Compared to the dream where Pei Yu slashed her face and gouged out her eyes, breaking her limbs, reality seemed even more brutal.
Should he feel relieved?
At least... when Zhi Chen’s younger brother passed away, he was unconscious. He hadn’t experienced the pain, he was in a coma...
Liang Zhichen told himself not to think any further.
But he couldn’t control himself!
Dong Huiying felt as if she had been in a very long dream, where Shujun’s laughter and scolding echoed.
She was completely dazed.
A perfectly fine person, how could they just become a pile of bones, a heap of rotting flesh...
Suddenly, a sob caught in her throat, and the sorrow in her heart overflowed.
It was just then that Zhi Chen looked over at her.
Caught off guard by his gaze, she froze for a moment, and then his large hand covered the back of her head, pulling her into his embrace.
"... Cry it out, you’ll feel better after that."
His husky voice drifted down from above her head.
"In front of me, there’s no need to pretend to be strong..."
Her eyes misted over, her heart full of Shujun’s image, and tears fell like rain.
He held her quietly, her tears soaking the front of his shirt, seemingly unnoticed by him. Instead, he gently stroked her back, time after time.
Her crying became even more fierce, her breath hitching, her tears and snot smearing her little face. Clutching his clothes with her small hands, she looked up at him. "Liang Zhichen, Shujun, Shujun he..."
"Yes, I know, I saw." He gently covered her mouth. "If you want to cry, just cry, it’s also good to let it out."
Her tears wouldn’t stop.
She couldn’t precisely describe her feelings at the moment, but she... truly couldn’t bear it, this feeling, this pain, it was like her heart was being ripped apart. She had seen dead bodies before, but Shujun... he couldn’t even leave a complete corpse behind, which made her wonder if she had made a mistake?
But even though the body was slightly thinner than she remembered, the age of the bones, height, skin color... she bit her lip, crying so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. Crying is a sign of weakness, and tears won’t solve anything, yet the regret in her heart, the hatred, was driving her mad.
Why hadn’t she found him a bit faster, if she had just cared for him a little more, if she had found him sooner, wouldn’t this tragedy have been avoided?
That night, she seemed to cry all the tears she had. By daylight the next day, she looked weak and worn, but no longer crying. She quietly followed Liang Zhichen, as they were to take ’Shujun’ home.
But a few days later, with only half the journey remaining, Liang Zhichen suddenly collapsed.
These days, like her, he only drank a bit of water each day, subsisting on a meager amount of dry food. They couldn’t bring themselves to eat anything else, but the man who seemed so strong, who usually carried the weight of the world without a word, as if he could shoulder the fate of the entire family and all his brothers’ destinies, no one cared to wonder if his shoulders could actually bear that pressure.
"Liang Zhichen!" She quickly braced him with her body as his lips were already cracked, his body sliding down endlessly.
He was so much taller than her, but fortunately, she was strong.
Su Lang turned back, saw the scene, and was shocked, "Master!" He hurried over.
Dong Huiying bit her lip, "He is sick." She let Liang Zhichen lie down, then touched his forehead. He was burning up with fever. In her grief these past days, she hadn’t noticed that he was unwell.