As the words faded, Ji Ting felt someone take his hand. He looked down at Ji Yanzhi's fingers closing around his. "Are you trying to comfort me?"
Ji Yanzhi did not know how to answer. He only felt something dragging heavily at his heart, leaving him unable to breathe.
Ji Ting quietly turned his palm over and held his hand in return. "Actually, whether we leave or stay is entirely voluntary. The higher-ups don't force us in any way, let alone exploit or imprison us."
Ji Yanzhi knitted his brows. "But the desire for freedom is human nature. This in itself is asking you to go against your instincts."
Ji Ting nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're not wrong. But once someone's responsibilities become great enough, their individual existence becomes a vessel for something larger. Foreign intelligence operatives exploit every opening. One careless mistake wouldn't just endanger an individual; it could also cause immeasurable losses to the whole."
Of course Ji Yanzhi understood that. So many researchers had left their homes and concealed their identities. Every one of them had been prepared to devote their entire life to their work.
But he could not help aching for Ji Ting. His throat tasted bitter. "You were only fifteen when you joined the Huake Academy of Sciences. You were still a child at that age. How did you bear it?"
A faint smile appeared on Ji Ting's face. "That's why, after coming to this world, I let myself be selfish for once. I wanted to live like an ordinary person, even if it was only for a few months."
Now Ji Yanzhi understood everything. "That's why you turned Director Liao down, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Seeing that he was still frowning, Ji Yanzhi tried to reassure him. "Actually, aside from the time when my