A Tai was as quiet and reserved as ever, rarely speaking. He simply held everyone's luggage in one hand and stood in a corner, waiting for further instructions.
It had to be said that after spending so long at Sun Wen's side, A Tai had unwittingly begun to look rather like a professional bodyguard.
Zhao Zicheng's wife held their child without leaving the room, but she sat by the window, watching Zhao Zicheng from afar, her eyes already reddening without her noticing.
Yet she held back her tears, while her hand, hidden below, had unconsciously clenched tight.
Seeing Zhao Zicheng look over, she took a deep breath and forced a faint smile, her lips moving softly.
Although Zhao Zicheng could not hear her, he could still make out the words...
Come back alive.
"I'll be back!!!"
"I..."
"I can... take the nastiest beatings..."
"I can take a beating."
In the sunlight, Zhao Zicheng grinned at his wife by the window, his smile bright and sunny, just as he had in his youth, carrying his bags and driving his father's battered car, daring to set out for Ink Academy.
But in the blink of an eye, the years had come full circle. Looking back, he had become a father himself, with ties of his own.
Yet he still had to walk this road.
Once, he had never taken even half a step back.
Now, he could still press bravely forward.
That morning, Zhao Zicheng's radiant smile was forever etched into her mind.
When she came back to her senses, Zhao Zicheng was already gone from the courtyard.
So were Mu Yu, A Tai, Xiao Xiao...
Those people she looked at with disdain every day.
Their once-lively home seemed to fall utterly quiet and empty at that moment.
For a moment, her