He was a general, and his hands were stained with blood.

"Yan... Brother Yan?" Huo Jiaxi was startled when she saw his unusual expression and looked at him cautiously. "What's wrong?"

Meng Yan didn't say anything, silently jumped off the horse, and walked in another direction.

Perhaps in everyone's eyes, he was an oddball. He never spoke or smiled, and was as quiet as if he never existed.

But just now, scenes from the battlefield flooded his mind, like invisible hands tearing him to pieces.

...

Huo Jiayuan's mental state improved day by day.

During this time, besides immersing herself in books in her study, she also went to the beach with Meng Yan to watch the sunset and stars. Meng Yan is a very considerate person, and he never forgets to bring an extra jacket and her favorite hot chocolate.

Sometimes, watching the sunset, Huo Jiayuan felt a sense of temporal displacement. The sunset in the central city was different from that in the border city; it was peaceful here, while the sunset in the border city carried a sense of desolation.

She would ask him, "Would you like to stay here with me forever?"

At these times, Meng Yan would always smile gently at her, stroke her hair, let her little head rest on his shoulder, and gently kiss her soft hair.

Some things don't need to be said; his actions are enough to prove that he is willing to follow her for life.

...

Just as Huo Jiayuan was about to leave, she saw her parents arrive together.

Huo Junyu and Jiang Mianmian chuckled as they walked into her small courtyard. The family of three enjoyed tea and conversation under the plane tree in the yard, feeling comfortable and at ease.

However, Huo Jiayuan was a little anxious, frequently checking her watch, and in the end, even her smile was forced.

"Is something wrong?" Jiang Mianmian had already noticed that something was wrong with her daughter.

“Mom,” Huo Jiayuan said truthfully, “I made an appointment with Meng Yan to sketch in his yard today. He’s never seen me paint before!”

Jiang Mianmian's brow twitched slightly as she quietly looked at her.

She herself had gone through her teenage years, so how could she not understand her daughter's current state? Huo Jiayuan was in love, and in the throes of new love. In the tense atmosphere of Biandu before, they might have hidden their feelings for each other, but now that they were back in Yangcheng and everything had settled down, their love was like a seed sprouting after the rain, growing rapidly.

“Yuan Yuan,” Jiang Mianmian said seriously, enunciating each word clearly, “To be honest, your father and I came here today to remind you… to keep a proper distance from that Meng Yan.”

"What?"

Huo Jiayuan was startled, and almost dropped the art supplies she had just packed up.

"Your mother is right." Huo Junyu coughed twice. "You've been getting too close to Meng Yan lately. There are so many people in the family, and so many eyes are watching. If someone spreads this around, it won't be good for your reputation. After all, you're not married yet, not even..."

"Is it bad for my reputation, or is it delaying your business?" Huo Jiayuan stood up abruptly.

Huo Junyu's face darkened. "Is this how you talk to your father?"

“Dad!” Huo Jiayuan frowned. “Did I say something wrong? All you’re worried about is that if someone spreads rumors about Meng Yan and me, it will hinder our marriage alliance with other families, right?”

"I want to make my own decision about my marriage! I am not a tool for political marriage, and I do not want to choose someone I don't like from among these families just for the benefit of the Huo family!"

"Shut up!" Jiang Mianmian glared at her. "You're getting more and more rude, daring to yell at your parents like that!"

Huo Jiayuan said nothing more, but her chest heaved with emotion, and her little hands trembled.

"Protecting the interests of the entire Huo family is the responsibility of every member of the Huo clan!" Huo Junyu said solemnly. "Of course, you can't decide your own marriage. Even if you choose, you have to choose someone from a family of equal social standing!"

"Besides, your mother and I are primarily acting in your best interest!" Huo Junyu said angrily. "Meng Yan is not someone you can entrust your life to; you can't be with him!"

"How could it not be?" Huo Jiayuan's voice trembled slightly, and her eyes involuntarily reddened. "During these days in Biandu, if it weren't for him taking care of me, you probably wouldn't have seen me! In the end, he even took a bullet for me... that scar is still on his body!"

"You can't ruin your whole life because of this!" Jiang Mianmian raised her voice. "He took care of you and saved you on the front lines, and we're very grateful to him. But gratitude is one thing, being with him is another!"

"What's the meaning?"

"Do you know anything about him?" Jiang Mianmian stared at her sternly. "Do you know what kind of person he really is? Do you know what he's been through? I heard that before he met you, he was making a living on a very chaotic street in Biandu... How can we entrust you to someone like that!"

"mom……"

“Yuan Yuan,” Jiang Mianmian said earnestly, “our family has already lost one Xiao Rong, and your father and I can’t afford to lose another one!”

Huo Jiayuan argued, "He's different from Xiao Rong!"

"Is it written all over your face?!" Huo Junyu shouted angrily. "Huo Jiayuan, where's your brain? Haven't you been fooled once enough? Xiao Rong was raised by the Huo family, we watched him grow up! He grew up with you since childhood, we know him inside and out, yet he's so cunning... And he's pretended like that for so many years, leaving us completely unsuspecting! Tell me, if Xiao Rong is like this, how can we possibly trust Meng Yan!"

"Alright, alright, talk to your daughter nicely, why are you getting angry?"

Jiang Mianmian quickly went over and gently patted his chest, giving him a wink.

Huo Junyu calmed down and looked at Huo Jiayuan. His daughter stood there, head slightly lowered, tears welling up in her eyes but holding them back.

She's always been this stubborn since she was little.

Children usually cry loudly when they are wronged, but she held back her tears until she couldn't hold them back anymore, and then they fell silently, not wanting anyone to see.

“Yuan Yuan, your parents are doing this for your own good,” Jiang Mianmian said softly. “We will not mistreat Meng Yan, but we will never repay him with your happiness for the rest of your life.”

After saying that, the two left helplessly.

Huo Jiayuan bit her lip, a sense of powerlessness welling up from the bottom of her heart. "Mom and Dad are doing this for your own good"—is this a sign of love, or a shackle?

Just then, her phone rang. Meng Yan had sent her an address, asking her to meet him there. She glanced at it; it was a rather unfamiliar place.

“You’ll know when you get here,” Meng Yan said. “I have something I’d like to talk to you about.”

"Perfect timing, I also have something I want to tell you. But... I can't go out for a while."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Meng Yan's deep voice came through again: "Have you been crying?"