After midnight

After the light snow melted, the sun came out and it was sunny for several days.

An Yan strolled in Xindu Park. There were not many people in the park at two or three o'clock in the afternoon, which was not a weekend. An Yan exhaled quietly.

"An Yan!" An Yan turned around and waited for her. Although he didn't know why he bumped into her here, he had to stop and wait for her because the person who called him was Wu Ying.

"An Yan, I came here specifically to see you." Wuying stopped and took a breath.

An Yan hummed in response, then walked slowly forward and listened to Wuying continue talking.

"You know that Song Yu is still alive."

"Yeah, I just found out. Actually, I was just about to go look for you. I was planning to..."

"No, Anyan, listen to me first. I didn't come to you to ask you to do anything. On the contrary, I came to stop you."

"Why?" An Yan was shocked and puzzled. He looked at Wu Ying for only a second before turning his gaze to the sycamore tree planted in the pond one meter away. The sycamore tree was tall, with dry yellow leaves curled up on the top of its forked branches.

"An Yan, let me apologize to you first. I'm sorry for hitting you that day."

"No...I..." An Yan turned around and quickly lowered his head, not knowing what to say.

"An Yan, I'm serious. You don't have to feel sorry for this. Yin went there with such determination. We... Actually, I am in pain, and Ye is also in pain. Those of us who didn't go to his side are the most sorry for him."

"No, he loves you very much, he..."

"I know." Wuying said.

An Yan looked at Wu Ying and shut up.

Wuying took a deep breath and said, "It's no use saying this. Anyan, I didn't let you go because I knew Yin didn't want you to go. Even though he died at Song Yu's hands."

"Why?" An Yan was extremely shocked. They were all in pain, weren't they? Why would Yin think so? Why would Wu Ying come to persuade him? Since Fang Hao told him the news yesterday, he has been secretly tracking Song Yu's whereabouts. He tried every possible way to kill him.

"Because like Su Ziling, he also regards you as his own brother."

What does that mean? An Yan blinked but still didn't understand.

"Let me ask you, will you bring Su Ziling with you when you go to see Song Yu?"

"will not."

"Why? Su Ziling is Yin's biological brother. Don't you want him to take revenge himself?"

"I……"

"You don't want him to be in danger, and Yin doesn't want him to be in danger either."

"No, I'll be fine."

"Yin Ye told me that he will be fine!" Wuying roared, his eyes suddenly red.

"I'm sorry, but..."

"No buts, there will always be other people going, right? Fang Hao will definitely send someone, and Song Yu will definitely die. If that's the case, then it's not you who can do it?"

Wuying was in so much pain and conflict. Of course, she wanted to kill Song Yu herself, and of course she wanted Anyan to go, because only if Anyan went, she would really believe that Song Yu would die. However, Yin was dead. Yin had spent his whole life protecting his brothers, protecting each of them. So even if he died now, he would never let them take risks because of him. Therefore, she could not go against Yin's will and let Anyan and Su Ziling be in danger of getting hurt because of him.

"In short, you can't go!" Wuying was almost unable to hold back again.

Why? Can't someone else go? Why doesn't fate choose someone else, but Yin, Anyan, or Su Ziling?

"Maiying, are you sure? I mean, Toru treats me like a brother."

"Of course, what he is most worried about is not Su Ziling but you! Although he didn't tell me anything, every time he mentioned you he was worried about you. He was afraid that you would say nothing and act stubbornly."

"I thought it was because of Su Ziling."

"What are you thinking about? How is it possible? If Yin treats you badly, you will treat Su Ziling well, right?"

"Yes."

"In that case, why does Yin have to go to such lengths? Why waste his feelings when there is nothing else to waste? Anyan, he really loves you and treats you as his own brother, so you can't go, understand?" Even Wuying felt sorry for Anyan's experience, so how could Yin not feel the same?

"I understand." An Yan nodded and sighed.

After Wuying left, An Yan stayed outside alone until very late, and finally he decided to go meet Yin.

Yin was buried on an inconspicuous hillside behind Wangchengshan Park. An Yan could touch it with his eyes closed. He shouldn't be so familiar with this place. The wind in the Martyrs' Cemetery was a little cold, blowing on An Yan's face. After climbing two rows of steps, An Yan said goodbye to Lin Xuanfeng and went to visit Yin.

He sat in front of Yin's grave, not knowing what to say. He told Lin Xuanfeng that Jiu was doing well recently, growing taller and fatter, but he didn't know who to mention to Yin. Su Ziling was not doing well recently, and Wuying was not doing well either.

He sat in the silent night for a long time, so long that his shadow merged into the silent time. It seemed that there was nothing here except the branches swaying gently.

"They all guessed wrong." After a while, dark clouds covered the faint moon, and An Yan spoke.

"Yin, if you die, I won't feel guilty. I don't hate myself either. I hate you."

"I don't understand, why would someone as smart as you let yourself die? You are the comfort I left for Su Ziling, but you died before me."

"You don't understand, right? Then come and ask me. Don't you always want to know my secret? Come and ask me, and I will tell you my biggest secret." An Yan smiled self-deprecatingly, and the cold wind blew past his ears and wedged deeper into the ground.

An Yan sat there for a while, and finally stood up. "Yin, tell Wu Ying that I won't listen to her. I will send the murderer to you soon. When the time comes, don't show mercy. And Su Zi Ling, I think he will take good care of himself in the future."

After An Yan finished speaking, he turned and left. Instead of going home, he went straight towards Jiudu.

The distance from Xindu to Jiudu is not that long. After the last gust of night wind blew across the yellow sand, An Yan arrived at Jiudu Xuanchuang Station. He always knew what he wanted to do and who to find to do it, especially when he was alone.

He stood in front of the side door of the Lu Mansion. At about 8:30 in the morning, Lin Nuan opened the door for him. Only Lin Nuan was there, not Lu Li.

"Where's Lu Li? Is his injury better?"

"Better now. He went out for something. You must have been standing outside for a long time. Why didn't you call me earlier in such a cold winter?"

"Just thinking of something."

An Yan didn't want to disturb her sleep, and Lin Nuan didn't expose her. She took him to the study and poured him a cup of hot tea.

"Do you want to have breakfast first? I'll have someone bring it to you." An Yan's face and ears were red. He had been waiting outside alone for such a long time and he didn't expect that he had had breakfast.

"No, I have to go somewhere else."

"What's the matter with you coming to see me?" Lin Nuan avoided An Yan's eyes. It was probably not a good thing for An Yan to come to her at this time.

"Do you know where Song Yu is?"

Lin Nuan paused as she opened the document, "Didn't Fang Hao tell you?"

"No."

"That's it, because we don't know."

An Yan frowned fiercely, "Why? Didn't any of you plan to tell me? Song Yu and Liu Jiu are still alive. Didn't you know about this a long time ago? Fang Hao only told me the day before yesterday!"

"An Yan." Lin Nuan closed the file. "We didn't mean it. We just don't want to disturb you and Su Ziling for the time being."

It was because of Yin, An Yan knew it in his heart. Wuying was right, only Yin died, which really made everyone present extremely painful. So, An Yan was silent. An Yan also left Su Ziling alone and came to Jiudu.

"When did it happen?" An Yan asked. He didn't come to Jiu to remain silent.

"It's been several days. We didn't tell you because we don't know their exact movements, and secondly, they are all injured now and can't cause any big waves."

"Is that what you think?"

Of course not, Lin Nuan is not that arrogant. She will only remain vigilant until the matter is completely resolved. Song Yu and Liu Jiu are not scary. What is scary is that once the Song family protects Song Yu, things will be very troublesome, and this is not without trend.

Yes, it's not that there is no trend. This subsequent development is too complicated and strange. Logically, once the news that Song Yu and Liu Jiu are still alive came out, they should continue to unite and remain vigilant. Let's not talk about the Song family, let's talk about Jiu Xiang. Jiu Xiang was indifferent to this and didn't hold a special meeting again, as if Song Yu and Liu Jiu had never appeared again. If there is anything, the only thing Lin Nuan can figure out now is that Jiu Xiang treated Song Yu and Liu Jiu separately, but it is not clear how to treat and what to do.

Jiu Xiang was vague about what he said, and Fang Hao of the revolutionary army did not make any moves. Lin Nuan understood that Fang Hao did not want to be the first to do so, after all, he had already lost two generals - Zhou Chen and Song Xinjun were still in the ward.

But how can this be...

"Lin Nuan?" An Yan called her, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, I was thinking... Song."

"Song family?"

"Yes, they, I mean the Song family. They seem to want to protect Song Yu. After Song Nan's death, Song Yu seems to have become a member of the Song family again. He seems to have nothing to do with what he did to the Song family. As for Liujiu, I haven't figured out what they are going to do with him."

"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. I will do what they are unwilling to do. I think this is why Fang Hao told me."

"You're going to do it?"

"I'll do it. If Song Yu and Liu Jiu hadn't died, what we did before wouldn't have been considered a success."

"But..." Lin Nuan was about to stand up when a letter landed on her desk. She glanced at An Yan and sat down again.

Lin Nuan opened the letter and read it, then folded it neatly. She could have put it aside, but for some reason she pressed it under the document she was opening, as if she wanted to pretend that it was just an ordinary letter.

This is not an ordinary letter, An Yan thought. But he could not see any expression on Lin Nuan's face. So he asked, "Is Lu Li in Jiudu now?"

"He..." It really hit the nail on the head. Lin Nuan dejectedly turned the letter over again. Lin Nuan held the letter with mixed emotions. She decided to hit it straight out. "An Yan, I'm pregnant. Lu Li and I just found out. Lu Li is not in Jiudu. He went to find Song Yu."

"W-what? You're pregnant? Lu Li knew? He went even though he knew? Did he go on his own? Why didn't you stop him?"

Lin Nuan burst out laughing. It was rare to see An Yan so helpless. But she remembered something and her smile softened. "I tried to stop him. But he said that it was because I was pregnant that he wanted to give his child a brighter future."

"I'll go, I'll bring him back. Don't worry, Song Yu and Liu Jiu are left to me." An Yan was silent for a moment, then stood up firmly and walked towards her.

Lin Nuan also stood up. She looked at An Yan. She had thought about looking for An Yan before Lu Li left, but she didn't. It was not because of other reasons, but because of Yin. They fought side by side, but only Yin didn't come back. With such an ending, how could Lin Nuan have the nerve to look for An Yan or Su Ziling again?

But Anyan came now, even though he was in great pain, he still came.

"Give it to me." An Yan took the letter from Lin Nuan's hand.

The letter was sent back by Lu Li. He has now arrived in Luocheng and found traces of Song Yu nearby.