Gong Fan smiled self-deprecatingly. “My existence is a mistake in itself. Since it’s a mistake, it’s better to end this mistake as soon as possible…” After saying those words, he looked down wearily.
He’d tried and struggled, put down his pride and compromise. He meticulously made changes, gave up his pride to win Gong Jie’s favor, to win Mu Yazhe’s favor, to win Hua Jin’s favor, so that everyone would like him as much as they liked Youyou. He ignored his own frail dignity, just to give everyone a reason to keep him. He had curled up inside a shell, clinging to life, for the sake of his own existence in this world, even if it only allowed him to exist one more day, see it one more time.
But, he had now given up. He’d really given up…
Exasperated, Alice put her hand to her forehead. “You’re trying to make me completely evil. If I did that, your mommy will never forgive me. I’d be the equivalent of an executioner, killing her most beloved.”
Gong Fan gritted his teeth. Never before had he revealed such a vulnerable side to anyone. Only in Alice’s presence did he finally show his sadness and disappointment.
Alice knew that whether it was Gong Jie, Mu Yazhe, or Little Yichen, Gong Fan cared too much about them, so he would never be willing to show them this side of him easily. On the other hand, Alice was an outsider. This made it easy for him to set his burden aside.
Her heart ached for him. She walked over and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She lightly rubbed his shoulders, which were shaking violently from the effort of suppressing his own emotions.
“If you want to cry, just go ahead. If you keep holding back, you’d break down even if you were made of steel.”
Gong Fan kept silent, but Alice could faintly hear a few sobs escaping from between his teeth. The more he held back, the more Alice felt sorry for him. Fortunately, Yun Shishi wasn’t here. Otherwise, her heart would have been completely broken for the boy!
In the end, Gong Fan didn’t bawl. He tightly gripped the corner of Alice’s shirt and suppressed his own sadness.
“Just promise me …” His voice was grim. “I don’t want to be a burden to Youyou again. It would be best for everyone if I disappeared.”
Alice’s lips tightened with a complicated expression, and she finally managed to nod. “Looks like I’ll have to play the devil again?”
…
“What? You want to take Gong Fan away?” Gong Jie refused Alice without thinking twice. “Impossible!” he said firmly, “I won’t let you take him away.”
“Please, just get one thing straight. I’m not taking him away. The boy wishes to come with me.”
The man looked bewildered and was stumped.
“It doesn’t matter to me. You can convince your nephew yourself! Besides, in his current situation, what’s the benefit of staying with you? This is like a cancer patient who doesn’t want to go to a proper healthcare facility and insists on staying at home. Is it useful? Do you think keeping him around is the best way to protect him?”
Alice’s sharp words left Gong Jie speechless.
“Since we’ve come to this point and the incident has already happened, why don’t you let me take him back to the Hurricane Group with me? Besides, Gong Fan wants to come with me. Are you worried that I’ll abandon him halfway and feed him to the sharks? I’m not a flood beast, I’m a doctor, hmm? Don’t you trust me?”
