Chapter 95 - Stupid Technicality

"Look at me." Pat said in a serious voice but there was no movement from the man before him.

So he knelt down before Ace and clasped his chin as he lifted his face up to look into his eyes. But Ace quickly evaded his eyes and looked away.

"I asked you to look at me." He said again when Ace turned his eyes away from him.

This time, Ace looked back at him and maintained eye contact with Pat's golden eyes that sparkled in the dark.

"Was that how you really felt?" He asked Ace and saw his eyes glisten under the moonlight. 

He was now cupping Ace's cheeks and rubbed his thumbs on his soft skin.

"Wally, I knew what the consequences were of my decision to chase after you. I knew that I wouldn't have a normal family but I never wanted that anyway. I want you and I am more than happy with just you by my side." Pat smiled at him but got no reply.

Noticing the silence, Pat was getting frustrated with Ace's lack of response.

"What would you do if I told you that I feel the same way about you." Pat declared in an angry voice and this caused Ace's attention to be entirely on him. 

He could feel Ace's jaw clench when he uttered those words.

"Even I think that you could have had a happier and more normal life without me." He smiled weakly as he said this and Ace's eyes widened.

"That without me, you wouldn't have experienced all those difficulties back in the day and you wouldn't have been disowned by Elder Luo because you chose me." Pat rested his head on Ace's shoulders and held onto his shirt.

"That you would have had a child with that woman they had chosen for you and that you wouldn't have to face all that torment from your father." His grip on the shirt increased when he thought of how Elder Luo refused to see his own son because of his different orientation.

Ace slowly hugged him back and held him tight.

"If only I hadn't barged into your life and spoiled everything!" Pat chuckled weakly.

When Ace heard those words, he caught Pat's arms and shoved him away to look into his eyes.

"Don't you dare say that!" He hissed and Pat just smiled in anguish.

"I don't even want to imagine a life where you did not come after me, pester me with your lame jokes and most of all make me feel like I could love someone else." Ace started his words with anger but he finished them with a smile on his face.

"So Patrick Yang, don't you ever say that you spoiled everything because for me you are my everything!" He pulled their faces close and yelled right at his face.

"Hmm" Pat just nodded and let out a chuckle.

"Shut up!" Ace commanded and moved forward to kiss him.

Pat gladly accepted his kiss and deepened it until they were out of breath.

When they broke the kiss, Pat and Ace held onto each other's faces and caressed the others' cheek.

"Also, I really don't understand why you were fussing about having kids when I already have four of them." Pat chuckled as he said that but he did not notice Ace's darkening eyes.

"What did you just say?" Ace snarled at him and only then did he realize that something was wrong.

"No… Wally baby… I was talking about Wayne, Wade, Wind and Nana! Don't misunderstand me!" He hurriedly clarified his earlier words to avoid another fight.

Ace sighed when he heard this and chuckled lightly after punching Pat's shoulder.

"Yea, they are our children so why do we need any more." He nodded to show his agreement.

"Exactly! So don't ever say that you want to push me away because of such a reason!" Pat pouted and sat next to him. He pulled Ace into his embrace and took a deep breath in.

Ace leaned his head on Pat's shoulder and they gazed at the stars above.

*Ring*

After a few minutes, their quiet time was disturbed by the ringing of someone's phone.

"Pat, it's yours." Ace reminded him and Pat groaned.

"But I don't want to move from here!" He tightened his hand around Ace's waist and refused to budge.

"It might be something important so just pick it up." Ace patted his chest and coaxed him.

"Fine!" Pat begrudgingly moved his hands away from Ace and took his phone out from his pant's pocket.

"Why is Butler Ping calling me now?" Pat quickly answered the phone.

His expressions changed from confusion then to anger as he heard what Butler Ping had to say.

"I'll check it out right now and then we'll decide on what to do next." He hung up and looked at Ace who had been watching him the entire time.

"What's wrong?" Ace questioned when he saw Pat getting up.

Pat then extended his hand to Ace and pulled him to his feet. He held his hand as he escorted him towards the house.

"I'll tell you along with everyone else." Pat kissed him on his forehead and smiled to reassure him when he saw Ace's puzzled face.

Soon the couple reached the kids who were sitting silently, wondering how they were doing outside.

When Lina saw them, she sprang to her feet and looked at them to observe their behavior.

'They don't seem angry or sad, so that's a good thing!' She sighed.

Lina watched as Uncle Pat asked the maid to fetch his laptop and he made everyone sit around him.

"Butler Ping just called to inform me that the cameras that he had installed just picked up movement on the third floor." Pat explained as he typed in the passcode to enter Yang Manor's CCTV live feed.

"Cameras?" Lina, Wayne and Ace asked at the same time whereas Wade said something else.

"Third floor?" When they heard Wade's question, the other three looked at him in suspicion.

"Why does it seem like you are not surprised that Yang Manor is under CCTV supervision?" Wayne leered at his brother.

Wade grinned foolishly when he heard his brother's query.

"Because I was the one who instructed Butler Ping to get them fixed?" He shrugged but decided to explain further when he saw their confused faces.

"I was worried about leaving you alone when I was going out of town for my meeting so Asst Kirk suggested that I place the house under hidden CCTV surveillance to ensure your safety." He spoke to Lina and all the other men expressed their approval.

'Overprotective!' Lina rolled her eyes at them.

"But then I thought that it would invade our own privacy so I rejected his suggestion." He continued and the others frowned.

"But my decision was soon proved wrong when Butler Ping notified me that someone had tried to harm Nana." He grimaced when he felt their stares.

So he quickly retold the incident about the oil on the staircase that Butler Ping had informed him after Lina had left for her shopping spree along with Stacy. 

This incident made him realize his mistake and he hurriedly asked Butler Ping to find the best technicians and to get them fixed before Lina came back home that night.

'I asked Butler Ping not to disturb others with this small incident.' She decided to confront him when she goes back home.

"Stop whatever you are thinking. Butler Ping called me because you asked him not to disturb Uncle Pat. So technically he did not ignore your orders." Wade had seen Lina's frowning face and explained it to her.

'Stupid technicality!' She muttered and pouted.

"Nana, don't do that the next time. Just call us when something happens, no matter if it's big or small." Uncle Ace spoke in a strict tone and Lina had no other option than to agree with him.

"Okay. We can see the live feed." Pat announced and their attention shifted to his laptop.

The background was that of Yang Manor's third floor which was absolutely restricted to anyone other than the elders and Butler Ping. 

So they were sure that this person was someone who did not know the Yang family rules.

The picture clarity was incredible and everyone could see what was happening on the screen.

The video displayed a woman with her face covered with a scarf kneeling before a door trying to open it.

How did they know that the intruder was a woman? Because the person was trying to pick the lock on the door with a bobby pin and had long neatly shaped nails. Also, the high heels were a dead giveaway!

"Uncle Pat, isn't that mommy and daddy's room?" Lina asked out loud when she noticed the door frame. 

Pat nodded his head and tried to zoom in on the face of the woman.

The face wasn't visible because of the big scarf covering it but Lina had a feeling that she had seen it somewhere before.

Then it suddenly struck her.

"Wade? You remember I told you that Mandy had gifted me cute headphones she saw at Phoenix Mall?" Lina continuously whacked his arm to get his attention.

"Yes. So what?" He held Lina's hand to stop her from bruising his arm any further.

"That day she even brought back a scarf which looked just like that one. It had a big hummingbird on it!" She pointed at the screen towards the half-seen bird.

"So that's Mandy? But what is she trying to do there?" Pat frowned while trying to comprehend her actions.

"No. That's not Mandy because she had given that scarf to her mother." Lina revealed.

They watched as the woman got tired of kneeling before the door and stood up. She took off her scarf and wiped her face and neck with it.

This completely exposed her face to the camera and Lina's guess was correct.

Lucille stood and looked around to see if someone had heard her. 

When she felt that she was safe, she turned to forcefully push the door open but it just wouldn't budge.

It looked like she was talking to herself and then she punched the door hard with her fist. 

'Ohh… That must have hurt!' Lina flinched when she saw that scene.

"So dumb!" Wayne remarked and chuckled as he watched her hold her fist and roll on the floor in pain.

While the three kids were making fun of Lucille's foolish behavior, Pat and Ace shared a look of suspicion after watching her.