Epilogue
Half an hour later, Liu Liu's body and the explosives were taken away for processing.
I draped He Tingzhou's jacket over my shoulders again. I held a hot milk tea in my hands and shivered.
"Still feeling bad?"
He Tingzhou saw that my face looked fine and started rolling up his sleeves to settle the score with me. "You're really bold. I told you to stay in the car like I said, but you still went to meet the criminal on your own?!"
I argued right back. "I gave you guys a hint before I got out of the car, okay! I tapped a whole string of SOS in Morse code to that officer!"
"You still have the nerve to say that?" He Tingzhou glared. "It's lucky that kid knew something about it. What if you had run into someone who didn't? You would have died with her?!"
"Do you know Liu Liu was a complete lunatic through and through! We just got the news. Not long ago she mailed poisoned cured meat to her parents' house. Her younger brother died despite rescue efforts, and her parents are still in the ICU and haven't come out yet!"
I went speechless at once. I bit the straw of the milk tea and stayed quiet.
The air grew still for a moment. I slurped my milk tea and suddenly felt like crying. It really hurt inside.
Before I could feel wronged, I heard a soft sigh first. The next second he pulled me into his arms.
"You really scared me to death, Lu Xiaoning."
He Tingzhou held me tight, his voice hoarse. "Do you know what I felt when I saw the message that something had happened to you?"
"I felt like my long future ahead had ended before it even started."
I was held so tightly by him, yet my heart felt secure. "No way. I haven't seduced you yet. I can't bear to die."
The moment the words left my mouth, He Tingzhou suddenly bent down and kissed me on the lips, leaving me stunned. "What are you doing?"
"Better not seduce anymore." He looked at me, his eyes direct. "I want to make my position clear fast and hold you tight in my arms to feel at ease."
In an instant all the grievances and fear disappeared. I lifted my gaze and stared into He Tingzhou's eyes, seeing my own clear reflection there.
"You better not regret it," I said softly. "I'm the type who sticks to my principles. Once I grab on, I don't allow halfway abandonment."
"I won't regret it."
He Tingzhou met my eyes, his gaze bright. "Actually, even if you hadn't come to seduce me, I would have found a way to get close to you."
"Lu Xiaoning, the road you're walking has never been a one-way street."
I listened in a daze. After a moment I curved my lips into a smile, tilted my head up, and shared a light, lingering kiss with He Tingzhou.
Perhaps just like Liu Liu had said, living was truly a hundred times harder than death or killing. But I still chose this path, because along this road there were always beautiful sights that death could never compare to.