CHAPTER 320: CHAPTER 320 EXPLANATION

"We’re home?" Looking at the familiar setup in the room, Lin Mengyao asked softly and lightly.

"Yes, we’re back." Xu Ke looked at Lin Mengyao’s frail appearance and unconsciously lowered his voice when he spoke, afraid of scaring Lin Mengyao. After all, the events of today had been quite shocking, and making such a decision was indeed somewhat reckless. He should have handled it more gently. Holding Lin Mengyao, Xu Ke thought to himself as he gazed at her still slightly flushed cheeks.

"Let me go; I want to lean on my own." Lin Mengyao looked at the hand around her waist, her expression unreadable, and spoke in a voice as light as smoke.

Hearing Lin Mengyao’s words, Xu Ke instinctively clenched his hand on her waist into a fist. A sense of unease began to grow in his heart. Lin Mengyao’s attitude seemed strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

In the end, Xu Ke followed Lin Mengyao’s wishes, placing a pillow behind her to let her sit up against it.

"Is there anywhere else you’re feeling uncomfortable? If so, you must speak up. Our private doctor is still in the estate and can see you anytime. You have no idea how scared I was when you suddenly had a fever. I was too reckless this time; please forgive me, will you?"

Lin Mengyao just stared at Xu Ke’s face without saying a word, making Xu Ke feel a bit panicked, with mostly a sinking feeling in his heart.

"Xu Ke, we’ve been married for four years now, almost five, right?" Lin Mengyao didn’t answer Xu Ke’s question but instead asked in return.

"Yes." Seeing Lin Mengyao willing to speak, the heaviness on Xu Ke’s face lessened a lot, but the heavy feeling in his heart never disappeared; instead, it grew heavier.

"We’ve been married for so many years, and I always thought I understood you well. But now I realize I was wrong. I don’t understand you at all. I never knew you could take a life so mercilessly with a knife on the foreign streets. Although he tried to kill us, he was wrong, and you did it to protect yourself. But how could you kill so unburdened? Aren’t you afraid of your hands being stained with blood? When you kill, your eyes and hands don’t even tremble with fear. Xu Ke, what kind of person are you?" Lin Mengyao tilted her head, looking at Xu Ke with puzzled eyes.

"When I slept on the plane, I dreamt of the scenes replaying. I was terrified then, but as an observer, I was full of questions and confusion. I think you noticed something wrong with that person long ago, right? But why didn’t you stop it? Instead of calling the police, you carried so many knives and killed them in public, then calmly bought plane tickets for us to return to avoid capture. You honestly have too many things that confuse me." Lin Mengyao’s voice wasn’t loud, and having just woken up, her voice lacked strength, even her tone was long and drawn out, but it was Lin Mengyao’s stance that made the light in Xu Ke’s eyes disappear at a visible speed, leaving nothing.

"Xu Ke, tell me the truth, was this your first time killing someone? Have you killed before without me knowing?" Lin Mengyao’s hollow gaze slowly landed on Xu Ke. She blinked her eyes a couple of times, looking at Xu Ke with a hope she herself didn’t realize, wishing to hear a denial from him.

But Lin Mengyao was destined to be disappointed. Xu Ke didn’t look at Lin Mengyao’s eyes, and he didn’t utter a word, but sometimes silence says a lot.

Lin Mengyao was running a fever; although her face remained rosy, her lips suddenly turned as white as snow, and the light in her eyes grew dim and lifeless.

"I really didn’t expect that the husband I’ve lived with for so long would treat human lives like grass. Maybe the words I say today will make you think I’m a hypocritical bitch, but these things don’t matter to me anymore. I can’t accept my husband, my partner, is someone who treats human life as a joke. So please, don’t appear in front of me anymore. Once I recover, I’ll return to Locheng and never step foot in Shangjing again. If the events abroad are exposed and the police come for me, I’ll take all the blame, just as repayment for our years as husband and wife. Now, please leave."

Lin Mengyao closed her eyes, presenting an expression of not wanting to speak to Xu Ke anymore.

"Yaoyao, it’s not as simple as you think. The position among Shangjing’s elite families isn’t an easy one. To hold it and enjoy the glory it brings, you need to pay a corresponding price. Without the ability to protect yourself, without ruthlessness, you’ll only lose your life in that position. If you don’t kill others, they will come to kill you." Xu Ke finally lifted his eyes to look at Lin Mengyao’s pale and fragile appearance, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"You’ve never been exposed to these things, so having feelings of fear and disgust is normal. If I could, I wouldn’t want to become a butcher with blood on my hands, but I need to protect the people and things I care about. I want revenge, and I want too many things, so much that I must become strong to obtain them. I don’t ask you to understand me now at this very moment, but please don’t leave me, okay? Didn’t we agree to stay by each other’s side for a lifetime?"

Xu Ke watched Lin Mengyao intently, hoping to see a softened attitude, but even after he said so much, Lin Mengyao didn’t open her eyes. She just remained there with her eyes closed, shutting Xu Ke out of her heart, leaving Xu Ke’s hand suddenly cold.

The chill crept straight into Xu Ke’s heart, and in a panic, he grasped Lin Mengyao’s hand tight as if holding on to his most precious possession, only to have it mercilessly thrown off by Lin Mengyao.

"Yaoyao!" Xu Ke’s voice carried a trace of panic as he helplessly looked at his empty palm, then at Lin Mengyao.

"I don’t want to hear you say anything more. I’m very tired; I want to be alone. Please leave." Lin Mengyao said, eyes still closed, a chill and indifference in her tone that was indescribable.

Their relationship seemed to instantly drop to an ice-cold point, more distant than strangers. Xu Ke clearly felt Lin Mengyao’s rejection of him.

This rejection, like a large nail board, was piercing into Xu Ke’s heart, making his breathing painful.

"Then rest first, and I’ll come to see you when you wake up." Xu Ke wanted to tuck Lin Mengyao in, but recalling her rejecting attitude, he gave up and turned to leave the room.