"How can that be!" He Chen smiled and looked at Meng Yan. "To him, you are his only princess! This princess carry was all thanks to you!"
"Hmm, at least you have some self-awareness!" Huo Jiayuan nodded, rubbing his chin.
"We've known each other for so long, don't you know what kind of person I am?" He Chen laughed. "I can be a bit shameless sometimes, but..."
However, after learning who her beloved was—an invincible war god—he voluntarily withdrew and offered his blessings with a smile.
"Alright, alright, you two stop bothering me!" He Chen waved his hand. "Yuan Yuan needs to rest too, and I want to sleep a little longer! We'll go out and play together once we're healed!"
"You're still thinking about playing around?" Meng Yan's deep voice came, accompanied by a helpless smile. "The royal family is furious about the factory explosion and will definitely investigate thoroughly. In the past two days, quite a few people have probably come to you to assist with the investigation, since you two are the most directly involved parties."
“That’s true…” He Chen scratched his head. “How could the factory suddenly explode? Although there were some security lapses there, it shouldn’t have led to such a serious accident!”
"Security lapses are only one aspect," Meng Yan said, her eyes darkening. "The main problem is that someone is sabotaging us!"
"Have you found out anything?"
Meng Yan pursed her lips slightly, a hint of determination flashing in her deep gaze.
"Whoever it is, that person must pay the price!"
...
Meng Yan carried Yuan Yuan back to the ward, carefully placed her on the bed, and then put a soft pillow behind her back.
Huo Jiayuan smiled and said, "Actually, I'm not in pain. I can walk by myself!"
He lowered his eyes and remained silent.
She wasn't in pain, but his heart ached. Especially when he saw the bandages on her body, he hated himself for not going in sooner.
If he had stayed by her side that day, he would have been more alert to the danger, and she wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
But he hesitated at the factory gate because he was afraid of fireworks.
Meng Yan bit her lip and lowered her head to tuck the blanket around her. The more at a loss a person is, the busier they make themselves appear.
Although he couldn't see his face, Huo Jiayuan could still sense that there seemed to be tears in the corners of his eyes.
“Meng Yan…”
She reached out her little hand to touch him, and he took her hand and pressed her palm against his face.
"You're crying?" Huo Jiayuan exclaimed in surprise. "Don't be like this! I'm perfectly fine!"
"It's my fault for not protecting you."
"It's not your fault!"
“I should have followed you.” Meng Yan looked up, her slightly red eyes making one feel distressed. “Why was I afraid of fireworks… I’m such a coward!”
Don't talk about yourself like that!
Huo Jiayuan hugged him and gently stroked his back.
Having survived this life-or-death ordeal, she finally learned his true identity and understood why he was afraid of loud noises and the night sky filled with fireworks.
To him, it wasn't fireworks, but a demon that could drag him into the battlefield.
What he experienced on that battlefield was the cruelest thing in the world. He watched his brothers-in-arms fall one by one, the person who was talking to you one second now a mangled corpse the next…
The roar and the deafening sound, the burning sensation of bullets whizzing past your ears—these are things that fireworks cannot be beautify.
Huo Jiayuan finally understood what PTSD was.
“You’re not a coward, you’re a hero,” she whispered in his ear.
Meng Yan's back stiffened, and after a long silence, he said in a low voice, "I am not a hero either. I killed my own father. I am a heinous murderer..."
"On the battlefield, you have no choice."
Huo Jiayuan looked at him, her bright eyes possessing a magical power. Even if demons were tearing at his body, her eyes would always lead him into the light.
She smiled and gently stroked his face with her small hand.
"You killed your father, but you saved the whole country."
"You... really think so?"
She nodded. "The fault doesn't lie with you. He made the mistake first. You were just fulfilling a general's mission to protect the country."
"But I also understand that he is, after all, your father who gave you life and raised you. Before this happened, you had many happy days, right?"
Meng Yan lowered his head and remained silent.
“As a guardian of the country, you have done a great job,” she said softly. “But as his son, you can also quietly pay your respects to him.”
"Meng Yan, make peace with your father." She held his hand. "And make peace with yourself too, okay?"
He stood there stunned for a long time, a feeling of wanting to cry stuck in his throat.
That night, Meng Yan was keeping watch over Huo Jiayuan in the ward. Around midnight, he vaguely heard some noise. In his hazy state, he opened his eyes and suddenly saw a beam of dim light shining on the ward door.
He immediately became alert, and the figure in the dim light turned around slightly.
He froze, unable to utter a sound.
"I'm leaving." The man chuckled at him, the smile still carrying a hint of mockery, but more so a sense of relief and nonchalance. "You and her live a good life together!"
Meng Yan opened his mouth, but still couldn't utter a single word.
"If you really care about her, then hurry up and find the real culprit, and then kill that murderer the way they killed me back then! Can you do that?"
After he finished speaking, the figure quickly disappeared. He looked in the direction the person had disappeared, his voice choked with emotion, and just as tears were about to fall, he suddenly came to his senses!
"Meng Yan, what's wrong with you?"
Meng Yan opened his eyes and saw that Huo Jiayuan was also awake, looking at him sleepily.
"I'm sorry, did I disturb you?"
“No.” Huo Jiayuan chuckled. “You didn’t make a sound, but you kept swaying.”
Meng Yan calmed himself down, but his heart was still pounding. What he had just experienced was a dream, yet it didn't feel like a dream; perhaps it really was his father's spirit coming to say goodbye.
His father will never appear in his dreams again, nor will he disturb his life again.
Actually, his father still loved him.
Meng Yan felt a lump in her throat, took a deep breath, and suppressed the urge to cry.
Huo Jiayuan moved her body. After the effects of the medicine wore off, the burned area began to feel a tearing pain.
Meng Yan called a nurse to change her dressing.
The little princess was very brave; she didn't utter a sound when her dressing was changed, yet the wound was shocking.
Meng Yan held her, feeling immense guilt upon seeing the wounds.
"It's okay, I'm not in pain." Huo Jiayuan comforted him instead, "These medicines all contain anesthetic ingredients, the pain will go away once you apply them!"
“Yuan Yuan…” Meng Yan looked at her, “Starting tomorrow, the police will come to investigate.”
"Um."
Meng Yan licked his lips, his eyes darkening slightly. "I think I know who it is!"
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