dark flower

The silence in the middle of the night was broken by the sound of footsteps from the grass not far away.

The slow footsteps slowly approached a farmhouse, and a man surrounded by black walked into the farmhouse slowly.

The lights in the room were obviously not turned on, but the man looked around in the room with only a ray of moonlight as if he could see his surroundings clearly.

It is no longer the neat and clean house in the impression, but now the house is full of mess and signs of struggle.

"Feel sorry."

The man apologized.

Hearing the sound, the man who was kneeling next to a dying young man with scars on his body suddenly raised his head to look at the source of the sound.

"An... you're here..."

The man with still blood on his face smiled wryly.

"It was I who harmed your family, I'm sorry, if I didn't promise you at that time..."

The man named Ann said sadly, frowning, he crossed the obstacles that fell to the ground in a mess, and walked slowly in front of the man.

Because his back was facing the moonlight, he couldn't see the appearance of this man named Ann clearly.

There was an undeniable smell of blood in the air.

"It's none of your business. This is what we asked you to do."

There was a deep sadness in the eyes of the man who spoke.

"Even so, it doesn't change the fact that I'm an accomplice. Now, even he..."

As An said, he looked at the boy who was held in the arms of a man with a trace of sadness.

There were some scars on the young man's smooth face, and the most obvious one was that the corner of his forehead hit by a hard object was scratched, and the blood had dried up.The soft black hair stuck to the boy's forehead, just like its owner, looking lifeless.

Without missing the sadness in An's eyes, the man knew that this was the last chance God left him.

"Ann, I want to ask you one last thing."

An turned to look at the man who seemed to have aged a teenager overnight.

"Tell me first, whether you agree or not depends on what you are asking for."

The cold voice matched An's expression now.

Hearing this, the man was slightly hesitant, but looking at the young man whose breathing was getting weaker, he knew that there was no time for him to think carefully.

"Please save this child, please!"

Thinking that it really was so, An fell silent, and the tragedies that happened in the past inevitably played back in his mind like a revolving lantern.

Thinking that this would only be another tragedy, An replied with a firm voice without thinking: "I refuse. So what if he can survive? He who has become a monster will only be better than death." More painful, only him, I definitely don't want him to become like that."

"I know...of course I know..."

As if muttering to himself, the man smiled wryly, and tears fell on the boy's face.

"Of course I know! How could I not know! But even if I knew, I don't want him to die too! Ann, don't you just have the heart to let your favorite Xiaowei just die like this!?"

The anxious man dropped his shoulders as if he lost his strength the moment he finished shouting. Looking at the young boy in his arms who was hovering between life and death, his eyes turned red involuntarily.

Reluctantly, Ann sighed.

The boy who fell into the man's arms looked weak and weak, and An knew that if he didn't help, it might be too late.

"Yeah, it's because I like him, so I'd rather he just die like this than turn into a monster and live in pain. I don't want him to become another Kogure, and I don't want him to become another one me."

An's face became a little distorted in an instant.

"I know what you care about, and I know that you are afraid that Xiaowei will experience the same thing. But if you save him, Xiaowei may not become a monster? But if you just do nothing like this, Xiaowei will definitely There is only one way to die! What's more, whether he should die like this is not up to you to decide!"

As if going mad, the man roared excitedly, whether it was because of fear or excitement, the man's body trembled violently.

——Not only that, you don't understand anything at all.

An's heart was clamoring so loudly, but she was also speechless.

Indeed, as the man said, he has no right to decide whether a person should live or not.

"I'm begging you! The reason Xiao Mu ended up like that was because of you, wasn't it? You saved Xiao Mu that time because you wanted to repay the favor, this time it's... a redemption, I beg you, please save Xiao Wei! "

Things that he didn't want to remember were used by men as threats. Although An wanted to be angry, he couldn't get angry when he looked at the man who kowtowed to him.

Because, as men say, everything happens because of him.

Just like that day many years ago, although An was unwilling, he still had to agree.

Just as a man doesn't want this man to die, Ann doesn't want the boy in front of her to die just as strongly.

After a long period of ideological struggle, Ann couldn't help but sighed.

"...I see. I'll try, but if I fail this time, I'll kill him with my own hands. Can you accept that?"

The man's face twitched, but the man who was clearly in an ideological struggle nodded in agreement after a while.

Reality doesn't give him a chance to choose at all.

"... I will leave everything about Xiaowei to you from now on."

"how about you?"

An took the boy whose body was starting to turn cold from the man's arms, and he looked at the man with a forced smile.

"I have something to do. Two people in the family have died, so I have to find a suitable explanation, right?"

The man smiled sadly.

"Don't you want to see if Xiao Wei will succeed this time?"

"No need." The man shook his head, "If it succeeds, I will be reluctant to leave, but if it fails, I will probably collapse. Besides, how can I have the heart to watch you kill my son. In this case, Might as well just go with a sliver of hope."

"you……"

An hesitated to speak.

Noticing Anna's complicated expression, the man couldn't help but smile wryly.

"You don't have to feel sorry for me either. Death is everyone's end, and I'm just a little early."

—…Everyone…?What about me?

Ann couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Bye now."

The man smiled at Ann, and this would be the last time Ann saw this man smile.

"……See you."

Without further words, An hugged the boy and walked out of the small farmhouse slowly.

Seeing the door being closed, An looked at the boy in his arms.

The boy's aura was gradually weakening, and his pale face looked pitiful.

With countless feelings in his arms, An slowly bowed his head and approached the boy's lips...

There was a faint smell of something burning between the nostrils, and the boy in An Huai's arms hadn't reacted yet.

The fire spread quickly, but it didn't take long for Ann to see the raging flames in the house through the window.

Thinking of their farewell just now, Ann couldn't help laughing.

"Instead of saying goodbye, it would be more appropriate to say goodbye forever."

Laughing at himself, An hugged the boy and walked slowly towards the woods not far away, and then disappeared into the darkness...

*

Jin Wei woke up because of thirst.

He opened his eyes, but what he saw was not the scene he was familiar with.

"Here...where is it?"

The room without any impression looked a little dim, and there was still a musty smell in the air.

Jinwei tried to get out of the bed, and the old bed board made a creaking sound with his movements, which made people worry whether the bed board would break.

It seemed that the floor was not as strong as the bed board, and Jinwei, who was barefoot, felt very uncomfortable on the soles of his feet just like that.

At this moment, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Jinwei was startled.

The person who came was an unknown person. Looking at the other person's attire, Jinwei guessed that he should be from the village.

"Ah, are you awake?"

"? Uh, um" Jin Wei nodded stiffly, "... May I ask where is this place? Why am I here?"

Jinwei can still clearly remember that the school was on vacation that day. Although he didn't discuss it with his parents in advance, he decided to give his family a surprise, so he decided to go home and live with his family members whom he hadn't seen for a long time without telling them.

Imagining the astonished expressions of her parents, Jinwei returned home on the bus excitedly...

The memory ends here, and then it starts to become blurred. All Jin can remember is a terribly red fire.

For a moment, Jin only had a bad premonition, and his body couldn't help shaking.

"Uh...you..."

The other party's hesitating appearance caused the uncertainty in Jinwei's heart to spread infinitely. He thought of many possibilities, but none of them were good.

"Did something happen to my house!?"

Panicked, Jinwei reached out and grabbed the villagers' clothes regardless of politeness.

The villager who was asked was taken aback, and after hesitating for a while, he hesitantly told Jinwei.

"...Uh, your house...was set on fire. I also heard what happened next. It seems that your father went crazy, killed your brother and your mother, and set fire to the house. Let's see When we saw a fire, we ran over to put out the fire together, but at that time the house was already burning so badly that we couldn’t put out the fire. At this moment, everyone saw you lying in the corner. At first, everyone didn’t know what to do, but just happened to I have a spare room in my house, so I brought you to my house first.”

The father who had always been gentle in his impression went crazy and killed his younger brother and mother! ?

Hearing the "what happened" in his ears made Jinwei feel a little confused no matter how he thought about it.

Obviously when I called my father at school, I felt that everyone was fine, but why did such a thing happen after I came back! ?

Moreover, why did he faint in a corner inexplicably?

There are many places that people can't figure out, but obviously now is not the time to think about this.

"Then where is my family now?"

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that you have been in a coma for three days. The police took away your family's body after we called the fire department the day before yesterday and put out the fire. If you want to claim it, go as soon as possible."

Jinwei nodded, and thanked him blankly.

To claim the body, and then to hold a funeral...

Jin Wei's numb head kept repeating these things as if reciting a spell.

Although I don't know why, Jinwei was sent to boarding school by her parents around the time she was in elementary school.

Although Jinwei was a bit reluctant to take care of his autistic younger brother's parents who probably couldn't take care of him, he still thoughtfully went to boarding school without complaining.

But strangely, his parents hardly let him go home.

Whether it is a general rest day, or a holiday, or winter and summer vacation, his parents hardly agree with him to go home to live.Even if it is rare to go home to live, he will be sent back to the boarding school by his parents after about two days.

Jinwei, who has been encouraging and comforting herself by saying that she will be able to go home and live when she is able to earn money independently to support herself, has never thought that there will be a day when heaven and man are separated forever.

The secluded father deliberately found a house that was relatively remote from the villagers' residences, but now this seemed to be mocking his father.Now that something happened, even if the villagers noticed it, they couldn't come to the rescue in time...

Thinking of this, Jinwei couldn't help but feel a burst of soreness in his heart.

*

The corpse was collected according to the procedures, and the villager who kindly took in Jinwei also kindly let Jinwei hold the funeral at his home.

Parents who are both orphans have no relatives, and parents who have no family background naturally cannot have much savings.Jinwei, who had no money for the funeral, managed to organize a crude funeral with the help of the villagers.

Only those well-meaning villagers who Jinwei didn't know at all came to attend, as well as the occasional one or two people who seemed to have seen each other before and claimed to be their parents' friends.

"Don't be too sad when you are sad."

A man who had been incensed lightly patted Jinwei on the shoulder and comforted him politely.

"Well, thank you uncle for your concern."

Jinwei responded softly, at this moment, he smelled an unusually sweet smell, and a feeling of thirst surged up Jinwei's throat.

--What's wrong with me?

"Eh!? Look at that person..."

"Wow... so handsome..."

Suddenly, Jinwei heard whispers from the crowd sitting on the side.

Almost subconsciously, Jinwei looked up towards the gate.

What catches the eye is a man who is so handsome that people fall in love at first sight.

It was a man in his thirties.

A head of curly black hair long enough to cover the ears, like a delicate face sculpted by an artist, a pair of Ruifeng eyes give the first impression of a very gentle person, the shiny black The eyeballs look very divine.

The man had some beards on his chin, but because they were well trimmed, they didn't look unclean.

At the moment when he met the man's eyes, Jinwei even felt as if he was sucked in by his eyes.

A man with a height of about 1.8 meters [-] is also very strong, and it is for this reason that just standing like that can give people an invisible pressure.

The man in a neat suit walked up to Jinwei slowly, and the sweet fragrance seemed to become stronger.

The sad-looking man looked at Jinwei who was stunned and said solemnly: "I am a good friend of your father, and my name is An Xin."

Anxin...?

Jin Wei obviously felt that the name seemed familiar, but he had no impression of the person in front of him at all.

For a handsome man like An Xin, Jin Wei can guarantee that if he meets him, he will never forget him.

—Is it an illusion?

"Ah! Thank you, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend this funeral."

Jinwei was a little flustered, he took the incense with trembling hands, and when he handed it to Anxin, he made contact with Anxin's cool hands, almost as if there was an electrostatic reaction, Jinwei made a big move withdrew his hand.

An Xin didn't miss it, but he pretended not to notice, which made Jinwei somewhat relieved.

Jinwei secretly observed the side face of the only man among the guests present who was really sad for the death of Jinwei's family, Jinwei's heart beat wildly.

Not very clear why he reacted so strangely, Jinwei had an inexplicable intimacy and an indescribable affection for the man in front of him.

Of course, Jinwei couldn't tell why.

"Is there something on my face?"

An Xin, who looked at Jinwei suddenly, startled Jinwei.

Jinwei blushed instantly, unable to even speak, he could only shake his head vigorously.

Seeing this, An Xin couldn't help laughing.

"calm down."

The slightly cool palm gently touched Jinwei's head, and then gently ruffled Jinwei's soft hair.

Jinwei was really embarrassed to be seen in such an embarrassing state, and his face turned so red that it started to burn.

"After this, what do you do? Your parents have no relatives, so there should be no relatives who can adopt you?"

It wasn't until An Xin reminded that Jin Wei, who had been confused all this time, remembered this realistic problem.

Yes, after this?

Where should I go when I have no relatives and no reason?

Jin Wei wanted to know the answer.

"...I...don't know. Maybe...go to an orphanage...but I'm already this age, so I don't know if the orphanage will accept me..."

Jinwei pulled out a smile, and that smile contained a bitterness that did not belong to his age.

In two years he will be full.

After becoming an adult, the orphanage will definitely not take him in.

So what to do after that?

Although Jinwei tried his best to pretend to be relieved, but in his heart he was not as open-minded as he pretended on the surface.

Even if the orphanage is willing to take him in, what about studying?

Jinwei didn't think the orphanage would provide him with education in high school or university.

Feeling that the future life is dark, Jinwei can't even find a way to go.

"But the boat is naturally straight to the front, I think...it should be fine."

Jinwei said bravely, but the sadness in his eyes could not hide at all.

An Xin looked at Jin Wei quietly, he frowned but didn't continue talking.

Because it was inconvenient to occupy someone else's house for a few days of funeral, and the burnt corpse still had a smell and could not be kept for a long time, so the next day Jinwei had no choice but to send the corpse to the crematorium for cremation and burial.

Jinwei, who has no money to buy a cemetery for his family, can only place his family's ashes in Tallinn for worship.

The ashes of three people are placed in the space separated by a glass. I don’t know if they will feel very unhappy in the narrow space.

Jin Wei couldn't help thinking so.

"That child is so cruel, he doesn't care about the death of his parents and brother..."

"Don't say it, what if you hear it..."

Geun Wei, who thought "I heard it a long time ago", of course felt sorry for the family members who died, and felt lonely being left alone in the world, but countless sorrows gathered together, Geun Wei still couldn't cry.

Even now, Jinwei still cannot accept the reality that all relatives are dead.

He still naively hoped that all this was his nightmare, and as long as he woke up from the dream, he would find that his family members were still at home waiting for him to go home...

"Are you sad?"

Suddenly, Jinwei heard An Xin's unique voice asking a question, and he couldn't help being startled.

Jinwei quickly looked at An Xin.

"It's okay even if you can't accept the reality now, just let time dilute everything. Sadness is not something that needs to be expressed with tears, so it doesn't matter if you don't cry, don't care about other people's opinions."

The calm voice seemed to have magical powers, easily opened the door called the heart, as if it could directly hit the heart of others, the transparent wall that seemed to separate something was shattered in an instant, and it was so fragile that it just wanted to escape. In the real heart, until this moment, there is no real feeling that Jinwei is alone now.

Bitterness, sourness, and all the negative emotions rushed into my heart at once, Jinwei suddenly felt a sore nose, and when he realized it, Dou Da's tears had already slid down his cheeks and onto Jinwei's clothes.

Before Jinwei's face was ruined by tears, Jinwei was embraced by An Xin's strong arms.Being treated gently by Anxin made Jinwei want to cry even more.

"I don't believe Dad would do that kind of thing. He is obviously such a gentle person, a person who loves his family so much, I don't believe...he, he..."

No matter how Jin Wei thought about it, she didn't think that the "fact" known to everyone would be true.

"Why did that happen...why did you leave me alone in this world...after a few years, I will be able to go home and live with them...uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

Feeling the palm gently patted on her back, Jinwei who was treated tenderly was vulnerable to a single blow.

He couldn't imagine a future where he was alone in the future.

"So, do you want to come with me?"

"Eh!?"

What does it mean?

Jinwei stopped crying because of surprise, he suddenly raised his head from An Xin's chest to meet An Xin's eyes that seemed calm but made him feel an inexplicable sense of loneliness.

"If you have no place to go and you will feel lonely when you are alone, then come with me and I will take care of you."

Even now, Jinwei still feels that the decision to agree to follow a man she didn't know at all was not crazy at all.

He seemed to be more sad than anyone else about the death of his family, and the man who looked so indifferent at this time seemed very lonely...

Obviously the person who should feel the most lonely right now is Jinwei, but for some reason, Jinwei feels that the man in front of him is lonelier than himself at this moment...

Almost without thinking about it many times, Jinwei subconsciously reached out and hugged the man in front of him who looked more lonely than anyone else, buried his face in the man's chest again and nodded gently.

At that moment, Jinwei smelled a very comfortable fragrance, and there was a strange sense of dryness in his throat.