178 A Deadly Secre (1/2)

Inside the inn, Bai Han and Rin sat in the dining room, steaming bowls of soup in front of them. On the other side of the room, An Sun and Aiguo sat a few tables away.

”Why do we need to sit so far away from them?” Aiguo gazed at the two quietly conversing, a scowl on his face.

An Sun calmly sipped his soup and glanced up.

”They need time to bond.”

At that moment, Aiguo's face suddenly scrunched up into one of disgust. The corners of An Sun's mouth twitched.

”Grandfather and granddaughter bonding.” He emphasized.

Aiguo's eyes went wide with shock, and he looked over at Rin, then Bai Han.

”So that's her family…” He quietly murmured to himself.

Pressing his lips together, Aiguo looked back down at his bowl of soup and quietly stirred. Very quickly, his doom and gloom was noticed by An Sun, who simply stared at the boy in silence.

Suddenly brightening back up, Aiguo glanced up at An Sun. He took in the man's features and narrowed his eyes.

”Who are you to Rin?”

An Sun raised one sharp brow. Something about the kid's tone sounded off. When he opened his mouth to respond, An Sun suddenly went silent.

What was he supposed to say?

He kidnapped, forcefully took her in as his strategist, and only went to search for her after forging a brotherly bond because he thought she was a man?

Cold sweat poured down An Sun's back. For once, he felt silence was the best response.

In the end, a dry cough came out of him as he said, ”We're friends.”

It wasn't a lie.

Aiguo looked at him with doubtful eyes. In the next few seconds, he slumped in his chair and huffed.

”Well don't get any ideas. In the future, when I get older, Rin is going to be my wife! She already promised me!”

Caught off guard by this sudden statement, An Sun's eyes went wide, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He didn't know how to react.

However, slightly amused by the boy's smug expression, a corner of his lips hooked up in a smirk. m

”Oh yeah?” An Sun raised his cup to his lips to drown out his next words. ”Good luck with that, kid.”

”What did you say?” Aiguo's eyes narrowed.

An Sun casually waved his hand and continued to drink his water, a smile hidden behind his cup as he glanced over at the girl on the other side of the room.

…

Occurring at the same time, Rin quietly sipped her soup, a blanket draped over her body. After returning to the inn and reuniting with her grandfather, Bai Han was quick to notice the swollenness of her ankle.

In a state of alarm, he rushed her inside, ordered the inn workers to make a bowl of soup, bring a blanket and something to treat her ankle.

Right now, the two sat across from one another in silence. While drinking her soup, Rin glimpsed up and met with her grandfather's burning silver eyes.

”The soup tastes good.” She said lightly.

Bai Han let out a mocking snort. ”You should try their rice.”

Rin smiled and glanced back down at her bowl. ”Do you remember the soup Uncle Guo would make during the winter?”

Bai Han nodded and his eyes filled with an immediate smile. ”He always cooked better than me, huh?”

Rin chuckled. ”He cooked better than most of us.”

The two smiled at one another and laughed. When their laughter quiets down, they fell silent again. Rin's hands cupped around her bowl, the warmth penetrating through her skin and warming her up.

”I should have never let you go…” Bai Han suddenly said, his voice low.

Rin raised her head to stare into Bai Han's soft, remorseful gaze.

”Grandfather…”

”If I had just tried harder to make you stay, then you wouldn't have…” A tremor had developed in Bai Han's voice.

He suppressed his turbulent emotions and took in a deep breath, shoving all of his terrifying guesses to the bottom of his heart.

Rin sensed the turmoil of emotions in her grandfather. She noticed he had lowered his head and closed his eyes. His lips were pressed tightly together.

Her heart had already been aching for her grandfather ever since the day she had left. Now that she was seeing his frail condition in front of her, her heart ached even more.

”Grandfather, look at me,” Rin called out gently. She reached across the table and grasped his hand into hers. ”It's not your fault. I decided to leave. Even if you tried stopping me from leaving, I still would have gone. You can't beat yourself up over something you couldn't change.”

Bai Han's head shrunk even lower. Rin didn't continue speaking and simply stared. She tightened her hold on her grandfather's hand.

”You can't protect me forever.” She murmured softly.

At that moment, Bai Han drew in a deep breath and raised his head awash in affliction, his bloodshot eyes looking straight at Rin. He gripped her hand on top of his and squeezed.

”As your grandfather, it's my job to protect you. No matter when or where, I will use every bone in my body to protect you.”

Rin returned with an expression of surprise and her body froze up for two seconds. She lowered her head, hiding the pain-filled look that flashed briefly in her eyes.

Neither of them broke the silence. Instead, they took comfort in holding the others hand.

…

As the setting sun descended a rosy glow across the village, the four settled to stay one more night before returning.

In his room, An Sun silently lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, a knock sounding on his door caused him to lift himself from the bed.

Upon opening the door, An Sun was stunned. Standing before his door with their head raised to look at him was Rin. She blinked her emerald eyes innocently as the corners of her lips suddenly raised upon seeing him.

”May I come in?”

An Sun looked down at her without any visible emotions in his expression, although he appeared slightly stiff.

Did she realize how bad this would look if her grandfather suddenly showed up around the corner?

After a few seconds, An Sun cleared his throat and said, ”Come in.”

Nodding her head, Rin entered his room without a hint of awkwardness. An Sun's body stiffened even further when she passed by him, but instantly relaxed when he saw her calm composure.

What was he so nervous about?