That was the first time Xiu Bangyan loathed his hero complex.
Lin Huijun continued to talk to him about some important things that happened over the years.
Those were the three years he was absent from his family.
That was the second time he loathed himself.
"But in the end, Huijun actually told me that she doesn’t blame me, nor does she hate me... She thinks I’m a hero..."
Xiu Bangyan laughed self-deprecatingly, his raspy laughter sounding almost like it was filled with blood.
Actually, even if he didn’t say it, Jiangli could see how much Lin Huijun was breaking down.
Today, for Lin Huijun, it could be described as a day of relentless blows.
At the police station, Lin Huijun might have already been on the verge of collapse, which was why when she saw Jiangli, she clung to him like a lifeline without hesitation, choosing to believe in him.
And after the child left, when it was just her and Xiu Bangyan, she couldn’t hold it together anymore and broke down completely.
But in the end, she still called Xiu Bangyan a hero.
This was something Jiangli hadn’t anticipated.
Naturally, Xiu Bangyan hadn’t anticipated it either.
"What kind of hero am I? I threw all the burdens onto Huijun, what kind of hero does that make me?"
Xiu Bangyan clutched his hair, seemingly genuinely filled with remorse.
Jiangli looked at him, not saying anything at all.
To be precise, he didn’t know what to say.
Xiu Bangyan sobbed quietly. When it was just the two of them in the beginning, Lin Huijun had harbored a lot of resentment towards him.
At that time, Xiu Bangyan’s heart had felt slightly better.
But later, when they talked it out, laying everything that had happened over the years on the table, Lin Huijun had fallen silent for a long time.
Then she looked at Xiu Bangyan and suddenly smiled.
She said that thinking back, she didn’t actually regret it.
She didn’t regret marrying Xiu Bangyan, nor did she regret the decisions he made.
None of them had expected this outcome, but she understood Xiu Bangyan and his choices.
Even if they could do it all over again, even if Xiu Bangyan knew the consequences, he would still choose the same path, and she would still accept and support him.
She turned on the news and found the recurring reports about Minsheng Medicine to show Xiu Bangyan.
Pointing to one of the interviewees, she said, "Look, they have sons and parents too. But Minsheng Medicine destroyed their families. If it weren’t for you, there would only be more families like that. So you are a hero."
She looked at Xiu Bangyan, speaking without a hint of reluctance.
But Xiu Bangyan broke down emotionally.
He would rather have Lin Huijun be full of resentment towards him than hear her say such things.
Lin Huijun wasn’t comforting him; she genuinely believed it.
And that for Xiu Bangyan, was a more devastating blow.
Seeing Xiu Bangyan’s breakdown, Jiangli suddenly asked, "Do you really regret it?"
Xiu Bangyan’s body stiffened, and he looked up at Jiangli.
Jiangli stared into his eyes and asked again, "If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you really give up the investigation and go home?"
Xiu Bangyan opened his mouth but no sound came out.
In his mind were Lin Huijun’s final words to him.
"Bangyan, you actually don’t regret it. Even if you had to do it all over again, you’d still continue the investigation. I know you; that’s your nature. When I married you, it was because of that nature. Heroism might be a negative trait in terms of family, but that’s the part of you I’ve always loved. You, you’ve always been you."
Xiu Bangyan clutched his hands tightly, silently shedding bloody tears.
Perhaps there was guilt towards his family and regret, but there was no regret about investigating the Minsheng Medicine incident.
Lin Huijun understood him better than he understood himself.