Night deepened, and insects chirped in waves outside the window.
After Lin An spoke, the room suddenly fell quiet.
The candle flame swayed gently, casting light over their profiles. Lin Xuan stared at the wall behind Lin An and remained silent for several breaths.
If anyone else had asked him that question, he could have brushed it off casually.
But when Lin An asked, he found himself at a loss for how to answer.
Where had the Lin Xuan from before gone?
Strictly speaking, he was already dead.
The Lin Xuan lying here now possessed the soul of another world.
But he could never tell her such things. So he turned his head to look at Lin An. "People always change."
Lin An looked at him as well. "Can someone really change that much?"
Lin Xuan smiled. "I used to think that as long as I had food to eat, that was enough.
"Later, Father and Grandfather left me one after another, and I realized that if a person wanted to live, they had to fight for something.
"If you're always being bullied, forced step by step into a dead end, how is that any different from dying outright?"
Lin An listened quietly. "Then what do you want to fight for now?"
Lin Xuan looked out the window, his gaze distant. Only after a long while did he slowly speak.
"At first, I wanted Mother to live a good life."
"Later, I wanted you to live a good life."
"And now..."
He paused. "I hope many people can live good lives."
Lin An could not help but chuckle after hearing that.
"You sound more and more like some important figure from an opera tale."
Lin Xuan smiled too. "Important figures are people too."
"Then what will you become in the