There was nothing wrong with Xiao Hei’s wound. Lu Qi crouched on the floor and checked again and again, temporarily putting him in a cage to prevent Xiao Sanhua from causing him secondary harm.

Xiao Sanhua ignored her ex who had become a sister. Instead, she circled around Mu Nanqiao’s feet and nuzzled him in an unusually coquettish manner. 

She was indeed Lu Qi’s cat, as sensitive as her owner. Sensing that the man’s mood was not right, she came over to comfort him.

But this damn slave was always distracted. In the end, Xiao Sanhua lost her patience and walked away with a swing of her tail.

Mu Nanqiao stood silently behind Lu Qi, as if awaiting trial.

After Lu Qi settled the little black pig and put his emotions back in order, he was able to say as relaxed as possible: “Let’s go and have a look next door.”

. . . . . . .

The door to room 502 was opened, and Mu Nanqiao pressed the switch next to the door.

The lights in the room lit up, shining like a sea of stars, and Lu Qi already knew why there were so many lights in the room. The more lights there were, the closer Mu Nanqiao actually got to darkness.

When he actually entered the room, Lu Qi actually hesitated somewhat. Mu Nanqiao held his shoulders firmly and pushed him gently forward. 

“Let’s go,” Mu Nanqiao whispered.

Holding the key, Lu Qi walked toward the bedroom door. 

Click–

The door lock popped open, and a crack opened in the closed door. Light poured along the crack in the door, carving out a sharp angle in the darkness of the room.  

Mu Nanqiao stood behind Lu Qi, watching the little deer peer into the darkness. He reached out and rubbed Lu Qi’s soft hair, then walked around him to press the light switch on the wall. 

Lu Qi held his hand down, turning his head to say: “Do you usually…..turn on the lights?”

Sometimes, he was astonishingly perceptive. Mu Nanqiao shook his head and said: “Will you be afraid if I don’t turn on the lights?”

Lu Qi’s fingertips hooked his palm: “I won’t be afraid if you hold onto me.”

At this moment, even if there was an abyss in front of him, Mu Nanqiao would probably step into it without hesitation.

But he still pushed the door open as far as it would go, and most of the light from the living room shone in. Lu Qi finally had a clear view of the small bedroom. 

There was nothing much. Just a sandbag, a TV hanging on the wall, and a small table with a roll of bandages and trauma medication on it. 

There was no place to sit, so Mu Nanqiao went to the living room to get a thick blanket. He spread it on the ground, and the two of them sat side by side.

There were so many things that he didn’t know where to start. He couldn’t just say, “I’m not normal.” Mu Nanqiao could say this to anyone without any burden, but only when facing Lu Qi did he wish that he was a healthy person.

Fortunately, Lu Qi took the lead and asked in a low voice: “How much did you hear about what Lin Yuan said? How much is true and how much is fake?”

Mu Nanqiao took a deep breath. As if he had come to a decision, he stood up and turned on the TV.

It was a fluent English standard broadcast. Lu Qi’s English listening skills were not bad, not to mention that this news came with related videos, so it was easy to understand. 

[Two Chinese students recently snuck into Yellowstone Park late at night. One of them ignored the warnings and climbed over the guardrail into Norris Geyser Basin. He lost his footing and fell, suffering severe burns all over his body. After resuscitation failed, he passed away last night. Here……]

There was a video of the rescue scene, but despite the pixelation, when the man was pulled out by workers, his skin had turned a dark red due to the high temperature burns and corrosion. It turned into a blurry mass due to the pixelation, which was even more shocking.

This person was still alive, thrashing around at all times and cursing himself for being a fool.

Most of the subsequent news was not from China. The one who hit his head while racing and suffered a fracture was also intoxicated, and the other one was shot to death by a love rival because of jealousy. The one who was imprisoned for embezzling public funds three years ago, even if he was released after serving his sentence, would still be over fifty years old.

The news was constantly circulating. With fluent English in the background, Mu Nanqiao’s expression was so calm that it was almost indifferent as he said: “The incidents Lin Yuan mentioned are real, but these people died in accidents that have nothing to do with me.”

Lu Qi looked back at him, and as soon as his lips moved, Mu Nanqiao spoke again: “I have proof that they were accidents.”

He went out again, this time taking a laptop. Sitting back next to Lu Qi, he waited for it to start and looked around at the small bedroom and Lu Qi, who was sitting there obediently yet out of place.

“I have proof,” he repeated in a low voice. “Believe me.”

The bedroom was cold and damp, and he always felt that the cold air was about to condense into icicles. The biting cold penetrated into the bones like needles. Mu Nanqiao knew that it was all in his mind, but he still couldn’t stop his fingertips from trembling. He looked away, not wanting Lu Qi to notice anything unusual about him. 

It seemed like he was back at that snowy night when he was sixteen.

Standing in the snow, he explained over and over to the man he called Grandpa that he hadn’t broken the vase. He talked a lot at that time, perhaps too much, and the old man finally gave an impatient frown.

“You were the only one in that room! Who else could it have been if not you?! This is conclusive evidence!” The old man glared furiously, as if the person standing before him was not a youngster, but a heinous sinner. “Can you understand the proverb? Sure enough, children born to foreign women do not understand etiquette, justice, or integrity.”

He told Mu Nanqiao to kneel.

But no matter if Mu Nanqiao was scolded or kicked, he always stood upright. In the end, those people entered the house and left him standing alone in the heavy snow.

After everyone dispersed, Mu Rui poked his head in furtively. This cousin, who was one year younger than him, was a head shorter than him in height. He came over and whispered maliciously: “I know you didn’t break that vase.”

It was so cold. Mu Nanqiao regarded him numbly.

Mu Rui said proudly: “That vase was actually not valuable at all. Who would put their collection outside as a display? But you know that in Grandpa’s heart, you are worth less than that vase.”

He smiled, fiddling with a thin string in his hand. “Unfortunately, your excuses are useless. People only believe what they see. Even if it is a coincidence, it is the co-called evidence of a bastard.”

Only later did he realize that neither the plot nor these words could have belonged to the brainless Mu Rui.

This was a warning given to him by his second uncle.

Mu Chuansong had done it.

Today, many years later, he still trembled because of that snowy night. Almost urgently, he brought the computer to Lu Qi and said at once: “Zheng Shize was detained for drug abuse while in China. This is the criminal record. Later, after his father sent him abroad, he started spending time with some motorcycle gangs. This is a photo they took together. Also…..”

Hands shaking, he slid the mouse and scrolled down the page. There was a lot more material below.

He tried his best to cover up the abnormality, but how could Lu Qi not feel it? He reached out to hold Mu Nanqiao’s wrist, and his body temperature was unusually low.

It was as if he was enshrouded by an invisible blizzard.

“Mu Nanqiao?” Lu Qi knelt down and reached out to touch his forehead. “What’s wrong with you? Where does it hurt? Have you been investigating these things the past few days?”

Mu Nanqiao grabbed his hand, squeezing the bones in his fingers a little painfully. Lowering his head, he met a pair of persistent eyes. He had originally thought that those beautiful fox eyes would always be lazy and calm, but at this moment, there was a shocking emptiness in them.

His Adam’s apple rolled, and Mu Nanqiao’s voice was heavy: “Lu Qi, I didn’t do it.”

Lu Qi’s response was to lower his head and kiss him.

Through the vast wind and snow, he kissed the young man.

Soft, warm lips transferred warmth little by little. Mu Nanqiao’s entire body tensed up. He let Lu Qi kiss him inexpertly and in a fluster, until the tip of Lu Qi’s clumsy tongue brushed his lips softly.

As he trembled, the warm sun dispersed the wind and snow.

He lifted his arms and embraced the young man. This person had given him the strength to break away from the nightmare, and his waist and shoulders were so thin that he could easily be wrapped up in his arms. His fingers caressed that warm back inch by inch, until at last they landed on the back of Lu Qi’s neck and pressed down with gentle force.

Mu Nanqiao raised his head. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he kissed the young man’s soft lips.

Lu Qi’s ears turned red belatedly, and the heat continued to spread. He put his hands on Mu Nanqiao’s shoulders and silently moved back a little. Mu Nanqiao’s lips didn’t chase after him, but his fingers relentlessly tapped the back of his neck, and the tip of his nose nudged Lu Qi’s.

Their breaths intertwined, and Lu Qi blinked his wet eyelashes.

Thus, Mu Nanqiao’s kisses fell on his eyelashes. “Crying?”

“No.” Lu Qi’s voice was muffled. “I just…..wanted to kiss you…..”

The arms holding his waist tightened a bit. Lu Qi was still kneeling down, and this posture made him slightly taller than the sitting Mu Nanqiao. He raised a hand and rubbed Mu Nanqiao’s hair just like Mu Nanqiao had done to him many times.

In the dim space, the news was still broadcasting on a loop as Mu Nanqiao whispered: “Lu Qi, I actually thought about how to kill those people one by one. There was no reason for me to stay alone in the mud. They should rot and stink together with me.”

Lu Qi gave a soft “en” to show that he was listening.

“But the probability of something happening to such trash is always higher, and they died one after another.” Mu Nanqiao smiled mockingly. “So I didn’t know who to hate anymore. If there really is karma, and this is the punishment sent down by the gods, then why couldn’t I pass judgment with my own hands?”

These regrets had accumulated over the years and turned into toxic obsessions. Together with the anger that had nowhere to vent, the roots penetrated into his heart like a vine, and with every heartbeat, his flesh and blood were torn apart.

But now, the rotting wound was opened up, and the sun shone in gently. He heard the sound of new flesh and blood, like dead trees sprouting again after a wildfire.

He buried his head in Lu Qi’s shoulder and gave a hoarse laugh. “Fortunately, fortunately I didn’t have time…..”

If he really dirtied his hands, how could he use those hands to hug Lu Qi?

He was sincerely grateful for this small favor from fate.