Harding's Favorite Tale.

Zhou Heng took the glass of cold orange juice from Harding's hands. His sight rested for a moment in the white gloves covering the hands of the old man in front of him.

He didn't recognize the material, but the gloves didn't look cheap, they adjusted perfectly to his hands, very probably a personalized product.

It's not like he didn't see them yesterday, but his focus was entirely on Jacob Harding's amber eyes. Many times he had heard that to 'know' another person, one should focus on the eyes.

Even when learning martial arts with his grandfather, the first of the lessons when battling another being, was to focus on his eyes.

The result was expected, he couldn't see anything. A gentle old man that he could perfectly imagine sitting on a bench in the park with a smile while looking at his grandchildren play.

Zhou Heng also didn't have great expectations, he knows that he is still very inexperienced to 'unmask' a person like Harding and see his true self, but he still tried it for the burning curiosity he feels for this old man.

Drinking the juice, he felt the sweetness of the pulp and the bitterness of the peel. Not wanting to waste time on philosophical enlightenment about the taste of a juice when there are more important matters, Zhou Heng decided to take the initiative.

Watching how Jacob Harding took an apple juice glass for himself and sat very relaxed on his couch with a slight smile, Zhou Heng broke the silence.

''What kind of tales did you want to tell me?'' He didn't want to waste time, but he also knew that rushing to the point could offend Harding, as telling him 'Let's start working' can be seen as if he was ordering Harding.

Harding's expression didn't change, taking a sip of the juice, he put the glass on a table, along with his glasses and a small book he was reading before the arrival of Heng.

''Do you like them? Tales I mean.'' Harding answered with a question.

Zhou Heng, thought for a few seconds and a bitter smile appeared on his face, ''I think... I have never read or heard one... A complete one, at least, only fragments, from others, telling me their 'experience'.''

Harding raised an eyebrow, ''The orphanage you stayed in has a few books for children, apart from those educational ones, there are at least a few of them with tales, didn't you read them?''

Zhou Heng tensed and his breathing stopped but after a few seconds he regained his calm and nodded, ''Yeah, I wasn't that interested.''

Harding frowned, ''That is not good, tales and stories are very important for the development of your creativeness, I will recommend you a few later, make sure to read them. Believe me, when facing problems in the future, having reference materials, even if they come from fairy tales can solve more than four crises.''

''Some of God's problems can be solved with human tactics, and some of God's moves can make a man fly.''

''The example of greatness creates a seed of ambition, and a seed of ambition can grow up in the greatness of your color.''

''A man that once read about a never-ending-tower in a fairy tale was also a man that created a magnificent palace for a king in the west.''

''A woman once dreamed about becoming a healing fairy that could bring smiles to the injured, her dream was born after listening to the story time before sleeping; she became the savior of a fallen army with her melodic voice... Voice, that relieved the defeated soldiers in a ward of the hospital.''

''Not all dreams come from a tale nor the naivety of a child, but certainly the most beautiful of them do.''

Harding smiled and took the juice from the table and drank from it. Zhou Heng on the other side had a perplexed look in his eyes, he couldn't believe that such an optimistic and empathetic speech would come from someone like him.

At this point Zhou Heng had a thought, 'Someone like him' those words came to his mind but why? He has never heard of Harding before and after the meeting with Helena, she also didn't provide evidence that Jacob Harding did what she said he did.

Since yesterday he listened to her and believed her entirely. This was very concerning to Zhou Heng, maybe Harding is certainly a monster and this is only one of his many faces, but no matter what, he can't commit the mistake of believing someone that he just met, just because he feels comfortable with that person.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Heng closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them to see Harding smiling at him, nothing has changed. This man has the recourse's he needs and that's all.

''This is the tale you wanted to tell me? A story made of little stories of others?'' Zhou Heng's interest in these tales was picked and he forgot about rushing to their 'business'.

Seeing this Harding smiled, ''No, the tale I want to tell you is one that, perhaps, can make you know me better... As for me knowing you... There is no need. As I will watch you closely in the future.''

''The tale I'm going to tell you is my favorite. Regretfully I only learned about this story after my age let go of those dreams and ambitions, but it is certainly the story that has moved me the most.''

Zhou Heng sat in a more comfortable position and drank his juice. Harding finished his glass and wiped his lips with a handkerchief, adjusting his throat, he started.

''I am not going to narrate the story, only a brief summary, and my opinions.''

''The story starts with three lions; the Father, the Uncle, and the Son.''

''The Father was the King of the pack, the mighty leader. Selected by the previous King, his own father, in recognition of his strength and charisma.''

''The Uncle was the younger brother of the King, he was weak since born, he also wasn't blessed with a mighty face that attracted others like his brother.''

''The Son is... Well, just the child of the King; young, impulsive, and filled with dreams about becoming someone like his father.''

''As you can imagine, the protagonist of this story is the Son, the young cub. The Father and the Uncle are already old, the times for their dreams should have already ended. They certainly didn't fit the place of a protagonist. Who can enjoy reading about an old man struggling in his last years? That's... How it should have been...''

''But there was someone unwilling, someone, that since the start of the story showed his position.''

''The Uncle as you can also imagine, had high ambitions since young, he was weak, he wasn't as good as his brother, but, he was unwilling, he saw the crown and asked himself, why it can be mine? A King... A winner of life is the one that accomplishes his wishes or one that accepts reality and dies being himself... The 'himself' that he detests.''

''He never hid his unwillingness, his brother knew it very well, after all, he was the king, isn't he? A king that fails to understand his most close brother shouldn't exist.''

''But the two of them never did something to the other... Until the start of our story. The King wanted to give the crown to his Son.''

''The rage that fill the Uncle's heart broke. He isn't in his prime, he lost the battle that never started in the past. All those times he stopped himself only made him angrier. And the rise of his nephew was the last shot for him.''

''So he, with great intelligence, devised a plan to take the crown.''

''So he, with great courage, decided to kill his brother.''

At this moment Jacob Harding stopped and sighed sadly, ''Do you know how much courage needs someone to kill his own family? Is not something I possess.''

Zhou Heng felt chills at the sad smile on Harding's face, more so when he heard him muttering things like, ''I can do many things to my family, but killing them? I lack that kind of courage.''

Jacob Harding broke his thoughts and smiled, continuing with the story.

''The plot was a big win for the Uncle, he wasn't physically strong, so he needed to scheme, to plot in the darkness. And he succeeded. He had at his mercy the life of his brother.''

''The Father at that moment looked at the Uncle in desperation, deep inside him, he knew this was going to happen, but his brother was weak and every time he stopped himself.''

''The Father looked at his brother and 'weakly' asked him to stop once again, to give up those fake dreams and accept his fate.''

''The Uncle was heartbroken but he steeled himself, he could endure it anymore. His brother was the King since birth, he was given everything he wanted. Why after the long good life of his brother, does he needs to give up? What about his dreams? So, he did it. The weak brother of the King took the life of his strong brother.''

''After another brilliant move, he played with the mind of the Son, driving him away and erasing the early risk that threaten his path to the throne.''

''He knew that he only had a few years at most, so he let him live. He enjoyed the crown, he enjoyed the feeling of reaching one's dream.''

''He became a winner.''

Jacob Harding got up from the couch, took the glass in Zhou Heng's hands, and walked to the side of the room, taking the jar where he stored the juice, he filled both glasses.

During all this time, Zhou Heng's sight never left him. Zhou Heng understood something, he may be very ignorant about tales, for his past experiences, but he understood something.

This story is coming from Harding's mouth as he wants. No story would sell with that kind of development or at least be told in that way.

Harding ignored him and continued the story while bringing the drinks to the table.

''The Uncle, lived as the king for a few years... Until one day, the Son took drugs and his ambitions along with the substances made him believe that his Uncle killed his Father. So he went back and killed his Uncle, taking the throne and becoming the King. The End.''

With the abrupt ending of the story, Zhou Heng was speechless, he could only stare blankly at the juice in his hands. He was even more sure that Harding told the story as he liked.

Harding smiled at his reaction, ''Do you know what part of this story I hate the most?''

Zhou Heng took a full minute to regain himself and think about an answer for the question. He frowned and couldn't think about an answer that wasn't 'Is it because the Son won?' But he stopped because there was something that was bothering him.

''Isn't your favorite tale? Why the part that you hate the most?''

Harding without changing expression, answered, ''Is my favorite because is the one that moved me the most; this doesn't mean that I love it, or that I feel happy feelings for it.''

''As for my question, let me answer it by myself.''

''The part that I hate the most, is the mediocrity of the Father and the Son... How could they be so incompetent and not erase the Uncle earlier...?''

Zhou Heng's calmness once again was broken.