Broken Night

Chapter Thirty-Six—Paper Shadow

After a long time, the woman smiled and said, “That can be explained. Back then, your father’s cooking skills were taught by me. You are a good father.” Xu Yan and Lan Ming looked at each other, and they were all stunned. Lan Ming’s mother and his father turned out to be old acquaintances?

“Xiao Ming, my mother is a little uncomfortable. You can take care of it after dinner. I’ll go to the room to rest.” After speaking, Lan Ming’s mother stood up and walked towards the room. The remaining two, Lan Ming and Xu Yan, stared at each other with wide eyes, and neither of them spoke, eating silently.

Lan Ming was puzzled by the strangeness of his mother.

However, Xu Yan fell into a strange mood because his father had made tattoos for him since he was a child.

After the meal, Lan Ming packed up the tableware and chopsticks on the table and went to fetch water to clean up.

At this time, Lan Ming’s mother came out of the room again: “Little Brother Xu, I have something to tell you, is it convenient for you to come in?”

…………

The room was clean without much frills.

A plain bed, a long case.

On the table, there is a candle’s afterglow slowly swaying, making the light in the space a little hypnotic.

Xu Yan walked into Lan Ming’s mother’s room: “Auntie…”

“My surname is Xue, you can just call me Aunt Xue.” Aunt Xue smiled and said, “Your father and I are old acquaintances, so calling me Aunt Xue is the most suitable.”

She walked on the edge of the bed, patted beside her and motioned Xu Yan to sit down.

Xu Yan was not polite either, and strode to the edge of the bed to sit beside Aunt Xue: “If there was anything wrong with my father back then, I’m here to apologize on his behalf.”

After many incidents, Xu Yan has recognized Xu Tian as his father in his heart. His character is very simple, dare to love and hate. Now that he recognizes this father, his son also needs to pay back the troubles caused by his father.

Aunt Xue was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook her head: “You little baby thinks too much. Although your father and I are old acquaintances, they are not as familiar as you think. He tattooed me. That’s all.”

Xu Yan took a long breath after hearing the words. If his father and Lan Ming’s mother were enemies, it would easily affect the friendship between the two.

This was not what Xu Yan wanted to see.

Seeing Xu Yan’s reaction, Aunt Xue also smiled: “Perhaps my reaction just now made you misunderstood. Thinking of your father will remind me of some things I’m avoiding. Those things are things I don’t want Xiao Ming to touch. So that’s what made me react that way.”

Xu Yan was silent, he was not an ordinary ten-year-old child, and his power of observation was naturally unmatched by ordinary people. The house built in the distant jungle, cooking excellent food, is also related to his mysterious and unpredictable father. Aunt Xue in front of her was obviously not an ordinary person.

“Since you are Xu Tian’s child, I believe your future will not be ordinary.”

“Xiao Ming is a stupid child. I hope in the future, if possible, take care of me.”

Aunt Xue stood up and bowed towards Xu Yan Yingying: “Please.”

…………

Lan Ming happily waved to Aunt Xue: “Mom, I’m back at the academy! Goodbye!”

Aunt Xue said kindly: “Remember to listen to Xiao Yan if there is something, and be careful yourself.”

“Ok!”

Xu Yan also bowed slightly to Aunt Xue: “Thank you for your hospitality, I will take good care of Lan Ming.”

It was dark, and the two children rode in the moonlight and walked in the direction of Nancheng.

“If I knew earlier, I would have told the old coachman to stay…”

“Well… a big bag can make the fare cheaper, then I will make ten big bags for my car father and uncle next time.”

“…Lan Ming, you are becoming more and more philistine.”

…………

Lan Ming and Xu Yan left for a long time, the house hidden in the woods returned to calm again, only the residual lamp on the case in the room was slowly shaking with the wind.

Aunt Xue’s eyes looked at the lanterns and candles, thinking a lot.

It’s been ten years.

After ten years of escape, a son of an old friend suddenly came.

Does it mean anything?

She sighed faintly, but there was a bad omen in her heart.

It’s just that she didn’t know that there were three people a thousand meters away from the house in the woods.

The person in the middle also sighed, and the time of his sigh was surprisingly the same as that of Aunt Xue in the house: “Ten years… still haven’t escaped enough?”

Beside him, a person said respectfully, “Your Majesty…” Before the words were finished, the person in the middle raised his hand: “Not in the palace, so don’t need to call him that.”

The man hesitated for a moment, but said respectfully, “Master, it’s confirmed. Xue Ting is inside.”

On the other side of the person in the middle, he was silent, as if everything had nothing to do with him.

“Xue Ting… let’s go.”

As the word “Let’s go” fell, the three seemed to be teleported. In just an instant, it appeared on the gravel outside the house in the forest, and the creaking sound of the white gravel when it landed caused the faint silhouette seen through the paper window to shake slightly.

“Visiting late at night, what’s the matter?” Xue Ting’s voice came through the paper window.

“Xiao Ting, it’s me.”

Xue Ting’s body trembled violently when she heard the words. For a moment, she forced herself to calm down: “Xue Ting has been away from Nanhuang City for ten years, and has nothing to do with her flowers and plants.”

“How can the bond between us be erased in ten years?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to come back for ten years.”

The two talked through the paper window, and could only look at each other’s silhouettes through their silhouettes.

Both of them have the ability to easily erase this paper window, but they seem to maintain the last distance.

Xue Ting whispered, “Xue Ting knew that she didn’t have this blessing, so she didn’t think much about it. But she wanted to be quiet and spend the rest of her life.”

“Some things, you won’t know the result if you don’t fight?”

“If there is a fight, then it is no longer Xue Ting.”

Outside the house, the man was silent, savoring the meaning of this sentence carefully. After a long time, he laughed at himself: “I can get everything in the world, but I can’t get the person I love.”

“As soon as you enter a wealthy family, it is as deep as the sea, not to mention the palace gate.” Xue Ting replied in a low voice.

The man did not give up and said again: “I have regretted it for ten years, and I don’t want to give up. Xue Ting, if you go back with me, I promise to cut all the thorns and give you back your name.”

A piece of paper, Xue Ting’s silhouette is silent.

After a long time, she slowly said, “Maybe, it is ten years too late. If Xue Ting left, she would have said this to Xue Ting. Xue Ting would never leave.”

When the man outside the house heard the words, his face was as pale as paper.

The man on the right was startled and quickly supported him. He was about to shout angrily, but was blocked by the man.

After a long time, the man sighed faintly: “You are right. I thought I was preparing for ten years just to pick you up. But in fact, it took you ten years to die for me.”

“If we say goodbye today, we may never meet again in the future.”

“Xue Ting, take care of yourself. Letting me know that my beloved is still alive is the best blessing to me.”

By the candlelight, Xue Ting had already burst into tears, but she held back her cry. The silhouette did not shake, and her voice was as calm as water: “I wish you well, Xue Ting will burn incense every day to pray for the health of the emperor’s dragon body.”

The man outside the house sighed again, looked at the man on the left who had been silent, and said, “Let’s go.”

The man nodded, put his hand lightly on the shoulders of the other two, and disappeared in place in an instant, only the footprints that were slightly stepped on on the white gravel, and the tearful woman across the paper window, symbolizes their presence.