Chapter 223: The Truth
Karl's fingers tightly grasped Qiao Suisui's clothes, his knuckles turning white from the force, as if he wanted to embed her into his body and never let her leave. His breathing was rapid and disordered, and tears rolled down like beads that had broken off the string, wetting Qiao Suisui's shoulders.
"Sui Sui," his voice was low and hoarse, filled with endless longing and pain, "Are you really back? I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Qiao Suisui gently stroked his back and comforted him tenderly, "Karl, I'm really back. This is not a dream, I'm here."
After confirming with him more than a dozen times, Karl finally let her go a little, but still hugged Qiao Suisui, as if only in this way could he confirm her existence.
"I thought I would never see you again," Carl's voice was almost drowned by tears, "I thought I could only meet you again in hallucinations."
Although Qiao Susu guessed that he used hallucinogens because of her, she felt a pang of pain in her heart when she heard him say it himself.
Her tears kept falling, and she whispered, "Fool."
Karl took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner excitement. He gently let go of Qiao Suisui, holding her face in his hands, his eyes full of deep love and anxiety. "I won't let you leave me again. Don't even think about getting rid of me in the future."
The warden, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, saw that Carl was now a completely different person. His face was now full of expression and he seemed to be full of life. He secretly exclaimed in amazement at the miracle.
Zong Fang breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that Carl could temporarily stabilize Qiao Qiao's attention. The matter between Scorsese and Libery could be delayed as long as possible.
Sang Yan saw the two people hugging each other and quietly turned his head away.
Qiao Suisui didn't want Carl to stay in the cell. He wasn't a prisoner. Although he hadn't completely quit taking hallucinogens, she believed Carl was fine.
So he said to Zong Fang: "Let's take Carl back to the Imperial Court. If he can't bear the injection again, I will never see him again."
Karl, who was standing by, listened to this with a serious look on his face. He held her hand tightly and said, “There won’t be a next time. Don’t think about leaving me.”
Qiao Suisui knew that she had to be resolute in this matter, so she deliberately provoked him, "What if you can't help it again?"
"No ifs. I don't need hallucinogens while you're here."
After receiving his assurance, she felt relieved and smiled at him. Karl hadn't yet completely recovered from the fact that she had returned. He was afraid that she would leave quietly again, so he kept his eyes on her. Therefore, he didn't receive the look that Zongfang sent him.
Seeing that Zong Fang didn't say anything, Qiao Sui Sui asked, "What's wrong?"
Zong Fang was still trying to find an excuse to ask her not to return to the imperial court. Sang Yan beside him sighed heavily and said, "This is not a solution."
"What?" Qiao Susu looked at the two of them, asking with her eyes what was going on.
Zongfang pursed his lips and said nothing.
Carl only reacted at this time and immediately realized something. He held Qiao Susu's hand tightly again and quickly glanced at the two men opposite.
Seeing the three of them playing dumb, Qiao Suisui pretended to leave and said, "If you don't tell me, I'll go find out for myself."
Karl couldn’t let go of her hand, and coaxed: “Be good, go back and tell her, okay?”
Qiao Suisui frowned at the silent Zong Fang. He rarely avoided her like this. He must be hiding something from her. She turned her gaze to Sang Yan and asked, "Are you going to keep it a secret from me like the other two?"
Sure enough, Sang Yan couldn't stand her asking.
Or rather, Sang Yan felt that she had the right to know everything.
"Colonel Scorsese"
"Sang Yan!" Zong Fang interrupted him harshly.
Qiao Suisui's heart immediately jumped up, and she asked, "What happened?"
Zongfang walked up to her and hugged her, holding her head with his hands, and said softly: "What I am about to say, you must remember, has nothing to do with you. This is Scorsese's own choice."
The reason he kept delaying telling her was not because he was afraid she would be sad, but because he was afraid she would blame herself and feel guilty. That feeling was the most painful, because he had experienced it before, and it had been thirteen years.
Qiao Susu felt the blood in her body flowing backwards and her heart was beating fast. The cross drawn by Lan Ze appeared in her mind, and she suddenly didn't dare to think further.
Karl felt that it was too cruel to tell her about this directly, so he interrupted and said, "Can we talk about it when we get back? She just woke up now, you..."
"I want to listen." Qiao Susu's teeth began to chatter.
Zong Fang tightened his embrace a little more, giving her a full sense of security.
"Scorsese committed suicide."
Qiao Suisui stood there, frozen in place. The tragic news reached her ears, and her brain was momentarily unable to process the sudden information. Her eyes were empty, staring blankly ahead, as if the world had stopped at that moment.
Her breathing became light and shallow, as if it would stop in the next second.
Seeing this, Karl was so scared that he pushed Zongfang away, put his arm around her shoulders, and gently stroked her cheek.
"Sui Sui, don't scare me, breathe"
Her mind went blank, and after a few seconds, the weight of reality began to weigh on her consciousness. Her eyes gradually focused, her pupils constricting slightly, as if she had finally understood the meaning of the words. She heard the three men's voices all around her, yet it was as if she hadn't heard them. Her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, but the pain didn't immediately register with her.
Qiao Suisui's lips parted slightly, her fingers hanging stiffly at her sides as she asked, "Why commit suicide?"
As soon as she asked, she recalled Luka's words in her mind -
"Sui Sui, I really can't lose you."
"Sui Sui, promise me that when you stop loving me, you will kill me."
"Have I ever told you that I can't live without you?"
Suddenly, tears silently welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision. Her legs seemed to lose their support, and her body swayed slightly, almost unable to stand. Her fingers began to tremble, and she unconsciously grasped something beside her, as if that was the only way to find some comfort and support.
Zong Fang immediately caught her shaky body, his eyes filled with heartache.
"It's because of me. It's all because of me."
Qiao Suisui knelt helplessly on the ground, covering her face with her hands, tears streaming through her fingers. She curled up into a ball, as if this could only slightly alleviate the pain within her. Her heart felt as if it were being torn apart, the pain so intense it made it impossible to breathe. She could only cry silently, letting the tears wet her cheeks and soak her heart.
Karl couldn't stand her crying like this, his eyes were red, Zong Fang felt heartbroken, Sang Yan stood there blankly, feeling it was difficult to breathe.
Qiao Susu raised her face from her hands, as if she thought of something, a gleam of light flashed in her eyes.
Her eyes calmed down a bit, and she asked in a hoarse voice, "What about Ash?"
Zongfang was silent for a while, then said, "He was killed by the leaders of several member states."
(End of this chapter)
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