8 – Meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life.
An hour later.
The courtyard of Moonlight Manor was already densely covered with fallen figures in black.
Victory was decided, the outcome clear.
The few remaining black-clad men, knowing death was certain, had long since fled in panic.
Zhao Gang led men to pursue them.
Since they had come, none would be allowed to escape!
Under the moonlight, Ji Hanyuan turned back, gazing from afar at Tangtang.
His girl—her fair face splattered with bright red bloodstains, her lowered hands still holding a gun.
Such delicate, lovely hands should not be holding a gun.
It was his fault.
He had failed to protect her.
Yet, Tangtang dropped the gun in her hand, stepped over the bodies, and slowly walked toward him.
The cold, fierce aura gradually faded, her crescent eyes curving into a smile—once again the sweet, obedient girl.
“Brother…” Tangtang reached out and hugged Ji Hanyuan, leaning against his chest with dependence.
“I’m sorry…”
Her tone was like that of a child who had done something wrong, coming to confess to her guardian with a pitiful grievance.
“Hmm?” Ji Hanyuan was clearly puzzled.
Tangtang bit her lip, lowering her eyes guiltily. “I don’t know… why I know how to use a gun…”
And so skillfully at that…
As if she had done such things often before.
But… but if she had originally been such a terrifying and dangerous person, would Brother… still like her?
Would he think she was a bad girl and abandon her?
But she remembered nothing; she only had Brother.
If even Brother didn’t want her anymore, she would have nothing left.
At the thought of this possibility, Tangtang felt utterly aggrieved, her arms tightly wrapped around Ji Hanyuan’s lean waist, unwilling to let go.
She couldn’t lose Brother!
“Brother, please don’t abandon me, okay…”
Tangtang’s tone was both pitiful and pleading, instantly melting Ji Hanyuan’s heart.
“Silly girl.”
He bent down, lifted Tangtang by her hips, and carried her in his arms. Under the moonlight, he walked all the way back to the room.
This place was too filthy.
His Tangtang should stay in a clean, pure place.
Yet, thinking of how Tangtang had disobeyed him and run out on her own, Ji Hanyuan felt anger rise again.
These people couldn’t harm him.
Even if he were injured, even if his skin were peeled and bones exposed, he wouldn’t care!
What he feared more was his Tangtang getting hurt!
Heaven knew how worried he had been when he saw her sneaking out earlier!
How murderous he had felt when he saw those black-clad men lunging at her with killing intent!
Suddenly, Ji Hanyuan tossed Tangtang onto the sofa, flipped her over, and with a “smack,” his large hand landed squarely on her bottom.
Tangtang let out a soft whimper, but before she could react, she heard Ji Hanyuan’s stern, domineering tone, like a parent scolding their child.
“You didn’t even wear shoes! What if you hurt your feet stepping on something sharp?!”
“Out so late at night, and you didn’t even put on a coat! What if you catch a cold?!”
“I told you to go back and hide, but you insisted on coming out! What if something happened to you? What would I do?!”
With that, Ji Hanyuan flipped Tangtang over again, making her face him.
At the same time, he leaned over her.
His pupils seemed to burn with flames, his scorching hand gripping Tangtang’s chin as he gazed at her with an obsessive intensity.
Tangtang was frightened by this side of Ji Hanyuan and timidly called out, “Brother…”
However, Ji Hanyuan did not let go. Instead, he pressed her even closer, his pupils blazing as if about to burst into flames, hot and scorching, his voice carrying an extreme obsession.
“Tangtang, do you know that without you, I cannot live.”
It was never about whether he wanted her or not.
Rather, he coveted her, he longed for her, yet he dared not approach, unworthy of approaching.
She was the bright moon in the sky, pure and holy, immaculate and sacred.
While he dwelled in the cold abyss at the bottom of the cliff, dark and filthy.
He could only watch from afar, hiding his wicked thoughts, fearing he might taint her.
But now, heaven had granted him this opportunity.
The bright moon had come to him of its own accord.
Once a person of darkness has tasted light, they can never leave it again.
For this lifetime, he would never let her leave his side.
He would make himself her prison, locking her tightly by his side, never letting her stray even a step!
At this moment, seeing the look in Ji Hanyuan’s eyes, Tangtang instinctively trembled, lightly biting her lip as she apologized in a soft, delicate voice.
“Bro… brother… Tang… Tangtang… was wrong…”
So, her brother hadn’t been bothered by her terrifying appearance earlier at all. Instead, he had been worried about her safety all along.
He even said… without her… he couldn’t live…
Perhaps… her brother… liked her just as much as she liked him?
In that instant, Tangtang once again felt that she was truly, truly fortunate.
Meeting her brother was the greatest fortune of her life.
Tangtang reached out both hands, actively wrapping them around Ji Hanyuan’s waist, holding him tightly.
“From now on, Tangtang will listen to brother.”
“Tangtang will never leave brother in this lifetime.”
As long as her brother wouldn’t abandon her, she would cling to him for life.
In life, she would be his person; in death, she would be the wild ghost guarding his side!
Anyway, her brother was hers!
Even if she turned into a ghost, she wouldn’t allow any other woman to get close to him!
Hearing the soft, delicate words of the girl beneath him and feeling her slender arms tightly wrapped around him, Ji Hanyuan immediately surrendered. All his anger vanished in an instant, replaced by endless tenderness and sweetness.
She always had such an easy way of stirring his heart, making him unable to extricate himself from her.
Perhaps, in this lifetime, he was truly done for because of her.
“Good Tangtang.” The obsession in Ji Hanyuan’s eyes gradually faded. Seeing the redness on Tangtang’s chin from his grip, he kissed it apologetically.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s… it’s okay…” Tangtang quickly shook her head obediently, though her eyelashes couldn’t help but tremble.
All because… just now… her brother had actually… kissed her.
Even though it was just her chin… it now felt tingly, with a strange sensation flowing through her heart.
It made her feel as if she were floating on a cloud, her entire body soft and limp.
So… this is what it feels like to kiss someone you love?
I wonder… what it would feel like… to kiss on the lips…
Just as Tangtang’s thoughts drifted away, Ji Hanyuan picked her up again and carried her into the bathroom.
He sat her on the edge of the bathtub while he took the showerhead and carefully rinsed her feet.
His Tangtang’s little feet were pale and soft.
Even her pink, rounded toenails were unbearably cute.
Such adorable little feet—he only wanted to cradle them in his hands and cherish them forever, keeping them pure and flawless.
The next moment, Ji Hanyuan couldn’t help but raise his hand and gently stroke the back of Tangtang’s foot.
Instantly, Tangtang curled her plump toes.
She shyly looked at Ji Hanyuan, who also lifted his gaze to meet hers.
Only now, there was something obscure and inscrutable in his eyes.
“Tangtang…”
His voice came out hoarse, tinged with a hint of temptation and an indescribable desire.
“Let big brother help you… take a bath… okay?”