Chapter 36: Too Dangerous
Watching Shen Yuhuan obediently walk away, Su Nian finally relaxed a little.
It was for the best that Shen Yuxi could keep him in check; what she truly feared was him acting without any restraint.
But after Shen Yuxi stood up, he walked toward the corridor, clearly intending to have a private conversation.
That imposing demeanor made Su Nian unable to suppress her worry.
Su Nian carefully weighed the situation, forcing down her urge to follow, and obediently sat waiting.
Given Shen Yuhuan’s talent for lying without batting an eye, he should be able to slip past unnoticed; besides, without evidence, Shen Yuxi couldn’t just make baseless accusations.
“Nian Nian, you know something.” Su Xingye hesitated, noticing her unease, and lowered his voice. “Once we’re back in China, we’ll leave.”
He wanted no part in those turbulent affairs, fearing they would only hurt Su Nian.
Su Nian hesitated for a moment before nodding, yet her gaze remained fixed on the corridor.
Separated by a glass window, she couldn’t hear their words, only see the expressions on their faces.
“I have a question, and I hope you will answer me honestly.” Shen Yuxi asked with grave seriousness, his gaze intense and unwavering. “Huan, are you truly the Judge?”
Admittedly, suspicion still lingered in his heart; rather than letting his mind wander into conjecture, he decided to settle the matter once and for all.
Shen Yuhuan stared fixedly at him, the smile fading from his face. The two men faced each other with identical expressions of gravity, looking as though they were gazing into a mirror.
“In what capacity do you ask me this?” he suddenly asked with a smile.
“Family.” Shen Yuxi clenched his fists, his heart trembling violently.
He closed his eyes. Things were unfolding in the direction he feared most, yet he was powerless to stop them. “Twenty-five years of bond—from the moment it appeared, from the moment it was born—we have been the closest of all. Now, speaking from that very identity, I ask you: are you truly the Judge?”
The air seemed to solidify. They suffered in their respective silences. In the empty corridor, a passerby or two occasionally glanced over with curious eyes.
“Yes!” The single word erupted suddenly, like a thunderclap striking from clear sky.
Shen Yuxi’s eyes snapped open, his gaze freezing as his entire body went rigid.
The wind carried a chill. He stared at him in disbelief; the other’s expression was so serene, his eyes filled with ease and tranquility, warm sunlight reminiscent of the boy next door.
It doesn’t hurt; it’s just that the candy got crushed.
When we have money, let’s give each other a piece of candy every day, okay?
Xi, as in ‘hope.’ That will be your name. May we still have hope.
We will. We will survive. There will be hope of escaping this laboratory!
I never expected you to apply to the police academy.
While we were trapped in that lab, I prayed countless times for someone to find us and rescue us, only to be met with despair each time. So I decided to become a people’s police officer—to bring hope to others.
I thought your original intention in becoming a police officer was to punish evil and seek justice for the victims.
It turned out that their perspectives had diverged from that very moment: one sought salvation, the other revenge; one aimed to bring hope, the other to vent the victims’ hatred.
“Don’t…” Shen Yuxi’s voice was rough, like machinery long unused, struggling painfully to turn. “Don’t joke!”
Uncontainable anguish burned in his eyes; all he could do was clench his fists, resisting the surging chill that flooded in.
It’s not like this!
It shouldn’t be like this either!
“You clearly suspected me, asked the question, and I admitted it—yet now you refuse to believe me?” Shen Yuhuan seemed helplessly resigned, yet beneath that lay a serene naturalness, as if all pretense had been washed away, returning him to his most genuine self.
He spoke softly, “When you ask me as family, I would never lie to you. You know that deep in your heart.”
Another silence, dead and heavy, settled over them.
Shen Yuxi steadied his trembling heart, his voice still rough, as if weighed down by a dull, persistent pain: “Why? The law exists. Those criminals have already been judged. There was no need for you to…”
“I only know the meaning of ‘justice’,” Shen Yuhuan replied calmly. “Those who do wrong must pay an equal price. Forgiveness or pardon is not decided by the law, but by the victims. My mission is simply to send them to face those they harmed.”
Shen Yuxi drew a deep breath, forcing his chaotic emotions to settle, trying to untangle the knotted threads of his thoughts.
With sorrow in his voice, he asked, “And what about you? Law is order, the universally accepted social code. Who gave you the right to judge criminals based solely on your own likes and dislikes, replacing the law itself?”
“Xi,” Shen Yuhuan sighed heavily, stepping forward with deliberate weight before reaching out to embrace Shen Yuxi. “I have never believed I should escape punishment. I broke the law, violated the social rules you all accept; being judged by you through legal means is only natural.”
He added with a faint smile, “But if you lack evidence and cannot catch me, then do not accuse me, nor argue with me about right and wrong. You have your laws to uphold, and I have my own code to follow. Let us leave each other be!”
Shen Yuxi fell silent, his mind tangled and chaotic, unable to find words to respond.
He had suspected it, braced himself for the truth, yet when his suspicions were confirmed, he still found it unbelievable, impossible to accept.
“Xi, don’t be like this.” Shen Yuhuan patted his shoulder, smiling softly. “There’s only a confession, no witnesses or physical evidence. The proof against me is insufficient. Even if I turn myself in, you couldn’t convict me. We won’t be parted by death or distance just yet. Come on, smile?”
But Shen Yuxi threw a punch at him. The force wasn’t heavy; Shen Yuhuan didn’t even step back.
“Heaven’s net is vast, its meshes wide, yet nothing slips through.” His eyes held complex emotions, filled with unbearable sorrow and regret. “I will find the evidence of your crimes! And when that time comes… then…”
At that time, how could he submit the evidence? How could an arrest warrant be issued against him?
“Then congratulations on capturing me; you’re about to become famous worldwide,” Shen Yuhuan said with a smile.
He glanced at the waiting hall behind the glass window, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips. “But you’d better hurry. Once Su Nian and I are married, I plan to quit this game. Trying to gather evidence after that will be much harder for you.”
Shen Yuxi froze for a moment, then followed his gaze toward Su Nian. “Why?”
“Where it began is naturally where it must end.” Shen Yuhuan suddenly tilted his head, a teasing mischief in his expression. “After three years as a test subject, all because of Su Nian—she gave me hope, only to destroy it with her own hands. Don’t you think, Xi, that she owes me compensation?”
There were only two forms of compensation: either death, or belonging to him.
Shen Yuxi did not answer, but his gaze upon Su Nian grew slightly heavier. “You named me ‘Hope,’ and I have fulfilled that promise, holding fast to hope no matter what. But the name I once gave you—’Joy’—have you ever lived up to it?”
That was ten years ago, the most beautiful wish he had ever bestowed upon Shen Yuhuan.
“No,” Shen Yuhuan replied after a moment of silence, a faint smile touching her lips. “From the moment I received my name, there has not been a single instant where I felt truly happy. But you were happy. I gave my hope to you; you remained optimistic and upward-looking, while I could not. All I could do was hypnotize myself into making you believe that I, too, was happy.”
Shen Yuxi’s eyes dimmed, yet catching Su Nian’s worried expression, he instinctively softened his demeanor. He offered her a gentle, reassuring smile, signaling her not to worry.
“Should be fine, right?” Su Nian murmured.
At first, the solemn expressions on their faces had made her worry, but then Shen Yuxi broke into a smile. Surely that meant the storm had passed and the sky was clear again?
Gu Yichen’s gaze remained cold and heavy as he couldn’t help but warn, “Nian Nian, stay away from them. It’s too dangerous; I’m afraid they might hurt you.”
Whether it was a “trial” or not, the Shen brothers were utterly detestable; staying far away from them was the best course of action.
“You’re no better than them,” Su Nian snapped irritably.
Whatever the future may hold, at least up until now, neither Shen Yuhuan nor Shen Yuxi had ever caused her any harm.
Yet keeping a distance is also necessary.
Gu Yichen swallowed his anger and said in a low, steady voice, “You promised that if I knelt, you would forget the past and give us a chance to start anew!”
Su Nian opened her mouth to take back her words, but Gu Yichen stated coldly and sternly, “If you renege, then I will no longer abide by your rules. I will use my own methods to make you belong to me again.”
He said those words with grave seriousness and utmost sincerity.
Su Nian felt a suffocating frustration in her heart; truly, circumstances held more power than people. Every single one of them acted like a lord, refusing to let her go.
“Fine, I’ll return to China!” She stopped Su Xingye.
Su Nian had no intention of running anymore. Rather than hiding in humiliation, she might as well confront these bastards head-on.
She had a billion yuan; surely that counted for something. What was there to fear?