We must not be soft-hearted.
Flowers grown in a greenhouse cannot withstand wind and rain.
Roses bloom most brilliantly when they emerge from among thorns.
That night, he had a rose pattern, which he designed himself, tattooed on the child's back.
While getting the tattoo, he held the child, who, even though he was scared this time, dared not show it again, in his arms.
"...bite me if it hurts."
"To remain silent is to be brave."
After the tattoo was finished, the rose on her back was strikingly red, and two rows of small teeth marks were left on his shoulder.
After carrying the person to bed, he had the tooth mark tattooed on his shoulder.
From that moment on, they were the most closely connected people in the world, bound together by a bond deeper than blood ties.
These are the roses he brought back.
He will raise her well.
*
When she was eight years old, he learned that she was afraid of thunder.
It was a stormy night.
Outside, the rain was pouring down, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.
He was in his bedroom at the time. Late at night, someone knocked on his door.
He opened the door and saw the child standing outside, wearing a nightgown and barefoot, clutching her little pillow.
He raised his head, as if summoning a great deal of courage, and asked if she could sleep with him tonight.
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck.
She reflexively threw down the pillow and came over to hug him.
He didn't say a word. But in the dim light, he could feel the child trembling all over.
He bent down, picked her up, and placed her on the bed. He tried to pick up the pillow, but she wouldn't let go of his hand for even a moment.
So I lay down like that.
He lay on his pillow, and she curled up in his arms, clutching his shirt tightly, her eyes closed.
He vaguely recalled a stormy night when he was a child, when he was also alone, huddled under a pitch-black bridge arch where he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.
I've trembled with fear, longing for someone to be by my side. I've longed for a warm embrace, to hold him tight during the long nights.
Just that one night.
He didn't receive salvation when he was a child.
But now, at least for now, let him soften his heart a little.
He held her tightly in his arms, gently patting her back to soothe her emotions.
She gradually relaxed.
After a while, she looked up and asked him if he would hold her like this and stay with her every stormy night from now on.
The moment the lightning illuminated the room, he saw the person in his arms with tears of expectation in their eyes, their eyes filled with dependence on him.
He didn't say anything.
He lowered his head and kissed her eyes and the ends of her hair to put her to sleep.
Later, she fell asleep clutching his shirt.
He slowly tightened his embrace in the darkness.
Will I hold her like this and keep her company on every stormy night when the power goes out?
Can someone who lives such a dangerous life make promises about the future?
If he's not around in the future, how will she get through stormy nights alone?
By then, he had already been teaching her marksmanship for some time.
She learned to shoot very quickly. But she never dared to point the gun at anyone.
The next day, one of his men turned out to be a traitor.
He told her to pick up the gun and kill the man kneeling on the ground, trembling.
The man, his face streaked with snot and tears, begged her for mercy as she raised her gun. She held the gun, hesitant to pull the trigger.
That night, there was still thunder and rain.
He had her locked in a dark room filled with corpses.
He said the best way to overcome fear is to face it directly.
If you're afraid of killing, then get to know the dead first.
If you're afraid of thunder, then listen to it all night long.
Until you get used to it, until your nerves are numb, you won't be afraid anymore. That's how he trained himself.
That night, she was locked in her room, while he sat outside, smoking against the wall, keeping her company all night.
As the first rays of dawn shone in, he had the door opened and let her out.
When the young, frail girl walked out, her face pale, he embraced her and told her she had done well.
But she didn't say a word.
The only response he received was the coldness of the person in his arms.
And the silence in his eyes.
The anticipation and dependence she felt the night before in his eyes had been replaced by numbness.
It's like growing up overnight.
From that day on, if he asked her to kill someone again, she could pick up a gun without hesitation and kill the person with a single shot.
From that day onward, on stormy nights, she never knocked on his door again, yearning for his embrace.
That estrangement probably began around that night.
He thought that she must have started to hate him.
But it's okay.
It doesn't matter.
*
All her teachers say she is the most gifted child they have ever seen.
During those years, he brought in the most capable and renowned masters from various fields to train her in various skills.
She always exceeded his expectations.
At such a young age, she can learn quickly and well in any field.
Mathematics, Computer Science, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Antique Appraisal...
And her personality became increasingly calm and composed, whether she was facing him or strangers.
Perhaps I would feel even more distant from him.
When she was sixteen, he sent her to the arena to participate in the Arctic fox survival test.
In those places where life and death are fought, wild beasts eat people, and people eat people. Those who survive are monsters.
She won first place and also made her first friend.
His men went to investigate the girl named Anne and placed her information on his desk. He immediately saw a hidden ambition in the girl's eyes in the photo.
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