The drizzling autumn rain lightly fell on the surface of the small courtyard's pool, creating gentle ripples. Two large banana trees swayed gently in the wind, their broad leaves blocking what little light there was, casting blurry shadows on the floor inside the French windows.
In the early morning, Rose's bedroom seed cold and quiet. The bedside lamp, adorned with quaint patterns, had been left on all night. Due to the overcast sky, the light from the lamp appeared particularly bright amidst the yellowish haze.
Yang Chen, now dressed in loose blue and white linen pajamas, lay on the bed with his eyes closed, emitting a faint but steady breath. However, his thick, jet-black eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
The coffee-colored bedsheet, wrinkled like lted chocolate, seed to tell others of the intense activities of the man who slept on the bed last night.
At this mont, the door was quietly pushed open, and Rose, carrying a tray of millet porridge and a plate of garlic sugar, had changed into a creamy white silk nightgown. Her beautiful face was filled with worries and concerns as she tiptoed to Yang Chen's bedside, placing the food down and gently pulling up the thin blanket for him.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rose looked at the sleeping man with a complex expression. She hadn't slept all night. After taking Yang Chen to the hospital and ensuring that he was stable and out of danger, she had called a private physician to co and treat him here. Only after Yang Chen had stabilized did Rose handle the aftermath of the banquet.
After making a series of decisions that would profoundly affect the future underground situation in the Western District, Rose hurried back to the house to personally take care of Yang Chen until this morning.
This man once again brought her a profound shock, but at the sa ti, he made her feel the gap between them more keenly than ever before!
Rose didn't like this feeling. She had too many questions, but everything had to wait until Yang Chen woke up.
As Rose pondered over so complicated thoughts, Yang Chen, who had been closing his eyes, slowly opened them, letting out a long sigh.
Rose keenly caught this mont and was instantly filled with joy. She firmly grasped one of Yang Chen's hands. "Husband, are you awake?"
"What ti is it now?" Yang Chen smiled faintly, casting a reassuring glance at Rose.
"It's still early, only seven o'clock. Do you want to rest a little longer?" Rose looked at Yang Chen's pale face, feeling a pang in her heart, but she forced a smile and said, "You scared . You were acting so strangely all of a sudden, and I didn't sleep all night!"
Yang Chen pushed himself up with both arms from the bed, leaning in to kiss Rose on the cheek. "I'm fine now. But what happened after I passed out last night?"
Seeing that Yang Chen didn't seem inclined to explain himself, Rose obediently refrained from asking and said, "Yesterday, I took you to the hospital. After a simple examination, the doctor said there was nothing special, except you seed particularly agitated and your heartbeat was fast. After giving you a sedative, you cald down a lot. Later, I brought you back here and had my personal doctor prescribe you so calming dicine. You've been sleeping until now."
"I see... I don't rember anything," Yang Chen said with a bitter smile, touching his forehead. In fact, the only thing he rembered was the intense pain exploding in his brain.
He had thought that after a year of recuperation and more than half a year of leisurely days, even if he were forced to act seriously again and kill dozens of people, he wouldn't be as uncontrollable as before. But unexpectedly, his old problem hadn't improved much.
Fortunately, with the continuous improvent of his peculiar martial arts realm, he could barely restrain that terrifying rage. That's why Rose had to knock him out later. Otherwise...
Yang Chen shuddered at the thought. It seed he had overestimated himself. He would have to continue to ensure he kept his nerves relaxed, maintained a relaxed mindset, avoided excessive fatigue. Otherwise, if he couldn't control his emotions in ti and made a big mistake, it would be hard to recover from.
Rose continued, "As for the banquet venue, only Situ Mingze and four bodyguards survived. I've already imprisoned Situ Mingze. The Western Alliance Society is now in chaos; almost all the important figures were killed by you. I've instructed my n to cooperate with Zhang Hu to reorganize the power of the Western Alliance Society. There might be a lot of things happening in the days to co, but soon, the entire Western District won't have the words 'Western Alliance Society' anymore. Oh, and it's funny, Zhou Guangyuan, that old fox, actually called to congratulate when he got the news, saying he wants to live in harmony in the future."
Yang Chen nodded, asking, "What are you going to do with Situ Mingze?"
Rose's eyes flashed with a cold light, but after hesitating for a while, she sighed, "I don't know. For now, I plan to send him abroad for a while, pick a small European country, give him so money, and let him retire there."
"You're not going to kill him?" Yang Chen was sowhat surprised. In his eyes, Rose clearly had the potential to be a ruthless queen of the underworld.
Rose looked at Yang Chen with a complex gaze. "If it were before, I would definitely have killed him. But now, because of you, I feel like I can't kill him."
"Why?" Yang Chen felt he wasn't clever enough.
Rose smiled bitterly. "Actually, he said sothing right. Regardless of who he is, whether human or beast, his blood runs through my veins, and that fact will never change. He's my father. Even though I hate him, look down on him, it's true that he and my mother brought into this world together. Without him, there would be no . I think, for whatever reason, a daughter killing her own father is an unforgivable mistake..."
"Just like..." Rose looked steadily at Yang Chen. "Just like, if we have children in the future, I simply can't imagine how a child could kill you, kill their father... Even as a mother, even if I'm already dead by then, I would still be heartbroken in another world."
Yang Chen was taken aback before smiling gently. "It's not comparable. I could never be like Situ Mingze. I won't let my children hate or even think about killing ."
"Situ Mingze didn't want , his daughter, to hate him or think about killing him from the beginning," Rose said with a touch of resentnt.
Yang Chen was speechless, unable to find words. After a mont of thought, he said, "It's up to you. As long as you think it's right, I'll support you."
Rose smiled tenderly, leaning forward to plant a moist kiss on Yang Chen's lips, her eyes brimming with affection. "Husband, thank you, thank you for everything you've given ."
"There's nothing to thank for. I'm just doing what I love," Yang Chen said deeply touched.
"I've decided to tell you a secret," Rose suddenly made a montous decision. "Originally, I had planned to never tell anyone, but now I feel that hiding that past would be unfair to our relationship."
Yang Chen frowned, silent.
Rose took a deep breath before continuing, "The reason I left Situ Mingze and ended up on the path I'm on today isn't just because I despise his character and actions. There's another reason."
"Husband, do you know, I look almost exactly like my mother when she was young..." Rose said.
Yang Chen nodded; he rembered Situ Mingze ntioning this in a bar before.
"When I was still a child, Situ Mingze led a large group of people from the Western Alliance Society to fight in the Western District. Every day, he ca ho reeking of alcohol, sotis even with the sll of blood. Towards us, mother and daughter, when he was good, he seed like the best husband and father in the world. He doted on my mother imnsely; he would give her anything she wanted. He also cherished ; whenever I cried, he would comfort until I laughed, and he would even spin around and push on the swings..."
"But, whenever he got drunk or killed many people, or when he was in a bad mood, he beca like a different person... He was fierce, cruel, devoid of humanity. He would co ho and find any small flaw to beat and scold my mother, even smashing her with a bottle... and he would... he would do those things to my mother in front of ..."
"Wait," Yang Chen asked puzzledly, "Didn't your mother pass away when you were very young?"
"That was a lie. It's a lie that Situ Mingze and I made up together," Rose smiled bitterly and continued her story...
"I was very young then, and I didn't understand a lot of things adults did, but I knew that Situ Mingze was like an unpredictable lion. You never knew if you would live or die next to him." Here, Rose paused, as if recalling many past events. She wiped her moist eyes and continued:
"Until one day, I heard my mother arguing with Situ Mingze again. By then, I was already in elentary school, and I could understand what they were talking about... My mother had an affair; she had a relationship with one of Situ Mingze's subordinates and tried to leave this ntally unstable man, wanting to elope... But, Situ Mingze found out early and stopped her."
"The day Situ Mingze and my mother argued was so loud that I felt like the entire building was going to collapse. I hid outside the door, wanting to escape, but I couldn't summon the strength to leave."
"In the end, I heard my mother screaming in the room, calling for help incessantly, scaring to death. But at that mont, all I could do was cry..."
"After the house quieted down, the door was finally opened. Situ Mingze walked out. Seeing crying at the door, he just kicked aside with a foot and walked away without even looking back..."
Rose bit her lip, her eyes filled with anguish. "Husband, do you know, that was the first ti I saw a dead person in my life... My mother was the one who died..."
"My mother was beaten to death by Situ Mingze, her body covered in blood, dying in our ho, in front of . I still have nightmares to this day; I dream of that scene and wake up startled because my mother's eyes were open. It's like she was looking at , like she hated for not being able to stop it... But... what could a ten-year-old girl do..."
Yang Chen listened silently, not saying a word. Since he could rember, apart from being called Yang Chen, he knew nothing about the concept of family or parents. So, while Rose's past was poignant, Yang Chen couldn't truly understand; he could only listen quietly.
"As I grew up, Situ Mingze didn't do anything to . He seed to have forgotten he killed my mother. When he was happy, he'd smile at ; when he was angry, he'd still scold ..."
"I lost my mother, but I always convinced myself it was because she betrayed my father that she t that fate. So I didn't resist Situ Mingze. I thought he must love ."
"Until... my eighteenth birthday..." Rose's tears gradually dried up, her voice chilly. "That night, after he and a few uncles celebrated my birthday, they ca back ho. He ca into my room very unusually and talked to about many things: about my childhood, about his business, about the gang, and so other people's children..."
"At the ti, I didn't understand why he was saying so much, but I just listened... Until the end, he started talking about my mother, sothing he never ntioned before..."
"He said he missed my mother, he regretted losing control and beating her to death. But he hoped I wouldn't bla him because he was in more pain than anyone else..."
"In fact, as ti passed, things naturally faded away. Although I was sad and resentful towards him, seeing him crying and begging for forgiveness in front of made it hard for to bla him. After all, he was my biological father."
"But..." Rose's breathing beca rapid. "But then he suddenly said, said I looked so much like my mother, just like when he first t her. He looked at with infinite desire, with an aggressive gaze, and asked if I was willing to help him make up for the shortcomings, to take my mother's place and beco the mistress of the Western Alliance Society!"
"He wanted his own daughter to be his woman!"
The last words seed to drain all of Rose's strength. She bowed her head, murmuring, "I don't rember what I thought at that mont. I just desperately pushed him out of the room and cried in bed all night... Until later... I finally realized he was beyond redemption, and that's when I made up my mind to leave him..."
Yang Chen hadn't expected such a background to Rose's story. Rose, having a father like Situ Mingze, not falling into irreversible paths, was indeed fortunate. Seeing Rose's exhausted figure, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace, patting her soft back. "Speaking out should relieve a lot. At least I can help share the burden. Soone as heartless as is best suited to help won bear these headaches."
Rose lay on Yang Chen's chest, smiling slightly. "Yes, I feel much better now. Regardless of how you see it, I can face you with a clear conscience."
"Actually, you didn't have to hide it from . It's not your fault; you were just a victim," Yang Chen said indifferently.
Rose suddenly struggled to turn around, gazing into Yang Chen's eyes with imnse concern and a hint of grievance. "Then, husband, shouldn't you also tell about your past? At least, I want to know what happened to you last night."
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