“It’s okay, if you don’t come with me, I can come to you.” Mo Xin held Liang Qiuchi’s hand tightly, trying to persuade him, “I can stand guard outside and keep watch. I’m good at it, you know.”

“What about your family?” Liang Qiuchi asked him.

“Their opinion doesn’t matter, anyway, I’ve always been an invisible person in that family.” Mo Xin smiled bitterly, “Don’t you remember? I’ve had little to do with them all along.”

“So you can betray the Federation without any psychological burden?” Liang Qiuchi shook his head at him. “Mo Xin, you’re thinking too lightly and too simplistically about this.”

“What do you want me to do then?” Mo Xin’s eyes turned red.

“I want you to go home!” Liang Qiuchi looked at him with red eyes too, tears brimming in his eyes.

Mo Xin was stunned for a moment.

In his memory, this should be the second time he had seen Liang Qiuchi cry.

Liang Qiuchi lowered his head, quickly adjusted his emotions, and regained his composure before looking at Mo Xin again. “The path of treason, I can walk alone. You don’t need to accompany me to my death.”

“I have the ability to protect myself, I don’t need you to worry about my safety.” Mo Xin forced a bitter smile and said to Liang Qiuchi, “Actually, you just don’t love me that much, so when things happen, I’m the first one to be abandoned.”

Liang Qiuchi opened his mouth to explain, but ultimately swallowed back the words.

At this moment, the door of the suite was kicked open, and Wu Yahui walked in swaggeringly with a tray of hot dishes.

“I don’t like what you just said!”

She casually threw the tray onto the coffee table in front of the sofa, splashing soup everywhere.

Wu Yahui sat down on the nearby single seat, and nodded towards Mo Xin, “Do you know that year when Qiuchi was shot and got a fever? He kept muttering your name in his sleep. And that time when we were transporting goods, he almost fought with someone because they accidentally spilled wine on his phone. It’s because there’s a picture of you in his phone, he was afraid of losing it.”

“Ya Hui, you better shut up,” 

Wu Yahui glared at Liang Qiuchi and then turned to Mo Xin again, “Qiuchi has encountered few dangers in these eight years, only three or four times almost dying. Every time, I had to chant your name like a mantra to him for him to pull through.”

She crossed her arms and looked at Mo Xin with a sneer, “And this recent time, if it weren’t for hearing that you were assassinated with a black gun, he would have rushed out to see you like a madman, he wouldn’t have been caught, would he?”

Wu Yahui became angrier as she spoke, “General Mo, love doesn’t have to mean tying explosives to yourself and threatening your life just to prove your love.”

Mo Xin stared at Liang Qiuchi fixedly, his breath not quite steady.

Liang Qiuchi leaned against the sofa, looking exhausted.

“You two grown men in a relationship, just say what you need to say, don’t keep misunderstanding each other, neither being able to be together properly nor breaking up cleanly, it’s annoying.” Wu Yahui got up angrily and walked outside. When she reached the door, she turned back and winked at Liang Qiuchi, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop just now.”

With that, she closed the door and left.

The large room fell into silence.

After a long time, Mo Xin spoke, breaking the heavy atmosphere, “Since it’s so difficult, why choose the hardest path?” He looked at Liang Qiuchi, “Your father’s guilt wouldn’t have implicated you.”

“My dad is innocent,” Liang Qiuchi said firmly, “He’s a soldier, he values honor more than his own life. He would never betray secrets for a few bucks, or betray me.”

His voice softened.

Mo Xin was also willing to believe him.

When Liang Qiuchi shot Reinis’ son and defected from the Federation, the news caused a sensation. Mo Xin was shocked when he heard about it. Unable to contact Liang Qiuchi, he could only try to piece together the missing parts of the story from the overwhelming news reports.

But at that time, the media structure was still simple, ultimately just a mouthpiece manipulated by the Federation. The information he could access had been filtered and modified. The truth was unknown to him.

Over the years, he had inquired about the Liang family’s situation, but those who knew about it kept silent, even his father and older brother refused to mention it. So he never knew what had happened, what twist of fate had caused him to lose everything he should have had in just a few days.

“What exactly happened?” Mo Xin asked.

He needed to hear the truth from Liang Qiuchi’s own mouth.

Liang Qiuchi recalled the past, his head throbbing. He pinched his temples and said in a muffled voice, “It all started with that training camp.”

If time could be reversed, he would rather never have signed up for that training camp.

At that time, Mo Xin had just entered the military academy, and Liang Qiuchi, as a representative of outstanding students, had signed up for the Special Forces preparatory force selection training.

The training was scheduled for the summer vacation of the next semester. At that time, Mo Xin and Liang Qiuchi had been “desk mates” in elective courses for more than half a year.

Xiang Bei especially had opinions about the fact that they still hadn’t made their relationship official.

“You two are always flirting with each other, today I bring you water, tomorrow I bring you food, you have to stick together in physical training every day. Even the dogs in school know you two are an item! And yet, you keep dragging it out without confessing your feelings. Liang Qiuchi, I never knew you were such a procrastinator,” Xiang Bei said.

“What’s it to you,” Liang Qiuchi chuckled, “None of your business.”

“How is it not my business?” Xiang Bei said, “Do you know that now Mo Xin sends me messages every day to check on your situation?”

“Huh?” Liang Qiuchi looked at him with amusement, “He texts you? Checking on my situation?”

“He knows this training is tough and tiring. He doesn’t want to disturb your rest or distract you, so he comes to me!” Xiang Bei rolled his eyes dramatically, “Come on, I’m also in the training camp! I don’t want to sweat and cry while eating your dog food!”

Liang Qiuchi laughed heartily and patted his shoulder, “Thanks for your hard work.”

“On another note, when are you going to confess?” Xiang Bei smirked at him, “You’re progressing too slowly, haven’t even held hands yet? Are you capable at all? I’m worried for you.”

“Focus on your own business,” Liang Qiuchi said.

Liang Qiuchi glanced at his watch. They had fifteen minutes of call time every night before rest to communicate with the outside world, and it was almost time.

He went to the instructor to get a phone, opened the photo album as usual to look at Mo Xin’s picture, and then dialed Mo Xin’s number.

They hadn’t contacted each other for four or five days, and they couldn’t help but want to ask about each other’s well-being.

After two interruptions, Liang Qiuchi smiled and said, “You go first.”

Mo Xin’s voice came through the earpiece, clear and cold, teasing yet elusive, “Is the training tough?”

“Not too tough, just occasional insomnia at night, wanting to chat with you,” Liang Qiuchi sighed with a smile, “But unfortunately, we have to turn in our phones, so I can’t contact you.”

“Mm,” Mo Xin was silent for a few seconds, then his voice suddenly softened, “I miss you too.”

Liang Qiuchi’s heart skipped a beat, gripping the phone tightly, he took a few deep breaths secretly and said, “Mo Xin, after the training ends, I’ll come to find you. There are some things I want to say to you in person.”

“Mm,” Mo Xin responded again, “I have something to say in person too.”

“Then it’s a date,” Liang Qiuchi smiled with his eyes and eyebrows curved, “Twenty-two more days, we’ll set a time and place then.”

Mo Xin found the twenty-odd days unbearable. He couldn’t wait to see Liang Qiuchi. He asked, “Where are you training? Can I come find you?”

“Are you asking me to break the rules?” The specific location of the training needed to be kept confidential. Liang Qiuchi couldn’t say, “All I can tell you is that I’m not too far from your home.”

He tapped the back of the phone and said goodbye to Mo Xin with a smile, “My time is almost up, let’s talk again next time.”

“Okay,” Mo Xin said, “I’ll wait for you.”

Liang Qiuchi reluctantly hung up the phone, about to call his father to report his safety, when the emergency siren blared.

At the assembly point not far away, a dazzling red emergency beacon pierced the tranquil darkness of the night.