C4 Bastard

Eyes long accustomed to darkness suddenly met with sunlight, causing a sharp pain. Tianxi instinctively closed her eyes, only to snap them open when she realized the picture frame had been taken from her.

The man before her was strikingly handsome, with chiseled features that seemed carved from stone. The brilliant sunlight cast a golden glow around him, adding an air of nobility, as if he were a god descended to earth.

Tianxi, however, paid no attention to his looks. Her focus was solely on the frame in his hand, where Su Heng's familiar smiling face was captured. She spoke urgently, "Give Su Heng back to me!"

"Su Heng?" Yujun's lips curled into a cold smile. He suddenly smashed the frame to the ground with force. "Since you claim this is Su Heng, let's see if it really is!"

"No!" Tianxi cried out, lunging forward, but she could only watch helplessly as the frame shattered on impact. She quickly dropped to her knees, reaching out to gather the pieces. The broken glass cut into her palm, and bright red blood began to flow.

"Enough!" Yujun's voice was sharp, the sight of the blood unsettling him as if it burned his heart. He coldly commanded, then roughly pulled her up from the ground.

Tianxi immediately began to struggle, kicking and punching at him, shouting, "You jerk! Let me go! I want to be with Su Heng!"

Yujun ignored her resistance, dragging her to the full-length mirror in the room. His voice was icy and mocking, "Tianxi, take a good look at yourself. See what a mess you've become!"

"Su Heng was thinking of you even in his last moments. Do you think you look like someone he’d be proud of now?"

Tianxi stared blankly at the mirror. The woman reflected back at her was ghostly pale, her hair a tangled mess, dark circles etched under her eyes, lips cracked, and clothes disheveled. Her hands were stained with blood, making her look more like a specter than a person.

She closed her eyes wearily and asked in a hoarse voice, "How did Su Heng... die?"

As she uttered the word "die," it felt as if her heart was being torn in two, the pain excruciating, yet she forced herself to speak.

Yujun opened his mouth to reveal the truth but was haunted by the memory of Su Heng’s last moments. Su Heng, shot and clinging to life, had gripped Yujun's arm, struggling to say, "Take care of Tian... and don't... tell her... how I... died."

Yujun swallowed hard, finally saying coldly, "The mission Su Heng was on is classified. I can't disclose any details."

He knew Su Heng wanted to protect Tianxi from the truth—that he had died saving Yujun. He couldn't betray Su Heng's last wish.

Hearing Yujun's words, a bitter smile appeared on Tianxi's lips, filled with sorrow. A quiet, stifled sob escaped her throat, the sound small yet deeply affecting.

Yujun watched Tianxi weep into her hands, his lips pressed into a thin line, fists clenched tightly.

"Auntie, how has she been these past few days?" Yujun asked Lin Qing, his gaze briefly resting on Tianxi by the window.

Lin Qing looked at Tianxi as well, sighed, and replied with a hint of helplessness, "The same as before. It’s like she’s lost her spirit."