Chapter 20

Staying with a mortal family was something that felt entirely strange for Duan Cai. After a while of visiting with his mother she had somehow managed to convince him to stay home for the night. His old room was simple and filled with odd clothes that he would not want to wear even if the world had ended. The taste he had in the past was obviously different from his own, but to the extent that it made his brow twitch. He was sure he could not manage to convince himself to wear a T shirt with some odd design on it. He preferred his own style and had no intention of touching any of the childish things.

"Cai?" A faint voice called out to him from outside his door. From the tone of it he was sure it was his mother.

"Yes?" He responded while looking through the things in his room in case there was something that could be of use to him later.

"Your father will be home soon so don't spend your whole night in there alone. You know he doesn't get much down time from work to see you."

"I got it. I'll see him when he gets home."

While Duan Cai went through all his books, clothes, and anything else he could find he listened to the laughter of mother and daughter through his door. It was a sound that piqued his interested in a way; a warm sound that he was not use to hearing that gave him comfort. There was many things he was slowly learning in this mortal world that he had not experienced before and this was one that felt almost like a drug. He knew if he spent too much time around them it would ruin his image and it made him shudder in fright slightly. At the same time as feeling frightened by the warm feeling the family gave off he also felt a weird urge to protect them. Was it left over feelings from the old soul or was it his own desire? He could not comprehend it either way.

After a while he could hear the front door open as the sound of a man entered the home. In an instant he knew who it was so slowly put down the book he was looking at and left his room to head for the living room. He could see his mother welcoming his father home from work. The man was tall and well built in his old suit with his dark brown hair and eyes that were a dark brown making him practically blend into the suit. He was the typical type that looked like a background character in society, but was strong enough to protect those important to him from any basic local thugs that could pop up around him.

"Cai's home?" The man asked in a surprised tone when he realized Duan Cai was standing there.

Duan Cai could feel a strange feeling coming from the eyes of his father as if he was being judged for just standing there. Slowly a sigh escaped the man as he stepped over to Duan Cai and grasped his shoulder firmly with an exhausted expression. They had never been close in the past so he was not expecting much from the man to begin with. It was obvious the man cared about him, but at the same time their relationship was too thin to begin with so there was not much to be said between them in Duan Cai's opinion.

"Welcome home." The man simply said with a faint smile as he released his hand from Duan Cai's shoulder and walked over to relax on the sofa just as Duan Cai had expected.

"Thank you." He replied back simply so that he would not be seen as rude.

"Are you actually staying home tonight?" The man asked without turning to look at him.

"Yes, mother asked me to stay the night so I said I would."

After a moment of silence the man slowly turned to look at Duan Cai. The expression he had was unable to be read as he stared at him silently for what felt like a while.

"They have been missing you for a while now, but we know you're not the sort that can be easily forced to remain here. Take care of yourself out there, Cai. Your mother and sister can't handle seeing you end up in the hospital like that again." The man sighed with a heavy heart as he thought back over the accident a few months ago.

Duan Cai could understand what the man meant. His own memories of that day wa something he could not easily forget when he woke up in this body. If they knew the real Duan Cai had died that day he was sure it would destroy them. It was something he would try to bury in himself and take to the grave. If there was something he owed to the previous Duan Cai it was to at least spare his family from that bit of knowledge that he was already gone from their world. He could grant him that much as least.

"I know, mother already asked me to take care of myself. I am doing well and do not need to be worried about. I have a friend I am staying with." Duan Cai nodded as he agreed to be careful.

"Friend or not don't do anything stupid."

Duan Cai stood there for a while talking to his father that was rarely around. The man seemed to be very exhausted so their conversation could not go very far and there was so little for them to talk about regardless. It was like the day had gone by in a hurry with how much attention the family kept giving him while he was there. It was obvious they all missed him dearly, but he could not shake the urge to leave as soon as possible. The family was not really his and the more he pretended to be the real Duan Cai the more he began to feel sick inside. Something about the situation just made him not feel well. It was like he was feeling a strange mortal emotion that he could not comprehend over pretending to be someone he wasn't.

"What.. is this?" Duan Cai clenched his fist to his heart as he grit his teeth to bite back the emotion that he could not understand. Was it a strange sense of guilt for stealing something that wasn't his?