After midnight

"Lingyi, tell me the truth, where did Song Yu go?" There were footsteps behind him. Song Nan turned around in surprise and found that the person who came here was Lingyi who had fought a bloody battle all night.

There was blood on Lingyi's clothes and he looked a little tired, but there was an unknown light flashing in his eyes.

"I don't know the master's whereabouts. The master asked me to give this to you."

"You call him master?" Song Nan asked, staring at Lingyi's face with narrowed eyes.

Lingyi was unmoved. He took two steps forward and placed the letter on the table beside him. "I will still obey your orders."

"So now, you have become the bridge of communication between me and Song Yu?" Song Nan asked while suppressing his anger.

Lingyi still ignored him, he nodded and turned to leave. After he left, Song Nan closed the door and then returned to pick up the letter and opened it.

The content of this letter was really shocking to Song Nan. On the surface, he advised Song Nan to rectify the internal affairs of the Song family, but in fact, he really gave up. After such a big thing happened, Song Yu disappeared without saying anything, and even abandoned the people who called him master.

Song Nan dragged his exhausted body to lie on the bed. He was too tired, but Song Yu did not leave him any way out. Song Yu had just slept on this bed for a short time, but now there was nothing left.

Song Nan lay in bed unable to sleep. He lay there for a long time without eating or drinking and without any other movements. He wasted time wantonly, letting this room isolate him from the rest of the world. But when the sun reached its highest point and the sunlight filled the entire room, he stood up, picked up a pen and sent a notice.

The content of the notice was: Song Yu defected and was expelled from the Song family immediately.

In the end, Song Nan still followed Song Yu's wishes.

An Yan saw this notice on the way home from school to pick up Xiao Su. Almost all the large screens that could be seen flashed at the same time and then interrupted the notice. An Yan stopped involuntarily after seeing it.

An Yan knew what happened last night. Zero One, Eleven, Thirty Two, Five Four, and Sixty Nine, their names finally became known to the world after that night, and they kept stirring in An Yan's heart. Therefore, not only An Yan, but almost everyone was paying attention to the next move of the Song family. And now, what was Song Yu trying to do?

An Yan was not that stupid. Perhaps this announcement plus the fact that Song Yu had been imprisoned some time ago could fool a lot of people, but An Yan knew that the final decision-making power of the Song family was still in the hands of Song Yu, at least the actions of those few people were.

An Yan knew Song Yu very well, because he had been in the same position as Song Yu. But the difference between the two was that An Yan had already come out of it, while Song Yu was determined to go all the way.

An Yan couldn't help but worry deeply. When a person has experienced despair and has the power to destroy others, what will he do? What does he want to do? Song Nan can't save Song Yu, and no one can save him.

An Yan understood it very well, just as he understood his own ultimate fate.

At this moment, a stream of people rushed in. An Yan looked at the school gate not far away. It turned out that school was over. Oops, when An Yan was about to squeeze through the people around him to go to the school gate, a flexible and very familiar figure rushed over.

"I found you, Dad. I saw you from a distance." Xiao Su hugged his waist to take credit.

"So good, let's go home." An Yan stroked Xiao Su's head. At this moment, he didn't want to think about anything.

The notice was still being shown on the screen across the street. It was being shown on all the screens in Xindu at this time. Song Yu stood in an open square, read it carefully, and then buried his face in his windbreaker, even though his face did not appear on the notice.

He was very satisfied with the effect but he didn't want to alert the enemy now.

He just came to find someone.

"I thought you wouldn't come back tonight, and I would have come here for nothing." In the dead of night, Song Xinjun returned home. As usual, he skillfully took out the key and inserted it into the lock to open the door by the light.

As the door opened, a unfamiliar figure suddenly appeared beside him. Song Yu appeared from the corner of the room without knowing when.

"Why are you here?" Song Xinjun looked at him in surprise, and then watched Song Yu rush in.

Song Xinjun quickly glanced at the empty woods on both sides, then quickly went into the house and locked the door.

After entering the house, Song Xinjun did nothing but stood at the door and looked at Song Yu.

Song Yu had already looked around the room, and when Song Xinjun stared at him, his eyes were attracted by a family portrait hanging on the wall. Noticing that Song Yu's attention was on the family portrait, Song Xinjun suddenly became nervous. Sure enough, after looking at it for a long time, Song Yu said, "You don't look like your third uncle at all."

"You...you know everything?"

"Yeah, shouldn't I know that?" Song Yu's eyes were deep when he said this. For some reason, Song Xinjun saw an accusation in them.

"So, what do you want to do?" Song Xinjun took a step forward and gave himself confidence.

Song Yu chuckled and sat down on the soft sofa. He crossed his legs and played with the tassels on the sofa blanket.

"I think my father and I are still different. Don't worry, I'm just here to take back Song's hand."

"It's that simple?"

"Yeah, are they here to kill you?"

Seeing that Song Yu really had no other intentions, Song Xinjun turned and walked towards his bedroom. Within two minutes, he came out, holding the card that belonged to the Song family and his father.

Song Xinjun took a final look at it and slapped the card on the table, then deliberately pushed it in front of Song Yu. Song Yu picked up the red wooden card and put it in his black coat.

"Wait, what do you want to do?" Seeing Song Yu taking the things and about to leave, Song Xinjun stopped him.

"That day at the Jiuxin Conference, I didn't know it was you." Song Yu said something that left Song Xinjun confused, then turned the door lock and left.

"So, Song Yu waited for you until late at night just to take away a talisman?" Lin Xuanfeng asked while sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed.

"Yeah, although I am also surprised, the hand amulet is our, no, them, the most important token of the Song family, okay."

"But hasn't Song Yu been expelled from the Song family?"

"Do you believe it?" Song Xinjun asked unhappily.

"Believe it, why not? Song Yu was really ruthless when it came to attacking his own people. Anyway, Song Nan is the head of the Song family now. Wouldn't it be easier to avoid some grudges and involvements?" Lin Xuanfeng said.

"The people Song Yu attacked were not his own people. Anyway, the Song family is in tatters now. Except for Song Nan's faction, everyone else has suffered a lot. Now this incident has happened. Song Nan has been busy for a while."

"So you're free? You come to my place to be lazy in the middle of the day."

"Hey, Lin Xuanfeng, how come I found out that you've gotten yourself sick from staying in the hospital?"

"What did you say?"

"But when are you going to take off this blue and white hospital gown you're wearing?"

"Hehe, soon, tomorrow! I will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow." Lin Xuanfeng boasted.

"Really?" Song Xinjun stood up excitedly, the corner of his sweatshirt shaking.

"But I have to go on a mission tomorrow and won't be back for three to five days. How about this, on the evening of the 12th, you come to my place and we can spend some time alone together?

"Okay, we haven't been together alone since you came back."

"Yeah, what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

"Anything is fine as long as there's meat. Then let's go with number 12. It's a deal."

"No problem, it's settled."

"Senior brother, what are you talking about? You look so happy." As soon as An Yan entered the room, he heard the two people's loud voices, which were extremely vivid.

"We're talking about me being discharged from the hospital tomorrow."

"Oh, I see." An Yan walked past Song Xinjun and came to Lin Xuanfeng's bed with a pink thermos. He opened the thermos as usual and took out the hot food. When Song Xinjun saw An Yan's calm attitude, he knew that he probably already knew.

"Okay, eat first. I'll wait for you to come over then, Lin Xuanfeng."

"Okay, got it." Lin Xuanfeng was concentrating on the delicious food in front of him. He waved his hand and sent Song Xinjun away.

"It's cold," An Yan reminded him, "Brother, you should cover yourself with the quilt."

"I know, we're already inside, so take off your thick coat. I don't know why you're so afraid of the cold." It wasn't even cold yet, but An Yan was already wearing layers of clothes. He obediently took off the red coat on the outside to reveal the white knitted sweater underneath.

"Song Yu went to see Song Xinjun last night. He didn't do anything but asked him to take away the Song family's cards. Now... I'm afraid he is no longer in Xindu." Lin Xuanfeng said as he picked up a chicken leg.

"Song Xinjun also asked Song Yu what he was going to do, but Song Yu didn't say anything."

"You really didn't say anything?"

"Let me think... Oh, yes, Song Yu said that during the Jiuxin meeting that day, he didn't know it was Song Xinjun. Song Xinjun didn't know what he meant by that, do you know?"

"How would I know?" An Yan put his hands into his sleeves and shook them, then secretly buried his face in the warm collar while Lin Xuanfeng was concentrating on eating. Perhaps, nothing will happen to Xindu this time, An Yan thought.

"Don't send me food tomorrow. I plan to be discharged early in the morning. Don't prepare anything unnecessary for me when I am discharged. You and Ajiu can just come and pick me up." Lin Xuanfeng muttered after dinner.

"Got it. Don't worry. Lin Nuan isn't here this time."

"Oh, she must be very busy recently. Okay, you go back. I'm going to go to bed. You don't need to come too early tomorrow morning." Lin Xuanfeng said, pulling the quilt.

"Okay." An Yan responded, put on his clothes, and walked back slowly with the thermos. He pressed the button, entered the suspension ladder, and put his free hand in his pocket, wondering where those people were going to go after leaving Xidu.

The next day, An Yan and A Jiu came to pick up Lin Xuanfeng from the hospital as promised. When he arrived, Lin Xuanfeng was sitting on the brand new mattress waiting. He had packed his things long ago, and when he saw An Yan coming, he couldn't wait to throw the big and small bags of things to him.

"An Yan, you brought too many things."

"My bad. I'll send the things back to your house."

Lin Xuanfeng smiled and pulled Ah Jiu into his arms. "Come here, Ah Jiu, let me take a good look at you."

Seeing Ah Jiu's awkward expression in Lin Xuanfeng's arms but not daring to resist, An Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that Lin Xuanfeng was really about to get suffocated in the hospital, so he quickly spoke up to help Ah Jiu out. "Okay, Senior Brother, aren't you in a hurry to be discharged? Let's go."

As soon as Lin Xuanfeng reluctantly let go, Jiu quickly broke free and stood aside to help An Yan carry the bag. "Master, let me help you with the bag."

"Okay, let's go quickly. I've said goodbye to Doctor Wang." Lin Xuanfeng slowly closed the door of the ward where An Yan and A Jiu had stayed for nearly a month, and then walked out of the Xindu Hospital in high spirits.

"It's really cold." Lin Xuanfeng pulled up the collar of his coat after going out. He watched the leaves of the sycamore trees outside the hospital fall one after another. After the strong wind blew, the leaves fluttered in the air.

"Yes, it's the beginning of winter, and I don't know when it will snow."

"Time flies so fast. It seems like your birthday is not far away." Speaking of snow, Lin Xuanfeng suddenly remembered.

"Is Brother An Yan going to have his birthday?" Ajiu asked excitedly.

"Next month, it's still early."

"You have to celebrate your eighteenth birthday well." An Yan and Lin Xuanfeng said almost at the same time.

"What? Brother An Yan, you are not yet eighteen? You are too young."

"Who are you saying is small? Don't you look at how old you are?" If An Yan wasn't holding things in both hands, he really wanted to stretch out a finger to poke Ajiu's head.

"It snowed on your birthday last year, and I don't know what will happen this year. I'll celebrate it for you then."

"I've already told you, Senior Brother, it's still too early."

"We'll be there soon, Ajiu, come up quickly!" Lin Xuanfeng called out to Ajiu after he climbed up the hanging window. Ajiu took a step with his short legs and ran up the hanging window one step ahead of An Yan.

The hanging window was flying steadily in the air. An Yan looked out the window and saw the news of heavy rainfall in Los Angeles on the screen. The hanging window flew past the outdoor screen and landed on the ground not long after.

After the hanging window door was opened, when An Yan was taking things out one by one, two young men came over. They stared at An Yan with a clear target. Lin Xuanfeng was very familiar with the way these two people were dressed. The dark blue coat over the knee and the black sneakers were only Uncle Fang's taste.

"Mr. An Yan, please come with us."

"Mr. Lin, congratulations on being discharged from the hospital." As expected, after the two men finished speaking to An Yan, they turned to Lin Xuanfeng and said.

"Thank you. I'll go with An Yan."

"Wait, Brother. You just got out of the hospital, so take Jiu back first. Uncle Fang, what else are you worried about? You must have something important to tell me."

Lin Xuanfeng looked at Ah Jiu and the pile of things on the ground and nodded and said, "Then I'll go over later."

"Okay." After saying that, An Yan followed the two men and stopped at the hanging window not far away.

An Yan climbed up to the hanging window and flew over the outdoor screen again, where the news had changed.