It was not until Julian entered the house that he saw Richard and Catherine already seated on the sofa waiting for him. Edward was there as well; only Aaron was nowhere to be seen.
Julian lowered his gaze and approached the tea table, then bowed his head slightly and murmured, "Dad, Mom."
"Mm, how did your talk with Ethan go? Do you two get along?" Richard glanced at Julian before accepting the cup of tea his wife poured for him and taking a sip.
"It went well." Julian answered, then scooted into a corner, sitting on the spot on the sofa furthest from the other three.
Seeing this, Edward frowned but said nothing. It was unclear where he had produced a rather beautiful-looking plate of pastries from, but he slid it toward Julian. Julian looked at the plate of pastries, then lifted his eyes to glance at Edward, mumbling a small thank you.
"You have been very thin lately; are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Catherine, unaccustomed to this heavy atmosphere, finally could only sigh and inquire about his health.
"I am fine, Mom. I am just a bit tired; may I go upstairs first?"
"Mm, go ahead. You still have to go out with the Caldwell boy tomorrow."
Hearing those words, Julian felt as if he had been granted amnesty and hurriedly retreated to his room. As he left, he did not forget to take the plate of pastries Edward had given him.
Waiting until Julian had disappeared up the stairs, Catherine sighed, then looked at her husband and eldest son.
"He... has been very different these past few days."
Naturally, Richard and Edward had also noticed this issue. It was just that neither of them knew what to do. Richard sat lost in thought for a moment; he remembered the first year when they had just brought Julian home—the boy was not like this.
At that time, the child was clad only in a torn shirt, dirty as a beggar in the market. He was skinny, with barely any flesh on his bones, and his hands were covered in calluses from years of hard labor. Yet, his eyes were very bright, clear and full of kindness, shining like stars.
But over the years, that light had gradually dimmed. He still remembered the day Julian chose to end his own life; those eyes held only darkness, a deep abyss that made people afraid to look directly into them.
As for the current Julian... he did not know what to say. Generally speaking, he was still that timid child from before, but Richard felt that something had changed.
Although he still wore that foolish appearance, Richard felt his youngest son had become much more cunning. At least he had found a way to stop Edward from scolding him and knew how to curry favor with the family members better.
Moreover... today he had actively gone along with Ethan Caldwell.
Does a brush with death really change a person that much?
He did not know either.
Just as Catherine was about to say something, the main door was pushed open. Aaron walked in elegantly, and upon seeing the three of them in the hall, immediately smiled radiantly: "Dad, Mommy, Edward."
Then he ran to Catherine's side, kissed her on the cheek, and sat right next to her. His action caused the heavy atmosphere from moments ago to vanish instantly; Catherine was made to chuckle by him.
Edward's tone when speaking to him was also much gentler: "So, did you meet the person of your dreams?"
"Edward!" Aaron's tone turned pouty as he shook Catherine's arm: "Mom, look at him, he keeps teasing me."
Hearing this, Catherine also laughed: "Well, is there any progress? Tell Mom about it."
"Mom!" Aaron sat aside in a huff: "I am not talking to you two anymore."
Seeing him like that, everyone could not help but burst into laughter. The atmosphere in the main hall became significantly warmer.
Meanwhile, in the hidden corner of the staircase, Julian stood there, lowering his eyes to look at the plate of pastries in his hand. Beside his ears were the sounds of laughter from below, along with the clear voice of that other youth. It seemed he was telling his family about his beloved; his voice, his laughter, everything was overflowing with happiness.
That was the atmosphere of a family.
The closeness of kin.
And him?
Julian turned sideways and walked back to his room.
He did not hate Aaron, because he was not the real Julian Sterling. He would not resent the fact that Aaron had stolen everything from him. Perhaps even the real Julian did not resent him, for he felt that "Julian" had departed very peacefully.
As if he had longed for death.
He was just a little jealous of this family, that was all. It turned out that wealthy families still possessed humanity.
Suddenly, the image of Ethan Caldwell and his faint smile in the garden appeared in Julian's mind.
He stood by the window, looking up at the faint starlight suppressed by the city lamps, his breathing slightly heavy.
Could he trust this person?
Could he have a real home?