Chapter 371 - I'm Still Dreaming

It was the morning and Qing Chen was dragging himself down to the first floor. He wanted to sleep some more but there was more work that needed to be done. He was in the middle of a yawn when he walked to the kitchen. If it was possible to choke on air, he would have when he saw who was seating on the head of the table… and the person beside him.

His whole body had gone cold and there was a full-body shiver inside of him. He could not even move his feet. It was like someone had taken his insides, sewed him up, and left with his functioning organs.

He was pretty sure that he was dreaming but then someone had bumped into him and brought him back to reality. "Man, get out of the way," whined Wuming, still rubbing his eyes.

Qing Chen's face snapped to his brother like he had been whipped by a barreling bus. "Tell me I'm still dreaming."

"Go back to bed," said Wuming. "I'm going to have breakfast." Wuming pushed past him and the next moment that he opened his eyes, he stopped in his tracks. "Yeah, I think I'm going to go back to bed."

"Who's going back to bed?" asked Qing Lok who was walking down the stairs. He was surprisingly calm and energetic. Oh, now they know who wanted them up at six in the morning. "Why are you both lingering in the entrance? Let's eat."

"I wouldn't get in there if I were you," Wuming said.

"Why? What's going on?"

With still that beautiful smile on his face, he walked inside and his smile fell to the floor.

It was like every wall in their house suddenly squeezed these boys in the middle. 

Qing Lok's knees felt weak when he saw the person sitting next to his father. She looked familiar but at the same time she was a different person.

There was no way this woman was their mother. There was no way she was real. There was no way that she was really here in the flesh… alive.

Something burned inside him and Qing Lok felt bile rising from his stomach. He also felt dizzy and didn't realize that he was falling until his brothers caught his arms. "What the hell is happening?" he asked both of them.

"Come inside," said Qing Zihao with his deep voice.

Qing Chen looked up the stairs for his wife.

"Don't," said Qing Zihao. "I already had a maid tell them that they should come down later instead."

The woman at the table smiled at them kindly. She also looked nervous but her eyes were watery and bright. She must be crying on the inside. 

"Sit down," said their father and none of them moved at first until their father said, "now!"

All of them filed on the right sand of their father by age. They sat down and before anyone could utter another word, "Eat," their father said.

They clamped their mouths shut and passed the plates around until they all have a serving of each dish. The boys had been hungry when they got down the stairs but now no one had the appetite to actually eat.

Then their father glared at them and they all got their utensils and began shoving food inside their mouths. Qing Chen was sure that he had it fixed that they would be in the middle of a meal so he would be able to talk and with their mouths filled with food, they could never talk back.

The woman from across the table was quietly sipping on the steaming soup in front of her, unable to look at them in their eyes.

There was something ugly that was building inside Qing Chen's chest. How was his mother feeling now that she had gotten to see her sons after all these years? She willingly caused her own disappearance and left them and now she was back.

Qing Chen did not know what to say to her and their father. It was true then, after all these years he knew that their mother was alive and he let them suffer.

It was a relief that he was not the only one who was feeling that way because he could also feel the cold exterior of his brothers on either side of him.

"This goes without any more proof needed," his father began, "your mother is alive."

Qing Chen stole a glance at the woman in front of him and found that she was also looking at him. They had a very close relationship back when she was not pretending to be dead. Strangely, Qing Chen could not feel any of that now.

They had been so bent in trying to find her and now she was there, they did not know how to feel about it. Maybe deep inside they didn't really think that after all this search, it would ultimately lead to something.

"I guess you have ideas on why she disappeared?" Qing Zihao asked.

"Sure," Wuming said, not lifting his eyes from the cup of rice he was munching on.

"And that is?"

"I think we're the same. No, wait, I don't THINK we are the same. WE ARE THE SAME." Wuming wanted to laugh at the irony. "Isn't it funny? When I was growing up, she treated me like I was some sort of a devil because I was loving the weapons and the pain that it could cause. But… look who's talking."

"Wuming," his father warned but their mother put a hand on his arm.

"It's okay."

Seeing her and hearing her speak were two different things. Her face might've aged, the skin on her cheeks might've sagged and crinkled at the corner of her lips and eyes, but her voice remained the same. Soothing, confident, and cheerful even in the direst situations.

"See, father?" Wuming said. "Birds of the same feather flock together. Isn't that right… mother?"