Mo Xin’s smile deeply stung Liang Qiuchi.

He couldn’t answer such a sharp question. He didn’t even dare to imagine what he would do if Mo Xin really died – after all, Mo Xin’s well-being was the only thing that could temporarily comfort him in the endless darkness.

Suddenly, the sensation of a foreign object around his waist pulled Liang Qiuchi’s thoughts back.

He lowered his head to see that Mo Xin had a gun pointed at him.

“Quichi Ge, when we met at the military academy, I thought we would always fight side by side, even after you defected from the Federation. I never changed that thought,” Mo Xin released the safety on the gun, his eyes slowly turning red, “But you never gave me a chance. I truly hate you.”

“What are you doing, Mo Xin?!” Wu Yahui was startled by the sound of him releasing the safety, turning around and almost falling off the sofa.

Mo Xin seemed to ignore her, only staring fixedly at Liang Qiuchi, “Why don’t you ever ask for my opinion? Ask me if I’m afraid of death, if I’m willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with you to expose the truth? You really underestimate me…”

Liang Qiuchi’s eyes also began to redden, “I’m sorry…”

“That’s not what I want to hear,” Mo Xin chambered a round, raising his hand to press the muzzle against Liang Qiuchi’s chest, “I won’t let you abandon me a second time…”

“Mo Xin!” Wu Yahui’s face turned pale with fright, but Liang Qiuchi reached out a hand, gesturing for her not to move.

“Now you only have two choices,” Mo Xin said, “One, let me help you, find another chance to expose Reinis’s crimes to the Federation, and clear your father’s name; two, I kill you now, and then I commit suicide. You won’t get the fairness and justice you want, and I won’t be safe.”

In this situation, of course, Liang Qiuchi would choose “one”.

But Mo Xin didn’t lower the gun, “When I say find another chance, I don’t mean you should be stupid enough to turn yourself in.”

“But this is the best solution,” the conversation came full circle, like a strange loop, “Mo Xin, I really can’t wait any longer.”

“What do you mean?” Mo Xin asked.

“Have you ever thought about what would happen if Reinis wins the presidential election next month?” Liang Qiuchi sighed, “I can only make the most of the time left.”

Mo Xin pondered for a moment, then asked him, “Have you ever thought about what would happen if my father wins?”

Wu Yahui immediately changed her stance upon hearing this, chiming in, “Yeah, Qiuchi, if his dad becomes president, with that connection, our chances of success will be even greater!”

Liang Qiuchi looked into Mo Xin’s eyes and remained silent for a moment.

A glimmer of anticipation appeared in Mo Xin’s eyes.

Wu Yahui continued to persuade, “If we lose this bet, we can wait for another opportunity. You really don’t need to sacrifice your life. If you die, everyone will just use your death to make a fuss. How many people really care whether your father is innocent?”

“Let me help you,” Mo Xin redirected the muzzle, placing the gun in Liang Qiuchi’s hand, “This time, let me stand by your side. Can I?”

Liang Qiuchi looked down at the gun, then back into Mo Xin’s eyes.

This person in front of him, willing to give up his life just to stand by his side, the reasons he had for pushing him away no longer existed.

This time, he was willing to take a risk for Mo Xin.

Liang Qiuchi opened his arms and embraced him, “Okay, this time, we’ll do it together.”

Mo Xin hugged him back, silently relieved.

Wu Yahui also breathed a sigh of relief, sitting back on the sofa and staring at the full plate of food for a while before saying gloomily, “Are you two done hugging? The food’s getting cold. Are you going to eat it or not?”

Liang Qiuchi released the embrace, gently kissed Mo Xin’s cheek, and said, “Go warm up the food again, it’s not good for the stomach to eat cold food.”

“I used to see you eating cold food all the time, and it wasn’t such a big deal,” Wu Yahui rolled her eyes, “If you want to warm it up, do it yourself. I’m too lazy to move.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Liang Qiuchi smiled and actually picked up the tray to go outside and warm up the food.

Inside the suite there were only Wu Yahui and Mo Xin left for a moment.

Wu Yahui gestured to Mo Xin and asked in a low voice, “Do you think he’s really compromised and given up on turning himself in?”

Mo Xin thought for a moment. “He wouldn’t lie to me.” Even though he had left him out in the rain eight years ago, he had never lied to him.

“Don’t get too cocky. Stay vigilant. Years of planning and effort won’t change just because you said so.” Wu Yahui reminded him.

Mo Xin nodded. He didn’t need Wu Yahui’s reminder; he would be careful.

If necessary, he would use extreme measures to keep Liang Qiuchi by his side, and he would never let him risk his life by turning himself in.

“But speaking of which,” Wu Yahui swung her long legs over the sofa backrest, stepping on a small table, and took two steps to stand next to Mo Xin, “I’m curious, if he hadn’t agreed just now, would you really have shot him?”

Mo Xin was silent for a moment, then nodded again.

Wu Yahui looked at him like he was crazy. “You’ve got guts.”

Mo Xin said, “I wouldn’t have killed him. My goal was to buy time.”

“The premise of buying time is that you stay alive. Unfortunately, if you really had fired, people outside would have stormed in and turned you into a sieve.” Wu Yahui said with a smile.

Mo Xin turned his head to look at her, saying confidently, “You would have helped me.”

“Why would I help you? I don’t particularly like you,” Wu Yahui raised an eyebrow.

“But you like Liang Qiuchi,” Mo Xin’s gaze sharpened, “You don’t want him to sacrifice himself.”

Wu Yahui laughed and hooked her arm around his neck. “General Mo, I’m starting to like you a bit.” She pinched Mo Xin’s cheek cheerfully, withdrawing her hand before he could break her wrist. “Don’t worry, for all these years, Qiuchi’s heart has belonged to you, and I don’t want to give up the whole forest for him.”

“But you’ve been by his side for these years.” Mo Xin’s tone was calm, but Wu Yahui detected a hint of jealousy.

She laughed even more brightly. “I envy him for tattooing your name on his chest.”

Talking about this matter, Wu Yahui became excited.

She eagerly pulled Mo Xin onto the sofa, saying, “Let me tell you, this thing should have been quite touching, but Liang Qiuchi was so funny. He turned out to be allergic to tattoo ink!”

Mo Xin didn’t find it funny; he was concerned. “What about the allergy?”

“He didn’t say anything, just toughed it out,” Wu Yahui said with a hearty laugh, “But later, he couldn’t stand the itching, so he kept rubbing it on the tattoo bed, making the tattoo artist think he had some kind of weird fetish and gossiping with many people in private.”

Mo Xin furrowed his brow. “What gossip?”

“In any case, the made up stories got more and more outrageous. The version I heard was that Liang Qiuchi had a secret crush on the tattoo artist but had to lie on the artist’s bed to flirt with him, hahaha.”

Mo Xin’s brows furrowed even more tightly.

Wu Yahui laughed so hard she fell back on the sofa, patting Mo Xin’s thigh, “When we have the chance, I’ll make Qiuchi take you for a stroll around Lugo. You’ll see if he avoids that tattoo shop, hahaha.”

Liang Qiuchi returned with the heated food and heard the hearty laughter at the door, knowing what had happened.

He walked in resignedly. “Didn’t we agree not to bring this up again?”

“I’m just telling General Mo here what happened, he’s not a stranger,” Wu Yahui laughed and kicked Mo Xin’s foot, “Isn’t that right, General Mo?”

Mo Xin looked up at Liang Qiuchi and uttered a low “hm.”

Finally, he wasn’t an “outsider” anymore.