He lost count after only ten minutes.
A woman wept in front of his brother’s casket but became magically dry-eyed when she handed over a consolation gift of chocolates. “What did Hui Ye think of my business? Did he tell you before he tragically passed away?”
An older woman hugged him with arms looped tight around his neck. “Your brother was wonderful. So wonderful. So kind and understanding. He always lent a helping hand. My grandson is having trouble with the job market right now. He’s a good kid. Surely, he can be of some help to you in these trying times? Your brother owned so many businesses, after all.”
A couple whispered to his stepmother, patted his stepsiblings, who both yawned and rolled their eyes during the whole procession, and tried to push money into his hands. “A little gift. A reminder to the deal we had with him.”
He shoved the cash back into their hands. How many more? He saw a line that never ended, snaking around the hall, and fearing he would wither to dust if he had to stand here one second longer, Aiden walked away from the casket, shoving into the crowd. The blurry people grew larger. Chinese words whispered back and forth, exceptionally clear even though only few seconds earlier, the voices burbled like they spoke underwater. “He must’ve killed someone very important. It has to be revenge,” one person said.
“I wonder if it’s because he consolidated the families together in Infinite. The other mafia groups must’ve felt threatened by his potential.”
“He gained a lot of power in his short tenure as the head of the Hui family. It could be people within Infinite.”
“It could be in his own family.”
“It could be his younger brother. He always outshined his younger brother.”
“Hui Lao was always competitive. It wouldn’t surprise me if he pitted his own sons against each other.”
“Has anyone seen the younger brother cry yet?”
Aiden bit his lips until he drew blood. Glasses of alcohol clinked against each other, lavish gifts towered, and a long line of people waited to speak to the stepmother, whose face was marred with stress lines. Glancing back at his stepsiblings, Aiden saw He Bao outright grinning, while Zhu Zhu contented herself with drawing.
He stumbled out from the reserved hall and into an open garden, gasping. Sweat lined his forehead, and he ripped the top button of his shirt off to gulp bigger mouthfuls of air.
A great gust of wind sent leaves fluttering from the trees and onto the dirt ground. The scent of smoky incense tinged the air, and the medicinal aura smoothed Aiden’s heartbeat. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, remembering the Chinese medicine that soothed his coughs and body aches. His shoulders relaxed.
Aiden walked to a stone bench under one of the many trees outside, listening to the bells chiming from the other side.
On the other end of the cemetery, Aiden imagined the traditional Chinese funeral procession occurring. The body cremated to ashes. The bells signified loss and the passing to the other side. The incense granted peace to everyone who smelled it. At the end of the procession, a fire flared, and the loved ones of the deceased would burn the items that the deceased loved. Their favorite clothes to wear in the other world. Their favorite food for them to take whenever hungry. Piles of paper disappearing under the flames as currency for the other side.
Aiden sighed. His back warmed to the sun hitting from behind, and he closed his eyes to concentrate on the smell of smoke from other families burning treasures. “I don’t even know what I’d burn for you,” he whispered. “Paper, I guess. So you could live as comfortably as possible.”
The door slammed open, and he jumped at the distinct clicking of heals approaching. His stepmother walked around the bench and stood before him with her arms crossed. “There you are, Hui Lang. Why are you out here? You are making people gossip inside.”
She blocked the sun.
“The last thing we want to do is have people assumeyouwere somehow capable of killing Hui Ye. That just puts a target on our backs.”
Aiden struggled to lift his head. “I just need a few minutes alone. I’ll go back soon.”
“No, you need to go back inside now.”
She grabbed his wrist. Aiden tried to dig his heels in, but he found himself reluctantly moving to her flow when she started walking.
Suddenly, she stopped. He blinked, watching her sigh, then turn around. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Brows furrowed, she quietly said, “I know this is hard for you. I know you were close to Hui Ye. But we do not have time to mourn, and there’s nothing we can do about it. This is the world we were born in. We have to adapt to it. I’m sorry. You understand, don’t you?”
Moved, Aiden nodded.
“Then bear with us today.” She clapped him on the shoulder one more time before latching her fingers tightly around his wrist.
Aiden stared at the ground as she led him back into the funeral hall. A crowd of people hovered near the door, dispersing the second he raised his head and silencing their blatant gossip. “The last Hui,” one person uttered before the silence.
At the sight of such nosy eyes, his stepmother graced the guests with brows furrowed, voice gentle, and an elegant pose of her hand against her chest, bending in agony. The crowd rushed forward. “Please, Lady Yin! Stay strong!”
She is genuinely stressed.The lines on her forehead, wrinkled no matter how much foundation she layered on top, told the one truthful story.
Finally, only one guest remained. The hall emptied to an echoed loneliness.
