Chapter 108: Life as a Contract, Love as a Prisoner

——He reluctantly stripped away the light that was integrated into his bones and blood, just to exchange it for her safe life; but she insisted on drowning him in the eternal night, and they would go through the most resolute oath together.

Suggested background music:

My Immortal - Evanescence

Paired with "I'd Rather Die" - Nathan Wagner

By the time the lights in the operating room went out, it was already late outside the window. The lead doctor, wearily dragging his feet, emerged, his voice hoarse as he removed his mask: "The child is safe for now, but the mother needs to remain in bed until delivery. This heavy bleeding has damaged the mother's body, and if it happens again..." The unfinished words hung in the air, more suffocating than any threat.

Mo Xiaohan walked gently into the ward, his eyes fixed on Ruan Xingchen's pale, almost transparent face. She was drowsy from the effects of the medication, an IV drip hanging from the back of her hand, her weak breathing like a thread that could break at any moment.

"Xingxing..." He sat on the bed, his trembling fingertips gently brushing her cold cheek, his voice hoarse, "I was too arrogant... I thought I could protect you..."

He dragged her into this bloody quagmire and put her in danger again... If so-called love can only bring harm, then he would rather cut off these shackles with his own hands.

Tears streamed down his angular face and fell on the back of her hand. At that moment, it was as if all the edge of this dark emperor of Southeast Asia had been drained away, leaving only endless self-blame and fear.

Late at night, Ruan Xingchen finally woke from her coma and met Mo Xiaohan's red eyes. She frantically touched her swollen belly, only feeling the slightest fetal movement before she breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the baby was still there.

"Xiao Han..." She tried to raise the corners of her mouth, but her voice was so weak that it was heartbreaking, "Baby..."

"The baby is fine, but... you have to go back to China." He held her hand tightly, his voice hoarse: "I have already arranged it... After you are discharged from the hospital, I will send you back to China to give birth..."

“…What?” Ruan Xingchen was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

"Victor can bribe the prenatal doctor and the head of the guard... Next time..." He lowered his eyes, avoiding her incredulous gaze, "Only when you return to China will he be unable to reach you... Only in China will he be unable to touch you..."

He knelt on one knee and kissed her fingertips like a devout knight: "After cleaning up all the debris... wait..." His voice choked, "Everything is over... If I am still alive... I will go to China to pick you up."

Ruan Xingchen's tears silently fell: "You want to send me away?"

"Yes. The moment I saw you lying in a pool of blood... I wish I had never met you..." He rested his forehead on the back of her cold hand, his voice breaking and untuned, "Victor's target is me... Only by making you completely leave my world... can you both be safe."

Ruan Xingchen gently stroked his trembling back: "But Xiaohan..."

"Xingxing... people are greedy. They'll even sell their lives for money..." Mo Xiaohan ripped open his shirt, revealing the scars crisscrossing his body. "I wouldn't even blink if a bullet hit me, but you and the child... are my lives... I can't afford to gamble..."

There was struggle in his eyes. Letting go would be heartbreaking, but only letting go could protect her.

Ruan Xingchen struggled to sit up, the infusion needle was pulled off, and blood splattered on the back of his hand.

"So... you want me to hide with the baby like a coward? Live in fear every day alone in the sun? Or, are you going to wait until the baby grows up and ask me, 'Why doesn't Dad want us?'"

She grabbed his trembling hand and pressed it against her belly. The fetus moved at that moment, like a weak but persistent protest. Mo Xiaohan shuddered, and tried to pull his hand away as if burned, but she held him firmly.

"You said you would make everyone kneel before your throne... but now you want him to be a deserter?" Tears welled up in her eyes, falling on his trembling fingertips. "Mo Xiaohan, this life is too long... Every day without you is more painful than being tortured to death... I would rather bleed to death by your side than live in so-called peace!"

Mo Xiaohan's pupils shrank suddenly: "Don't talk nonsense..."

"Ever since I gave you cookies when I was five, your life and mine have been tied together! The amnesia from the car accident hasn't changed, the PTSD nightmares haven't changed... and they won't change now." She smiled through her tearful eyes, with determination: "Ever since I tore up my passport, picked up a gun, and chose to stay by your side, I never thought of leaving your world alive!"

Amidst the beeping of the monitor, her voice was as soft as a sigh: "The most terrifying thing in this world is not death... but living and never being able to touch you again!"

Mo Xiaohan suddenly hugged her to his chest, as if he wanted to crush her into his bones and blood. The rapid and cold beeping of the monitor could not suppress the pounding heartbeat in his chest.

"Xingxing...what should I do with you?" He kissed her lips and choked with sobs, "I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you next time..."

"Sharing the same bed in life... sharing the same blood in death... Don't even think about getting rid of me!" Ruan Xingchen bit his lip, tasting the salty bitterness of blood and tears. "If I have to die, I want to die in your arms."

"Okay." He whispered into her lips, "Then let's make a bet. I bet that I can stuff Victor's head and put it in the nursery before the baby is born."

The sound of the monitor gradually steadied, like their intertwined heartbeats. Outside the window, the light of dawn tore through the darkness, and they embraced each other, comforting each other.

——Everything in the world can be betrayed, but each other is the only fate that cannot be escaped.

The ultimate romance is not coexistence, but going together.