Su Wan shook her head.
“It’s not discomfort; the baby… he’s responding to the energy stone, very active.”
“It’s just… a feeling I can’t quite describe; he seems to be talking to me, and also communicating with this stone.”
She caressed her lower abdomen, her brows first furrowing, then relaxing.
A new and curious expression appeared on her face.
A tenderness unique to a mother quietly melted the sharpness between her brows, softening the lines of her entire being.
Lu Shiyan’s gaze shifted from her face to the energy stone in her palm.
“Don’t worry, this is a good thing.”
“The power of the energy stone is nourishing you both, and the fetus’s perception will be more acute than yours.”
His voice was deep and reassuring.
Su Wan nodded, and the increasingly clear joyful 波動 in her abdomen gradually dispelled the worry in her heart.
The atmosphere inside the air-raid shelter remained oppressive.
The wounds of Li Kui and Li Xinhu, the brothers, had both been treated.
Li Kui grimaced as he moved his bandaged arm, muttering in a muffled voice, “Those scumbags under Scorpion, their moves are really vicious! They almost dislocated my arm!”
Li Xinhu, as the elder brother, also held on, “Take it easy. Lu Ge and the others just went through a big battle, and Su Wan is pregnant, so we need to stay alert.”
So, the two volunteered to stand guard outside for the night.
A Mo slept nearby, waiting to take over in the latter half of the night.
Xiao Han sat alone on a broken wall outside the air-raid shelter.
The night wind, carrying the smell of scorched earth and blood, ruffled his messy hair.
Lu Shiyan’s figure appeared silently behind him.
He held a bottle of strong liquor, found from who knows where, and two cups.
“Sitting out here in the wind? Waiting for Lei Laohu’s men to shoot you again?”
Lu Shiyan’s voice was calm, with no hint of blame.
Xiao Han’s body trembled, but he didn’t turn around, only grumbled, “Whatever.”
Lu Shiyan said nothing more, walking over and sitting next to Xiao Han.
He twisted open the bottle, poured two cups, and pushed one to Xiao Han.
Xiao Han took the cup, but didn’t drink immediately, just clutched it tightly.
“Drink some.”
Lu Shiyan said lightly, “To clear your head.”
Xiao Han abruptly tilted his head back, pouring a cup of strong liquor down his throat.
The spicy liquor felt like fire.
He pointed to the bandages on his body and cursed, “Damn it, I’m this injured, and you’re still making me drink!”
Lu Shiyan glanced at him, chuckling softly. “This is more like you, Xiao Han.”
Xiao Han glared at him, “Get lost!”
“You were too hard on Xiao Lei,” Lu Shiyan changed the subject.
Xiao Han’s body stiffened abruptly, and he turned his head sharply, staring at Lu Shiyan, full of confusion and vigilance.
Lu Shiyan picked up his own cup, gently swirling the amber liquid inside, his tone deep, as if he could see through people’s hearts.
“He messed with us, plotted against us, almost took your life.”
“But you, from beginning to end, never truly intended to kill him.”
He paused, his gaze falling on Xiao Han’s tightly clenched empty wine glass.
“You protected him, not because he’s young, nor because you’re a soft-hearted good person.”
Lu Shiyan’s voice turned to Xiao Han, “Because he reminded you of someone else.”
“Someone… we both remember deeply, right?”
“Someone you owe, or rather, you feel you owe him a life.”
Xiao Han’s breathing instantly became ragged, his pupils constricted sharply, and the color drained from his face.
He opened his mouth, but his throat felt as if something was tightly constricting it, unable to utter a single word.
Lu Shiyan’s voice continued, calm yet resolute, mercilessly tearing open the deepest wound in Xiao Han’s heart.
“A brother who grew up with you, who called you Han Ge every day, who joined the army with you, and who ultimately died for you.”
“You dumped all your guilt towards him onto Xiao Lei.”
Xiao Han’s body began to tremble, shaking more and more violently.
He suddenly lowered his head, clutching his head tightly with both hands, his nails digging deeply into his scalp.
“Enough!”
“Stop talking!”
Lu Shiyan completely ignored his breakdown, “You thought being good to him would fill the hole in your heart.”
“You were wrong.”
“Everyone has their own destiny.”
Xiao Han’s roar was abruptly cut off, as if someone had choked him.
He suddenly lifted his head, a pair of bloodshot eyes staring intently at Lu Shiyan.
“How dare you say that?!”
Lu Shiyan’s expression was as cold and hard as iron, looking directly at Xiao Han.
“The thirteen of us, we grew up together in the orphanage, what don’t I know?”
His voice lowered, carrying a heavy weight that only they could understand.
“That ‘brother’ you talk about, he’s not Xiao Lei.”
“And Xiao Lei isn’t him.”
“You’re living in the past, living in guilt over a dead person, and you can’t get out.”
“That’s why you tolerate Xiao Lei again and again.”
“You think you’re making amends, but Xiao Lei isn’t him!”
Xiao Han’s body felt as if all strength had been drained from it.
He leaned against the broken wall, slowly sliding down to the ground.
Tears mixed with dust, leaving several messy streaks on his face.
“I…”
He let out a suppressed sob, unable to continue speaking.
Lu Shiyan looked at him, his expression complex and unreadable, quickly reverting to his usual indifference.
“Those who are gone are gone.”
His voice sounded again.
“Those who are alive must look forward.”
He poured himself another glass of wine and continued, “I know this is hard to accept, Xiao Han. But Xiao Lei… he ultimately made his choice in his own way. Perhaps, for him, that was the only way he could think of for salvation.”
Xiao Han’s breathing became heavy.
He slowly raised his head, looking at Lu Shiyan.
Lu Shiyan’s words, calm yet carrying immense weight, pierced through all his confusion, reaching the deepest part of his heart.
“Mo Yao’s matter.”
Lu Shiyan said lightly, “Don’t get involved.”
“Scorpion is dead, and his subordinates won’t be able to cause trouble for long.”
“If Mo Yao is still alive, she will naturally find her own way.”
“Your interference might not be good for her.”
Xiao Han took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, as if all the pent-up frustration and sadness in his chest had dissipated with that breath.
His eyes were still red and swollen, but the pain and confusion in them had significantly lessened, replaced by a sense of relief and clarity.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing out a smile that was uglier than a cry.
Yet, that smile carried the lightness of someone who had survived a catastrophe.
“A Shi… you’re right…”
He had overcome this hurdle.
As for Mo Yao, Lu Shiyan was right, he didn’t need to look for her.
Lu Shiyan watched him quietly, not speaking again, merely draining the wine in his own glass in one gulp. The spicy liquor slid down his throat into his stomach, bringing a bit of burning warmth, but it couldn’t dispel the heavy chill in his heart.
After a long while, Xiao Han slowly raised his head, his face streaked with tears, looking utterly disheveled.
He haphazardly wiped his face with the back of his hand, his bloodshot eyes completely red, his voice hoarse beyond belief.
“A Shi, you… do you know how much I hated you back then?”
He grabbed the bottle of strong liquor, which was only half-empty, from the ground, and without using a cup, took a large, fierce gulp directly from the bottle.
The choking liquor made him cough convulsively, and his tears flowed even more profusely.