Chapter 10 An Angel Or The Devil

Rain...

Fitting that the world would cry when she left it.

Li Tian, among a few others dressed in black, stood by silently as the wonderful woman was being lowered down into her grave. His tears fell without restraint, not something he would show on occasion, but they were masterfully hidden within the rainfall. Meilin stood beside him with an umbrella up, protecting both him and her from the downpour, lest it reveals his identity. But he would rather have been drenched down to his toes to cleanse away his sorrows.

Meilin would never allow it. The hair gel would wash out, his oversized clothes would hug his body fitly and worse of all, he could get sick. His disguise would have been for nothing. Without it, he wouldn't be allowed to come otherwise, though she didn't think she could stop him.

She glanced at her little cousin's wet face and felt herself tear up as well. It was a short time, but the old woman managed to impact her cousin's and even her own life in a good way.

Grandmama's body was fully lowered into the ground, and the grave caretakers began to cover the hole up.

Li Tian stared at the soil piling up, as he began to remember the scene that occurred not even a day ago...

....

15 hours ago.

𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸...

There was a steady heart rate displayed on the electrocardiogram not too far away but it noticeably became weaker as the days passed.

The old lady laid completely still, with no strength to even pick up a spoon to eat. But she was content with her situation, as long as she didn't die alone. Her new companion kept her company, and they spoke about many things each time she awoke. Mostly she was the one doing the storytelling while he listened closely.

He never held back with his questions and spoke without constraints. However, his fervor she remembered from the first time they met was no longer to be seen, and he would clamp his mouth shut whenever anyone else was in the room, something that never escaped her senses.

Li Tian enjoyed the time he could listen to her speak, as it gave him the illusion that she was still healthy. But it was just wishful thinking on his part for she would never really get better. She struggled to move any part of her body, and if she exerted herself too much, she would go into cardiac arrest. The more time he spent, the less he could accept the current reality. More so that she may die never knowing who he actually was. He clenched his fists at the thought of her dying believing he was someone he's wasn't.

Maybe it was time to tell her the truth?

That he was a Li, a member of the family that had caused some of her past sufferings, and a person that her descendants were so keen on clinging on to...

"Grandmama... I'm not who you think I am. I'm actually..."

"Li Tian?" she smiled at him knowingly.

His eyes widened at her fast response, but he wasn't too surprised. She had hinted many times that she knew about his identity. He guessed that the reason she had never commented on it even until death's door was that she always had his privacy in mind. But it still made him curious. "Fully it's Li Xiao Tian... So how did you know?"

"Hehe. Little Sky, Little Wolf, whichever you are," she chuckled. "My body may be weakening, but my senses aren't and my mind is still clear. I hear whenever that young lady comes in and calls you Tian... Is she your family member?"

"She's my cousin... and manager," he scratched his head admittedly.

"She seems to care for you a lot..." grandmama mentioned, earning a shrug from him. She spoke with short pauses, enough for her to catch her breath between sentences. "You don't seem to mind speaking to me normally but never to any of the hospital workers, like your afraid of them hearing you... Not to mention the crowd at the street market. They kept on mentioning your voice... saying it was impossible not to recognize... I thought you were a peculiar young man then... But it turned out you just happened to be in a place you were unused to."

Li Tian smiled defeatedly. He guessed that even as he was trying his best to hide it from others, he was unconsciously trying to reveal himself to her. "Yeah, I guess it would be obvious to you. What I was told is true. My voice is very recognizable... and the best I can do is speak as soft as possible or not at all. If not, some people would come at me in an instant."

" I can understand why..." she lifted her weak hand, which he caught immediately. If she spoke too fast, she would tire herself too quickly, but Li Tian was patient in listening to every word. "I dwelled on it for the past few days and have begun to recognize your voice... There was a song I heard on the radio once, that I always loved... I think it was called," she blushed a little, putting a little color in her pale cheeks, "Always there for you..."

Figures she would like a song with that title. It was the final song he sang at every concert, a ballad that accentuated the best elements in his voice, a favorite of lovers and family alike. His genius songwriter had written it for him.

He never thought much of the song before, but he could feel that it meant a great deal to her.

"Would you like me to sing it to you?" he asked without thinking much.

Grandmama looked at him in surprise, his suggestion catching her off guard. "Really? Is that okay? I wouldn't want to force you, dear."

She was obviously thrilled by his suggestion but was unwilling to appear too desperate. Unfortunately, the pitch in her voice couldn't mask her excitement. He chuckled at her cuteness. He didn't think he would ever think of an old woman as cute, most of his older women's influence stemming from his scary mother, but the happiness and uncertainty within her voice made him see a different and more adorable side of her.

"It's fine!" he assured in his long-absent confident voice. "This room is totally private. No one would hear from the outside and they'll knock when they want to come in too. Let me sing for you, Grandmama. It's the least I can do."

She smiled brightly, reviving the sense of purpose he once had as a singer. He had lost the passion to sing a long time ago after all the parties, crazy fans, and absurd flattery from thigh hugging hyenas. It was easy to get swept away in the celebrity current when talent had become second. The only goal he had left was to be acknowledged as the best singer, beating that siren, Yingxue, people considered his superior. But that was just his ego flaring on his part as they were almost always compared.

Now, he wanted to do his best, and sing the song grandmama loved to hear the most.

He started humming the tune gently, slowly getting into the rhythm of the song. When he felt comfortable enough, he parted his lips and began to sing...

"Are you there?

Can you hear me...

The world can be cold... and cruel...

But please... you don't have to hide...

I'll be there..."

Grandmama shut her eyes and listened to it in tranquility. His voice really was beautiful to listen to. Every time she listened to the song before, she could help note how deep and soothing it sounded. But now listening to it live, she noticed there was so much more to it. The huskiness of his lower tones, the sultriness in his higher pitch, and the raw emotion he was conveying.

"When it's freezing cold...

Or when the sun starts to burn...

The ashes turn to dust...

And you're left on your own just to rot...

I'll be your shoulder to cry on...

The one you rely on...

Your blanket in winter...

To hold you together...

From breaking apart...

Healing your distrusting heart..."

He was singing this just for her. Tears welled up in her eyes again but this time, she wouldn't let them fall. She would listen to the end...

"If they hurt you, I'll be your shield...

They curse you? I am your sword..."

Her heart shook at the words, but she kept herself from trembling; after all, her hand was still cupped within his. The song was going to end soon...

"If the time comes...

Where I must leave you...

Don't be afraid, don't close your eyes,

Even if the light never comes by,

I'll be there.

Always there... for you..."

Grandmama smiled contently and looked into the singer's eyes. "Xiaolang..."

"Yes, Grandmama?"

"I've had a change of heart..." she whispered thoughtfully. "I am cutting off ties with my family. From this day on... I no longer have a son, and the grandson that comes with him."

Li Tian was perplexed but listened obediently to her next words.

"As for you, dear, be Li Xiao Tian or Xiaolang, whoever you want to be. You can be the kindest saint imaginable... or the most powerful and arrogant man in the world..."

His eyebrows lifted up in surprise. What was she trying to tell him?

"What I mean is..." she pulled her hand out of his grasp and weakly ushered him closer.

He obliged without much thought and bent himself forward.

The bedridden woman then gently placed her thin hand onto his cheek and caressed it softly, her eyes filled with warmth.

"Li Xiao Tian... Xiaolang... You could be an angel or the devil... I will support you," her smile slowly faded and her eyebrows furrowed together to give him a sharp expression. "But you must never let anyone hurt you or anyone you care about. Find the people you love, and protect them. You mustn't let the words you sang to me become nothing but empty talk."

Li Tian was speechless. What was she saying? He couldn't comprehend much within the short time but one thing was for sure, she would accept him regardless... as long as he made right with the song.

"Promise me, Xiao Tian Lang!" she exclaimed with more urgency than usual. She had already accepted him both as Li Tian and Xiaolang. He was both the sky and the wolf, a person that could be whatever he wanted. "No matter what you choose, you won't throw your loved ones away!"

Seeing the solemness in her, he couldn't say no. "I promise!"

Those words were all she needed to hear. Suddenly, her very being felt a huge burden lift up from her body, and her mind became light.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, she thought. But instead of feeling reluctant, she couldn't have felt more at peace.

The seriousness disappeared from her expression and instead, her eyes twinkled with life as she smiled at the young man appreciatively.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you much... Thank you, dear... for everything," she uttered before her hand dropped from his cheek and onto the bed railing beside her.

It completely caught him off guard, causing him to fail in catching it in time. But he was sure to grab it afterward.

"Grandmama?" he called out to her, his hand clutching hers.

No response.

"Grandmama!" he yelled louder, panic starting to sink in.

No. No. No.. No... NO!!!

He stood up and turned to glance at the electrocardiogram only to see her heartbeat becoming exceedingly faint, an electric impulse hardly appearing on the green line. In a fluster, he made his way to the emergency button and pushed it as hard as he could.

Seconds later, a flurry of people rushed into the room who immediately went to check on her vitals.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"We're losing her," Dr. Marin announced and quickly pulled away the bed covers, revealing a thin and tiny body. "Nurse! Defibrillator!"

"Right away, sir!"

The nurse handed him the equipment and he quickly placed it onto the body laying completely still on the bed. "Half power!"

The loud hum of an electric current resounded through the room.

"Clear!"

ZZZZZT!! The tiny body jolted into the air.

"Again!"

"Clear!"

ZZZZZT!! Another jolt but still no signs of movement.

"Change it to maximum!"

ZZZZZZZT!! Nothing.

Li Tian's body shook uncontrollably, watching the woman that was speaking to him just moments before, having a battle between life and death. He was powerless...

Overwhelmingly powerless.

Beep.. Beep... Beep... Beep.....

The doctor and nurses tried time and time again but it was no use. She had flatlined.

The last expression she had on was a warm smile. She was perfectly at peace.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.....

.....

He had watched her die. And now, he watched as she returned to the ground...

He had known her for a short time but would remember her forever. This would be the last time he would cry his eyes out over her death...

The rain had distracted him from everything else going on at the funeral, allowing him to wallow in his emotions. The grave was only half covered up with dirt and mud when Li Tian heard a displeased voice from the other side of it.

The only people that had shown up to the funeral numbered not even ten people, and this included the grave workers. He assumed the people making a fuss must be her 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

"We've stayed here long enough. It's fucking RAINING, dad! Can we just go!" a youthful voice complained.

"She's your grandmother. Besides, it's almost over, son," the older man shushed him.

"You hardly ever cared when she was alive," the son retorted.

The father scrunched his eyebrows and glared at his loud mouth son. Regardless of what he did or did not do before, she was dead now, and they had to at least show publicly that they cared.

"No one that matters is actually here!" the son noticed his father's dilemma and persuaded. "No one will care about a dead old lady anyway."

The father glanced at the hole being filled up before sighing in defeat. "Alright then, let's go..."

"Finally!" the younger one exclaimed exasperatedly. "I need to get back to all the merchandise we managed to scam out. Hahahaha!"

The two walked further away, unbeknownst to them that someone of grave importance 𝘸𝘢𝘴 watching how they treated the dead woman, and even 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 how they treated her while she was alive. Every word they said made his fists clench tighter, the rage slowly fueling him.

Meilin was not unaware of what was going on either, and she knew if she wasn't attentive enough, her cousin might just blow his top.

"Xiaolang..." she whispered, knowing now to not call him Tian whenever he was undercover anymore. They wouldn't want someone other than Grandmama to hear again.

But they had both froze the more they heard from the father-son duo. That voice.... was familiar to both of them. The rain had clouded it in the beginning but the louder the younger one spoke, the clearer he sounded.

It... it was Yijun!!

The leader of Li Tian's previous 'friends' that had managed to cause some serious damage to the young star's reputation had she not covered it up. Not to mention the huge financial loss on Li Tian's part.

Meilin lowered her head to not be recognized, thanking God for the rain that day. But Li Tian was already seething with anger beside her causing her to worry immensely. She held his shaking arm down to hold him in place.

"This isn't the place," she hissed.

"I know..." he growled in his lowest voice. "I wouldn't sully Grandmama's resting place for that."

Meilin sighed thankfully. But then he continued.

"I understand now... what Grandmama meant. Why she cut off her ties with them and said all those things to me. Why she made me promise..."

The father-son duo had already scampered off, thus allowing her to openly look up at the expression on her cousin's face. His look utterly frightened her.

His eyes had become so incredibly sharp, they were the spitting image of his mother's whenever she got angry, a look that terrified everyone in the room with her. Seeing it on his face, something that had never happened before, even gave Meilin a mini heart attack. Not to mention his lips were pulled back in a fierce snarl, showcasing his teeth and fangs.

Li Tian was absolutely furious! His glare may even be enough to kill them, had they looked at it.

"Grandmama... was giving me permission... on what I'm about to do next."

.....