Chapter One Hundred Forty-Five

At midnight, Nian Yu returned to her room to find Zhou Yu already fast asleep. She looked at him lying sprawled on the bed, still fully clothed, and let out a faint, bitter smile. Turning around, she called Xiao Jie over.

The two of them struggled mightily before finally managing to undress Zhou Yu completely.

The next morning, Zhou Yu woke up groggy. Seeing that he was only wearing his underwear, he was immediately startled awake. When he turned and saw Nian Yu beside him, he breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been quite embarrassing to have entered the wrong room—after all, this was the first time Xiao Jie and Pan Yuxin had grown close. If he had simply taken her away like that, Zhou Yu would have felt a certain guilt.

His movements roused Nian Yu from her sleep as well. She asked groggily, “What’s wrong? What time is it?”

Zhou Yu rubbed her head and said, “It’s nothing. You should sleep a bit longer; I’ll go make breakfast.”

With that, he got up, slipped on his pants, and went downstairs to cook.

Upon reaching the kitchen, he saw his mother busy at work. Hearing the noise, she looked back—only to be startled immensely. Instinctively, she cried out.

Zhou Yu’s father and Nian Yu also woke up at the sound. They hurried downstairs and found Zhou Yu comforting his mother, who was now weeping uncontrollably.

The four rushed over and asked what had happened.

Zhou Yu looked helplessly at his father, unsure of what to say. His father’s attention was entirely on his wife, neglecting Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu said, “You all comfort Mom first. I’ll go get dressed.”

He then went upstairs.

Zhou Yu’s father asked, “Yan Zi, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Zhou Yu’s mother, Li Yan, glared up and scolded, “Zhou Deyun, it’s all your fault! If Xiaoyu doesn’t want to study, so be it. Whatever he wants to do, we support him. But you just keep criticizing him every day until you drove him away. And now look at this.”

Zhou Yu’s father, Zhou Deyun, appeared confused, not knowing what had happened. Weakly, he asked, “Isn’t he fine?”

Li Yan snapped, “Fine? He’s practically dead!”

“Look at Xiaoyu’s chest! What’s it become? Go see for yourself!”

Frowning, Zhou Deyun helped Li Yan up, and Nian Yu supported her to the sofa. Then he went upstairs.

Zhou Yu had just finished dressing when he opened the door to find his father standing outside, looking equally stunned.

“Come in,” Zhou Yu said.

Zhou Deyun replied, “Let me see your chest.”

Zhou Yu gave a bitter smile. “There’s nothing to see.”

Zhou Deyun insisted, “Take off your shirt. I want to see now. If there’s nothing wrong, your mother wouldn’t have made me look.”

Reluctantly, Zhou Yu removed his shirt and soft armor once again.

Zhou Deyun saw the numerous slash wounds across his son’s chest, along with several circular scars.

Tears welled up in his eyes as his voice trembled, “What are those round scars?”

Zhou Yu looked at his father’s distraught face, took a deep breath, and said, “It’s nothing—just bullet holes.”

Zhou Deyun slapped him hard across the face. “Nothing? Those are bullet holes, and you say it’s nothing?”

His hand trembled as he reached out to touch the scars on Zhou Yu’s body, his heart heavy with pain.

“Did I really fail you, letting you suffer so many wounds? What exactly did you go through? How much hardship did you endure?”

Hearing his father’s words, Zhou Yu replied calmly, “It’s nothing. It’s all in the past.”

Zhou Deyun moved around to his son’s back, which was also covered in scars.

Suddenly, he said, “Son, Dad is sorry.”