Upon arriving at the pier, Lu Yanzhuo parked the car and boarded the ferry with Shen Zhiyi's luggage.
The instant the horn sounded.
He stood at the bow of the ship, gazing silently in the direction they were heading for a long time.
The sea breeze, damp and salty, brushed against his face.
It tastes astringent and bitter.
Shen Zhiyi sat in the cabin, looking at that lonely figure, a fleeting pity flashing in her eyes.
She called out to him, "Lu Yanzhuo."
Lu Yanzhuo turned around and walked into the cabin. "What's wrong?"
"Have you booked a hotel?" Shen Zhiyi asked.
Lu Yanzhu stared at her intently, "Wherever you live, I'll live."
Shen Zhiyi stared wide-eyed.
"That won't do!"
"I booked a farmhouse. It's peak season now, and lots of people come here to watch the sunset. If you can't find a place, don't blame me."
"After you disembark, find your own place to stay."
“However…” she looked up at him, “you have to help me carry my luggage over first.”
"Who told you to drive Cheng Qiyu away?"
"No one else can help me, so you're the only one who can."
A helpless smile flashed across Lu Yanzhuo's face.
"knew."
He came here to be her slave.
When he got off the ship and helped Shen Zhiyi carry her luggage to her accommodation, he froze.
Yang Family Residence.
He stood at the doorway like a boulder, unable to move an inch.
When the guesthouse owner saw Lu Yanzhuo, she stopped fanning herself.
She glanced at him several times.
Then, a look of intense disbelief crossed his face, and he immediately got up and ran out of the yard.
Lu Yanzhuo suddenly turned around.
"I'll leave your luggage here. I'll be going now."
He walked hurriedly, and after taking only two steps, he was stopped by someone behind him.
"Xiao Lu?!" The proprietress rushed up and tugged at his sleeve. "It's you, Xiao Lu?!"
Lu Yanzhuo was stunned.
How could she...know his name?
The proprietress walked around to the front of him, her eyes filled with tears, "It really is you, it really is you!"
"That's our Yang Wu's comrade-in-arms, Xiao Lu! Lu Yanzhuo!"
"Quick! Come in and sit down!" She wiped away her tears and reached out to pull him in.
Lu Yanzhu followed her inside, almost in a daze.
He stared incredulously at the woman in front of him, who was over fifty years old.
There was no scolding as I had imagined.
There was no resentment or harsh rebuke as I had imagined.
Instead...welcome.
He envisioned ten thousand possibilities.
But I never thought of this.
Yang Shuyu led him along, and also brought Shen Zhiyi along. "You're Xiao Lu's girlfriend, right? You're really beautiful."
"If Yang Wu were still alive, he would be married by now..."
Her eyes were filled with tears, but then she suddenly laughed, "Come on, come on, let's go in together."
"Aunt Yang will cook something delicious for you."
"Little Fatty! Come out and get your luggage!" she shouted into the yard.
A chubby teenage boy rushed out, paused for a moment when he saw Lu Yanzhuo, and paused again when he saw Shen Zhiyi.
Then, standing there dumbfounded, I went to move my luggage.
Such a beautiful person...
Two of them came at once?!
Yang Shuyu led the two to sit on the rattan chairs in the courtyard and pulled over the oyster pancakes on the table. "Try them. I just fried them. They won't taste good if they get cold."
"Have something to eat first, and I'll make you lunch in a bit."
Lu Yanzhuo didn't touch his chopsticks, staring blankly at her.
Shen Zhiyi did eat some.
"Aunt Yang's cooking is really good." Her gaze swept over the two of them. "You two chat, I'll go pack my luggage."
She got up and left.
Yang Shuyu looked at the short scar on Lu Yanzhuo's eyebrow, then glanced at his stubble of green beard, and sighed deeply.
He used to be such a spirited and ambitious person.
Now I'm more composed.
However, his face was full of gloom.
It's obvious at a glance that they're not doing well.
"You look much more haggard than you do in the photos."
"Photos?" Lu Yanzhuo opened his mouth.
But he never dared to look her in the eye.
Her vicissitudes served as a cruel reminder to him, one that he could not face even in the dead of night.
Not to mention seeing it with my own eyes.
"Yes, Yang Wu sent back a photo of you two together."
"I'll take you to see it."
Yang Shuyu led him to an empty room upstairs.
"Yang Wu lived here before his death."
"I've kept this house all this time; I haven't touched it."
“It’s full of his things, including the letters he sent back before, and your photos together. They’re all kept here.”
Lu Yanzhuo's gaze slowly swept across the entire room.
Suddenly, I felt an unbearable heartache.
Ah Wu died without even a body.
This is the only place that seems to be reserved for him.
Seeing his eyes redden, Yang Shuyu lowered her head and silently wiped away her tears. "I know that all these years, you haven't been willing to come and see us because you were afraid we would blame you."
"But Xiao Lu, you're mistaken."
“He sent us a letter before he died, saying that you were his best brother in his life and that you had saved him. He told us that if he were to die someday, no matter what the reason, we should not hold any grudges against you.”
"So, we never blamed you."
Not even a day.
Lu Yanzhuo was deeply saddened.
It turns out that Takeru had prepared to sacrifice himself so early on...
A silent bitterness welled up in his chest.
"I'm sorry... Auntie, I'm so sorry..."
"He wouldn't have died if he hadn't been saving me..."
He and Yang Wu belonged to the Ice Fox mercenary group.
Back then, he and Yang Wu accepted a secret commission to steal intelligence documents from the enemy's core base.
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