Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

Seeing tears well in the mighty Gu Rong's eyes, Yating's own irises turned misty and blurry. He couldn't hold his body back from trembling imagining what Gu Rong went through.

It was as if the fog surrounding their complicated relationship had lifted off to reveal the true landscape behind it, which in this case were Gu Rong's true intentions. He had no idea that behind each one of Gu Rong's actions lay a deep seated fear etched in his heart.

Whether it was agreeing to Zhou Ai for him or his choice of career - everything simply reminded Gu Rong of the painful past.

But more than anything, Yating couldn't be happier to know that Gu Rong never gave up on him, yet at the same time there remained a melancholy in his heart that his father could have chosen to be happy if he had married another woman. He could have had his own family.

Yet he gave away everything for a child that didn't even belong to him. He unconditionally loved a boy who should have been the source of his despair because of his wife's affair.

Then how in the world did he contain such a kind heart to give Yating the Gu family's name?

"You…"

A whisper escaped his quivering lips. Warm tears slid down his cheeks and he lowered his head to sob silently. "You didn't…Why…?"

Though Yating greatly appreciated Gu Rong's kindness, in the end, he still couldn't help but feel that he snatched away something that wasn't his in the first place. He didn't want to feel like an outsider but the prickly feeling refused to go.

A child who could have been abandoned lived a life with Gu family's name, enjoyed his father's assets and wealth and became the rich heir of the Gu family. He understood that some things went beyond blood and not all relationships could be measured by biological connections.

Yet the guilt began to shackle his heart.

He felt a frail but a warm hand holding his face. Gu Rong wiped his tears as his fingers lightly tapped on his cheeks.

"You know Yating…I know what you are thinking," He said a little breathlessly. "I knew this is what you would think. I thought…you would start to hate me knowing that…I killed your mother."

Yating shook his head hard. "Why would I hate you, Dad? You were only trying to protect me."

"Still…for all these years I kept wondering that I could have handled the situation differently. But I got too lost in my emotions…Do you know why?"

He shook his head silently again while the tears continued to flow.

"It's true…that I couldn't love you before at first. I will be honest with you. I didn't know if I would be a good father to a son whose mother…cheated on me."

Yating bit his lip hard.

"But you know…" Gu Rong looked at a distance as if he was lost in a faraway trance. "The apprehensions disappeared at the time when…when you walked towards me for the first time."

A small smile lifted his lips as he reminisced that moment.

"It felt so surreal. I wondered if this is how parents feel when they see their child take their first steps? When I saw you working so hard to walk…you were giving your best to reach me with a big and wide grin on your face…you clutched onto my leg as if that was the only thing you ever wanted…when you looked at me with your bright black eyes as if I was your whole world…you know Yating…"

Gu Rong chuckled weakly. "The thought that you and I didn't share the same blood didn't cross my mind at all…That moment felt so magical to me. Like…after a long, long period of grief and suffering, I finally found the light I was searching for. Something or someone…that would give me a reason to continue living and work hard. That was you Yating.

That was you when you walked towards me and when you spoke Dada for the first time.

I felt like Aah…I feel so happy. I want to preserve this happiness. I couldn't convince my mother and father but it was fine. I had you and that's what mattered to me the most. That's why Yating…"

His hoarse voice was close to pleading with him. "Don't think of anything otherwise. You were, are and will always be my son. I know I…didn't appreciate your choices. But I still feel so proud of you. You took up the same path that I once did and though I opposed it because I was afraid of the past repeating itself, I also felt…really happy.

Because you-you did something that I did.

When Zhu Xiaosi used to say like father like son I couldn't be happier. You know how children follow their parents' footsteps? Or wh-when they take up their personalities because of genetics? I thought that difference would always remain between us. That's a gap I will never be able to bridge because at the end of the day, I cannot fight blood, right?

I couldn't but you did. When you fought for your career, when you resisted in regards to Zhou Ai, when you left the Gu villa for your own dignity - everything that I did in my past, I felt like,

Ah…Yating…Yating is really my son.

We are not blood related yet you act like me. You are stubborn just like me and you cannot understand…" he cried, "you cannot even begin to understand just how happy that makes me, Yating. Because you proved to me that we don't need to be blood related to feel similar. We are still father and son. You closed that last distance which I couldn't have done it by myself...

That's why...you shouldn't feel burdened or thankful by my kindness. I didn't do any kindness. I just did what any father would do. It's the opposite, Yating. I should be thanking you. Because...

because by acting like me, you never let me feel that we were anything different. I don't care whose blood flows in your body. I just know that you are my son and nobody can ever change that."