Mo Fang fell silent himself. Was he alright with this? That question, it hadn’t even occurred to him. But then, he had known Yu Ting while Qiao Ya had only heard him talk about this half-brother of hers and had probably watched at least some of the videos. Having only such a surface impression, it naturally had to be strange for her to find a direction to go in.
Mo Fang’s expression softened and he hummed faintly. “Ah Ting always wanted to find his birth family. It was just … difficult to do so from where he was.” Actually, that was only half the truth. Sure, it might be easier to find clues while in China but money made a lot of things possible. With the financial resources both from his adoptive family and later his company, he could have easily found something. It was probably just that even someone as steadfast as Yu Ting would feel a hint of worry when trying to find their roots. Thus, he had pushed it off until it was too late.
Mo Fang gulped and hurriedly looked up at the ceiling, trying not to cry again. “Looking for you, that was also because I wanted to make up for his regrets. He would have loved to know you and your family. Now, he won’t have the chance but there is still the possibility of you and your grandparents getting to know about him. It’s not perfect but I think Ah Ting would have liked it.”
Qiao Ya gave another hum. “I guess you’re right. You know, I watched the videos and looked at the photos you sent me. He seemed really nice.”
“He was. He had this … ability to get along with almost anyone. Even to people he didn’t like, he’d make sure to be polite to. He always said that even if you clash with somebody, it doesn’t make them a bad person. You just have differences you can’t easily reconcile. A decent person will acknowledge that and act accordingly.”
He gave a faint chuckle when he remembered Yu Ting’s serious expression while he said so. That had still been rather early into their relationship. Mo Fang knew his own temper. At that time, he wouldn’t have been able to do it. If you got on his nerves, he’d strike back. He’d even feel the need to do so. But seeing Yu Ting deal with everything so calmly and the kind of peace of mind that gave him, he couldn’t help but admire that attitude.
He had long known that the way he acted out hurt himself the worst. Yes, he might drive off others, he might even break some hearts and some trust like he had with Li Ming. But at the end of the day, he was ruining his own life with how capricious he acted. Was that what he wanted?
This question, he probably should have asked it himself long ago. And yet, it had needed Yu Ting’s presence to feel comfortable enough to do so, to really examine where he went wrong and how he could do better.
Mo Fang sighed. “Yu Ting was … different from what you might expect. People often think that those bosses above are all pretentious. I guess for some of them, that’s true. But Yu Ting was really down to earth. I guess it also had a lot to do with his own history.”
Qiao Ya gave a hum. “Yeah, when you said he was a CEO, I first thought of those in the movies. But clearly, he wasn’t like that at all.” Even though those actors were all handsome, they’d show a stoic expression every time they were on screen. A lot of her friends liked that type but she only felt that it was boring. Who wanted to live with that kind of iceberg every day? So when she heard that her brother had been a CEO, she had wondered what Mo Fang actually saw in him. Now, she got it.
Mo Fang hadn’t sent that many videos. There was one from an outing with friends, a candid shot from an interview he had given, one that seemed to have been taken on a date, and another one with what seemed to be his adoptive family. The impression he gave differed slightly in these videos.
In that interview, while he had still seemed open and approachable, he was more serious overall. On the other hand, he had been laughing at one of the worst jokes she had ever heard in her life when a friend made it. In the video with Mo Fang, he was quieter but it was the kind of gentle and warm quietness that could make you feel safe and taken care of. When with his family, he seemed to be a mix of all of that: he was respectful to his parents but also very attentive while he could joke with his younger brother.
This kind of person, he suddenly started to feel real. He wasn’t just a passing mention or even a stranger in a photo. Watching him laugh, she had realized that they actually shared a bit of resemblance. It wasn’t obvious at first glance — maybe due to the more Caucasian features he had inherited from his father — but if she looked closely, she could see a shadow of herself in him.
Even though she hadn’t known what Mo Fang would say, she had also sent the videos to her father. She just … wanted to know if he could also see any resemblance to her mother. Since she had died early, Qiao Ya couldn’t remember her well. But she felt that if her half-brother could look a bit like her, he should also look like their mother, right?
Actually, after seeing him like this, she felt a bit robbed. She had lost her mother young. If she had had the chance to gain an older brother, she would have been so happy. Now, there actually was such a relative but he had recently passed away, not even giving her the chance to meet face to face.
