Ru Xin's body stiffened upon hearing her voice. He turned around to look behind him and saw the person he was thinking about in flesh. He didn't move but kept gazing at her without blinking. He was afraid that if he blinked, she would disappear.
Mu Lan tilted her head. She moved closer. "You are big brother Xin, right? Did you forget about me? I'm Xiao Lan. We've met sixteen years ago in this place. I was only eight years old back then. You were used to call me 'little Lan'-"
She couldn't finish her sentence before Ru Xin came forward and hugged her. His tight embrace made her suffocated but she didn't move away because she didn't find any ominous vibe from him. She noticed that his whole body was trembling.
She asked in concern, "Big brother Xin, are you okay? You seem to be sick."
Her worried tone made him held her even tighter.
This time, Mu Lan couldn't take it anymore. She squeezed out some words, "I can't breathe."
When he heard her, he immediately let her go and she was finally able to breathe.
He grabbed her shoulders and said painfully, "Little Lan, this isn't a dream, right? You are real, right? How can you remember me? Didn't you forget about me?"
Mu Lan put her hands on her waist and said, "Are you dreaming about me? How come you are in such a state? And why would I forget about you? My memory isn't that bad, you know."
He couldn't look at her eyes. He lowered his gaze and said, "Little Lan, I'm sorry for hurting you. Because of me, you suffered and still I did nothing to help you. I even dragged you to do unspeakable thing."
"What are you-" Mu Lan suddenly remembered, a year ago she was kidnapped by mistake and was taken to an island in China. She suffered greatly from poison and Mu Liang came to save her. She recalled the faces of those people who made her suffer. She narrowed eyes.
"It was you." She said.
Ru Xin flinched at her cold words. "I'm so sorry, little Lan. I was really muddle headed. I shouldn't have done it."
She raised her right eyebrow. "So, you know that you made a mistake."
He didn't dare to look at her. He was scared that he would see her looking at him resentfully and he knew that he deserved it. He nodded, "Yes."
She asked, "Do you want to atone for it?"
He replied without hesitation, "Yes, if I only could."
"Okay, you said so." Saying that, she gave him a punch aiming his stomach with all her might.
Ru Xin was a muscled man. He began training at a very young age. He was also in the army. However, her punch was too much to bear. He stepped back a little, arched his back, clutched his stomach and sat down on the floor. He gritted his teeth to endure the sudden attack. After that, he looked at her in astonishment. He never thought that she had so much strength in her tiny body.
Mu Lan tapped with her right leg. She said in a serious tone, "You have been punished. In the future, if you dare to do something like that, it won't be a light punch."
"Yes, Mam." Ru Xin stood up with his shaky legs.
"And that woman who injected me, where is she? I need to give her some lessons to make me suffer like that." Mu Lan spoke in a threatening tone.
Ru Xin answered, "She… is dead."
Mu Lan blinked, "Dead?"
"She was killed by the Mu Family's men." He disclosed her the whole situation.
She nodded in understanding. "So that's what happened. I was sick so I didn't know what happened afterwards. So, Mu Laing did it, heh." A smile touched her lips.
Ru Xin froze seeing her sweet smile. His throat was dry. 'Is she…" He didn't have the courage to ask her.
Mu Lan asked, "Why are you here? Don't tell me you come here often to atone for your sins."
Ru Xin looked down. His silence gave her the answer. She shook her head. "Let's go back. I will treat you your favorite food."
They went to a cozy restaurant and ordered some light food.
Mu Lan asked, "So, what happened to your job? Are you still in the army?"
Ru Xin replied, "Though I wasn't in the operation R-0, I was still a partner of crime. That's why, though I wasn't stripped from my position, I was on house arrest for six months and now I don't have many responsibilities like before. Also, this operation wasn't overall my father's doing, the order came from higher ups. When Mu Liang went to meet the President, he practically forced him to take down my father. Moreover, Mu Liang's men had already done the deed the moment he got the President's permission. Since, I have so much free time, I decided to look for the main culprit behind this operation and bring my father and his comrades to justice."
She frowned and thought about it. "I don't think it will be a good idea to go against such opponent alone who lives under a shadow. You don't even know him and more importantly, he must be powerful enough to make your father, the General obey his or her command. You have no power to defend yourself."
Ru Xin gave a lonely smile. "What's there any need to defend myself? I don't have anything left to take care of anymore."
Mu Lan said, "Why are you talking like your soul is dead? Cheer up! As long as you have a life, anything can happen. It can be good or bad. If you fight like an idiot now, you will die like an idiot. You can avenge your father. But you have time in your hands, take it slow; think attentively and carefully take one step at a time. I can't believe my big brother Xin will be heartbroken just by a small scratch. You can do better than that. I believe in you."