Chapter 10 - Unfilial Children And Grandchildren
"You will know soon." That was the old man's reply.
Jia Li felt the old man was talking in parables, but she chose to ignore him. Since he said she would understand everything later in the future, all she had to do was to wait patiently.
At noon, Mrs. Qin returned to the hospital with lunch. And when she did come with food, Fu Hua and YingPei went to check for a nearby hotel to reserve.
"Mr. Fu, you are still not allowed to eat spicy food you recover fully, so please make do with this one." Mrs. Qin said as she scooped a bowl of soup for him.
"I know. I will have to manage for a few days." Grandfather Fu replied as he accepted the food. How could he complain when he would get better in a few days and enjoy every dish of his choice?
Fu Hua and YingPei came back when the Old Man was rounding up with his food.
Mrs. Qin had left already as she had to report for a meeting.
"Wow! Grandfather, how can you have the heart to eat without thinking of your grandchildren?." YingPei asked as he rushed to his grandfather's side immediately he stepped into the room.
"Do you think of this Old Man when you are about to eat?." Grandfather retorted as he hit YingPei's fingers that were trying to grab his spoon.
"Ah!." YingPei cried out as he blew on his fingers that had turned red already.
Grandfather Fu's hands were strong, so obviously, his strike would hurt.
"Grandfather, we found a place to stay, but it's quite some distance from the hospital." Fu Hua said as he took a sit.
Because Fu Hua and YingPei stood when they first arrived, Jia Li had to bring in more seats when they left, so they wouldn't have to stand whenever they were around.
"Are you complaining to me?." Grandfather Fu asked with a twisted expression on his face.
"Grandfather, did we offend you?." YingPei asked not getting while his grandfather was being unwelcoming towards them.
"You lot offended me. None of you care about me. You only show up as my defendants when something bad happens to me. All my grandchildren are uncaring. Tell me, which one of you is filial?." The Old Man asked as he kept his food aside.
He was done eating.
Jia Li who shut her ears midway with an earpiece, and was scribbling something on a plain sheet, looked up when the old man left his food aside.
She was trying hard to make herself invisible.
"Grandfather, we all have one or two things doing, so we can't accompany you all the time." Fu Hua spoke up this time around.
"Even you? I raised you myself since you were born till you became a teenager, and yet you have turned against me? Who is asking you to watch over me like a child? All I'm saying is that none of my grandchildren visits me, everybody is busy with work. If I wasn't lonely, would I have escaped to this place for some fresh air?." Grandfather Fu questioned.
The man was hurt by his unfilial children and grandchildren.
As an Old Man who was always alone most of the time, he always wished his family would come together once in a while to have a meal together, but it has always been a wish.
If his family spend some time with him, he wouldn't have felt so lonely as to escape to the countryside to breathe some fresh air, and he would never have gotten into an accident in the first place.
"Grandfather, we are sorry for neglecting you, I promise we will spend more time with you." Fu Hua promised.
Fu Hua used to be close to his Grandfather because the Old Man raise him personally until he was a teenager who could take care of himself.
Although he keeps some distance from the old man and the rest of his family because he didn't want anybody to make decisions on his matter, he still listens to the Old man.
Hearing the sincerity in his words, Grandfather Fu finally calmed down.
Seeing the hot air was quickly dissipating, YingPei took it as a cue to pick the dish the old man left behind.
When he tasted the soup, his face scrunched up.
"Why is the soup so bland? Grandfather, how can you eat this kind of food? I was deceived by the aroma, who knew the taste would be so different?."
"Who asked you to pick it up, are you a patient?." Fu Hua berated him.
YingPei understood the food was made in preference to the old man's state of health, no wonder it tasted so bland.
"Grandfather did that little girl make this food for you?." YingPei asked curiously as he glanced at Jia Li.
"Who are you calling a little girl?." Grandfather Fu queries.
"She looks so young, so she is a little girl. Right brother?." YingPei turned to Fu Hua for confirmation, but he gave Jia Li a mere glance before looking away, totally ignoring him.
Feeling the calm atmosphere, Jia Li finally took off her earpiece before walking to the Old Man's side to clear his plates. And after that, she handed him a glass of room temperature water.
The Old Man gulped the entire water down before handing the empty cup back to her.
"Jia Li, you haven't had any lunch yet, eat something already." Grandfather Fu said to her with concern laced in his tone.
"Grandfather doesn't worry about me, I'm fine." Jia Li assured him with a smile.
Hearing someone else who wasn't related to them in any way call the Old Man, 'Grandfather', the young men glanced at Jia Li.
One with a look of surprise, and the other one with a frown on his face.
Jia Li wanted to disappear when she felt the gazes on her.
"I won't be rest assured till you eat something." Grandfather Fu said to her before turning to his grandson to instruct, "Fu Hua, take Jia Li to eat something healthy. She has been taking care of me since yesterday, she needs to be looked after."