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Lu Shangjin stood by the door and stared blankly for ten whole seconds. It was as though a thunderbolt exploded on his scalp, a bitter chill instantly zipping to all his limbs and bones.
He rushed over and pulled Ye Wan into his arms. Blood flowed all over the floor. It wasn’t quite the thick fishy smell of blood, but was mixed with the faint scent of lily pheromones; the last warmth remaining in the world to comfort Lu Shangjin, taking the place of Ye Wan’s touch on his face.
“Dad, dad, dad…” Lu Shangjin could feel the temperature of the body in his arms that was as light as a feather slowly reduce down to zero. The life that had exhausted the oil and dried the lamp had already leaked its last drop in the hourglass, but could never be turned over again.
He wanted to carry Ye Wan and flee out of the basement, taking him to escape from this horrifying hell, but his neck was enclosed by a special steel lock. Without Lu Lin’s voice-activated passcode, it could not be unlocked at all. He once tried countless times to record Lu Lin’s voice, but they all ended in failure.
The child in Ye Wan’s belly was already in full term and would be able to be delivered in a few days. Perhaps there’s still hope, perhaps a trace of life could be saved. Kneeling helplessly in the pool of blood, Lu Shangjin was so angry that his eye sockets were about to split open.
Maybe Ye Wan just didn’t want this child to experience this merciless world as soon as he’s born, so he made the decision for him and returned to heaven with his precious baby.
A piece of photograph fell out from Ye Wan’s pocket, facing up as it landed by Lu Shangjin’s hand.
The two youths in the photo had their arms around each other’s shoulders; Yan Yi pouted his lips and held his little ears, Lu Shangjin’s head was tilted as he smiled at him.
It turned out that after taking the photo for them, Ye Wan had kept one for himself, keeping it until now. The photo was extremely worn from years of touching and reminiscing; how much gentleness from desperation and hopelessness was hidden behind such a thin piece of photograph?
Lu Shangjin stared at the photo, looking at Yan Yi’s smiling face for a long time, his heart aching.
He reached out and picked up the photo, but then he heard rapid footsteps in the corridor. Immediately after, the door was suddenly pushed open and Lu Lin rushed in.
“You can die too!” Lu Shangjin snatched the gun from Ye Wan’s hand, firing between Lu Lin’s eyebrows without hesitation.
A loud bang rang out.
Lu Shangjin’s left shoulder was shot. He was thrown out by the violent shock and hit against the wall. A muffled groan spilled between his gritted teeth as he clutched onto his shoulder gurging with blood.
Lu Lin held the gun, the muzzle still emitting a wisp of white smoke. Under the gold-framed glasses were eyes full of sadness.
“Xiao Jin, you surprisingly fired at me.”
Lu Shangjin looked at the gun in his own hand in utter disbelief, panting in pain. He withdrew the magazine; not a single bullet was left inside——it was definitely full when he came here.
He looked back down at Ye Wan on the floor, and saw that there were several unloaded bullets in his hand.
“Why!” Lu Shangjin roared hysterically at the cold corpse on the ground, “Why did you still protect him when he drove you to death! Dad! Why! Why on earth did you still want to save him! He…is a heartless scumbag, it’s not worth it.”
His gaze wavered to the photo once again, looking at the little rabbit’s lovely smile.
“I’m…I’m one too.” He murmured as he leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the ground, “I’m one too.”
He still grew into the exact person he despised the most; failing to live up to love, turning a blind eye and being ignorant.
Lu Lin walked slowly to Ye Wan’s body and kneeled on one knee. He leaned over and picked Ye Wan up, whispering in his ear, “Wan Wan, I love you.”
No recording device would be able to duplicate the unbounded affection in this sentence.
The voice-activated lock on Ye Wan’s neck made a sound, then it dropped onto the ground.
Lu Shangjin held his shoulder that was still bleeding, his face pale. He said to Lu Lin with bitter resentment, “You’re disgusting, you’re unworthy of saying that to my dad.”
Lu Lin didn’t care. He let Ye Wan’s pale cheek lean against his own shoulder and kissed his eyes, then left the room without a word.
He didn’t know which year this password was set.
And he didn’t know how long Ye Wan had waited until he hopelessly realized that he could never wait for Lu Lin to open this lock at all.
The password was still there, but the love was gone.
——
At wits’ end, Lu Shangjin walked on the gravel path, completely dazed. The car was parked a kilometer away from the Lu mansion to avoid disturbing Lu Lin. Now, he could only clutch onto the bullet wound on his shoulder as he headed to the parking place.
He was untouchable when he was in good condition. But right now, endless loneliness and dread entered his body through the bleeding bullet hole, clamouring to feed on his heart. He was like a traveller sinking into a swamp. God knows where the little rabbit who was once willing to do whatever it takes to pull him out of hell had gone.
They once shared the warmth in each other as they suffered to live in the harsh laws of survival. Later, Lu Shangjin wrapped his heart tightly in a layer of barbed armour, completely isolating the innocent Yan Yi.
Everyday, the little rabbit would hop over and knock on his heart, asking “are you there?”, but would be covered in cuts and bruises by the stabbing of his thorns. Enduring the pain, he would say in grievance, “I’ll ask again tomorrow then.”
Lu Shangjin covered his heart, suddenly feeling pricks of pain. He had always thought that heartache was an abstract concept, turns out it really did hurt.
He sat in his car, holding a cigarette in his mouth but didn’t light it for a long time, then hysterically threw the cigarette and lighter out the window before hitting the steering wheel hard.
When he was young, he saw neatly arranged shiny military medals in Ye Wan’s drawer. This A3 chameleon omega was once a legend in the special military force. Back then, even Bi Ruijing was just Ye Wan’s team member.
The once elite combat fighter was imprisoned in the basement to become a breeding machine. As the only son of the peregrine falcon Lu family, Lu Shangjin was admired and looked up to by countless people, but he was just a poisonous insect raised by drinking the blood of his brothers and sisters. In Lu Lin’s eyes, he was an experimental subject that was “just passable, but could be substituted for another outstanding one at any time”.
Lu Shangjin walked aimlessly around and around the road. He fished out his phone and dialed Yan Yi’s number.
He dialed more than ten times in a row, but it would go to voicemail every time. He grabbed his hair roughly; it seemed like the little rabbit who used to let Lu Shangjin torment him wantonly was no longer waiting for him.
Where is Yan Yi, why can’t I track his location?
Will he be in danger?
Until just then, he was certain that Yan Yi would run back and beg him to open the door.
Accustomed to Yan Yi’s powerful strength, he even threw Yan Yi out of the house without a care when his glands were dormant. It was only until an A3 chameleon became stiff and cold and turned into a corpse in front of him, that he realized nobody could be invincible against immortality.
He never wanted Yan Yi to die.
——
The car stopped below Bi Ruijing’s house.
The door knocked in the middle of the night.
Who knew that the person inside hadn’t slept, and they opened the door at the second knock.
Bi Ruijing wore a set of home clothes and a pair of fuzzy giraffe slippers. His right hand was holding a bottle of milk while his left held an omega baby boy who might not even be a full month old. He tested the temperature of the milk bottle against his face as he stared blankly at Lu Shangjin standing at the door, seeming to show up from being in a difficult position and covered in blood.
The next minute, Bi Ruijing took out a gun from the pocket of his apron and dragged Lu Shangjin into the house, then pointed warily at the door.
“Rui ge, it’s just me.” Lu Shangjin covered the injury on his shoulder and sat on the corner of the sofa in exhaustion, his voice hoarse.
“Shh, Xiao Meng is upstairs, he just fell asleep.” Bi Ruijing breathed a sigh of relief and gently pushed the door closed. Soon after, the sound of slippers shuffling on the ground came from the second floor. An omega came out from the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he held the wooden handrail down to the first floor to have a look.
The tips of his light chestnut hair were curled cutely, his eyes big and round. He was young, tender like a budding cherry blossom. Standing next to Bi Ruijing, it made this thirty-two year old president Bi look like an old man.
The omega on the second floor quickly went downstairs in his nightgown and greeted Lu Shangjin. He hadn’t met Lu Shangjin too many times, so he barely recognized him, “I’ll get you all a cup of tea.”
Bi Ruijing glanced apologetically at the omega who had been woken up. The omega rubbed his eyes as he carried the baby away and went into the dining room.
“My dad…” Lu Shangjin pondered over whether to say it. How should he bring up his father who had already died for many years in the public eye to Bi Ruijing?
“Your dad?” Bi Ruijing lit a cigarette and lifted an eyebrow as he looked at Lu Shangjin, “Lu Lin? Ai, who shot your shoulder? Go wash it and wrap it up. Is the bullet inside? There’s a first-aid kit on the towel rack.”
Ye Wan was once Bi Ruijing’s team captain. He had the right to know the truth of his passing.
The omega’s dissatisfied shout came from the dining room, “Bi Ruijing, put out the cigarette! The baby’s crying from your smoke.”
“He can cry from the smoke so far away?” Bi Ruijing turned back and retorted, but still stubbed out his cigarette with a bitter smile and put it away under the tea table, then gave Lu Shangjin a lazy smile, “Naughty child, calling me by my name disrespectfully.”
His smile carried a doting expression that was evident in his eyes.
When the words left his mouth, Lu Shangjin didn’t say a word. Some sufferings should be borne alone, don’t bring trouble for others.
The omega served two cups of tea and handed one to Lu Shangjin. Bi Ruijing looked at him eagerly, but the omega ignored him, placing the other cup of tea on the table. He took away the plate and left.
An elegant fragrance wafted from his body; a butterfly omega whose gland cells have awakened, a very good match with Bi Ruijing, who was an arrowhead poisonous plant alpha.
“Ai,” Bi Ruijing brought the tea over by himself and held it in his hand, whispering helplessly to Lu Shangjin, “He blamed me for losing my ring and he’s so angry that he can’t be bothered to acknowledge me until now. He doesn’t even want to order a new one, hei, little drama queen.”
Lu Shangjin took a sip of his tea, the hot water travelling along his ice-cold throat into his stomach, finally bringing in some warmth into his body.
“Help me find Yan Yi. I’ll alert Lu Lin if I move to check from here,”  Lu Shangjin fell into a long silence as he looked at his ring finger on his left hand. He hadn’t worn a ring on this finger for a long time, even the white mark left from taking it off had disappeared, but Yan Yi had never taken his off.
Maybe this was something very important, signifying ownership, family and security.
“Go and find the ring,” Lu Shangjin said.
Bi Ruijing watched him baffedly.
“Otherwise he’d never forgive you.”