The young Lin Hanzhi looked at Yue Yuan. The numbness in his eyes slowly loosened, and a faint glimmer of light appeared. A gleaming gold longevity lock still hung around the child's neck, engraved with the words "Peace and joy." It was the most heartfelt blessing his elders had given him, yet ultimately a futile one.
"Uncle Yue..." he mouthed, making almost no sound.
But Yue Yuan saw it and heard it. He drew a deep breath, not even daring to cry, and carefully lifted Lin Hanzhi from Lin Yan and Ning Xiao's arms. "I'm here. I'm here," he told him.
He held the trembling child in his broad arms, carefully controlling his strength, and gently stroked his rigid back. "Little Zhi, Uncle Yue is here. You're safe now. Trust me."
Having finally received an answer, the boy's taut back relaxed a little, like a rubber band stripped of all tension and elasticity. His thin eyelids slowly closed-the instant he relaxed, he fell unconscious in the only safety he had felt during a day that seemed as long as his entire life.
After taking Lin Hanzhi to the hospital, Yue Yuan returned to the villa. Only then did he dare show his grief. The corners of Lin Yan's and Ning Xiao's ever-smiling eyes and lips had gone so flat. Their eyes, no longer clear and bright, remained wide open, as though they could not rest in death.
Their hands were clasped so tightly that even the forensic examiner could not separate them at first.
Yue Yuan did not know how he had found the strength to pry their hands apart, nor did he remember what expression he had worn when he discovered the note Lin Yan had left inside. The handwriting was hurried, written in blood, with only two hastily