangerous. It is so dangerous that after my beloved wife’s passing, I hid the truth about my children.”

Mentioning his deceased wife made his heartache, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

”My wife left this world, leaving my two children and me alone. I have a daughter, and I had a son. To make it so that no one could know about their existence, I forced them to live abroad. I hid the truth of my job from them. That way, they wouldn’t be involved with my line of work.”

Liu Shan listened to the old man and was perplexed about the old man’s secret. However, remembering what Manager Lou does in the underworld, he could only agree that sending his children away was for the best.

Thinking this, the space between his eyebrows creased into three lines.

”Wait, you said you have a daughter and had a son. What do you mean by had?”

A small smile curled on Manager Lou’s lips, but one could see that it was a smile filled with irremediable sorrow. He knew that he couldn’t hide this from Liu Shan.

”My daughter is alive and well. She is Edward’s mother. As for my son….”

He pauses after his words and swallows a gulp as if to swallow away his feelings.

”My son… He was a smart child. So smart that even I questioned whether he was my son.”

Remember his son, he trembles a smile filled with a great pang gripping his heart.

”8 years ago, he finished his studies and made the decision to move back without consulting me. He told me that he didn’t want me to be lonely and wanted to spend time with me. I knew I would hurt myself and his feelings if I sent him away again, so I allowed him to stay.”

He points to the bookshelves and smiles a faint chuckle.

”All the books you see in this house belong to my son. He was a collector of all types of genres. Every day, he would bring home at least twenty books. There are still some books that he had yet to read.”

He slowly closes his eyes to take a deep breath before opening his eyes again.

”However, one night took away the sight of him from me.”

Tears began to pool in his eyes, but he looked around to get rid of them.

”I took up a job to clean up a mess in the underworld while my son was brutally murdered in my home. The perpetrator left a note saying, if my son had not been my son, he would have lived.”

He inhales a sniffle and looks at the walls of his house.

”After his passing, I moved here and increased the security… but not a day goes by that I do not live in guilt and regret. I ask myself every day, if I had chased my son away eight years ago, would he still be here?”

His lips tremble as layers of unsettling emotions cross his moistened eyes.

”If I had not taken the job to clean up that mess, would I have been able to save my son? If I had increased the security as I did here, would my son still be here today?”

He closes his eyes again, and despite his tears wanting to fall, he makes sure to hold them back.

”Now that I only have my daughter and grandson, I wanted to make things right. I don’t want to miss any more chances with them.”

His heart began to cure a little, thinking about his grandson and how he radiated such warmth.

”I want to live for them. Not run away from them.”

As Manager Lou came to silence, Liu Shan sat without uttering a sound across from him.

He had always thought that the old man would lecture him and the others for no reason. However, hearing what happened to his (Manager Lou) son, he now understands.

Manager Lou was always trying to look out for them. He didn’t want them to experience the same fate as his son.

Liu Shan looked at the bulletproof walls and windows and then thought about the many surveillance systems outside the house.

It was enough proof to show that despite reconciling with his (Manager Lou) daughter and meeting his grandson, he doesn’t want to lose them.

He looks at the many bookshelves that make the house look like a library. It was also enough proof that the old man carries his son in his heart.

Never in his entire life would he think that the old man would experience such pain.

However, thinking about the suffering Manager Lou’s son must have gone through, anger poured inside him.

”Have you found the perpetrator?”

Manager Lou inhales a deep breath and shakes his head.

”I couldn’t.... but she did.”

This answer made Liu Shan incredulous. He frowns with a slight tilt of his head.

”She did? Are you sure it was her?”

Manager Lou looks up at Liu Shan. He knew why the young man doubted his answer, but it was the truth.

”I spent days trying to find any clues before it turned into months, but I always reached a dead end. I was at my wit’s end when I went to seek her for help.”

He looks at Liu Shan and a stern expression on his face.

”It was thanks to her that I was able to find my son’s murders.”

Liu Shan’s eyes widen slightly at the old man’s words. He thought it was only one perpetrator, but it was more than one.

He wants to ask more questions but stops himself when he remembers something that happened eight years ago.

”I see.”

He nods his head like he understands something.

”It’s good that you were able to find justices.”

Manager Lou stared at Liu Shan and knew what was on the assistant’s mind.

”Shan, I know what you are thinking, but it was I who told her not to tell anyone.”

He sighs a small smile before continuing his words.

”If anyone is to blame, it is me.”

Liu Shan lowered his gaze to the floor. He doesn’t respond with words but nods his head in complete silence.

After seconds go by, he comes to a decision and stands up from his seat.

”It’s getting late. I’ll head home. It would be best if you go to your grandson. He’s probably wondering why his grandfather hasn’t looked for him.”

He walks away from the couch and heads for the front door but stops. He turns back to look at Manager Lou and smiles.

”Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone what I heard today.”

Manager Lou returns a smile in thanks. He walks Liu Shan out the door and watches as the young man enters his car before leaving the driveway.

In his eyes, Liu Shan is like Yue Ling’s right-hand man. After hearing that she was the one who helped him, he (Liu Shan) must be feeling a little down for being kept in the dark.

He couldn’t help but heave a sigh.

”I hope he’ll be okay.”