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A Battle of Wits

Chapter 6: Closure

Summary:

Benjamin tends to Huo Wensi's severe injuries while Luo Fei confronts Captain. Something goes terribly wrong, but the team isn't about to go down without a fight.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Warning: Some scenes might be disturbing to some readers (blood). Proceed with caution.

Benjamin feels his blood run cold at the sight of Captain standing very steadily on his own two feet, looking not much different than he had years ago. Aside from the fact that passing years—and jail time—have left their mark on his face, and that his white hair, which has grown tremendously since, is falling in wild cascades down past his shoulders, Captain hasn’t really changed that much. The emptiness in his eyes has been replaced with a look of pure malice, one that Benjamin hasn’t been able to forget since that fated day. The senile old man has ceased to exist, making way for the notoriously evil mastermind known to all. Captain is back, and he hasn’t come alone.

So many questions plague Benjamin’s mind, but now is not the time for that.

He has a life to save.

Feeling his heart hammering in his chest, Benjamin forces himself to focus on his patient while keeping an eye on the scene taking place a few feet away. “Xiaoman.” Benjamin calls his friend, who tears her gaze away from Captain to look at him. “Give me your scarf, please.” Xiaoman obliges him without hesitation, unwinding the scarf from around her neck and handing it to Benjamin, who secures it around Huo Wensi’s waist, before pressing down on the wound spurting blood at a rapid pace in order to stop the hemorrhage.

Huo Wensi gasps at the sudden pressure, his eyebrows scrunching together in pain, and he looks up at Benjamin feebly. Benjamin holds his gaze for a second before returning to the task at hand, hating to see this man, whom he should hate more than anyone else in this world, suffer, and to feel overwhelming pity for him. “...Don’t think that I’ve forgiven you.”

Huo Wensi’s attempt to laugh in ridicule at Benjamin fails miserably as the sound gets stuck in his throat and he gurgles, choking on his own red-tinged saliva. “I wouldn’t... dream of it...” He groans, squeezing his eyes shut, then lets out a shuddering breath as Benjamin presses down harder on the wound, from which blood is still flowing in much too great an amount. Benjamin feels a wave of sympathy come over him, unable to imagine the magnitude of his suffering.

“I know it hurts, but you have to bear with it.”

Huo Wensi grunts, growing paler by the second. “Why are you h-helping me...? I don’t need you t-... feel sorry... for me.”

“I’m not doing this for you.” Benjamin mutters, looking up to see what is happening on the other side. Captain and Luo Fei almost appear to be making small talk, catching up like old friends, neither of them willing to show the slightest hint of weakness... but Benjamin knows the inner turmoil Luo Fei must be experiencing right now. He wishes he could be by his side during this trying time, but he has been given a mission, and he intends to carry it through.

Huo Wensi’s lamentations draw Benjamin’s attention to him once more. His complexion has turned ashen, most likely from the agony he is currently enduring, seeing how Benjamin has managed to reduce the blood loss drastically.

If only Benjamin had something to help numb the pain...

Suddenly, Benjamin remembers the needle prick marks on Luo Fei’s arm. “Do you have more of what you gave Luo Fei?”

Huo Wensi’s eyes skim over Benjamin’s face without really seeing him, gradually losing their focus as his mind teeters dangerously close to the edge of consciousness. “In my l-left... p-pocket...” He manages to croak out miserably.

Motioning for Xiaoman to take over for him momentarily, Benjamin wipes his bloodied hands on his trousers and reaches inside Huo Wensi’s pocket to retrieve the small syringe, flicking it with his thumb and forefinger and squirting the liquid a little before injecting it into Huo Wensi’s arm. “...It’s alright. You’re gonna be alright.” Benjamin reassures Huo Wensi in a soothing voice, trying to hold down his trashing body on one side, and grabbing his other hand when it shoots out uncontrollably, holding it tightly in his own to show him that he’s not alone in this.

That he won’t let him die.

Soon after, Huo Wensi’s eyelids start to droop, his head lolling to the side as he slips into oblivion.

******

It had happened at dusk, in between shifts at the jail.

One of Captain’s most loyal followers had bribed the serving warden with what must have been a very pretty sum, thereafter successfully replacing him, taking over his identity and—most importantly—his job, which consisted of keeping an eye on the institution’s most dangerous inmate. After assuming his position, the man had wandered off to the prison courtyard with Captain in tow, making it look like he was taking him out for his daily stroll. Due to the fact that he was clad in the appropriate standard uniform, and also that most of the guards did not now pay much mind to his prisoner, who appeared as harmless as he was insane, he had been able to wheel him past the gates effortlessly.

Captain had never intended to let Huo Wensi succeed him as the leader of the Green Dragon Society. No, he had every intention of getting out of the dreadful hole in which Luo Fei and Savoy’s men had put him. For a while, however, he would let Huo Wensi believe that he was being handed this important role, so that attention could be shifted away from himself while he prepared his escape. Once the police had their sights set on Huo Wensi, Captain would be free to stage this risky operation. All the better if Huo Wensi could take out a few of Captain’s biggest adversaries for him.

Captain had considered using Jin Bubai at first, but Huo Wensi was a much better candidate, with his overinflated sense of self and his almost sociopathic tendencies. Jin Bubai was fickle and his actions couldn’t be predicted. Besides, he had practically handed himself over to the police to play his little game and Captain had no use for such an unruly substitute.

The hard truth was that the loyalties of the members of the Green Dragon Society lied with Captain—its figurehead.

A symbol to inspire fear and obedience, and ensure the organization’s continued supremacy and power over time.

Huo Wensi had merely been a tool to fulfill the Society’s criminal agenda.

He’s kind of pitiful. Luo Fei thinks to himself as he glances sideways at Benjamin bent over Huo Wensi’s bleeding form. Although I have more pressing matters to worry about right now...

Luo Fei scans his surroundings, going over his options. Savoy is currently not in a position to do anything, what with the knife to his throat and his gun lying on the floor a few feet away from his reach, and while Ye Changqing is armed, he has a hostage, which he would do better than to let go of. Benjamin and Xiaoman are busy looking after Huo Wensi, though even if Xiaoman were to take out her gun, she would probably be too far away to aim properly if the need arose. One of the men that Savoy took with him is down, while two others are being held by the enemy and seem to be injured...

Hm, that’s strange. Luo Fei muses. There are too many people to fit in a single vehicle, but not enough to fill up two cars. Are we missing someone? I can’t imagine that Det Sup Savoy wouldn’t have brought as many men as possible with him.

Captain chooses this moment to interrupt the train of Luo Fei’s spinning thoughts. He smiles malevolently, making the fiery anger burning inside of Luo Fei’s chest flare up at once.

“Luo Fei. It’s been a while since you last came to visit. I was starting to think you had forgotten about me.”

Luo Fei grits his teeth, then pauses to close his eyes and take a deep long breath in order to control himself, but Captain’s sudden appearance has suddenly made all of Luo Fei’s pent-up anger rush to the surface, making it impossible for him to calm down. “How could I ever forget you after you murdered my little sister in cold blood, you sick freak...?” Luo Fei asks in a low voice, positively seething with hostility, his hands clenching into tight fists at his side.

Captain’s parched lips curl up into an ugly grimace, and he appears amused by Luo Fei’s vain attempt to wound him with words only. “Oh, her? She was merely at the wrong place, at the wrong time. There’s no need to take it so personally.” The old man says matter-of-factly, dismissing the topic with a mere shrug.

This time, Luo Fei has to hold himself back by force not to run up to the madman and strangle him on the spot.

Lies.” He snarls. “You can insult my intelligence as much as you want, but don’t you dare make light of Luo Hui’s death.”

Captain’s malicious smile vanishes from his face, leaving room only for the savage expression of one mentally unsound. “If that’s the case, then... You’re right, I killed her. And not because it made a difference to me whether she lived or died, but because I knew that it would destroy you, which is exactly what I wanted.”

“You’re a monster.” Luo Fei growls, cursing Captain’s existence with his entire being. “...She didn’t deserve this.”

Why didn’t you come after me instead...? How could you take it out on a little girl, you sorry excuse of a human being?

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t gotten in my way.” Captain points out cruelly. “It’s all your fault.”

Luo Fei feels a pang to his heart. That one hurts, because Luo Fei knows there’s some truth to it.

“Why am I even talking to you?” Luo Fei asks—more to himself—feeling thoroughly annoyed for allowing Captain’s mind games to get to him, all the while trying to evaluate how much time it might take for Captain to raise his gun if he tried to make a run for it, and whether that would be enough for him to take cover without being riddled with bullets. Luo Fei himself is unarmed—completely vulnerable—and as much as he wants Captain to pay for his crimes, he isn’t in a hurry to roll over and die at his hand. “Nothing can erase what you’ve done. I don’t have anything more to say to you.”

This remark seems to trigger something in Captain, whose eyes sparkle with amusement.

“Oh, but Luo Fei... The more you talk, the longer you’ll live. Why do you think I’m here? Just for old time’s sake?”

Suddenly feeling a bit uneasy, Luo Fei turns to glance at Savoy, whose eyes slowly widen in understanding.

Captain gives a barely perceptible nod towards Luo Fei, and two of his men come out from behind him and grab Luo Fei by the shoulders before he can get away, pushing him down to his knees and holding him in place. Numerous cries of protest erupt all around him, but Luo Fei can barely hear them—suddenly, all his mind can focus on is the feeling of the barrel of a gun being pressed against the back of his skull, accompanied by a dull ringing sound in his head.

Through the surrounding chaos, a familiar voice stands out from the rest, reaching Luo Fei’s ears with utmost clarity.

Stop! Please, don’t do this!”

Although Luo Fei can’t see what is going on, seeing how he’s facing the wrong way, he can picture Benjamin springing up to his feet and rushing over to be by his side. Ben... Luo Fei thinks to himself, setting his jaw so as not to let his expression betray his emotions. Stay back. Don’t throw away your life so easily. There’s nothing you can do... But Luo Fei is aware that it’s pointless for him to pray that Benjamin will stand by and watch him get executed, having done nothing to prevent it. He knows that, regardless of the situation, Benjamin will follow him anywhere—even after life.

Captain makes a vague motion towards Benjamin. “Take him as well if he’s so eager to die.”

Before Benjamin can react, another pair of thugs walk up to him with the intent of subjecting him to the same treatment as Luo Fei. Yet despite his towering height and initial attempt to resist, Benjamin is brought down automatically, collapsing to his knees, when one of the gangsters strikes the back of his leg with the butt of his gun. “Kneel!

Benjamin cooperates without saying a word, turning to glance at Luo Fei who gives him a mournful look, as if to say: ‘Sorry, pal. I didn’t mean to drag you into this.’

Benjamin replies with a weak smile. ‘Don’t apologize. This was my own decision, Luo Fei.’

“Let them go or I’ll shoot you down!” Xiaoman’s voice rings out through the heavy silence reigning in the room.

With only a single look at her, Captain can tell that she’s bluffing—of course she isn’t going to do that, for fear that her two friends might be done away with in front of her very eyes the minute she presses the trigger. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, little girl.” Captain warns her dangerously, lifting up his own weapon and pointing it in her direction.

All of a sudden, someone fires their gun several times in a row.

Four times, to be precise.

Complete silence reigns for the span of a second—maybe two at best—before the sound of a gunshot pierces the air once again, followed by terrible howls of pain close by.

Shocked beyond belief, Luo Fei lifts his eyes to look at the old man nursing his right hand—and his good arm—gingerly, blood flowing down his fingertips to the ground. Captain’s gun lies forgotten in the pool of gore slowly spreading on the cement floor. To Luo Fei’s astounded mind, an eternity seems to pass during which the entire room remains frozen still, but in reality, barely a second has gone by when all hell breaks loose.

It isn’t clear who fired the shots, but as soon as everyone recovers from the surprise, a number of things happen at once.

Savoy grabs his captor’s arm in an iron grip and twists it around, making him drop the knife which Savoy hurries to kick across the floor with his boot, catching his assailant before the man can think of escaping and handcuffing him in a snap. Meanwhile, Ye Changqing makes use of the momentum to bind his hostage’s hands so he can free his own and be more useful to the team, and Xiaoman flips over a table which she uses to hide, poking her head out from behind her makeshift shield at intervals to fire her gun. The two remaining junior officers break free from the enemy’s clutches, pulling out their guns to lend aid to their comrades in arms despite their injuries.

Bullets fly across the room, cracking and whizzing through the air as all present do their best to avoid them.

Throwing himself on his stomach, Luo Fei crawls over to Captain’s gun to retrieve it while his nemesis tries to regain the use of his injured limb without much success. When Captain notices what Luo Fei is doing, he tries to prevent him from laying lands on the discarded weapon by stepping on his fingers. Thankfully, Luo Fei manages to get to it before him, but Captain, now thoroughly enraged, makes to come at Luo Fei with his bare hands. Before he can reach him, however, someone grabs his ankles and makes him lose his balance, sending him crashing to the floor. Under the rain of shells, Luo Fei pushes himself up to his hands and knees, ready to throw himself at Captain while he’s on his back and vulnerable, but Benjamin stops him, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of harm’s way.


It’s not safe to stay here! Let’s take cover for now!” Benjamin yells over the deafening sound of bullets ricocheting, and the two friends rush to safety, half-carrying one another.

And then the tables turn.

Barely perceptible through the commotion, the wooden planks which were nailed to the front doors shatter to pieces under the weight of the men breaking through them, yelling ‘police!’, and a squadron of officers barge into the room to join the gunfight. In a moment of epiphany, Luo Fei suddenly realizes what the series of gunshot had been intended for: it was a signal, meant to alert the men on standby, waiting outside to storm the place. As these thoughts cross his mind, Luo Fei glances once more at Captain and notices that he has gotten back up and, seeing how the way through the entrance is now blocked, is currently heading further inside, deeper into the building.

Before he can get far, two other bullets rip through Captain’s chest, but the man barely flinches, pressing on madly as if driven by an inner force.

I gotta hand it to him; he’s determined... Luo Fei muses with wonder. But where is he headed?

That leaves two possibilities: either an alternate exit...

Or the rooftop.

******

“Stop right there!” Xiaoman yells, scrambling up the stairs and smashing down the door leading outside.

But at that moment, standing on the roof, Xiaoman finds herself completely alone in the dim light of dawn.

For a moment, she starts to think that she might have made a mistake, until she spots a trail of blood leading towards the edge of the building. Warily, Xiaoman walks up to the railing and peers over it, expecting to find the silhouette of a body outlined against the hard earth, swimming in a pool of blood. Instead, she notices a dark figure getting out of a thicket of bushes with much difficulty, before limping in the direction of the woods. Upon seeing this, Xiaoman begins to climb up the guardrail to follow after Captain trying to make his escape—she has no intention of letting him get away—when a hand shoots out of nowhere and grabs her to keep her from jumping off the ledge.

Confused, Xiaoman whirls around to face her superior, but Savoy only shakes his head, wearing a solemn expression.

She has survived worst falls than this. Besides, they don’t have much time!

“S-Sir...?”

“Don’t act rashly. I’ll send some men to go after him, but given the state he’s in, he won’t last long.” Savoy explains, putting his hand behind her back to lead her farther away from the railing in case she decides to change her mind and disobey his orders. Xiaoman knows that the man is probably right, yet she feels slightly frustrated by this turn of events, as she had been looking forward to putting Captain in irons and giving Luo Fei the justice he deserves.

Together, Savoy and Xiaoman start making their way back to the first floor.

On their way down, they meet with Benjamin, Luo Fei and Officer Li—the young trainee who had appeared right on time to save the day by alerting the backup troops—and the small group returns to the main hall to reconvene with everyone.

After dispatching a small squadron of policemen to pursue their fugitive, Savoy sends Huo Wensi out with some officers to receive treatment at a hospital. Though still unconscious after losing a significant amount of blood, his heartbeat is stable thanks to Benjamin’s emergency care. “I don’t need to stress how important it is that you never, and I must insist, never let him out of your sight. No bathroom breaks allowed.” Savoy orders the men before they depart, feeling a strange impression of déja vu coming over him at the familiarity of the scene.

Huo Wensi would suffer the consequences of his crimes—most likely by going back to prison—but hopefully this time, he would keep a low profile and not go after them again, now that he owed them his life.

Once that’s out of the way, Savoy starts heading towards the senior officer who had led the troops here.

“Zhan Yi.”

“Savoy! Come on here, brother!” Zhan Yi exclaims as his friend approaches him, giving him a cheerful pat on the back. “Are you alright? I feared we might have come too late...”

But another voice interrupts Savoy before he can place in a word. “Sergeant Zhan? Is that you, sir?”

Behind him, Savoy can hear quick footsteps approaching. Seconds later, Benjamin and Luo Fei emerge from a small crowd of nearby onlookers, looking ecstatic at the sight of their past mentor. “Sergeant Zhan! It’s so good to see you, sir! How have you been?” Luo Fei asks excitedly before Benjamin, giving him a lovingly disapproving look, motions for him to stand up straight and give their sergeant a proper salute.

“It’s Major Zhan now.” Savoy corrects him like a doting father pretending to be strict on his son for his own good, although he smiles conspiratorially at Zhan Yi over Luo Fei’s shoulder.

“At ease, boys. No need for formalities.” Zhan Yi chuckles, dismissing the deferential gesture.

Luo Fei and Benjamin share an excited look.

“Oh, wow!”

“Congratulations, sir!”

Taking a few steps forward to better examine his protégés, Zhan Yi briefly ponders what action he should take that would be appropriate in this situation, but then thinks better of it, deeming this joyous occasion a better opportunity than any to forego official procedure and decorum. Smiling fondly, he musses Benjamin’s hair, who ducks his head and offers him a boyish smile. “I see you’ve been taking good care of them, Savoy.” Zhan Yi remarks appreciatively, before turning to Luo Fei and taking in the sight of him, quirking an eyebrow at the odd combination of pajamas and white coat.
                                              

Luo Fei looks down at himself, then grins at his former instructor. “It’s a long story—Major, sir.”

Zhan Yi seems satisfied with this answer. “Still attached at the hip, are we, huh? You boys haven’t changed at all...” He marvels, before noticing something and reappraising his earlier statement. “Eh? But it seems like you’ve finally sorted things out between you. That’s good... You look happy!” He adds, roaring with laughter when Benjamin’s cheeks turn a faint pink hue and Luo Fei scratches his head, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Actually, I’m glad you two stuck with each other. That shows that you were listening after all when I was lecturing you rascals about teamwork and camaraderie, weren’t you.” Zhan Yi laughs to himself, reminiscing about the past. Changing the subject, he returns his attention to his longtime comrade who is observing the scene with a mix of barely-concealed amusement and affection. “Savoy. I heard that Ah Fang played an important part today?”

Savoy nods once, beaming with pride.

“Your nephew really outdid himself out there. Surely a feat of this magnitude is deserving of a medal of honor.”

As if on cue, a young officer bearing resemblance with Zhan Yi confidently marches towards the group, greeting his seniors with respect before addressing his superior. Another trainee follows close behind.

The two young men line up in front of the senior officers to make their report.

“Sir, Officer Li and I will be taking the girls back to the station now. From there, we’ll contact their families and send them home. We know some of them had relatives working in the other mills, so we’ll head there with Officer Ye after this to rescue the other victims. Also, some of the girls have expressed an interest in joining the force in a few years under the supervision of Officer Qin—I guess we can expect an increase in female police officers in the near future!” Officer Zhan informs Savoy, before turning towards his uncle with a grin. “...Major Zhan. Good day to you, sir.”

Zhan Yi winks at him.

Li continues. “Sir, we’re also here on behalf of Officer Bai and Officer Ji to tell you that the smuggled goods that were found in the warehouse have been rounded up and will be handed over to you later for your inspection. Finally... We found a man in one of the offices... He’s still in shock, but we’ll be taking him along and getting his testimony after his full recovery. According to the girls, he was a regular client here.”

“Officer Li, Officer Zhan. You did amazingly well today. Be very proud of yourselves.” Savoy praises his subordinates, looking over their shoulders at the victims being carried out on stretchers, some of them headed for the hospital—others, the morgue. “Thanks to you, we were able to reduce the number of casualties in this terrible tragedy.”

The small group of men exchange a bit of chitchat, after which Officers Li and Zhan leave to attend their other duties.

After making plans to catch up with Zhan Yi once the dust settles, Benjamin and Luo Fei make their way home.

It’s been a long night.

******

Dark clouds loom over them with the promise of rain—although given the rapidly-dropping temperature and the cold howling wind, Luo Fei muses, it just might snow today.

Just like it had on that day, all those years ago.

Repressing a sigh, Luo Fei continues on his way, glancing cursorily at Benjamin walking next to him, clad in a long fitted slate gray overcoat—a stark yet fitting contrast to his own dark moss one. As their eyes meet, Benjamin’s gloomy expression brightens up right away, and although the smile he gives Luo Fei is a bit strained and tinged with melancholy, Luo Fei feels his heart warm up instantly at the sight. Luo Fei returns Benjamin’s smile, squeezing his fingers with his gloved right hand. In his left, he clutches a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.

The two walk in comfortable silence across the well-tended grass of the cemetery, past the neat rows of monuments, not in a hurry to arrive at their destination. However, as much as they try to delay the inevitable, they soon find themselves in front of three aligned headstones bearing the surname ‘Luo’.

Luo Fei places the flowers in front of his parents’ grave, putting his hands together and bowing his head with his eyes closed as he spares a few thoughts for them. After a few minutes of silent prayer, Luo Fei turns to find Benjamin setting down a bouquet of yellow lilies by his sister’s headstone, before taking a few steps back. This picture of his lover and best friend paying his respects to his departed sibling brings a particular memory to mind.

Luo Fei joins Benjamin in front of Luo Hui’s resting place.

“Hui Hui... It's me, your . Look who I’ve brought to see you... Ben is here too.” Luo Fei says in a soft voice as he slings an arm loosely around Benjamin’s waist, suddenly yearning for the warmth of his body, but feeling nothing through his thick layers. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit for a while.” A lot of things had happened these last days and, precisely because he had been so busy during the past few weeks, Luo Fei hadn’t had the chance to come here recently. But today marks the anniversary of Luo Hui’s death, and he wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Luo Fei’s eyes sting. He swallows hard.

Benjamin’s hand rests against the small of his back, grounding him to the present.

“Ben, do you remember when we were given a day off during our first year at the academy?”

“I do.” Benjamin smiles in nostalgia, his eyes soft and tender at the thought. “At the time, I pretended I already had plans with my father because I was too afraid to meet her, but... I was wrong. Xiao Hui... She was a wonderful person, just like her brother. I wish we could have had more time to get to know each other.”

“Yeah, she was.” Luo Fei takes a long shuddering breath, blinking back the tears.

A few minutes pass before Luo Fei breaks their embrace, approaching the gravestone and bending down to caress its cold surface gently, tracing the letters with his fingers. Luo Fei notices that Benjamin does not follow him, staying at a respectful distance, giving him some privacy. Yet despite the distance, Luo Fei can feel Benjamin’s reassuring presence giving him unconditional love and support, and for that he is eternally grateful.

After Captain’s escape from the mill, Savoy had sent some of his men to search for him, but they hadn’t had to go far.

They had found Captain just outside of the woods, stretched out on the ground amongst the dead tree leaves, dead.

Truthfully, Luo Fei doesn’t feel any different now that Captain is gone. He should be glad and revel in the fact that the monster responsible for his sister’s murder has paid the price of his crimes with his life—but he isn’t, and he doesn’t. Captain’s demise won’t bring back his sister... It just leaves a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. What’s more, the Green Dragon Society might have lost its leader and symbol, but it will probably never really go away.

Luo Fei takes solace in knowing that, at least now, Captain won’t be able to harm anyone else.

Picking himself up, Luo Fei turns to tell Benjamin that he’s ready to go, but the sight that meets his eyes—that of Benjamin standing there, looking grave and beautiful—takes his breath away, and he freezes in his step. Feeling a surge of love for Benjamin, Luo Fei walks up to him slowly and buries his face in his neck, letting his emotions run loose at last, gripping Benjamin’s coat like a lifeline.

Suddenly, he really wants to cry.

“Ben...” Luo Fei croaks out, overwhelmed, his voice muffled by the harsh material. “...She was everything to me...”

Benjamin simply hums in response, wrapping his arms around him more tightly still, not saying anything.

Luo Fei takes a few moments to compose himself. When he trusts himself to, he pulls away from their embrace.

“But I have you now. Thank god for that.” Luo Fei murmurs softly, resting his forehead against Benjamin’s.

It has been more than a dozen years already. There is no way to go back in time, nor any magic trick to erase the past. Luo Fei’s wound is still fresh, and it will probably never close up completely, but it’s well past time for him to start letting go of his grievances. To come to terms with Luo Hui’s death, and to start living properly while he still can.

As these thoughts race through his mind, Luo Fei feels something cold and wet fall on his cheek. He looks up to the sky, and another snowflake lands on his eyelid, leaving small droplets of water on his lashes.

Luo Fei gets a strange sense—like finishing a book and turning the first leaves to a new one.

Without realizing it, he slips his hand inside his pocket, fishing for something.

“Luo Fei. Are you alright...?” Benjamin asks softly, pulling him out of his reverie.

Luo Fei clutches the object in his pocket, turning it over in his hand—so small and light, yet so heavy at the same time.

“Yeah... Let’s go home, Ben.”

Luo Fei smiles more genuinely than he has in a long time, eager to discover what the future holds.

Notes:

And thus it ends ♥ Sorry for the bittersweet ending, loves! Don't worry, there will be an epilogue. Get ready for some fluff so sweet that your teeth are gonna fall out ;-) Thank you so much for reading and leaving a kudos or a comment, even if it was just a few words! Your support means the world to me :)

So, what do you think was in Luo Fei's pocket? Share your thoughts down below! And if you're on Twitter, tell me what your dn is and let's chat there! :D

Finally, thank you to my bestie ssp_amax for her precious help and support. Babe, you helped make this story happen ♥ This is all for you ahsjashajksjka