Chapter 26: Will Huan and Xi Fulfill Their Promise? Su Nian's heart tightened, her eyes wide with alarm. She hastily grabbed Shen Yuhuan's wrist, instinctively resisting.

"Don't do this; I'm not ready yet."

Her eyes darted around, considering escape, but high up in the airplane, there was nowhere to run.

"How long will it take?"

To Su Nian's surprise, Shen Yuhuan did not force himself upon her. Blinking, she replied cautiously, "I don't know either. We've only known each other for two or three days; I'm not familiar with you. At the very least, we need some emotional foundation." Shen Yuhuan chuckled softly.

Under Su Nian's tense gaze, his fingers moved forward anyway, gently pinching her cheek.

"That's acceptable."

His action pushed his sleeve upward slightly, revealing a scar on his wrist. Against his jade-like skin, it looked startling. Su Nian exhaled a small sigh of relief, her eyes curving into smiles.

"Thank you."

Regardless, she was the one deceiving him, having failed to keep her promise.

"Little Nian-Nian, is a verbal thank-you enough?" Shen Yuhuan asked meaningfully, poking the dimple on her cheek.

His finger slid downward, then tapped her crimson lips, his implication clear. Su Nian's heart raced wildly. She quickly seized his hand and blurted out a random question, "What happened to the scar on your hand?"

Shen Yuhuan's gaze paused briefly. The tenderness in his eyes was covered by coldness, his voice turning chilly.

"I forgot."

In truth, he hadn't forgotten; he simply didn't wish to speak of it. Back then, he was only seven years old. On his birthday, he had found a cake beside a trash can. Delighted, he brought it back to share with Shen Yuxi. The cake was expired, discarded by someone else, yet they remained content. They inserted seven candles into it and made wishes full of hope: that their mother would no longer hate them, and that they could eat their fill every day. But their birthday was their mother's day of suffering. Seeing them celebrate, seeing that cake, she recalled the painful experience of being violated. Already mentally unstable, she snapped at that moment. She locked them inside a wooden hut and set the room ablaze. Raging flames, billowing smoke. Had a tour group not happened to pass by and extinguish the fire, they would likely have perished in those flames.

The burn scar on his wrist remained from that incident.

Afterward, they left that so-called "home,"

becoming two little vagrants. Paradoxically, life on the streets was somewhat better than life within that "home."

Though they still suffered hunger and cold, at least they weren't burned alive.

"Did it hurt very much?" Su Nian asked softly.

Her fingers brushed over the scar, her voice tinged with pity. Shen Yuhuan lowered his eyes, a slight ripple passing through his gaze.

Suddenly, he smiled again, as flamboyant and fiery as before.

"So many years have passed; it hasn't hurt for a long time."

"Yes, it's all in the past," Su Nian replied with a smile.

She felt somewhat guilty; knowing the novel's plot, she had deliberately tried to gain Shen Yuhuan's favor, hoping he would remember this bond and treat her kindly during their journey together.

"You look very beautiful when you smile," Shen Yuhuan said, his expression unreadable.

He tightened his arm around Su Nian.

"It would be even better if you could smile at me sincerely."

He was well aware that she was cautiously trying to please him. Su Nian muttered gloomily, "That sentence suits you better."

This fierce beast barely smiled from the heart; his entire demeanor was a facade.

"I promised to smile, so I should keep my word, even if it's a fake smile," Shen Yuhuan remarked, as if reminiscing, his emotions growing complex.

"The 'Huan' in my name, meaning joy, was given to me by Xi when we were ten. He hoped we could find happiness."

Over the years, he had concealed his true feelings remarkably well, keeping a smile perpetually on his face. Something stirred within Su Nian's heart.

"And what about Yuxi?"

"'Xi,' meaning hope, is the name I gave him," Shen Yuhuan said with a smile.

"Before the age of ten, we had no names. After ten, we became Joy and Hope."

Bound to operating tables, treated like lab rats during that period of pain and despair, joy and hope were their greatest wishes.Su Nian pressed her lips together, her gaze growing complicated. The novel had mentioned a few lines about the Shen twins' unfortunate childhood: shared tragic experiences had driven them to two extremes—one righteous, the other wicked. After joining the criminal investigation unit, Shen Yuxi's first act was to send the source of their tragedy—their biological father, Shen Ziming, the man who had violated their mother—to prison. After studying psychology, Shen Yuhuan's first act was to drive that same father insane, leaving him mentally broken, just like their mother.

"Nian Nian," Shen Yuhuan murmured, his eyes darkening slightly as his fingers brushed softly against Su Nian's lips, his gentle voice laced with aching tenderness,

"once, you were my dawn."

Back then, Su Nian had worn a white princess dress, exquisitely beautiful. To him, she had been like a little fairy, lofty and untouchable. When everyone—including his own parents—had despised him, she alone had not rejected him. She had been willing to take his hand, promising to take him to live in a castle and ride the carousel. Sadly, later on, she too had turned away from him— "You've dirtied my dress."

Su Nian's heart trembled; an inexplicable chill swept through her. Overwhelmed by the instinct to survive, she hastily pledged her loyalty, "I can still be your dawn now!"

Though she didn't fully understand Shen Yuhuan's words, she figured that stroking his fur wouldn't go wrong.

"Little liar, it's too late for that." Shen Yuhuan chuckled lightly.

Under Su Nian's tense gaze, he twined a strand of her hair around his finger, closed his eyes, and inhaled her scent gently.

"Nian Nian," he asked softly,

"will you accompany me to hell?"

Su Nian froze, her little heart quivering violently. She whimpered plaintively, "Why can't you accompany me to heaven instead?"

She sensed a hint of danger; she feared that if this ferocious beast unleashed its rage, her life would end right here. Shen Yuhuan broke into a soft laugh, looking at her.

"Scared?"

"Don't be afraid. I never harm the innocent."

He caressed her cheek, his smile as warm and gentle as a spring breeze.

"And you, although you've deceived me again and again—at least until now, I've never wanted to hurt you." Su Nian thought carefully, then stole a glance at him before asking uneasily,

"And you never will in the future either?"

"That depends on your behavior."

Shen Yuhuan's expression hovered between a smile and something else. He lowered his head and kissed her dimple with bone-deep tenderness. Su Nian's eyes fluttered nervously as she probed recklessly, "For example?"

She sat rigid, daring not to move a muscle. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but glance at the screen, only to meet Gu Yichen's gaze, filled with soul-crushing pain. That made her feel even more uneasy. One scoundrel of a man, plus one ferocious beast—being caught between them was exhausting!

"Be good, and don't make me angry."

Shen Yuhuan offered a vague answer. In truth, regarding Su Nian, he had only one bottom line; everything else, he could overlook. Su Nian nodded obediently, looking away awkwardly, until Xu Qing on the screen drew her attention back.

"Mom!" she called softly.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Qing had rushed immediately to the airport. As soon as she found Gu Yichen and Tang Shi, fury surged within her.

"Enough! You've forced Nian Nian to leave the country, and you—"

But catching sight of her son's expression, she faltered.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Yichen's face was grim, despair heavier than death itself.

"Nian Nian's flight… crashed."

His lips trembled as he whispered those words, light as dust. Xu Qing stood stunned.

"W-what?"

"Auntie, please don't worry,"

Tang Shi hurriedly interjected, supporting Xu Qing, who nearly collapsed.

"Nian Nian is fine. She wasn't on that flight."

She paused mid-sentence, feeling a piercing gaze. It was Gu Yichen. Disbelieving, his eyes bloodshot, he demanded, "What did you say?"

"J-just what you heard," Tang Shi stammered, trembling with fear.

"There were no passengers on that plane. Nian Nian wasn't on it. She's perfectly fine. Mr. Shen is with her…"

Gu Yichen's pupils constricted as he muttered to himself, "Nian Nian isn't dead?"

A wave of relief, as if surviving a catastrophe, and the joy of regaining something lost, crashed over him together, leaving his mind blank. Su Nian was not dead! She was still alive! There is no greater sorrow or joy in life than this. It took Gu Yichen a long while to finally react, each word slipping from his lips as if tinged with the taste of blood: "You mean Mr. Shen?"

"It has nothing to do with me; Mr. Shen forced me to say it,"

Tang Shi shifted the blame and darted away in a flash.

"Pretend I was never here."

Gu Yichen's expression shifted repeatedly, his eyes cold as ice and snow.

"Shen… Yu… Huan!"

Author: Mwah~ The next chapter will be released on the 11th at 11 PM,and it's a super long one~