Xie Lian was in the kitchen making another cup of tea, while Wen Ning was busy preparing breakfast. They tried not to be too loud when they put the plates, cutlery, and glasses on the table. They were talking to each other slightly softly. While the two of them were busy in the kitchen, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying were resting in separate rooms.
Mingjue and Song Lan were the only ones who weren't in the house but were on their way during that time. They only went back for Hua Cheng after Xie Lian had finished treating Lan Zhan's injuries.
For Wei Ying, time passed agonizingly slowly as he waited for his brother. But despite the exhaustion, he struggled to stay awake. Thus, Xie Lian was finally able to force him to rest only with a strong sleeping tea. But even Xie Lian didn't expect that after he left the room, Wei Ying went over to another room, where Lan Zhan was resting.
When Lan Zhan wakened, he was surprised to see the sleeping omega. Wei Ying was sleeping soundly with his head on the bed. He could see the tiredness on omega's face and wanted him to rest comfortably. Lan Zhan got out of bed with a slight ache and laid Wei Ying on the bed. He had barely covered the omega with the blanket when he heard the door open fully. Hua Cheng stood in the doorway and looked at Lan Zhan, and then at his brother lying in bed.
"Hm. I suspected I would find him here after I went into the other room, but I saw it was empty." said Hua Cheng, a little disappointed in his voice.
The alpha still didn't like the bond between Lan Zhan and Wei Ying very much. But still, at that moment, his face showed not anger, but anxiety. He saw how caring Lan Zhan had treated Wei Ying, which he acknowledged and appreciated, but then, looking at his brother's face, he felt less fear. Wei Ying's face was still slightly pale, and his eyes were still slightly red from crying. All of this reminded Hua Cheng of the time he had brought Wei Ying home injured from the accident and he lay unconscious on the bed while he and their parents waited for the healer to arrive.
Hua Cheng walked to the bed with quiet footsteps. He put his hand on Wei Ying's forehead for a few moments, then looked at Lan Zhan standing next to him.
"How long has he been here?" the alpha inquired.
"Maybe only a few minutes ago. Because when I woke up, he was already lying here." said Lan Zhan, also quietly, as he didn't want to wake the omega either.
"Xie Lian said that the herbal tea he made for him would help Wei Ying's condition. But I'm worried that Wen Xu's disgusting scent is still affecting him." said the alpha uneasily.
"Okay, .. speaking of that monster, come with me a little ..." said Lan Zhan as he grabbed the other alpha's upper arm and dragged him away from near the bed.
Hua Cheng didn't object, which surprised Lan Zhan a little, but at that moment he hadn't really cared about it.
"Okay, now tell me, when did you arrive? How long have you been here? And why did you stay there with Wen Xu? Why didn't you kill him right away?" asked Lan Zhan.
"Why are you questioning me so much? .. What do you have to do with what I did and why?" asked Hua Cheng.
"Because Wei Ying is my ..." - For a brief moment, the alpha's voice snapped. - "He was and still is under my protection. .. So I have a right to know about everything that threatens Wei Ying. Starting with the fact that you caught Wen Xu and you stayed with him alone, though I don't know why. And I especially don't understand why you treated him so mercifully."
"What I did was for a good reason. ... And mercy? .. What I ended up doing to him, ... there was no mercy in it at all, because he didn't deserve to be spared." - said Hua Cheng darkly. - "But I'll tell you about it later, but not now, and not here. I don't want Wei Ying to hear that, even by accident."
"You're doing well not to talk about it." interjected Xie Lian.
The two alphas turned towards the door where the omega was standing. But as soon as Xie Lian got the alphas' attention, omega walked over to the two alphas, he quickly gave them a stern look.
"Listen to me both of you. Wei Ying is deeply asleep, but that doesn't mean the two of you have to argue with each other again, here and near him." said Xie Lian.
"Sorry." said the two alphas simultaneously.
"I see that you both still have a lot to discuss with each other. That's why if you want to continue this, I ask you to leave the room and go to the living room. I don't want you guys to bother Wei Ying, because he's been through so many terrible things in a short period of time, he needs to rest."
"You're right, Xie Lian. I'm going." replied Hua Cheng. He was about to leave the room. But then he still stopped in the doorway and turned to Lan Zhan.
"And, .. what about you, Lan Zhan? .. Now do you want to talk to me or not?" asked Hua Cheng.
Lan Zhan began to hesitate after Hua Cheng's words. He thought for a moment about leaving the room, and then he thought about what it would be like if he stayed instead. Lan Zhan knew that Wei Ying would stay safe while he talked to Hua Cheng. But even so, it was difficult for him to decide whether he really wanted it or not. In order for him to know more about Wei Ying and his past, he had to leave the room. Hua Cheng was currently the one who could provide answers to the mysteries surrounding Wei Ying.
In the end, Xie Lian helped make a decision that was difficult for the alpha.
"Go ahead, Lan Zhan. Until then, I'll stay here and watch out for Wei Ying." the omega reassured him.
"Okay. .." replied Lan Zhan briefly, then looked at the sleeping Wei Ying for a moment before continuing. - "Please, Xie Lian, if anything happens, or if Wei Ying wakes up sooner, then..." Lan Zhan started, but Xie Lian continued for him.
"Then I'll tell him where you went. And if he insists, I'll go with him to you, to the living room." said the omega reassuringly.
When the omega stopped him, Lan Zhan was about to take another difficult and painful step.
"Oh, wait a moment." said the omega, then went to the headboard of the bed.
Xie Lian took one of the two elbow crutches that had been placed there earlier and walked back to Lan Zhan with it.
"We know you're strong, ... but while your feet are healing, please walk using this, okay?" - asked Xie Lian, as he handed Lan Zhan the elbow crutch. Lan Zhan took the cane from him as the omega continued. - "I use strong herbs to speed up your recovery, but still, use them for at least a few more days, please."
"Ah, .. I hope I only need these for a few days." Lan Zhan remarked annoyed.
"Me too. .. Don't forget that your little opponent is still free." said Hua Cheng.
Not responding to Hua Cheng's comment, Lan Zhan just adjusted the elbow crutch in his hand and then glanced at Xie Lian.
"Thank you for helping me." said Lan Zhan with a faint smile.
"You're welcome. .. But know, you can always count on me if you have a problem, and...," - Xie Lian leaned closer and remarked more quietly. - ".. it's unbelievable, but you can count on my mate, too."
"Then let's go, Lan Zhan." said Hua Cheng in a slightly irritated tone.
The two alphas left the room and walked into the large living room. They both sat down on the wide sofa, quite a distance apart.
"Now then, you tell me something. ... Why didn't you kill Wen Xu?" asked Lan Zhan again.
Hua Cheng took a deep breath, but Lan Zhan continued.
"You remember that he killed your parents, and then he almost did the same to Wei Ying if Wen Ning hadn't been there and shot him. You would have just let him take Wei Ying." said Lan Zhan more and more nervously as he remembered the moment when Hua Cheng apparently accepted his defeat.
Hua Cheng was visibly trying to stay calm as much as he could. But his gaze nonetheless told Lan Zhan everything when he finally looked at Lan Zhan.
"It appears that the fact that I backed down was not only Wen Xu's assumption but also yours. I wouldn't have let him go, I just gave Wen Ning a chance to shoot. Because I noticed him on the balcony, whereas you didn't."
"And what about when you've already pushed Wen Xu to the ground with your saber?" asked Lan Zhan impatiently.
"I see you're as hot-headed as I am, ... or maybe you're even worse sometimes." - Hua Cheng remarked, as he thought for a moment. Then he quickly returned to the subject. - "However, you forget that Wei Ying was there at the time. ... He was already in a terrible state of mind at the time, which is why I didn't want to make him any worse by hearing Wen Xu's torture. .. And, of course, there was your gunshot wound." Hua Cheng reminded the other alpha of all the things Lan Zhan had missed.
Lan Zhan's nervousness and anger disappeared immediately after the alpha's words, and instead, he began to feel guilty. He realized that what Hua Cheng had told him was absolutely right. He hadn't even noticed that Hua Cheng had actually done the right thing when he hadn't executed Wen Xu immediately after Wen Ning's shot. Hua Cheng was able to stay as calm as he could, even after everything that had happened and everything Wen Xu had told him. He did all this just for Wei Ying.
What Lan Zhan had done before with Xue Yang and Wen Zixun, compared to what Hua Cheng had done with Wen Xu in the beginning. Lan Zhan also remembered that he needed his father's help to behave in that difficult situation like Hua Cheng.
"I don't like .. to admit it, .. but .. you're right. ... I began blaming you, .. believing you made poor decisions. But you did the right thing all along, ... just like my father did before. I did the same thing to him recently that I'm doing to you now. I blamed someone else, when in fact I was to blame." said Lan Zhan, after a short silence, as he thought again about what had happened to them that night.
"Hm. You admit you were wrong. That's interesting. ... But you're not the only one who didn't immediately see the truth in yourself or in the other. .. I was wrong too." Hua Cheng acknowledged.
"What? .. What were you wrong about?" Lan Zhan inquired after a brief pause.
"At first, I thought you were a bit like Wen Chao was. ... But after seeing how you behaved and treated Wei Ying, and then what you just confessed to me, I realized something. And that is that I was wrong about you. You're not like Wen Chao after all."
"And because I'm not and never will be like him. Never!" - Lan Zhan firmly confirmed this. - "He's just another little bastard who ruined Wei Ying's life when he let him fall."
"Then you know about his accident? ...Wei Ying was willing to tell you that?" asked Hua Cheng in surprise.
"He didn't tell me, he told my father first. It was my father who told me what had happened to him. But he also warned me that I should not force Wei Ying to tell me about it again, because Wei Ying had difficulty telling it even to him."
Hua Cheng bowed his head slightly, frowning sadly.
"I was hoping that he no longer remembered that day. But then I guess that day still haunts him, as it does me."
"What exactly happened on that day? ... What happened after Wei Ying fell into the water and was injured?" asked Lan Zhan.
Hua Cheng slowly lifted his head and pointed his gaze at the trees burning in the fireplace. After a moment of silence and thought, he spoke.
"That was the day and one moment that changed everything in our lives forever." said the alpha, and then slowly began to recall one of the most painful parts of his life.
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