Bibi Dong's heart felt as though something had seized it in a crushing grip.
She finally understood why she had lost her composure like that when she saw An Yi last night.
She had thought that after twelve years, she had long since forgotten that child.
But in truth, she had never truly forgotten.
She simply hadn't dared to think about him, much less face him.
The waves back then had swallowed the fleet, along with her last shred of hope. She had watched with her own eyes as that child vanished into the towering waves.
After that, she had never had another chance to find out whether he was alive or dead.
But now, An Yi was sitting before her, alive and well, and she didn't know how to face him.
After a long while, Bibi Dong finally spoke in a low voice.
"I told you, don't bring up the past again."
An Yi didn't answer. He simply reached out and gently took her hand.
Bibi Dong instinctively tried to pull it away.
But this time, An Yi didn't let go. He slowly raised her hand and pressed it against his face.
"Teacher."
Bibi Dong shuddered all over and turned her head sharply.
"I told you, don't call me teacher! I never taught you anything."
An Yi looked at her, his gaze earnest.
"Then should I call you sister?"
Bibi Dong avoided his gaze.
An Yi didn't press her. He simply stroked the back of her hand.
After a moment, he suddenly asked:
"Do you blame me for not coming back sooner?"
Bibi Dong took a deep breath. "No."
"Then why won't you look at me?" An Yi raised a hand and touched his face.
"Even if this face of mine isn't enough to bring ruin to a nation and its people, surely it isn't unbearable to look at?"
Bibi Dong froze.
Those words stirred the emotions she had been suppressing into disarray.
This guy... at a time like this, he's still talking nonsense.
She finally turned her head and looked at An Yi.
"You..."
But the moment the word left her lips, she stopped.
Their eyes met.
An Yi's eyes were as clear as ever, with a hint of a smile in them, but not a trace of mockery.
He really was waiting for her, waiting for her to give him an explanation.
And waiting for her to open her heart to him again, as she had before.
Yet in those eyes, Bibi Dong seemed to see another version of herself.
A self trapped by hatred, pain, and despair, who could never find her way back to the person she had been.
She suddenly wished she could sink into the ground.
Bibi Dong abruptly closed her eyes, pulled her hand back, and turned her head away.
"Could you leave?"
This time, her voice was no longer cold. There was even a hint of pleading in it.
An Yi looked at her and was silent for a moment.
"Does seeing me make you that uncomfortable?"
Bibi Dong clenched her teeth. "It's not your fault. It's me."
An Yi frowned slightly. "If you don't blame me, then why won't you look at me?"
"I can tell you've been through a lot of painful things over the years."
"I also know you don't want to tell me."
"But I'm back now. If something is making you suffer, if something makes you feel like you can't go on, you can tell me."
"I might not be able to solve every problem, but at least I can stay by your side."
Bibi Dong's lips trembled slightly.
She lowered her head and bit her lip hard.
"I don't need that."
An Yi said nothing.
But it was as though something had struck a nerve in Bibi Dong, and she suddenly raised her voice.
"I said, I don't need your help!"
As her words fell, the killing aura inside her surged once more.
The plants in the garden swayed gently, and the air around them grew oppressive.
An Yi looked at her and sighed.
This woman is still so stubborn.
She's already suffering this much, yet she still won't let anyone come close.
The next moment, he reached out and pulled Bibi Dong straight into his arms.
Bibi Dong was caught off guard. Her body instantly tensed, and she instinctively tried to resist.
But An Yi gave her no chance to break free.
He raised his arms and held her firmly, looking down into her eyes.
"Bibi Dong."
Bibi Dong stopped struggling for an instant.
It was the first time An Yi had called her that. No "teacher," no "sister."
Only her name.
An Yi looked at her and said, word by word:
"Back then, you held me just like this. You told me that with you there from then on, no one would ever bully me again."
"I didn't understand anything then. I just thought that what you said had to be true, so I believed you."
He smiled softly.
"Thinking about it now, I guess I was pretty silly."
Bibi Dong's eyes gradually reddened.
But An Yi's smile faded.
"Still, since you said you'd protect me back then..."
"Then from now on, let me protect you instead, all right?"
Cool silver radiance descended from the sky.
The bright moon hung high overhead, and its radiance in the night sky seemed to be drawn down, transforming into a curtain of silver light that enveloped the entire little garden.
Moonlight fell on An Yi, making his figure look somewhat unreal.
The killing aura churning inside Bibi Dong continued to surge, and her emotions struggled back and forth between reason and losing control.
But as the silver radiance descended, that killing intent, which had nearly broken free of her control, finally subsided bit by bit.
This time, An Yi didn't try to reason with her. He simply held her.
He didn't ask again what she had been through over the years, nor did he force her to speak of that past she found so hard to talk about.
He knew that some wounds couldn't be healed by a few words of comfort.
Nor could telling someone that it was all in the past make the pain vanish like smoke and clouds.
Sometimes, all a person truly needed was someone willing to stay by their side.
No need to explain, no need to pretend, and no need to force themselves to act as though nothing was wrong.
Bibi Dong gradually stopped struggling. She raised her head and looked at An Yi, whose face was so close to hers.
The man before her was no longer the little boy who had needed her care.
Yet for some reason, when he held her and said that he would protect her from now on, she seemed to see herself from twelve years ago.
Back then, she had yet to experience everything that came after.
She could still smile, still look forward to the future, and had once truly believed she could protect the people around her.
But in the end, she had failed to hold on to anything.
Bibi Dong's lips trembled slightly. She wanted to say something, but her throat felt as though it were blocked.
The emotions she had held in check for so many years finally began to crack at that moment.
Tears welled in her eyes.
She abruptly lowered her head and buried her face in An Yi's chest.
There was no sound of crying, only the gentle trembling of her shoulders.
An Yi looked down at her and said nothing more. He simply raised a hand and gently patted her back.
The moonlight grew brighter.
The flowers and grass around them swayed in the night breeze. The little garden was so quiet that only the sound of the wind remained.
Bibi Dong had held everything in for so long that she had forgotten how to express her pain to anyone else.
Now, she finally no longer had to keep up her brave front.
After an unknown amount of time, her sobs gradually subsided, and her tense body relaxed bit by bit.
An Yi noticed that the person in his arms had stopped moving. He looked down and saw that Bibi Dong had fallen asleep.
She leaned against his chest, fatigue still lingering between her brows, but they were no longer drawn tight as they usually were.
An Yi didn't wake her. He simply adjusted his position so she could lean against him more comfortably.
As for Qian Renxue, who was hiding outside...
An Yi glanced through the moon's field of vision. The little girl was crouched behind a clump of flowers, craning her neck to peer inside.
Clearly, she had grown somewhat impatient from waiting.
The corner of An Yi's mouth twitched slightly.
Forget it. Better let her wait a little longer.
It wasn't easy coaxing her to sleep. I can't let that girl come in and wake her up.