Chapter 30

◎ Father and Son Meet ◎

Liu Xiangnian’s gaze was indeed filled with love, but to Fan Qi, it felt out of place. Chen’s father’s hair had turned much whiter than Liu Xiangnian’s.

The harsh winds of the northwest over the years had left deep marks on his face. The two didn’t seem like father and son at all, but more like peers—Chen Qinxian even looked older than Liu Xiangnian.

Chen Qinxian’s expression was calm, his steps neither hurried nor slow. As he walked toward Liu Xiangnian, he heard him call out affectionately, “Sinian!”

“Mr. Liu, I am Chen Qinxian,” Chen Qinxian corrected him again.

Liu Xiangnian didn’t mind at all. He turned to look at Chen’s mother and said, “This must be Xiaojing, right?”

Chen’s mother had already changed her expression and calmly adopted the cool demeanor of a doctor. “I am Xue Xiaojing. Mr. Liu, nice to meet you.”

Seeing his son and daughter-in-law like this, Liu Xiangnian didn’t mind what tone they used with him. His children had truly suffered too much. His voice choked slightly as he said, “Let’s go inside and talk.”

As Liu Xiangnian’s assistant led the way to a lounge in the hotel, Chen’s mother took Fan Qi’s hand, and the two sat on the sofa.

Liu Xiangnian sat at the main seat, Deputy Director Zhang took the guest seat, and the Chen father and son sat next to each other.

Deputy Director Zhang began the opening speech. “Forty years of storms couldn’t sever the bond of blood. Mr. Liu’s deep fatherly love has led him, through the Overseas Chinese Association, to find his long-lost family. Sadly, Mrs. Liu has passed away many years ago, but fortunately, their descendants are outstanding. This is a happy occasion.”

Liu Xiangnian exuded the charisma of a big boss while showing the tender affection of a father. “This is all thanks to the help of the Overseas Chinese Association, which allowed me to find my son so quickly. Forty years of separation. Originally, today should have been a family reunion at home, but I thought, since Sinian and I have been apart for forty years, let’s talk here about our father-son relationship first, and then I’ll introduce my family to him tomorrow.”

“Exactly,” Deputy Director Zhang turned to Chen Qinxian. “Professor Chen, you are a scholar, a teacher, and a man of great broad-mindedness. As the saying goes, ‘After surviving hardships, brothers reunite, and a smile erases old grudges.’ Let the grievances of forty years ago be blown away with the wind. After all, blood is thicker than water. Mr. Liu has gone through great difficulties to find you. He has always said that not fulfilling his responsibilities as a father is his regret. But with many years still ahead of you, being able to reunite and rekindle your father-son bond is truly a blessing.”

It wasn’t that Deputy Director Zhang was pressuring Chen Qinxian to accept Liu Xiangnian as his father. The current environment made this situation seem inevitable. Firstly, the mainland was lacking funds and needed investments. The higher-ups also hoped to resolve family issues for Hong Kong businessmen. From his perspective, acknowledging such a wealthy father had nothing but benefits. He didn’t understand why Professor Chen was so resistant.

Chen Qinxian suppressed his dislike for the man in front of him, stood up, and Xue Xiaojing followed suit. The couple bowed to Liu Xiangnian, who was confused about what the gesture meant.

After they bowed, they sat back down, and Chen Qinxian said, “Mainland universities are underfunded, and research funding is tight. We are far behind international top universities. Mr. Liu’s donation to our school and hospital will have a significant impact in nurturing talent for our country. Publicly speaking, as a teacher at T University, and my wife as a faculty member at the medical school, we are deeply grateful to you!”

Upon hearing that he was still referred to as “Mr. Liu”, Liu Xiangnian knew that Chen Qinxian still wasn’t willing to acknowledge him, which was understandable.

Chen Qinxian continued, “Since you mentioned going to your home, that home should be the Fanyuan, right?”

“Yes,” Liu Xiangnian nodded.

Chen Qinxian sighed, “Fanyuan was originally a sanctuary my grandfather, Chen Jicang, built for his beloved daughter. It was my mother’s first creation, where she integrated her love for gardens and architectural aesthetics. Later, she also designed…”

Chen Qinxian listed several schools, most of which were girls’ schools, and said, “These schools were all funded and built by her. The buildings reflect her personal style. She had seen too many lives disrupted by war, where wealth can neither be taken with you at birth nor death. Instead, she chose to invest in education, enabling more women to receive an education, so they would have more options when facing adversity. For example, when faced with betrayal, they could have the courage to walk away instead of silently enduring. By now, you should understand, my mother never regretted her choices. Personally, I cannot betray the mother who gave me life.”

“Sinian, all these years, I’ve never changed the layout of Fanyuan. I simply wanted to… it’s a pity… your mother is no longer here.” Liu Xiangnian looked up, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes.

“My mother has passed. Now you’re imagining that if she were alive, she might have entered Fanyuan,” Chen Qinxian smiled, glancing at Vice Director Zhang. “Vice Director Zhang, there’s the Lu Family Garden near your unit, which was built before Liberation. You should be familiar with it, right?”

Vice Director Zhang was unsure what Chen Qinxian meant but nodded.

“Back then, Mr. Lu and Miss Qin San were from two prominent families. The Qin family offered a prime plot of land in the French Concession, and Mr. Lu hired foreign architects to design it. It became their love nest. Unfortunately, ten years later, Mr. Lu married a concubine and moved into the Lu Family Garden. People admired the harmony between his wife and concubine, with no scandals. It wasn’t until the 1960s when Mr. Lu and his concubine both passed away that Miss Qin San left the Lu Family Garden. A few years ago, after the dust settled, the government returned the property, and our family reclaimed it. However, Miss Qin San refused to take it back. She preferred to live with her youngest son and daughter-in-law in a modest 20-square-meter unit.” Chen Qinxian chuckled, “Miss Qin San was more gentle than my mother. Even she couldn’t accept that place. Given my mother’s character, how could she ever return to Fanyuan?”

Upon hearing this, Vice Director Zhang was left without anything to say.

Xue Xiaojing turned to Fan Qi and said, “Qin San, the lady you’ve met is the esteemed mother-in-law of the Lu family in Chang’anli.”

Fan Qi thought hard, and indeed, she remembered a kind and elegant lady from the Lu family who used a coal stove to steam cakes for her. “Lu’s good mother-in-law was the most elegant of all the good mothers-in-law I’ve met. I had no idea there was such a story!”

Xue Xiaojing gently stroked Fan Qi’s hair. “You know, our family doesn’t care much about formalities. But whether it’s the Chen family or the Xue family, we were considered prestigious families back in the day. Our family taught us that wealth is not measured by gold and silver, but by one’s character. When it comes to character, there is no one more valuable than your grandmother, your parents. Your grandmother worked as a servant in our family, and when your grandfather was gravely ill, your grandmother helped him seek treatment from a foreign doctor, even though your grandfather didn’t survive. Still, you’ve never forgotten that kindness. Your family endured countless hardships to protect Chen Zhiqian in those harsh times. When we returned and took back the house, despite it being large, your parents and grandmother refused to take even the smallest benefit. That’s why your parents and I get along so well. Birds of a feather flock together. But this bond isn’t based on wealth, but on shared values. Do you understand?”

Chen’s mother’s words, veiled with metaphor, made Fan Qi nod repeatedly. “I understand.”

Chen Qinxian stood up. “We’ve clearly expressed our family’s position. I’m very sorry, but we cannot fulfill Mr. Liu’s wish.”

Chen Zhiqian stood up with his father, and Fan Qi took Xue Xiaojing’s arm. Chen Qinxian turned to Vice Director Zhang and said, “Vice Director Zhang, my wife and I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon on a flight. Our school hasn’t started summer break yet, and my wife is busy at the hospital. This matter should end here, alright?”

He said this as if dismissing the entire matter as a farce.

Liu Xiangnian, whose health had already been frail, had turned pale, now becoming deathly pale. He stood up and grabbed Chen Qinxian’s arm. “Sinian, I’ve been worried about you and your mother all these years.”

“Mr. Liu, I was born in Chongqing while my mother was traveling to Baoji. I was five when we returned to the Hong Kong city, and you carried me for about 20 minutes from the Kai Tak Airport to Fanyuan. When we entered Fanyuan, what did my mother see? She stayed there for less than ten minutes, and after that, we barely met again. We barely had any contact, so where does the affection come from? I have a wife and children now, and my son is even married. Suddenly, a father wants to care about me?”

Chen Qinxian let out a helpless breath, his eyes sharpening with an intensity that wasn’t there before. “Please don’t attribute all of this to historical reasons. My mother was supposed to settle in Hong Kong after 1946. But while she was away, you married a second wife. Then, during the fall of Hong Kong, you were the first to sell our family’s factory to the Japanese, shaming the Chen family. That’s why she left so resolutely. If not for you, would she have died from a high fever? If not for you, would I have spent over a decade herding sheep in Tianshan? That chapter of history ended in ’78, and by ’79, the first Hong Kong-invested enterprise entered the mainland. If you truly cared, why didn’t you come to the mainland to find me right away?”

Faced with his son’s direct questioning, Liu Xiangnian could not bring himself to confess the turmoil he had endured in his heart all these years. “Sinian, you’re overthinking it. At that time, if we didn’t cooperate, we had no way out. How can you blame all your suffering on me? If your mother hadn’t insisted on leaving Hong Kong, how could you have suffered so much?”

“Yes! So in Hong Kong, Old Master Yuan from Yongyu was assassinated. The Yuan family closed their film company and newspaper rather than cooperate with the Japanese. The Yuan family suffered greatly. Yet you preserved your power and recovered immediately after the war. You are a man who knows how to bend and stretch, but I am Chen Wanyin’s son, and we, mother and son, are alike. We both like to hold onto things. Since our paths diverge, why force it? I can choose not to hate you, but asking me to have affection is too much. To forget each other is the best way for us to coexist.” Chen Qinxian returned to his calm demeanor.

Chen Qinxian and his wife walked up to Vice Director Zhang. “Director Zhang, my mother contributed all her life to society, and she has nothing to regret under the heavens. As her descendant, I cannot bear to think of her restless spirit in the afterlife. I’m sorry,” he said.

After understanding the situation, Vice Director Zhang wasn’t in the mood to offer advice. Instead, he felt anger rising within him and said, “Professor Chen, I know what’s going on. Please, go ahead.”

The son repeatedly mentioned that his wife could not rest in peace beneath the earth. As he watched the Chen family leave, Liu Xiangnian took a step back and collapsed onto the sofa.