After midnight

After finishing training, Su Ziling came back and lay on the bed, burying his nose in the quilt and deliberately suffocating himself. Qiqi had been away from them for a week, but the words she left for him were still deafening. He lay here, his breathing gradually became suffocated and heavy, but he still did not move, and his consciousness floated up like a feather.

Su Ziling thought that An Yan was a very gentle and strong person. But he also had a quality that people could not ignore, that is, a sense of alienation. This lingering sense of alienation, which could not be escaped or avoided, really made people love and hate him.

Su Ziling recalled his previous friends, they always joked around without any burden. But it was not the same with An Yan. He felt contradictory when he was with An Yan. He was very free-spirited but not so free-spirited.

Maybe Qiqi was right, he was not brave enough. He had spent a lot of time and energy on the letter Qiqi left behind, and even had negative emotions. He wanted to ask, why? Why should they have a close relationship just because they were the "son of God" and the "guardian"?

But, Su Ziling, ask yourself. Don't you want to? Isn't it because it's Anyan? Anyan is the most amazing person you have ever met. Su Ziling scratched his hair in annoyance and finally turned over. He faced the ceiling and spread his arms and legs. Qiqi was right, he was not qualified.

"Brother Ziling?" Xiao Su's sweet voice came through the door.

"Brother Zi Ling! Come out to eat!"

"Coming soon!" Su Ziling stood up and responded.

"I'll go see my brother later." Su Ziling said halfway through dinner.

"Okay, I'll go too. I want to play with Sister Wuying and Xiaohe."

"Why are you going? Have you finished your homework?" An Yan said.

Xiao Su pouted and stopped talking. Su Ziling didn't say anything either. He hurried to eat and pushed the bowl forward when he was done.

"An Yan, I'm going to find my brother."

"Yeah." An Yan responded.

Su Ziling turned around and went upstairs and quickly arrived at Yin's house. When he arrived, Yin, Wuying and Hezheng were sitting together eating.

"Brother!" Su Ziling shouted.

"Why are you here? Have you eaten yet? Do you want to eat more?"

"No, you guys eat." Su Ziling moved away from the dining table, sat down on the sofa, and lay down with his body tilted.

"Brother Ziling? Are you here to play with me?" he asked while eating by the river.

"Yeah." Su Ziling said while lying down.

"What's wrong? You look listless?" Seeing this, Yin put down his chopsticks and walked over.

"It's okay, the training was too tiring."

"You went to train with your master?"

"Well, who is like you? You ignored me once the special training was over."

"Why don't I care about you? I guess you are here to act like a spoiled brat."

Su Ziling raised his arm and ignored him. Yin raised an eyebrow and continued, "Okay, what do you want to see me for?"

"You're my brother, can't I come to you if I have nothing to do?"

"Yes, let's go to my study."

"Go eat."

"Let's go." Yin pulled Su Ziling, and Su Ziling had no choice but to follow. Yin walked in front, and when he passed by the dining table, he met Wuying's frequent glances and winked at her.

When they arrived at the study, they sat down together, and Su Ziling sank into the chair as if he had no bones.

"Come on, you said I'm your brother, is there anything you can't tell me?"

"It's not a big deal." How could Su Ziling have the nerve to tell Yin that he was worried about his interpersonal relationship with An Yan. Besides, there really wasn't any irreconcilable conflict between him and An Yan. Thinking of this, Su Ziling suddenly sat up straight and asked, "Brother, how is the progress of the map?"

"Oh, there hasn't been any major progress yet. Don't worry, I'll tell you as soon as I find anything."

"Humph, you won't tell me. When the time comes, you will definitely tell An Yan, and then An Yan will tell me."

"Okay, you're right. By the way, do you know that An Yan's birthday is coming soon?" Yin asked suddenly.

"When, I don't know."

"It's the 21st of this month, don't you know?"

"I don't know, he didn't tell me. An Yan has too many shortcomings. The first one is that he never says anything and likes to keep things to himself." Su Ziling counted on his fingers.

"What about the second and third ones?"

"Cold and self-righteous. If I were not the 'Guardian', I would definitely not have anything to do with him. Self-righteousness is simply his biggest flaw. Do I need to tell you?"

"Cold? Self-righteous? No, your sister Wuying said that An Yan is very gentle and reliable, and a rare good man."

"That's a fantasy that only girls have... Well, An Yan is very gentle and strong, but that doesn't mean he's not cold. Every word he says is accurate, and he really means good for you, but he always talks about one thing at a time, and he never talks about himself."

"It seems that my brother has a good IQ and a high EQ." Yin said with relief.

Su Ziling glanced at him with contempt. Yin immediately regained his composure upon seeing this, and then guided him, "Ziling, have you asked An Yan what he thinks? Tell An Yan what you said to me. Boys, the worst that can happen is a fight."

"Then I will definitely lose miserably. Forget it, I'm going out to find a river to play with."

"Go ahead." Su Ziling stood up and pulled the door to leave, and Yin let him go. Yin looked at the unfinished replies on his desk and simply didn't eat. It took two or three hours to finish processing all the piled-up documents on the desk. He rubbed his eyes and came out of the study. When he looked down from above, he only saw Su Ziling lying on the sofa, and the others were gone.

"Why don't you go back?"

"I don't want to go back."

"Go back, it's getting late."

After Yin said this, Su Ziling turned his head to look at the clock on the wall. It was already late, and the hour hand had passed ten o'clock, so he thought for a moment and then stood up and walked away slowly.

"Then I'm leaving, brother." Su Ziling turned on the switch of the secret passage and walked through the dim underground. At this time, An Yan and Xiao Su should have gone to bed. Su Ziling thought about this without blinking, opened the door of the second floor and closed it casually.

"came back?"

As soon as Su Ziling looked up, he saw An Yan leaning against the railing looking at him, only a few steps away from him.

"Well, I'm back."

"Go to bed early." An Yan said and turned around.

"An Yan!"

"Ok?"

"Who is An Ran?" It's over, it's over. As soon as Su Ziling said this, he regretted it.

"An Ran is my uncle, he died before I was born." An Yan didn't expect that Su Zi Ling would ask him about this topic in the evening just after Yin had mentioned it in the afternoon. He turned around and faced Su Zi Ling with a calm tone.

Su Ziling looked at An Yan standing there in a daze, not expecting him to answer. An Yan's current appearance was completely different from that day, and he thought the name An Ran would be a sore spot for An Yan. So Su Ziling relaxed and suddenly asked, "Is it your birthday?"

"Yeah, do you want to prepare a gift for me?"

"what do you want?"

"Let me think about it." An Yan said and actually started to think seriously.

"I can't think of it." But he quickly said again, his tone a little light and soft.

"Ah? Then how do you want me to deliver it?"

"Giving gifts to people who shouldn't be given gifts is something you should think about. You should think about it carefully." An Yan raised his eyebrows, turned around and went back to his room. Su Ziling stood alone in the corridor for a while, then silently rolled his eyes and went into his room.

Su Ziling finished washing up, turned on the bedside lamp and then turned off the ceiling lamp in the room. The bedside lamp was small and dim, just enough to illuminate the bed and the floor under his feet. Su Ziling stood by the bed and began to take off his clothes to prepare for bed. As he was taking off his clothes, he stopped.

An Ran was his uncle, that is, the brother of An Yan's father. An Ran had died before he was born, but An Yan's parents also died when An Yan was a little over two years old. So how did An Yan know about An Ran's existence? When he was a child? But An Yan was only a little over two years old at that time. Would his parents tell him this? When was that? When he grew up? Before he was thirteen years old, or after he was thirteen years old?

And who is that person? Every move of An Yan is full of murderous intent. Who can make An Yan have such overwhelming hatred now? After all, An Yan has been able to be gentle and kind now after those ten years.

Su Ziling touched his chest and began to breathe rapidly. If it was him, who did he hate the most? It was Song Hongtian! He was the one who killed his biological parents and forced his family to be destroyed! Then An Yan... Su Ziling suddenly collapsed on the bed. Could that person be the murderer who killed his uncle?

It's very possible, but An Yan and his uncle had never met before, so logically speaking, they wouldn't have such a deep relationship. Could he be the murderer of An Yan's parents? Su Ziling suddenly thought. But this doesn't make sense. Why did that person mention An Ran's name? He should have mentioned An Yan's father's name, right?

Su Ziling had a headache and his temples were throbbing. Suddenly, he was shaking all over and even wanted to cry. He understood that person, that person killed his uncle before An Yan was born! And after he was born, he brutally killed his parents!

That person! That person! Su Ziling clenched his fists, rushed out of the house as if escaping, and rushed into An Yan's room.

The bedside lamp in An Yan's room was also on, and An Yan was leaning against the bedside table with the help of the faint light. He was holding a book in his hand, but he was just flipping through it. Obviously, he couldn't sleep and didn't want to read, but he needed a book.

An Yan was startled when Su Ziling rushed in. But he quickly reacted and lifted the quilt to get out of bed.

"An Yan! Is that the bastard who set fire to your house and took you away?" Su Ziling's eyes were bloodshot and even the corners of his eyes turned red.

He knew, Su Ziling knew who he was gritting his teeth at. An Yan was extremely shocked. He didn't expect Su Ziling to remember all this, remember that afternoon fifteen years ago, that sinful fire. An Yan tried very hard to control himself and only let out a dull hum.

"An Yan!" Su Ziling suddenly rushed over and hugged An Yan.

An Yan didn't know why Su Ziling suddenly did this, but he didn't move. He didn't dare to move, because he could feel that Su Ziling was in pain. Su Ziling's muscles were trembling, Su Ziling's arms were trembling, Su Ziling was trembling all over.

"Su Ziling." An Yan shouted. Su Ziling let go of his hand.

"An Yan, I'm sorry. In fact, I have never been a qualified 'Guardian'."

"You're fine." What happened to Su Ziling? An Yan frowned and answered him seriously.

"No, not good enough." Su Ziling shook his head gently. "An Yan, I want to know why you don't believe me?"

"I never disbelieved you." An Yan widened his eyes in surprise.

"That's not what I meant. Anyan, I thought you didn't think I could be a good 'Guardian'. You never treated me as a real 'Guardian', you never asked anything of me, and you never taught me how a 'Guardian' should fight alongside the 'Son of God'. I know I'm not strong enough, but I want to become stronger. And Anyan, I know that the 'Son of God' and the 'Guardian' can cooperate with each other in battle and transfer abilities to each other, but you never told me these."

"I really didn't tell you, how did you know?" An Yan asked calmly.

"I read it from a book."

"It's right in the book."

"Then what?" Su Ziling was annoyed. It seemed that An Yan was still avoiding the question.

An Yan saw that Su Ziling was angry. He hesitated for a moment but still said, "Zi Ling, I admit that I don't want you to be my 'guardian'."

Su Ziling stared into An Yan's eyes, which were full of hesitation and sincerity. When An Yan started to speak, Su Ziling thought he would apologize and say to him, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to think this way." But An Yan's mouth opened and closed and uttered such straightforward and sharp words.

Su Ziling immediately turned around and left.

With a bang, the sound of the door slamming drowned out the second half of An Yan's words: I just want you to be yourself.