Chapter 1314: FINAL GOODBYE
Chapter 1314: FINAL GOODBYE
THE funeral lasted three full days. Each morning, the family gathered at the hall before guests arrived. They received visitors who came to pay their respects to the departed. Business associates came. Old friends of the family came. Distant relatives Luo Yan had never seen before came. They all approached the altar, lit incense, and bowed before Bai Zhen's photograph. Then they offered their condolences to Bai Chen and the rest of the family before taking their seats along the walls.
The room filled and emptied and filled again over the course of each day. Flowers piled up around the altar faster than the staff could arrange them. The smell of burning incense never left the air.
On the morning of the fourth day, the family held the final ceremony before cremation. They gathered around the coffin one last time. Bai Chen stepped forward and placed his hand on the dark wood.
"Father," he said quietly with reddened eyes. "You can rest now. You'll be with Mother and Hua-er soon. Don't worry about us. We'll take care of each other."
He stepped back. The attendants moved in and carried the coffin. The family watched as it was brought out of the hall and to the cremation area. They waited in a private room nearby while the process was completed. When it was done, the ashes were collected and placed in a white urn wrapped in silk.
A fleet of black cars waited outside. The family climbed in and the procession moved slowly through the city streets toward the cemetery. The Bai family plot sat near the top of a hillside cemetery, marked by a stone monument carved with the family name. One grave already waited there which belonged to the deceased patriarch's wife.
Workers had finished preparing the site. Beside the original grave, the ground was open and ready. A tent with seating stood to the side, surrounded by fresh floral arrangements. At the head of the old grave, a stick of incense slowly burned.
The family gathered under the tent. Bai Chen carried the urn himself and placed it carefully into the opening on the ground. He stepped back and stood beside his wife. His face was set, jaw tight, eyes fixed on the urn. He didn't wipe at the tears that ran down his face. He just let them fall and kept standing straight.
Sun Xiulan held her husband's arm with one hand while her other arm wrapped tightly around Bai Ye. The boy clung to her waist, his face pressed into her side, sobbing loudly. His small body shook with each cry. He didn't understand everything that was happening, but he knew his grandfather wasn't coming back. The thought made him cry harder, his wails cutting through the quiet of the hillside. Sun Xiulan wept too, quietly, pressing her lips together to keep the sounds in.
Luo Wei Tian stood behind them, hands clasped in front of him. His expression was heavy, his eyes red, but he remained still and upright. Luo Ren stood beside his father. He kept his back straight and his face composed, though his eyes glistened. He breathed slowly, trying his best to hold himself together the way the older members of the family did.
Beside him, Luo Yan and Luo Jin stood close together. Both of them cried without making much sound. Tears ran down their faces, not trying to hide them. Luo Yan's hand gripped his brother's and Luo Jin held on just as tight.
Bai Ze stood on the other side of his parents. He wasn't quiet with his grief. His face was twisted, tears and mucus running together. He wiped at his nose with his sleeve and kept crying, loud and ugly, not caring who saw him in this state.
The Buddhist priest stepped forward and began to chant. The low sound rolled over them as they stood there, each one grieving in their own way. When the chanting ended, workers brought forward a basket of white flowers. One by one, the family members stepped up to the open grave.
Bai Chen went first, placing a flower carefully beside the urn. Sun Xiulan followed, then Bai Ze. Luo Wei Tian and his sons each took their turn. Even Bai Ye was guided forward by his mother, his small hand placing a flower before being led back. When the last flower had been placed, workers moved in to seal the grave. They set a stone cover over the opening and secured it in place.
The family stayed for a while longer, none of them ready to leave. Bai Chen stood with his head bowed. Beside him, Sun Xiulan held Bai Ye close, the boy's face still buried against her. Bai Ze stared at the ground nearby, his eyes red and swollen. Luo Wei Tian stood with his sons, the three of them quiet.
After a long silence, they gave their final goodbyes and started heading down the hillside one by one.
***
Shen Ji Yun was waiting at the bottom of the hill from where the Bai and Luo family were giving their last farewell. Since it would be inappropriate for him to go there considering that he's not family, he opted to just wait here.
If Uncle Wei Tian hadn't been grieving, he might have noticed how much Shen Ji Yun had been around the past three days. But with everything happening, no one had the energy to question it. That let Shen Ji Yun stay close to Luo Yan the whole time with no one saying a word. Not that he would have stopped even if someone did ask. He wasn't about to leave Luo Yan when he needed him most.
Shen Ji Yun heard footsteps on the hillside and looked up. The Bai and Luo families were making their way down. His eyes went straight to Luo Yan. Even from a distance, he could see how red his eyes were. How swollen they were from crying. The sight hit him hard, a dull ache spreading through his chest. He hated seeing him like that. Hated that he couldn't take any of it away.
Before he knew it, he was already walking toward Luo Yan.