CHAPTER 3: FAMILY THING?

Yuan Jian stood in the dimly lit living room, his fingers tracing the edge of the old family photo sitting on the shelf. The photo was worn from years of handling, colors faded, but the faces remained clear—his mother, his father, Yuan Feng, and Yuan Lan. It was taken years before he and Yuan Mei were born, back when everything seemed simpler.

In the photo, Yuan Feng was sitting on their father’s knee, looking proud and serious for a boy his age. His mother stood close by, her hand resting gently on Yuan Lan’s shoulder. It was one of the few pictures they had of the family before everything changed—before their parents disappeared.

Yuan Jian had always wondered why their parents were so strict with Yuan Feng and Yuan Lan when they were younger. They always seemed to be off doing something together that he and Yuan Mei weren’t part of. Even now, after their parents had vanished, Yuan Jian couldn’t shake the feeling that there had been some deeper reason behind those trips.

“What are you staring at?” Yuan Mei’s voice cut through the silence, and Yuan Jian turned to see his sister standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. She glanced at the photo in his hand and raised an eyebrow.

“Just thinking,” Yuan Jian said quietly, setting the photo back on the shelf. “About Mom and Dad. About... everything, really.”

Yuan Mei shrugged, leaning against the doorframe. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately. What’s up?”

Yuan Jian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you remember when we were kids? Mom and Dad would always take Yuan Feng and Yuan Lan off on those long trips, but they never took us. Did you ever wonder why?”

Yuan Mei frowned, her brow furrowing in thought. “Not really. I just figured it was some family tradition or something. Like bonding time with the eldest kids. You know how parents can be about that kind of stuff.”

“Yeah, but...” Yuan Jian hesitated, searching for the right words. “It always felt like there was more to it. They were gone for hours—sometimes even days—and they never told us what they were doing.”

“Maybe it was something cultural?” Yuan Mei suggested with a shrug. “Mom and Dad were always into old traditions. Maybe they were just passing down some family knowledge to Yuan Feng and Yuan Lan.”

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“Maybe,” Yuan Jian said, though he wasn’t convinced. “But why just them? Why didn’t they ever take us?”

Yuan Mei looked at him for a long moment, then sighed. “Jian, I know you’ve been thinking about this a lot, but we can’t change the past. Whatever it was, it’s gone now. Mom and Dad aren’t here to explain it.”

Yuan Jian nodded, though his mind was still buzzing with questions. There had to be a reason—something more than just family tradition. But for now, all he had were memories and a gnawing sense of curiosity.

“I know,” Yuan Jian said finally. “But I can’t help wondering if there’s something we’re missing.”

************

Later that evening, Yuan Jian sat alone on the roof of the apartment building, staring up at the darkening sky. The city hummed beneath him, the noise of cars and distant voices drifting up like a muted symphony. But Yuan Jian’s thoughts were elsewhere—focused on the past.

The jade pendant hung around his neck, resting against his chest. His father had given it to him on his thirteenth birthday, the same day he had told him about the importance of their family’s legacy. Yuan Jian could still remember the weight of his father’s words, though at the time, he hadn’t fully understood them.

His father had held up the pendant, letting the light filter through the soft green stone. "This pendant belonged to your ancestors," his father had said, his voice calm but filled with meaning. "It's a reminder of who you are and where you come from."

At the time, Yuan Jian hadn’t thought much of it. It had seemed like nothing more than a family heirloom—a piece of history that his father cherished. But ever since he found those old ruins in the forest, the pendant had started to feel... different.

He held the pendant in his hand, turning it over in the fading light. There was something about it—something that had started to feel strange ever since that day in the ruins. The pendant had grown warm there, like it was alive. He hadn’t told Yuan Feng about it yet—he wasn’t sure his brother would understand.

As the cool breeze swept through the air, Yuan Jian closed his eyes, letting the sound of the wind fill his mind. He remembered the nights when his father would take Yuan Feng out into the woods, just the two of them, and return late at night. He never asked what they did, but Yuan Feng always came back looking exhausted yet somehow stronger. It had been the same with Yuan Lan when it was her turn.

But that had all stopped before Yuan Jian or Yuan Mei had reached the right age. Their parents had disappeared before they could take the younger siblings on those mysterious trips.

What had they been doing?

The thought nagged at him like an itch he couldn’t scratch. The jade pendant pulsed softly in his hand, and Yuan Jian felt a strange sensation—like a whisper at the edge of his mind. He opened his eyes and stared at the pendant, but it remained still and cool now.

“What are you hiding from me?” Yuan Jian whispered.

But the pendant gave no answer.