Part 2
Sitting in the mecha cockpit, Shen Shiyue’s expression was terrifyingly dark. Only after confirming that there were no bleeding wounds or distorted bones on Jiang Chenyan’s body did his hand tightly gripping the control lever slightly relax.
Fortunately, he wasn’t injured.
But Jiang Xuanshen was heavily wounded. Shen Shiyue contacted his subordinates to come for the rescue.
Mu Sian raised an eyebrow, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. “Shen Shiyue, you have quite the nerve. Rescuing a rebel so brazenly—aren’t you afraid I’ll turn around and report you to the superiors?”
Shen Shiyue: “Whatever.”
At those two simple words, Mu Sian’s face darkened visibly.
Bothering no more with the other party, the two mecha engines roared simultaneously as they flew into the distance, tangling together high in the sky.
“Cough, cough—”
A violent coughing sound rang out abruptly. Jiang Xuanshen was hunched over, his fingers digging into the ground. This heart-wrenching cough pulled Jiang Chenyan’s wandering thoughts back.
Jiang Xuanshen looked up, blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth. He looked at the mechas fighting in the distance. “I truly… didn’t expect the one from the Shen family would come.”
Holding onto his last bit of strength, Jiang Xuanshen looked at Jiang Chenyan with difficulty. “Why did he come?”
What exactly is your relationship with Shen Shiyue?
“Ge.”
Jiang Chenyan’s voice rang out softly. This “Ge” was for Jiang Xuanshen, not Xiao Yi.
The air suddenly went quiet.
Both Jiang Xuanshen and Xiao Yi froze. Even Jiang Chenyan was stunned; he hadn’t expected this long-buried title to slip out so easily.
Jiang Chenyan lowered his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking.
His gaze fell on Jiang Xuanshen. The man’s abdomen had been sliced open in a gruesome wound that nearly went through him. There wasn’t a single patch of intact skin on his body, and his breath was as weak as a candle in the wind. Anyone could see he wouldn’t last much longer.
Was it out of pity for a life slowly fading away? Or an attempt to change something? Jiang Chenyan couldn’t tell.
Jiang Xuanshen stared fixedly at Jiang Chenyan, his eyes terrifyingly bloodshot. His voice carried an imperceptible tremor: “Are you calling me?”
“Yes. Have you guessed my identity now?”
“I was wondering why… it was so familiar.” Jiang Xuanshen’s Adam’s apple bobbed as if he couldn’t believe it. “You’re still alive?”
“I never died.” Jiang Chenyan’s voice was very soft, but it carried a weight of a thousand jin.
Xiao Yi also stared blankly at Jiang Chenyan, not knowing whether to cry or laugh for a moment. Finally, he tremblingly spat out that name that had been buried for so long: “Jiang Chenyan.”
“It’s me.” Jiang Chenyan: “Sorry for hiding it from you for so long.”
Xiao Yi’s tears kept falling. Could this be considered crying for joy?
Jiang Xuanshen was still coughing violently. Every cough tugged at the wound on his abdomen, and crimson bloody foam kept spilling from the corner of his mouth. He panted, his voice so raspy it was barely a melody: “Why… reveal your identity now? you could have clearly hidden it from me for a lifetime.”
“Because I felt it was necessary now.” Jiang Chenyan’s gaze fell on the bleeding wound. “No matter what happens, you can tell me. We are, after all, family.”
Family.
Jiang Xuanshen closed his eyes, his chest heaving more violently. “I went to negotiate with Qi Bai, but they… slapped me with the crime of breaking into prison and labeled me a traitor to the Alliance.”
In truth, long ago, Jiang Xuanshen had seen through the Alliance’s hypocritical face and resolutely chose to leave. But in the end, he still hadn’t escaped this stigmatized ending.
“Do you still hate me?”
This was what Jiang Xuanshen wanted to know most. He had been regretting it for the past two years.
“I don’t hate you.”
Jiang Chenyan’s voice was calm, without a single ripple. Hatred was an emotion that had long since dissipated with the passage of time. Compared to hating the man in front of him, he hated Mu Sian and Qi Bai more.
Jiang Xuanshen’s breathing grew weaker and weaker. He stared fixedly at Jiang Chenyan’s face as if to carve it into his bones. “I… if I die, I’ll leave everything to you.”
Jiang Chenyan: “The rescue is coming. Keep your things yourself; I won’t help you.”
“…”
Being so stubborn—was he trying to make him live?
Clearly, he had forced him to do so many things against his will back then. Why was he still as soft-hearted as when he was a child?
His consciousness began to scatter. Jiang Xuanshen used his last bit of strength to grab Xiao Yi’s wrist, the force so great it was as if he wanted to embed it into the other’s flesh. “I want to talk to you.”
The hands of the two were already covered in blood and dust. Xiao Yi remained silent with his eyes lowered. A thousand words were blocked in his throat—resentment, confusion, and a trace of indescribable bitterness. For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.
After a long while, he softly gave a response, his voice so raspy it was barely audible. “Okay.”
…
When the roar of the mecha collisions finally fell into silence, a faint light finally tore through the horizon. The first light of dawn pierced the thick darkness.
Jiang Xuanshen was rushed into a medical cabin. Mu Sian had lost the battle; his mecha was in ruins, and he had to retreat in haste.
Kai Lan was practically the first to rush over. He hugged Jiang Chenyan tightly, his voice trembling with lingering fear. “You worried me to death.”
Shen Shiyue pushed Kai Lan away with a expressionless face. He stepped forward and firmly pulled Jiang Chenyan into his arms. “I was clearly more worried.”
Jiang Chenyan: “…”
Ye Qingyu stood to the side. They were more childish one after another.
She sighed helplessly while holding her forehead. “The situation is complex. Your Eldest Brother… his situation isn’t good.”
Jiang Chenyan’s gaze fell on the closed hatch. “Treat him as much as possible.” He still had to explain to Xiao Yi. In short, there were still many things to do.
Everything seemed normal, but in the middle of the night, Jiang Xuanshen’s body temperature suddenly skyrocketed. Medical staff took turns trying to save him, but the curves on the monitor slowly flattened out until they finally became a straight line.
Jiang Xuanshen’s injuries were too severe; in the end, he didn’t make it.
During that time, he didn’t call Xiao Yi or Jiang Chenyan in. Perhaps he didn’t want the two of them to see his wretched appearance before death.
While sorting through his belongings, Jiang Chenyan found several video messages in his personal terminal. Most were left for Xiao Yi, but there was a long audio clip left for himself.
Jiang Chenyan picked up a box to pack them. He handed the terminal containing the messages to Xiao Yi. If he wanted to watch them, he could; if not, he could delete them. The choice was Xiao Yi’s.
Xiao Yi took the terminal in silence, the cold metal feel pressing against his palm.
He looked out the window. Stars were swirling in the ink-colored sky. One of the brightest stars suddenly streaked across, trailing a fine tail of light before vanishing into the darkness.
He was finally free, no longer bound by the shackles of the past.
But this long-overdue freedom was soaked from head to toe in an un-dissolvable bitterness.
Freedom was scorching, making one ache. Because its base color was another person’s death.
In the ruins of the villa’s roof, when the wind was whistling through the rubble, Jiang Xuanshen had looked down and asked how he felt. Xiao Yi only remembered that he had cried.
Tears fell one after another onto Jiang Xuanshen’s shoulder. Jiang Xuanshen held him tighter. The words that followed were crushed by the wind; Xiao Yi couldn’t hear them clearly, only blurring out one sentence. It seemed to be asking if he had ever loved him.
At this moment, Xiao Yi shook his head vigorously. How could he fall in love with someone who used force to weave half of his life into a cage?
“Then that’s a pity. I still want to be bound to you. Xiao Yi, I won’t be like this in the next life. I’ll change the way.”
Those were the last words Jiang Xuanshen said. They had no logic; they were a mess.
“We haven’t had a good talk in a long time, or rather, we never have. But I… still don’t want to let you go.”
Xiao Yi gave a bitter smile. Let each other go.
Don’t meet again in the next life.
It must have started raining outside.
Raindrops streaked diagonally across the airship’s glass window, blurring into patches of hazy water marks, making the night outside even more indistinct.
Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue sat side-by-side. Shen Shiyue reached out an arm and gently pulled him into his embrace. His palm thoughtfully stroked Jiang Chenyan’s slightly cool back. “Sleep on me for a while if you’re tired.”
Jiang Chenyan didn’t move, nor did he lean over. He just kept his eyes open, staring fixedly at Shen Shiyue’s side profile. After a long while, he spoke. “Jiang Xuanshen is dead. I suddenly feel empty in my heart, and I don’t know why.”
Without waiting for Shen Shiyue’s answer, Jiang Chenyan murmured: “Shen Shiyue, I’m going to kill Mu Sian and Qi Bai.”
These people had to die.
📖 Advance Access: Complete Novel
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Recommended Reads
