A/N: Hey everyone! I'm just popping in to drop an update for you that's well overdue! Please hang in with me as I'm working through my issues in writer's block. I hope this chapter does enough to suffice for the hiatus!
[Mandarin]
"Darek! Glad you could make it!" Do cheered from the intercom. "[Give us a minute, we're coming.]"
Took 'er long enough, Darek groaned in his displeasure. And who's "we"?
"Long time no see as well, nephew. You've grown," Aunt Bao lightly swooned with a sly grin as she approached Darek, her eyes full of inquisition scanning up and down at his being. She wore a dark blue long coat, a white blouse, and high-waisted black slacks. Her dark hair was tied in a neat low bun. She toted an umbrella over her head and had her luggage sitting up alongside her. "I see you take after your father now."
Darek's brows knitted together as he withheld an irritated groan. Here we go, he thought. She was one of the more calculative, yet rational members of the family who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Bao's character was similar to Sheng's, her elder brother, in a sense, which explained why she and him often bumped heads. In family drama like Sheng's on-and-off absence, Bao's dislike for her brother grew. If Darek hadn't known better, he'd assume some of her disdain unfairly fell on him, which explained why he never had the best relationship with his aunt. It didn't help that Bao, being aware of her nephew's troubled relationship with his father, didn't care much to really intervene. So Darek could sense her funny little "compliment" was really a well-intentioned dig at him. Aunt Bao had a way with words, so one had to train their ears to really hear the condescension when it was there. "Great to see you too, auntie," he curtly responded, snark evident in his tone.
"Of course," Bao nodded. "[You've been staying out of trouble, yes?]"
"[Yup,]" Darek hissed, pursing his lips together into a tight smile. "[I see you've done some growing too, Auntie Bao.]"
Bao bobbed her head back in surprise and frowned up at her nephew. "[And what exactly do you mean by that?]" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"[I mean, you look good for your age,]" Darek coolly followed up with a sly chuckle. "[Whatever you're taking seems to be working.]"
Bao let out a humorless laugh. "[Hmph, just like your father,]" she muttered with a shake of her head. "[Anyway, I'm sure you remember my daughter, Lili?]"
Darek quirked his brow at the young woman standing behind Bao, Lian 'Lili' Tsai. She wore a light blue jogger set with small silver hoop earrings and dark hair with dark blue highlights flowing down her shoulders. Her head was practically buried in her phone, with her navy blue manicured nails softly tapping away at the screen, not even bothering to look up to intercede in her mom and cousin's exchange. Darek could see Lili held a strong physical resemblance to her mother, as they shared the same cheekbone, noses, and eye shapes. The last time Darek saw his cousin was at another family gathering almost a decade ago in Canada. She held a superior-like attitude at Darek (despite the latter being older), but was still bearable enough to play with and be around. But that was Lili; here nonchalantly standing in front of him was Lian, a young woman, and Darek didn't have much of an opinion of her before tonight. He even had to squint and tilt his head to remember what she once looked like and connect to her current looks. "[Yeah, s'been a while,]" Darek carefully responded.
Bao turned her head to glare at Lian and snatched her phone from her hands, prompting the latter to look up in shock. "Mom!"
"[Don't just stand there like your cousin's a complete stranger! Greet him!]" Bao harshly hissed at her daughter. "[You better not be on your phone the entire time while we're here.]"
"[My phone is the only thing keeping me company since you made me cancel my trip with my friends!]"
"[You and your friends can vacation in Hawaii another time. But this New Year is for family, so your attention should be here.]"
"Whatever," the daughter begrudged as she snatched her phone back from her mom.
Bai let out a snide huff at her daughter's insolence and shook her head, then turned back to Darek with a prim grin on her lips. "[Lian is a freshman at Peking University. She's studying economic law.]"
Whoop-de-fuckin-do, Darek thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the unnecessary information. "Cool," he said with a small shrug. Aunt Bao never got rid of her knack of pedestalizing her only child to whoever would listen. Darek gave an awkward nod to Lian. "Sup?"
"Ugh," Lian physically cringed and rolled her eyes up at Darek. At first glance, she didn't recognize him and pinged him to be just a stranger. Once he used her childhood nickname, it took Lian a second glance for her to recognize her older cousin. "Hi," she icily greeted, not bothering to look up from her phone a second time.
Darek withheld a dry chuckle. "After all this time, you're still spoiled."
"Excuse me? You were the one mouthing off and getting in trouble."
"Yeah? And you were such a perfect angel?"
"You skipped school, beat people up, and was a thief," Lian sneered and flipped her hair. "Compared to you, I'm a saint."
"Really?" Darek sarcastically called, his bushy brow furrowing at the claim. He didn't take pleasure in Lian throwing his old business in his face; no doubt she heard such things rumors from her mother and other family. Darek didn't really have any set expectations of what to expect at this reunion, meaning he knew he would catch some strays about all the juvenile things he did as a youngin. That was old news, but of course, his family didn't care and continued to hang those issues over Darek's head. Some payback's appropriate, he thought as a ghost of a smile graced his lips. "Well, what kinda saint would drink Zuo's bourbon because you wanted to see what it was like to get drunk, huh?" he dared ask.
Lian's mouth dropped to let out a gasp, then quickly closed her mouth with an audible click. Her eyes flickered over to her mother, who looked back and forth at her daughter's shocked expression and her nephew's shit-eating grin. "Excuse me?" Bao drew out.
"Checkmate," Darek smugly cocked his head to Lian, whose face was deep red in embarrassment with a deathly scowl pointed at him.
"What is Darek talking about?" Bao pressed her daughter.
"Well, erm... " Lian trailed off, her eyes failing to meet her mother's and instead falling to the wet ground.
Suddenly, the double gates of the manor let off a steady clanking sound, signaling parts to slowly open up to allow Darek, Lian, and Bao in. "Well, isn't this a surprise," a low and feminine voice greeted them in the dark.
"[Lian! Xiaolong!]" a male voice exclaimed as the owner emerged from the dark to head over to the trio. "[So good to see you! It's been so long!]"
Darek's first reaction was to jerk his head back with a deep frown and raise his brow at the stranger. "Cyrus?" he said in his uncertainty as the man near effortlessly picked him up into a big hug.
"Ah, you remember me!" Cyrus happily called as he put Darek down and looked at him directly with a wide smile. He was a tall and lanky Asian man at 6'5' with short combed-back hair, sharp facial features, and a clean-shaven face. He wore ankle-high rain boots and a clear raincoat that dropped down to his knees, which showed his red and black evening robe underneath. Darek knew Cyrus to be Uncle Zuo's only son, who was one of the few family members around taking care of Darek when his father did not. Cyrus was at least a whole decade older than Darek, so the nature of the relationship with the latter felt less like a cousin-cousin bond and more of an uncle-nephew link. "You were so small the last time I saw you! [Now look at you!]" Cyrus exclaimed and happily patted Darek's shoulders.
"Yeah, it's called growing up," Darek swatted Cyrus' hands away from himself. "And I go by Darek now."
"Oh, I see! [Hopefully, the troublemaking days were a thing of 'Xiaolong', eh?]" Cyrus asked while playfully nudged his side.
I swear if one more person says that kinda shit, I'm gonna flip, Darek thought, deepening his glare at his older cousin. "Don't tempt me," he bluntly stated.
"[Happy New Year, Dori, Cyrus. Good to see you two healthy and well,]" Bao drew out rather dully, saluting them both with a slight bow of her head with her fist in her palm.
"[Good evening Aunt Bao,]" Cyrus coolly returned the greeting and gesture with a grand smile. "[May the New Year bring you much fortune and luck with you and your family.]"
"[Happy New Year little ones!]" Midori jovially called out and widely extended her arms to scoop Lian and Darek into a big bear hug at her sides. "[May the both of you experience good food and good health!]"
"[I wish you-urg!-Happy New Year... good health, and eek!-success, Auntie Do!]" Lian wheezed out as her face was pushed into her aunt's armpit. She wasn't one to complain about this; she was able to hide her relief from her mother and her questions.
"You're... cru-shing... me!" Darek growled out in English as his face was buried in his aunt's breast. She wore an old stuffy perfume, making it harder for Darek to properly breath. He'd forgotten all about Aunt Dori's underrated "womanly strength".
After what felt like forever, Midori set her niece and nephew down on the sidewalk, keeping them both under the large umbrella she was toting. She was over a foot taller than Darek with her black hair tied in a low ponytail. She wore a big see-through raincoat and ankle-high rain boots. Midori's face was bare of makeup with some wrinkles and crow's feet, facial features that she wasn't ashamed to show off. "[You kids grow up so fast,]" came her prideful remark.
"[Has America been treating you well?]" Cyrus asked Darek.
"[Hmph! Highly doubt it from the looks of him,]" Midori scoffed, putting her hands on her hips as she stared Darek up and down. Her manicured hand shot out to tug at her nephew's beard and pinch his cheek.
Darek swatted Midori's hand away from his face, glaring up at her for her lack of boundaries. "[Whatever. And I like my face and beard intact, thanks.]"
"[You need to visit more often,]" Midori ignored Darek's comment to chastise. Her beady eyes quickly went from him to Lian, gazing at the girl's body in slight disappointment as well. "[Just look how skinny you both are! Have you eaten?]"
Lian shook her head. "[No thank you, Auntie, I'm on a diet.]"
"["Diet"?!]" Midori parroted, her entire body sharply recoiled back at the word. She then shot a look at her sister. "[Bao, your girl's too small for a diet! She's just a baby!]"
"[I'm not telling her to. She's old enough to make these kinds of choices on her own,]" Bao commented with a nonchalant shrug.
"[Not sure if this is an appropriate topic to be arguing about in the open like this... ]" Cyrus commented as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Can we take the convo inside the house where it's dry?" an annoyed Darek asked. It annoyed him that he could tell neither aunt was willing to listen to reason, however.
"[Well, she's too young to be making those kind of decisions. You should be encouraging her to be properly fed, not to be malnourished.]"
"[There is nothing wrong with Lian learning to be responsible with what she eats and how her body will respond.]"
"[Sure it is. And I'm a size 0.]"
"[Huh! Not with what and how much you eat, you're not.]"
"Enough!" Lian shouted out with a stomp of her foot, instantly shutting up her mom and aunt. "The last thing I want to do after traveling for damn near 20 hours is to argue about my weight and what I eat out in the open!"
"[Language, please,]" Cyrus firmly responded.
"I actually agree with Dutchess of Dieting," Darek dryly spoke as he gathered his bags by himself, ignoring the undercover middle finger Lian sent his way. "I didn't fly a long way from home just to chat in the rain." He had to jerk his head out of the way once he felt some hard droplets hit his head and shoulders. Since Darek and the Tsai women had arrived at Zuo's gate, the rain had steadily increased, spattering the ground even harder. The puddles in the mud grew, the downpour poured into the drains on the sides of the roads, and the thick rain made it harder to see out in the road. "I can even feel water getting in my sock," Darek whined as he bent down to slightly adjust his shoe.
Hearing the little ones speak straightened out the attitudes of Bao and Midori; both women let out deep breaths, removing the animosity from their spirits. "[You have a point,]" Midori stiffly admitted with a slow nod, reaching down to grab a luggage bag from Bao and Lian with one hand while upholding her umbrella in the other.
"[That's why we came out here—to safely escort you all inside Father's home,]" Cyrus said as he reached down to pick up one of Darek's luggage items.
Darek beat him to it by snatching his luggage handle and pulling it close to himself. "[I got it,]" he gruffly insisted.
Cyrus straightened himself up and backed off from his cousin with an understanding nod. "[If you insist,]" he said, biting down a firm grin.
Darek said nothing as he stepped past Cyrus to walk inside the courtyard. Since his arms were full of his bags, the latter's only option was to follow behind the former holding an umbrella over the both of them.
"How does that one saying go?" Midori asked as she stared off at Darek's back with a shake of her head. Darek's macho act was strong, but paper thin. Neither she, Bao, nor Lian were amused at his behavior in the slightest, with the latter two rolling their eyes. "The more things change, the more they stay the same," Midori finished her thought with a dry chuckle.
"[You can say that again,]" Lian snickered as she and the other women followed behind the men.
Zou's courtyard had a traditional Chinese feel to it—a favorite design of his. It had a flat stone walkway in the middle of the space that led up to the front staircase of the house. There was a lawn to the left and right of the walkway, full of bushes and bare trees that stood taller than the main gate. Despite the stormy weather making it hard to actually see the courtyard, the yard carried a peaceful sense in itself. No doubt even at his age, Zuo consistently worked to take good care of his greenery.
"[So... Darek,]" Cyrus carefully started off, making the conscious effort to remember the name his cousin insisted on being called. "[You didn't answer my earlier question.]"
"Mm?" Darek half-turned his head so his cousin was in his peripheral. He would have preferred the awkward silence between them but figured it was only a matter of time before Cyrus would attempt to make conversation again. Cyrus wasn't the biggest social butterfly, but Darek found it easy to talk to him because of the former's open-mindedness. Darek's guard wasn't so high with him versus most of his other family members. "[Question about what?]"
"[About how you've been living in America?]"
"[S'been, like, four years now.]"
"[And how's that working for you? What do you do?]"
"[I own an auto dealership. Brings in enough income to keep a good roof over my head, clothes on my back, food to eat, blah blah.]"
"[What kind of cars do you sell?]"
"[Mostly sports and luxury cars.]"
"[Wow! That's really nice!]" Cyrus threw back his head to let out a hum of excitement. "[You must be making good money.]"
Darek worked to restrain his smug smile from growing too wide. "[Just livin' the dream,]" came his caustic response as he narrowly sidestepped a rather deep puddle. "[Enough about me. What's been going on with you? You're, like, a financial advisor, right?]"
"[Financial consultant,]" Cyrus firmly corrected. "[And life has been going well! I've been bouncing between here, Canada, and England for the past four months hosting seminars and other networking-type events with other consultants and advisors of finance in those areas. It's been a pretty busy couple of months, so I'm glad to take these next few weeks during the holiday to spend time with family and truly destress.]"
"[Hm, "destress",]" Darek mumbled the term with a mocking smirk.
"[So... ]" Cyrus drew out his word, slightly turning his head to shoot his younger cousin an amused smile. "[... do you... have a partner, a significant other, back home?]"
"[Wouldn't you like to know?]"
"[Sounds like a no,]" Cyrus said, his charmed expression remaining unbothered by Darek's grumpiness. "[It's nothing to be offended by, son, you're still young. You still have plenty of time to find that special someone.]"
"[I'm not your son.]"
"[No, but I watched you grow up, sort of like you were,]" Cyrus coolly responded as he patted Darek on his back. He couldn't help letting out a nostalgic sigh as he turned his head up and closed his eyes. "[Those were the good ol' days.]"
Darek resisted the urge to roll his eyes at this. "[The "good ol' days" were anything but.]"
"[Life may have been tough, but it wasn't that terrible.]"
"[Hmph, speak for yourself.]"
Finally, the group reached the base of the front porch staircase. Cyrus outstretched his hand once again towards Darek's luggage. "[Let me help you with that,]" came his offer.
"I said I got it," Darek emphasized as he grabbed the handles of his luggage to slowly drag up the steps. Though it looked to be a physically difficult process holding all his bags together while trying to keep upright on the staircase, Darek refused to look to Cyrus at all for help.
"Have it your way," the older man nonchalantly replied with his hands up as he made his way up the stairs.
"Excuse me Darek," Midori said as she made her way up the stairs next. Before he could move to the side to make room for his aunt, Darek felt a strong bump hit his shoulder. He briefly stumbled back, causing him to let go of one of his pieces of luggage for it to tumble down the staircase.
Darek let out an exasperated sigh as he threw an incredulous glare at his aunt. "Goddammit," he lowly hissed.
"[Language,]"—"[Watch your mouth,]" Bao and Cyrus scolded simultaneously as they passed Darek up the stairs. Lian used her hand to hide her chuckle that threatened to come out.
"I said excuse me," came Midori's amused reply, giving her nephew a sly smirk in return as she continued up the stairs to the top.
"Speak up sooner next time. Didn't even give me enough time to move," Darek mumbled his complaint, keeping most of his curses in his head as he trudged down the steps to retrieve his increasingly wet bag.
"[Take off your shoes before you come in. Zuo has plenty of old house slippers that everyone can borrow for your stay,]" Midori called over her shoulder to say to the incoming family, kicking off her own shoes and nudging the front door with her shoulder. The entrance hall was wide and spacious with light yellow walls and clean white tile floors. There was a large spiral staircase standing in the middle of the hall that started from the left and drew around to lead to the right side of the upstairs hall. To the right of the entrance door, there was a large mirror attached to the wall with a small shelf placed under it. There were two hat racks hung to the wall, the nearest one was already filled with the coats and outerwear of others. A gold and crystal chandelier steadily hung from the ceiling over everyone's heads; that along with other fancy decor like framed art on the walls, vases, and other Chinese-inspired accessories, it all created a grandeur and museum-like atmosphere inside the home. "[I would have offered you all some appetizers that Cyrus and I made earlier, but we unfortunately didn't make enough to last,]" Midori regrettably admitted.
"Whoa!" Lian gasped as she stepped into the foyer, not paying attention at all to her aunt. Her eyes were wide and excited while her mouth was agape staring up at the house as far as she could see from where she stood. "So this is how Uncle Zou lives," the teen mumbled in awe.
"[Wrong. We made plenty of snacks,]" in his ire, Cyrus was quick to firmly correct Midori. "[But you, your sons, Uncle Xavior, and Uncle Seymour ate them all within two hours.]"
"[Come now, Cyrus. You know the smell of fresh, good food—especially when I am in the kitchen—is near-impossible for anyone to resist.]"
Bao was the next person to remove her shoes before she stepped in and left them outside by the front door. "[So who's all here?]" the woman asked as she worked to take down her umbrella.
"[Seymour got here about an hour ago, he's currently in the shower. Dan came some hours before that and is sleeping,]" Midori listed off the names with her fingers. "[Xavior came in yesterday, he's watching TV in his room. Xiaohua, Toshiro, and Fang are asleep in their rooms. And Zuo, Hiroshi, and Fang are somewhere, who knows?]"
"[Leaving Chang and his family to be the only ones not here yet,]" Bao openly deduced with a hand on her chin.
"[Well, I heard Uncle She-ow!]" Cyrus started to chime in as Midori sharply elbowed him in the back. She moved discreetly that neither Lian nor Darek noticed the movement and short glare she directed to Cyrus; the other guests were concerned more about taking off their outerwear and getting settled inside. "[I heard... ]" Cyrus slowly emphasized, gingerly touching his back as he looked to the others. "[Uncle Chang and his family would be here by tomorrow afternoon.]"
"[Yes, tomorrow,]" Midori warily repeated. "[Cyrus, be a dear and help Darek and Lian find their rooms,]" the large woman's eyes didn't leave him as she subtly nodded her head to the spiral staircase.
"Finally," Darek breathed out in relief and crossed his arms. "And I better be getting my own room, like a master suite or somethin'."
"Oh, me too!" Lian chimed in with excitement.
Cyrus' gaze remained on Midori as he absent-mindedly nodded to Darek's and Lian's wishes. "Of course," Cyrus concurred, then returning an understanding nod to his elder aunt. He then turned his full attention back to Darek and Lian with a welcoming grin. "Let's head up to the second floor," the man said, turning on his heel to lead his cousins to the staircase.
"Yes!" Lian happily pumped her fist in the air as she and Darek dragged their things to follow after their older cousin.
Midori gingerly watched her younger family members ascend the stairs and get far out of earshot. Then she turned to Bao with a solemn look. "[I'd like a quick word with you.]"
Bao narrowed her eyes at her sister and curiously ticked her head to the side. "[About what?]" the woman suspiciously asked and folded her arms.
Midori maintained eye contact with her sister and swiftly nodded her head down the hallway to her left, away from the staircase. "[It's better if we go into the study so it can be between us.]"
"[The study? What for?]"
Midori couldn't help rolling her eyes at Bao's response. She was beginning to get the feeling that what she was about to say wasn't about to settle well. "[We were trying to call you before you arrived, but you didn't want to pick up. C'mon.]"
Cyrus gave Lian and Darek a good run-through of the second floor, where the two had plenty of empty rooms to pick from. He made sure to go through any and all rules and expectations with them on maintaining their rooms, the house, and the family reunion altogether. It felt redundant and annoying for Lian and Darek to have to listen to rules they'd heard many times before that seemed to be more-or-less a thing of common sense. However, neither young cousin spoke up to tell their elder cousin this, allowing Cyrus to continue until he was finished.
Lian was the first to claim her guest room: a standard-sized bedroom with a queen-sized bed, an empty reach-in closet, and two small nightstands on either side of the bed. The teen wasted no time putting her bags down in random places on the floor, then throwing herself to the bed and calling it a night. After her, it didn't take Cyrus long to find Darek a nice room to get settled in and to show him around: a master bedroom with a king-sized bed, a widescreen TV on the wall across from the bed, a hanging chandelier over the bed, and a small nightstand on each side of it. It included a bare walk-in closet and an immaculate master bathroom. The carpets were clean, the bed was made, and all the furniture looked new and clean in place. In other words, the entire room had plenty of space than Darek would really need.
"As long as you keep it clean and orderly, the space is all yours for the time being," Cyrus gestured with his hands around the room. "Anywho, since you've come such a long way from home, I imagine you'll want some privacy the rest of the night?"
"That'd be nice," Darek softly replied with a nod.
"Then I'll see you in the morning," Cyrus gave a final salute to his cousin before spinning on his heel to leave the room.
Darek let out a sigh as he nearly tossed his luggage near the foot of his bed. He then took off his sweater and threw it on the nightstand near the lampstand. The man let out a heavy and steady sigh as he allowed himself to fall face first and sprawl out in the bed. It was a rewarding feeling getting to rest in a nice, comfortable bed after so much travel. Darek drew out a content hum as his hands massaged the comforter under him, checking for its softness. Finally, the young man thought as he laid back on the bed and closed his eyes.
Just as he could feel sleep catching up to him, a pair of thudded footsteps came down from the left side of the hallway, stopped, and then made their way into Darek's room before the bed. "Wow, you still came," a voice snidely commented.
Darek's face lightly scrunched up recognizing the voice as his uncle Seymour. "Some privacy would be nice," he gruffed as his eyes remained closed. "And we literally spoke some hours ago about what kinda gifts to bring. So what do you mean "I still came"?"
"Didn't Zuo call you?" Seymour inquired.
Darek's eyebrows furrowed at the question and fully opened his eyes and picked his head up to get a better look at his uncle. Seymour had a small navy blue towel wrapped around his head and a larger same-colored towel wrapped around his midsection, leaving his top half exposed. There were small drops of water draining down his head and body and his face and other exposed skin glistened in the light. All of the observations were a telltale sign that Seymour had just finished taking a shower. "Ugh, you couldn't throw some clothes on before coming in?" Darek groaned and slightly turned his head away from his uncle.
"Well?" an annoyed Seymour pressed with an expecting look, ignoring his nephew's uncomfortableness.
"Yeah, sure he called a coupla times, but I missed it," Darek said and laid his head back down on the bed. "Whatever it is, pretty sure it can wait 'til morning."
Seymour shook his head at this. "S'almost like you want to set yourself up in bullshit, huh?" The younger man asked and threw his hands in the air. "Your funeral."
"My god, just spi-"
"Sheng's coming."
A beat had passed as Darek's eyes jolted open and he was quick to fully sit up in his bed. He could feel his heart skip a beat in his chest and his blood run cold in his face, neck, and arms. "[What,]" the young man stoically answered.
"[Your dad is flying in from Europe and will be here tomorrow morning,]" Seymour steadily articulated so his nephew could follow what he said. It was hard not to feel sympathetic for his nephew once he saw his face drop into visible stun.
Darek slowly shook his head in disbelief. He found himself at such a loss of words that he didn't realize how quickly he resorted to speaking in his native tongue. "[You gotta be fuckin' with me.]"
"This isn't some shit I'd lie about, man," Seymour quickly shook his head and crossed his arms. "[Zuo called me when I was boarding saying Sheng was coming here because his business trip to the Netherlands got postponed. Then after I got here, it was all of us except Bao grilling your dad about his little "last-minute notice".]"
Darek remained silent as his glare fell to the floor in a triangulated pattern, tensely picking away at his beard with pursed lips. Seymour could only give a small helpless shrug at his nephew's contemplation. He understood Darek's sudden shift in mood; Sheng was absent for much of Darek's childhood and hardly called to check on him, let alone make time to stay behind and raise him after his mom and Sheng's ex-wife passed. Then in the times he was present, Sheng and his son virtually never got along. Zuo and Midori tried for some time to work on Sheng's end reconciling the broken relationship while Seymour, Xiaohua, and Cyrus worked on Darek's end. Nothing changed, neither man wanted to reach out to the other. Once Darek finished high school and started working, he could afford to go no contact with his old man. It was then that the family realized it was in everyone's best interest to mind their business and let Darek and Sheng be, for they certainly couldn't force the men to mend fences anytime soon.
Darek's eyes picked up from the floor to glare at his uncle, who was mindlessly wiping down his face and hair in front of him. "[How long did you know about this?]" the young man darkly drew out his accusation, further deepening the tension in the room.
"[I said I just found out when I was boarding my last flight,]" Seymour quickly defended as he rubbed his hair and face dry with his towel. "[I'd sort this out with Zuo now if I were you. He's either asleep or getting ready to.]"
"[Where's his room?]"
"[It's downstairs somewhere, I'm not entirely sure where. Cyrus or Midori'll know.]"
Darek immediately got on his feet and stormed out of his room in the middle of Seymour's sentence, taking a sharp right turn into the hallway and heading to the stairs. [I need to get to the bottom of this,] he determinedly thought as his anger rose to his face and ears.
A/N: Finally make way for more drama and more characters! Lian and Cyrus are the first of Darek's cousins to be officially introduced at this point in the fic. In the next chapter onward, other family members will get the chance to be introduced as well, especially the ones who've been mentioned but haven't made an actual appearance yet. In the meantime, please feel free to fave, follow, and review to let me know your thoughts from the chapter!
Bai Tza = Bao Tsai
Po Kong = Midori "Do, Dori" Kondo