Ren's face turned grim, for he certainly knew the reason why. Thirty years ago, his obsession with opening up the biggest supermarket in town caused him unfathomable losses. The ambition drove him away from his sweet family. It pushed out all the happiness that the family of three had always experienced without fail.

He remembered the day his wife collapsed in front of him and Ying. He also remembered choosing his wife's standard treatment instead of surgery because he wanted to save the investment money. The very memory that he wished to forget but couldn't.

If and only if he prioritized his wife's health over investment, he wouldn't have created the beginning of the rift between his joyous family.

As if knowing what exactly was on Ren's mind, Ying started speaking again.

"I begged you so hard to choose the surgery, but you convinced me that the result would be the same. And I believed you. After all, what did a three-year-old know?"

Ying's shoulders shook from anger as the memories of that day popped up in his head.

"But it wasn't. You knew for sure that it wasn't the same, and yet you ignored it. Even to the last minute of mom's life, the only thing you think of at that time was that supermarket of yours."

The image of his wife's cold and lifeless body flashed before Ren's eyes. That time, Ying was panicking and calling him to let him know that his mother was sick. His son begged him to come to the hospital immediately; however, Ren ignored it. He brushed it off like one brush off a fly.

"I called you, begged you to come to the hospital because mom wanted to see you one last time. And what did you do? Do you still remember?" asked Ying; his voice trembled due to the cry that he could no longer contain.

Yes, I remembered. I ignored your call, said Ren inside his head as he closed his eyes and blinked away the tears.

His wife hid her illness from him, saying it was just mere exhaustion. And for months, despite his wife having shown the same syndromes, Ren was too busy to care as he engaged himself in generating sales for his small supermarket. On the day he went to the bank, Ying kept calling and asking him to come to the hospital right away because Meilin had collapsed. Thinking it might be just another same old syndrome, Ren turned off his phone and waited for his turn to speak with the bank manager to discuss the loan. He didn't even spare a little thought in his head to think about his family, who was desperately waiting for him.

On that very day, Ren got the money he had always wanted; yet he lost his family. His wife passed away without getting to see her husband's face one last time. A day after his mother's funeral, Ying stopped talking to him and acted as distant as possible. For years until the midnight of his sixteen birthday, the cold treatment developed further to the point that Ying left home and cut off all contact with him.

"At that time, instead of asking for the biggest supermarket, I should've asked for a happy family. I wish I could turn back time and ask for my mom back," Ying choked on his words; his face was in his hand as he sobbed. "But I guess I also played a part in mom's death as well. If I didn't ask for a supermarket, maybe the warm and caring family I once have had might still be here."

Ren looked at his son's trembling back with a broken heart. He wanted to shout out and said that his mother's death had nothing to do with Ying. It was solely his obsession with power and money that drove the family to this state. Still, the words that came out of his lips were an apology instead of solace.

"I am...so...sorry..."

Ying turned back immediately, striding towards his father's bed in a flash. "I don't want to hear that from you."

"...for taking away...a once happy family...from you," Ren finished his sentence weakly. His eyes were getting heavy, feeling sleepiness starting to overtake him. However, he used every last strength in his to stay awake.

"I don't come here to accept your apology. I'm here to reclaim the thing I once lost. And not from you, but with you."

The older man looked up at his son in surprise, unable to utter even a single word.

"This morning, I read all the letters you've been sending me all those years. Zhan made me do it. He said that the only way to avoid living a life full of regrets was to come out of hiding and face it. So I did."

Lifting the wrinkled and frail hand from the bed, Ying gently held his father's hand. "To finish writing, each of those letters must have been hard for you. Because writing them meant you were reminiscing those hurtful pasts over and over and putting them into words. Still, you overcame the pain and finished each piece meaningfully. Admitting faults had never been easy for a prideful man like you, but you did it in each and every of that letter. It made me realize that you've been living as a failure despite becoming a successful businessman when it comes to your personal life. You're just in so much pain as I am. I think that it's time to put a stop to this."

Ren's face was plastered with a combination of astonishment, relief, and happiness as he looked at his son. Ying gave a slight smile and stared out the window before motioning with his chin for his father to follow.

"Can you see that first leaf on that big tree? I bet it wasn't visible yesterday; however, today, they tried so hard to get out of snow. Do you know what that means?" Ying paused before directing his gaze back to Ren. "It means spring is coming. When spring comes, it always marks the beginning of something. And I want you to be a part of my something new this year, dad."

With the word 'dad' coming from Ying, Ren let go of everything that was binding him. His last wish to reunite with his son was accomplished. Right now, his body was as light as a feather, dropping all the heavy burden off like one took a heavy backpack off the shoulder. Using the remaining of his strength, he squeezed his son's hand as hard as he could before bringing his eyes to a close.

Meilin, I finally dared to face you now when we meet again.

Ren felt his consciousness drifted away, for he could no longer see nor hear anything around him.

Seeing his father in this peaceful state, Ying put the weak hand back gently on the bed and adjusted the cover properly on his father's body. With one last look, he turned on his heels and stepped out of the room to where Zhan was waiting.

<TO BE CONTINUED>