Chapter 31

When those people turned around and saw Chen Mo, their eyes lit up. "Chen Mo, you really aren't dead!"

Chapter 31

"Of course I'm not dead. I'm alive and well. Who are you people? Why are you coming to my parents' restaurant to make trouble?" As Chen Mo spoke, he pushed through the crowd and walked up to Father Chen and Mother Chen. "Are you okay?"

Seeing the concern on Chen Mo's face, Father Chen and Mother Chen's eyes reddened as they both shook their heads. Mother Chen could not help pulling Chen Mo into a tight embrace.

Chen Mo glanced angrily at the people surrounding his parents. He had been too worried about his parents' safety to look closely before, but now, under the lights, he found these troublemakers rather strange.

There were eight of them in total, old and young, men and women. The oldest had graying hair and looked to be in their sixties or seventies, while the youngest was only five or six. One woman in her thirties was even holding a nursing child in her arms. Regardless of age or gender, they all had dark skin, rough palms, dry yellow hair, and old-fashioned, worn-out padded jackets and trousers so caked with dust that their original colors could not be seen. Their entire bearing was utterly out of place in these surroundings.

They looked as though they had just come out of some remote mountain village.

Chen Mo frowned. "Who exactly are you? You're not background actors from some nearby production crew, are you?"

No one answered Chen Mo's question. Instead, an old man with a weathered face grabbed Chen Mo's arm. "You're Chen Mo, aren't you? You really aren't dead. Since you're not dead, why are you accusing my son of killing someone and insisting on sending him to prison? Please, have mercy. Go tell the police to let my son go, okay? I know my son wronged you, but he truly didn't do it on purpose. He only ran because he was too scared. He's already been punished, hasn't he? And you're all better now—you've even become a big star. Don't press charges against him anymore. He's my only son. Our whole family depends on him to survive. If he goes to prison, what are we supposed to do? We'll all starve to death..."

Chen Mo stared blankly at the old man before him, who was crying so hard his face was covered in tears and snot. He had no idea what the man was talking about.

But Father Chen and Mother Chen, standing behind Chen Mo, suddenly became agitated. They rushed in front of him and desperately pulled the old man away, trying to drive everyone out of the restaurant. "Get out! Get out now! I don't want to see you people. Your son is a murderer. He killed on purpose. He killed my son. He deserves to pay with his life! Why did the law only sentence him to seven years? He should have been sentenced to death! My son was only seventeen. How could he be so cruel? Why did he drive an overloaded truck into the city? Why did he drink while driving? Why, after hitting my son, did he run instead of taking him to the hospital? My son died because help came too late! He killed him on purpose! He killed my son! He should pay with his life—"

"But your son isn't dead, is he? He's alive and well. He even became a huge star, as glamorous as could be. Since he isn't dead, why can't you let my son go? Why can't you forgive him? He's only twenty-six. Does he really have to spend seven years in prison? Then what will happen to our family? Who will support us?... Heaven, open your eyes! We really can't go on living like this..."

The old woman cried and made a scene as she dragged her daughter-in-law and two granddaughters down to their knees, kowtowing to Father Chen, Mother Chen, and Chen Mo. "I'll kowtow to you. My son wronged you, but your son clearly isn't dead. He's alive and well now, so why should my son receive such a heavy sentence? Can't you show some kindness? Even if it's to build virtue for your son, can't you spare mine?"

"No. No, no, no! I wish I could kill him!" Mother Chen suddenly erupted as though she had gone mad. Grabbing one kneeling girl in each hand, she dragged them toward the door. "A murderer's daughters, a murderer's wife, a murderer's parents... Get out of my restaurant! Get out!"

Father Chen was also shoving the men away. Chen Mo immediately understood and quickly signaled for the assistants to help his parents drive them out. Yang Qindong, as his manager, considered more factors. He stopped Chen Mo at once. "This needs to be handled properly. We can't use such rough methods to solve the problem. You're so famous now. There must be paparazzi and reporters outside secretly taking pictures. They haven't come in because they want to get more material. If we let these people go out and talk nonsense, it could damage your image—"

"Then let them do whatever they want." Chen Mo licked his lips and turned to look at Father Chen and Mother Chen, who were frantic with grief and despair. "I have no right to say anything about this. We should listen to my family. Drive them out. My family doesn't want to see them."

When Yang Qindong heard that, an odd feeling suddenly rose in his heart. Yet he did not know what was odd about it. Outside, the sounds of flashes and repeated camera shutters had already begun. Yang Qindong could not allow things to continue like this. He wanted to persuade Chen Mo, but once Chen Mo became stubborn, he would not listen to anyone. He even wanted to help his parents drive them out himself. Left with no choice, Yang Qindong could only lead the assistants in escorting that family out of the restaurant before facing the swarm of reporters outside.

Only Father Chen, Mother Chen, and Chen Mo remained in the restaurant. Soft sobs echoed through the room. Father Chen, his eyes brimming with tears, held Mother Chen as she covered her face and cried. A couple who had lost their son leaned helplessly against each other, their expressions filled with grief and despair.

Chen Mo lowered his head in pain. He set the overturned tables and chairs upright, wiped them down with a rag, then poured two cups of water from the dispenser and handed them to Father Chen and Mother Chen.

Father Chen took the water and set it on the table. Mother Chen suddenly said, "Knowing you were coming back today, we originally planned to close the restaurant and go to the apartment to make you something to eat, so you wouldn't have to ride all that way back."

Chen Mo looked at Mother Chen, not knowing what to say.

Mother Chen continued, "Our Xiao Mo was such a good boy. He was handsome and did well in school. From the time he was little, he never made us worry. He was proud too. He never liked playing with children his own age, because he thought they knew less than he did. All the girls around our home liked Xiao Mo, and even the neighbors praised him. Every morning he went to school, and every evening he came home from school. He never skipped class or came home late on purpose like other people's children. He always said he would be hungry after school, and the first thing he did when he came home was eat. So his father made supper every day at just the right time and waited for him to come home. But one night, he didn't come back. His father and I thought school hadn't let out yet. There was also a production crew filming night scenes that day, and lots of people came to the restaurant to eat, so we were too busy to pay attention. By the time we finally finished around eleven, all the customers had left, but Xiao Mo still hadn't come home. We called his homeroom teacher, and Teacher Meng said school had let out right on time at nine. That was when his father and I panicked. We hurriedly left the restaurant behind and went out to look for him..."

Mother Chen looked at Chen Mo through her tears, choking on her words. "Then, a little after three in the morning, the police suddenly called and said Xiao Mo had been hit by a car. The driver had fled the scene, and a kind passerby had taken Xiao Mo to the hospital. But by then, it was too late. Xiao Mo had lost too much blood, and the lack of oxygen had damaged his brain. He remained unconscious..."

Mother Chen covered her mouth as tears streamed from her eyes, running through the wrinkles at their corners, down her cheeks, and dripping from her chin onto the table, leaving spreading rings of clear wetness. Covering her mouth, Mother Chen sobbed, "...Why did that person run? The doctor said that if he had taken Xiao Mo straight to the hospital after hitting him, Xiao Mo would have been fine. But he ran. He left my son there and ran. My son was only sixteen. He was hit by a car and lay on the ground alone. It was so dark, and he lost so much blood. His blood stained the road red. He was only sixteen. He must have been in pain. He must have been scared. And his father and I too—we knew Xiao Mo never came home late, never sneaked out to play. Why didn't we go looking for him that day when we knew he hadn't come home? Why didn't we call Teacher Meng sooner? If we had realized sooner, if we had gone out and searched more carefully, maybe Xiao Mo wouldn't have..."

"My Xiao Mo lay in the hospital for so long. The doctors said he might become a vegetable, that he might never wake up again. His father and I stayed with him in the hospital every day. We talked to him and made delicious food for him, but he couldn't eat it. He couldn't talk to us either. Even his breathing gradually grew weaker. The doctors said he might die in his coma... Then one day, the monitor suddenly stopped responding. His father and I were terrified and shouted for the doctor. But after the doctor came, everything was fine... Xiao Mo actually woke up." Mother Chen gripped Chen Mo's hand tightly, her veins bulging as she cried. "Xiao Mo woke up again, but he didn't remember his father and mother. He didn't remember us..."

No one knew that, at that moment, Chen Mo had stopped breathing. Everyone believed Father Chen and Mother Chen's agitation was because Chen Mo had awakened. Even Father Chen and Mother Chen themselves thought they had developed hallucinations from spending too long in the hospital. At the time, no one had imagined that the Chen Mo who woke up was no longer that sixteen-year-old boy.

"Xiao Mo woke up, but he didn't remember his father or mother. He didn't remember anything around him... The doctors said Xiao Mo had been unconscious for too long, so he had lost his memory and forgotten us. They said he would slowly get better..."

"...But how could that be? My Xiao Mo was so good, so obedient. He only took a nap—how could he forget us?" Mother Chen suddenly pulled Chen Mo into a tight embrace, then pushed him away and cupped his face tightly in both hands, staring straight into his eyes. "He's clearly my son. This face is his, these hands are his, this body is his. The doctors said your brain was deprived of oxygen and you were unconscious for too long, so you developed delusions. You'll get better soon, won't you?"

Chen Mo could not help crying too. He lowered his head, utterly unable to answer Mother Chen's question.

Seeing this, Mother Chen cried even harder. She hugged Chen Mo in sorrow and wept, "...That murderer killed my son. I don't care who he is. I don't care whether he has parents or children. He killed my son. He killed my son... How can I forgive him? How can I forgive him? He killed my son—how does he still have the nerve to stand before me and ask for our forgiveness?"

Seeing Mother Chen cry so hard she was nearly convulsing, Chen Mo quickly held her and soothed her. "You're right. A person like that cannot be forgiven. He cannot be forgiven."

Father Chen was silently shedding tears at the side as well. He drew Mother Chen into his arms, stroking her back with one hand and holding her hand with the other, as though that alone could keep them both standing. He looked up at Chen Mo and said quietly, "...The driver who hit him and ran was a long-haul truck driver. His family was very poor. His parents were old and had no pension. They had two mu of land, but no one to farm it, because he was the only man in the family. His six older sisters had all married out, and he had a younger sister paralyzed on a kang bed. He also had two daughters and a son. Their entire family depended on him alone to earn money. Their two mu of land was leased to his son-in-law, who only gave them two hundred jin of rice each year... That man was pitiful, but he knowingly drove an overloaded truck onto the road. To stay awake, he drank alcohol while resting and eating. Then he hit someone and ran. He said he was afraid that, if caught, he wouldn't be able to afford Xiao Mo's medical expenses, so he fled in a panic. After he was caught, he came to the hospital too. He knelt and begged us, saying he never meant to kill anyone. He was just scared..."

At this point, Father Chen seemed to recall again how Chen Mo had lain alone on the road after being hit, and how he had died because he lost too much blood and did not receive treatment in time. He choked up and could not continue. After a long silence, he finally said softly, "Even though that man is pitiful, you won't forgive him, will you?"