She said, his father must not be a thief.
The past was one of the biggest thorns in his heart, just a slight touch would cause him immense pain. Lu Yan’s eyes started getting a little bloodshot and he stretched his arm out, grasping her waist and pulling her right into his arms.
“Let me hug you for awhile.” He buried his face in her hair.
An’an just stood there, letting him hug her without making a sound. She lifted her hand to ruffle his hair. “My Little Yan, be good, I’ll dote on you well in the future.”
She was pacifying him just like she was coaxing a puppy. The corners of Lu Yan’s lips raised into a smile. “Little rascal, you’re getting more daring now.”
An’an laughed and hugged him tightly.
They were hugging each other tightly while in the stairway. Lu Yan’s handsome face was hidden in the darkness and no one could tell what his facial expression was like. After awhile, he suddenly spoke up. “My dad is not a thief, he brought money with him that day.”
That was his first time talking about his father in many years. Everyone had accused him, saying that his father was a thief, no one believed that his father was innocent.
An’an hugged his trim waist. “Mm, I believe your father, you’re not alone.”
She was there, she had been there all along.
She would continue being with him.
Lu Yan’s facial features were cold, the wound in his heart had been torn open again. Using more strength, he hugged her tightly. “I wasn’t able to protect them, Dad and Mom…”
Once he said Mom, his voice had turned hoarse. It was so stifling.
An’an was feeling pain, his body was hard as steel and when he tightened his grip, it almost tore her apart. She could feel her bones almost falling apart.
But she didn’t make a single sound, how could this amount of pain even compare to the pain in his heart. She felt so bad for him.
Lu Yan was an upright man all his life yet he had hidden away such pain in the bottom of his heart. He had saved so many people and was on the way to saving even more people. All these years, he had never stopped.
But he wasn’t able to save his own parents.
He hadn’t saved his father who died in prison, he hadn’t saved his mother who jumped into the river and committed suicide. He could only watch as they were bullied and assaulted when he was young.
He had so much hate inside of him.
He hated himself.
He hated himself for being so powerless.
He had burdened himself all these years, he wasn’t willing to let himself off.
An’an could feel every muscle of his tensing up. He was breathing, he was trembling.
She quickly stretched out her hand to pat his back as she comforted him. “Mom must love Little Yan right? Dad has left and she could do nothing about it. She was helpless and only had herself, she used herself to protect Little Yan.”
Lu Yan buried his face in her neck. His bloody wound was twisted around and the pain was simply unbearable. He drifted into his memories, back to the day where he pushed open the door.
“Mom was pinned on… the bed. I pushed open the door and Mom turned her head… around. That scene… Mom’s face was filled with tears…”
It was filled with tears. Shame, agony, despair. If it wasn’t for him, Mom would rather die than to suffer such humiliation.
With the past being unraveled, Lu Yan hugged the woman in his arms tightly and it hurt to even breathe. His eyes watered and those hot tears sprang from his eyes. He bit on his lip, burying his face in her neck while he burst into tears.
Many years ago, when he had brought back his father’s ashes, when he saw his mother’s corpse in the river, he hadn’t cried at all, not even a single tear escaped.
He sat down from at night till dawn before he picked up his backpack, going to the Capital all by himself.
He hadn’t cried at all.
But at this moment, with the woman he loved in his arms, he cried silently.
Tears that came twenty years late.
An’an didn’t know how to console him, she could only reciprocate by hugging him with huge drops of tears trickling down her cheeks, she was crying for him too.
She wasn’t born when he was suffering from all of that agony.
She had never wished for herself to be born ten years, or even twenty years earlier this badly. No matter how pathetic he would be when she met him, it all didn’t matter. He was a poor child who came from the mountains while she was an illegitimate daughter who was thrown away by a wealthy family. She would give him a warm hug, she would give him the longest and warmest company he ever needed.
She would give him all that he ever needed.
Or perhaps, he would only be faithful to her. The diamond ring around his neck would have been on her finger or maybe she would already be pregnant, their children all grown up.
It was so regretful.
There were too many regrets.
Lu Yan, who was in his 40s, was crying just like a little child.
But for someone with compassion in his heart, all hardships would only become the most powerful sword in his hands. It would only serve as the strongest motivation, the purest beliefs, he would be able to go far in life, further than everyone else.
Men like him would invite worship from others.
That was how Master Yan of the Capital captivated so many nobles, socialites and daughters of wealthy families. They couldn’t articulate what was good about him, his good looks and strong build weren’t anything special. It wouldn’t be able to make one fall head over heels for him.
But why were they obsessed with Lu Yan? It was all because he was gleaming with his aura, a ray of light that would act as the sun, no matter what he did, nothing could challenge or obstruct him. Nothing could hold him back.
An’an patted his back gently. “Just cry, let it all out and it’ll all be fine. It isn’t Little Yan’s fault, Dad and Mom love Little Yan, Little Yan loves Dad and Mom too.”
Lu Yan shut his eyes. By the time he opened them again, he had already regained his composure.
He slowly let go of An’an.
An’an used both hands to hold onto his face, coming up on her tiptoes to kiss away the tears on his face. She kissed his eyes.
Lu Yan’s wound was somewhat healed by this little hand of hers. He grasped her tiny waist, kissing her on the lips. It seemed like they had put in all of their energy in the kiss.
An’an reciprocated the kiss passionately, hugging his neck while kissing him. It was only till they were both breathless then they finally let go of each other.
“What happened to that scum in the end?”
Lu Yan didn’t let go of her, nuzzling his nose against her face. With the mention of the village head, he revealed a sardonic smile. “He’s long dead, I had my men slice his flesh to bits and feed them to the dogs.”
He deserved it.
That was his price to pay.
“Lu Yan, well done. You’ve finally managed to avenge Dad and Mom.” An’an smiled.
Lu Yan laughed. “Who’s your Dad and Mom? You don’t have any shame at all as a girl.”
That was his parents, but somehow, they had now become her Dad and Mom.
An’an was a little embarrassed after he mentioned it. She stuck her tongue out while looking at him with watery eyes.
Her eyes and nose were both red after she cried for him. Now that she was looking at him, her eyes seemed to have the ability to talk, they were lustrous and sparkling, and he just couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
