She explained. The fear. The anger. Her loneliness. And her effort not to hurt them, her new family.
Roman looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. As someone who had carried more burden than he had realized. Hearing her hurt more than the blows because it gave him back his sense.
Roman felt that his current state was the best in all the days spent in the cabin. His body and mind ached. But being still allowed him to finally listen and see things clearly.
"I'm sorry... for being an idiot who didn't think about the burden you carried," he murmured.
Xiao Lian shook her head, indicating he had no blame.
That gesture, characteristic of the taciturn Xiao Lian Roman knew from the streets, caused a laugh, and with it a groan of pain from the sudden chest movement.
Ben breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began teasing Roman, fully intending to make him laugh again so it would hurt.
Zhenglian, on the other hand, remained silent, surprised at how blind he had been to his friends' circumstances.
Lin nodded and stopped Ben, who was practically torturing Roman.
"I didn't know how much it affected you not being able to show your art. That's my fault. I promise to take you to the city soon, find a new space, with the commitment that when you have a struggle like this, you tell me. And this goes for everyone, but never go out without telling us again. Okay?"
Roman nodded weakly. He was exhausted. Perhaps from the blood loss. Recovery wasn't easy, even with the breathing technique and medicines. They fed him before letting him sleep. Lin Yuan organized shifts to care for him, and Ben restructured the orphanage's tasks to cover Roman's roles while he was unavailable.
That night, Lin Yuan gave Ben the shift to watch over Roman while he accompanied Xiao Lian.
Xiao Lian slept peacefully that day. Her threads reappeared as she rested. Now they danced not with rage but as if weaving a nest. Lin slept nearby, ensuring no aftereffects remained.
And in that silent moment of the night, Lin thought of Falcon. His name dropped into his mind like a stone in calm water. Falcon. His past. His mistake. The shadow he thought he'd left behind. Now it was here, attacking his family. His child.
Anger mixed with a thick sadness. It wasn't just pain for Roman; it was guilt. Lin knew that not destroying Falcon when he had the chance had cost them this night. He couldn't afford more mistakes like that.
He clenched his fists, knuckles white. The plan forming in his mind made more sense; he had to become someone untouchable, someone not to be threatened, not to be provoked.
Because if Falcon had returned, it wouldn't be with warnings next time.
The next morning, Zhenglian relieved Ben and watched over Roman.
And Roman, upon waking and seeing his friends, felt something new: belonging. One comparable to what his mother had given him.
Ben, for his part, went to his part of the cabin and fell asleep on some boxes painted like a throne. Very ridiculous. Very much like Ben.
And Lin Yuan, at last, could smile and breathe in peace. Although he was still troubled by what had happened with Roman and that Falcon, a mistake from his past on the streets, had returned, he decided to wait until the afternoon to implement the plan he'd thought of all the previous day, as he wanted to enjoy the children's actions a little longer.
Because that night that passed, in each breath of the children, the torrid silence that once suffocated the air gave way to a new reality. There were no cries of terror. Only hope.
Lin Yuan watched them as they slept, eyes red, hands still marked with bandages and dried blood. Each of those small bodies bore scars. Some physical, others invisible. But all, all, deserved protection.
There was something sacred in that nighttime scene. In that fragile peace built with effort. And knowing he had almost lost it... that just one of them had nearly died at the hands of an old specter from the past... pierced him like a spear.
This world—Lin Yuan thought, with a burning resolve in his chest—will learn to value and care for children. Not to see them as waste, nor as burdens, nor as easy prey.
It will learn the easy way...
Or the hard way.
If that meant turning his name into poison in the alleys, he would do it.
If that meant staining his hands again, he would accept it.
Because each child of the Refuge was worth more than his entire soul.
And Lin Yuan, that night, swore it. He would never tremble again.
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