Rewritten Past

'Ah. There it is.'

Mei flinched, almost dropping the plate of dumplings she was moving to the table. "S-Sorry, Sweetie?"

Long snorted and looked at Wang. "You need to discipline your son more if he's speaking out-"

"Says the man whose wife left him because you beat her for trying to stop you from 'disciplining' your son. Oh, sorry. Was that not public yet?" Alex let out a cold smile.

When Yue processed what Alex just said, her breath hitched.

'Oh. Oh fuck.'

This wasn't just Alex being annoyed.

This was Alex like that night.

The incident when April had called for help. When Serena had been in danger.

Where he disappeared and returned with cops, only to smell like blood and not ever mention it again.

Wang's eyes widened and he snapped his gaze to Alex. "Son-"

"You too, Dad. Step in and kick them out. Look at how much they're straining Mom. She's stressed. You're going to allow this when she's pregnant?"

Wang paused and looked at Mei.

Mei flinched, subconsciously placing a hand on her belly. But then her eyes widened. Probably seeing Alex's serious side for the first time. "S-Sweetie?"

Xia stood up and pointed at Alex. "You brat! Running your mouth-"

Yue quickly interrupted. "Alex. No."

A single instant.

For a brief moment, silver had flashed in Alex's hand.

Yue barely caught it.

And it looked like Alex hadn't even realized he was doing it.

But he had already plucked a knife from the table, spinning it in his hand. The edge was aimed at Xia's neck, and his hand was already on the verge of flicking it towards her before he froze when Yue spoke up.

April quickly hugged Alex. "Alex. No. You're being scary."

Serena took the plate of dumplings from Mei and said, "Miss Mei. Why don't you sit down for now?"

It was an attempt at deescalation. To make everything calm again. To brush it over.

And it would have worked. Should have worked.

But then Long stood up and said, "You stupid brat. Threatening your own paternal aunt-"

Yue dove across the table, knocking the food aside and grabbing Alex's arm.

Silver flashed through the air, along with a loud thud. A knife, barely missing Long's eye and scratching the side of his cheek instead.

Murong screamed and dove behind Xia.

Donnie laughed at his father and said, "Serves you right, you bastard!"

Luo had already slipped out the front door, running into his car and driving off.

But Yue didn't look at them. Instead, she held Alex and said, "No. Alex. Listen to me. No."

Alex slowly turned to look at Yue.

And what she saw in his eyes made her blood run cold.

It wasn't anger.

It wasn't disdain.

It wasn't irritation either.

No. It was resolve. A decision, made in an instant, that those people shouldn't be alive. That life would be easier without them.

An expression that shouldn't be on a five year old.

April hugged Alex from the back and buried her face into his shirt. "Alex! No!"

Wang finally snapped and stood up. "Out. Long, take your kid and leave. Xia, take your husband and daughter and get out."

Long glared at Wang. "You-"

"I don't know what you did. But the fact that my son wants to kill you tells me enough. Now out, before I do it myself."

Long froze. Then he clicked his tongue and clamped his arm around Donnie before dragging him out.

Xia looked like she wanted to say more, but a nervous glance at Alex made her stop. Especially since Alex was calmly staring at her like he was debating when would be a good time to make her disappear.

So instead, Xia cleared her throat and grabbed Murong in one hand and her husband's arm in the other. "Let's go. We're done here."

"But Mommy!" Murong tugged her arm and said, "My Barbie-"

"Shut up! Leave! Now! Before that monster decides to slit your throat too!" Xia quickly dragged them both out and left.

A few minutes later, the sound of two more cars driving out amidst the snow echoed.

And then it was just them.

Yue, Serena, April, and Alex.

Then Mei and Wang.

Yue reached up to cup Alex's cheeks and stared into his eyes. "Alex. Look at me. Look. I don't know why you did it, but this isn't you. Breathe."

Alex slowly blinked. Then the sharp resolve in his eyes began to fade, turning back to his usual warm gaze.

Seeing that, Yue finally let out a sigh of relief.

There would be questions from Mei and Wang. There was no way there wouldn't be after that.

But for now, Alex was calm. And that was what mattered.

===

...Ah. That was bad.

I forgot.

I completely forgot.

Because I hadn't seen them at all since my grandmother's funeral in the past life, I had put them out of my mind.

But seeing them treat my mother like that, seeing them talk down on my father like that...

It was a miscalculation.

I should have realized it. Since I was in a child's body, I was much more emotional than I would be as an adult.

And I forgot that while the memories would be old to 'me,' this body would treat them as 'fresh' since it had never experienced them.

So irritation had turned to anger and into wrath, disdain, then killing intent before I realized it.

Because I remembered it.

In my past life, when my paternal grandmother died, my parents did everything. Even though Dad wasn't close with his mother, and even though my paternal grandmother had played favorites, he still arranged everything upon her deathbed, final hospice stay, and even funeral.

And then those bastards of my aunt and uncles had taken even the small pittance of inheritance that my paternal grandmother left him. Not only that, but they had somehow argued with the elder generation to force my dad to give up the only memento of my paternal grandfather. A small combat knife that my dad had carried with him all the way to America.

They had convinced the elder generation that since my paternal grandmother left nothing behind, they should have at least that.

But that was a lie too.

My paternal grandmother wasn't rich, but she wasn't POOR either. She had suitcases of dresses and jewelry she apparently carried with her everywhere.

Suitcases that conveniently vanished after her death. Even though she spent her last years hopping between my aunt and uncles' houses watching their kids.

At the time, because my dad said to let it go, I had.

But I had never forgiven them for it. I had never forgotten it either. How those bastards didn't do anything and yet took everything. And how they played it off like it was only natural.

Because I was an adult at the time though, I just let it be. Forgive and forget was what I was asked. And forgive and forget I did.

But I was a kid right now. And those memories were fresh. Moreover, they were freshly triggered by the bullshit I was seeing play out in front of my very eyes.

So, by the time I realized what I had done and that Mama Yue was very firmly holding my face in her hands, staring into my eyes with an anxious gaze, it was already too late.

The damage was done.