Chapter 5: When Stars Forget to Shine
"They wept. He didn't. Because something inside him… had shattered too quietly to make a sound."
The moment the doors closed behind them, the world outside ceased to exist.
The Long siblings were flown out of Vienna immediately, under armed escort. The jet—once a flying temple of light—had become a chamber of grief.
Curtains were drawn. Lights dimmed.
And in the center cabin of the jet, four girls crumbled.
Pearl—always the dignified eldest—collapsed onto the seat, covering her face with both hands. Her shoulders trembled, a queen stripped of her crown.
Crystal buried her face into the wall of cushions, screaming into them like she was trying to wake the world from a nightmare. Her notes, her calculations, her mind—none of it mattered now.
Jade curled up on the floor beside Haochen's feet, sobbing so violently her hair shook around her like loose threads of the sky.
Emerald sat on the floor, knees to her chest, tears flowing quietly down her cheeks as she stared at nothing.
They cried…
For their mother's soft lullabies.
For their father's warm laughter.
For the sudden emptiness that no knowledge, no wealth, no genius could ever mend.
The Silence
And Haochen?
He stood.
Unmoving.
Watching them.
Watching their tears flood the velvet carpets.
Watching their hands tremble as they tried to hold onto something—anything.
He said nothing.
He did not cry.
He did not breathe loudly or flinch.
He stood like a statue carved from starlight and shadow.
"Why am I not crying?"
"Why is there no sound?"
"Why… does it feel like I've left myself behind?"
Haochen reached up to touch his chest—expecting to feel pain.
Instead, he felt something else.
A faint warmth, brushing the back of his neck.
He turned slightly and reached up—his fingers grazing the braided strap tied into his hair.
For a second… the silence cracked.
He saw a flash.
A garden under moonlight.
A woman's hands.
A whisper:
"So when the world becomes too heavy…"
His lips parted.
A breath escaped.
But no tears came.
Because the grief hadn't reached his eyes.
It had gone deeper.
When the jet landed, news anchors were already weeping on live television.
Schools held moments of silence.
Government buildings across around the world lowered their flags.
Billions of screens bore a single message:
"In memory of Long Yuyingand Long Tianrui. The world mourns with the Long family."
But the siblings walked out without a single camera click.
They weren't royalty now.
They were just five children, alone for the first time in their lives.
And their little brother…
…hadn't said a word since.
That night, while the city below lit candles in vigil…
Haochen stood alone at the balcony of their estate.
The same balcony where they once watched the stars together.
His fingers reached up to the braid again.
And for the first time.
He whispered into the darkness:
"Why didn't you wait for me… Mama?"