Li Yan was young, but his aura was formidable.
He didn’t say a word, merely looking down at Li Xue with an overly calm gaze that inexplicably sent chills down one’s spine.
Li Xue also sensed the danger, but the arrow was already nocked—if she backed down now, where would she put her face in the future?
“Sister Xue, since it’s all a misunderstanding, why not let it go? There’s no need to damage relations over such a small matter.”
At the critical moment, Rose stepped in to mediate.
“You child, usually so fierce at home—why so docile today…”
Li Xue shot her a reproachful glance, her tone already much softer.
“Just do it as a favor for me, alright? Don’t be angry anymore. Oh, who told you he’s my first love?”
Rose held her hand coquettishly, giggling as she spoke.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for everyone present to hear.
Li Yan’s expression darkened, his lips pressed together in silence.
Ran Yuan kept her head lowered, lost in thought.
Chi Jin seized the moment with a smile and spoke again: “Let me take charge—how about having Xiao Yan apologize to Xiaoman, and we’ll consider the matter settled?”
Li Yan gave him face, speaking expressionlessly: “I’m sorry, I misunderstood.”
Though an apology, it lacked sincerity.
“If you really feel sorry, treating me to a meal isn’t too much to ask, is it?”
Rose raised an eyebrow, pushing her luck.
“Such a grave personal insult resolved with just a meal—you’re getting off easy, President Li.”
Li Xue seized the chance to chime in.
A mere meal wasn’t an excessive demand for an apology.
“Fine.”
Li Yan’s lips curled into a strange smile as he agreed.
“Let’s head back. Keeping honored guests in this dreadful place is no way to host.”
Back at the hotel.
Li Yan walked Ran Yuan to her room door.
Ran Yuan mustered her courage: “A Yan, can we talk?”
Already guessing what she wanted to say, Li Yan nodded and followed her into the room.
Sitting on the sofa, neither broke the silence first, the atmosphere stifling to the point of suffocation.
Finally, he sighed, loosening his tight tie, and said: “About Jiang Xiaoman—I did it. I don’t think I went too far; she was too arrogant. I didn’t mean to drive her to death, just wanted her completely out of your sight.”
It was an explanation, and also a whitewashing.
He tried to tell her that he had indeed forced Jiang Xiaoman abroad, but after that, he hadn’t pursued further—her fall into becoming a prostitute in the Lower City District was her own degradation, not his doing.
Ran Yuan trembled, head bowed in silence, tears already blurring her vision.
“A Yan!”
She cried out emotionally, suddenly throwing herself into Li Yan’s arms.
He stiffened, his body turning rigid as stone.
“How could I ever be angry with you? You did it all for me… I’m so touched, thank you…”
Ran Yuan wept silently, but they were tears of joy and affection.
Though she felt terribly sorry for Jiang Xiaoman, she was deeply moved by everything Li Yan had done for her.
It was only after witnessing Jiang Xiaoman’s plight that she suddenly realized:
She had been wrong.
Terribly wrong.
What does “deserving” have to do with love? Loving someone means giving your all for them!
She shouldn’t have hurt and wasted Li Yan’s time because of her own insecurities.
If not for encountering Jiang Xiaoman during this trip to Yue Kingdom, perhaps she would have been running away forever!
“We…”
Tears welling in her eyes, Ran Yuan looked up at Li Yan, ready to say “let’s be together.”
Though she felt terribly sorry for Jiang Xiaoman, she had to fight for her own love. If she missed Li Yan, she would regret it for life!
As for the future… she would do everything in her power to make it up to her!
“Yuan Yuan, it’s getting late. You should rest first. We can talk about us another time. I don’t want you to be with me out of guilt. It’s okay, I can wait.”
Li Yan interrupted her with a tender smile, quickly stood up, and fled as if escaping.
Ran Yuan froze completely in place.
Had she been too impatient?
Instead, she had hurt A-Yan…
Her decision to be with him wasn’t born from self-blame…
It didn’t matter. They had plenty of time.
Taking a deep breath, Ran Yuan didn’t feel discouraged. She had already decided she would never run away again!
“Ugh…”
In the bathroom, Li Yan knelt before the toilet, vomiting until even bile came up.
Today’s physical contact with two women had exceeded what he’d experienced in nearly a decade. Even through clothing, it had disgusted him to the extreme.
So dirty…
He muttered “so dirty” repeatedly, his expression deranged.
Though it was unclear whether the filth he referred to was himself or those who had touched him!
The clothes he’d been wearing were thrown in the trash. Li Yan stood under the cold water, scrubbing his already red and scratched-raw skin frantically.
When he finally emerged from the bathroom, two full hours had passed.
Ignoring his battered body, he collapsed exhaustedly onto the soft bed and drifted into a fitful sleep.
After a long period free from nightmares, he found himself trapped in familiar night terrors once again.
“Mommy…”
His younger self toddled happily on short legs toward the woman enjoying afternoon tea in the greenhouse.
“Get away! Don’t touch me!”
But she looked at him as if he were something filthy, shoving him away with utter disgust.
His palms scraped, knees bleeding, he wailed loudly. Yet the woman only stared expressionlessly, muttering incessantly: “Demon, demon… stay away, disgusting…”
The scene shifted.
Thwack—thwack—thwack—
His expressionless father wielded a cane, striking with precise accuracy against his bare calves.
On the wall before him hung a massive oil painting of an angel.
The angel with great snow-white wings looked down impassively at everything happening in the room, devoid of sorrow or joy.
Scattered on the floor were test papers—one scored 100, the other 99.
“After all my careful nurturing, this is how you repay me? How dare you show me such results? I regret ever keeping you. All I wanted was a perfect, pure bloodline… Why did I have to produce two defective demon bastards…”
His father’s handsome face twisted with madness, his towering figure and overwhelming presence suffocating the young Li Yan.
In the confinement room stood a giant statue of Jesus, the air stifling and cold.
“A-Yan… does it hurt? Mommy failed you both… Please don’t blame your father, okay? He’s just sick…”
The beautiful and gentle mother, tears welling in her eyes, held him tightly in her arms, comforting him over and over.
A triumphant smile curled at the corner of Li Yan’s lips. He slowly glanced at the statue of Jesus, tears brimming in his own eyes, as he gently wiped away his mother’s tears: “It doesn’t hurt, Mom. I won’t be angry at Dad. Never.”
No one knew he had deliberately failed his exams just to receive his mother’s warm embrace after being abused by his father.
This was his only solace in this suffocating environment, his only emotional anchor.
His mother was always so gentle and kind—to pets, to flowers, to his father, to the servants… Yet she was never gentle with herself. Only in these moments could he receive a sliver of her care.
Time and again, he intentionally failed exams, intentionally disappointed his father, all to sink into his mother’s warm embrace.
Until one day, his father grew furious and beat him severely. Using the pain as an excuse, he stayed in his mother’s room.
His mother held him in her arms, thinking he had fallen asleep, then got up and went to the bathroom.
He knew his mother was also unwell. Worried she might do something drastic, he secretly followed her.
Then, he saw her crouched by the toilet, vomiting violently.
That gentle, beautiful face had become twisted and grotesque. Her eyes overflowed with disgust and hatred as she vomited while frantically scratching the hands that had held him, muttering incessantly: “So filthy, so disgusting…”
In that moment, his young heart shattered into pieces, never to be whole again.