Surrounded by the prying eyes and accusing murmurs of the residents of Sun Village, Xu Zeng felt exposed, and vulnerable to the harsh judgments of those around him.
Now even in the silence, he felt bare to the world.
In that moment, he realized he wasn't as detached from his surroundings as he had once believed. Initially, he had found solace in the belief that he was his dad's child, but that illusion shattered when he learned the truth.
Yet, even without blood ties, the love he shared with his dad was enough, he also had a brother to look up to. One that loved him so much he sacrificed himself. From a young age, Xu Zeng held onto the hope that his brother still survived, somewhere out there.
Then came the loss of his dad. While he mourned, he found comfort in the assurance that he would one day understand the mysteries of his past. Those stories, once dismissed as mere tales, turned out to be more than just fiction.
