Fu Huai’an noticed that Lin Nuan had been smiling. He couldn’t help but ask, “What are you smiling about?”
Lin Nuan turned and looked at the lively night scene outside the car window, and her clean eyes that seemed as if they had been cleansed by the rainwater curved as she smiled. “After seeing Gu Qingcheng, I realized where I went wrong during the filming today…”
Fu Huai’an turned on the turn signal and then held onto Lin Nuan’s small hand. His deep voice had a hint of a smile in it. “I’m all ears…”
“After seeing Gu Qingcheng, I realized… my understanding of the character Bai Wanyan might have been a little off!”
As Lin Nuan said this, she looked toward the side view of Fu Huai’an’s face. “Bai Wanyan isn’t actually someone who enjoys battles. Even when… conferred a rank, she shouldn’t be feeling grateful or agitated. This rank isn’t an honor to her. Instead, it serves as a constant reminder to her that she has killed an army of several hundred thousand men! But that’s something she had to do, as in her world, either she dies or the enemy does!”
This reason was something that Lin Nuan had understood after she saw the relieved smile in the depths of Gu Qingcheng’s eyes that hadn’t been there before.
Bai Wanyan shared some resemblance with the Gu Qingcheng of the past.
In the past, Gu Qingcheng should also have yearned to have his current life. But after Gu Qingcheng got injured, he forcibly took on the great burden, subjecting himself to great risk.
Bai Wanyan was forced to lead the Bai family’s army into battle.
Before her father and older brothers had died in battle, Bai Wanyan was the eldest daughter born by the main wife. She was known by the citizens to be the kindest lady.
After her father and older brothers had died in battle, Bai Wanyan was like a devil to the enemy country. Wherever she went… not a single enemy soldier or general was left alive.
Lin Nuan remembered someone saying before that flowers were born with two sides, and humans were born between good and evil.
However, Lin Nuan felt that it was one’s character that laid between good and evil, not one’s life!
There wasn’t absolute kindness, so there wouldn’t be absolute evil either.
Bai Wanyan had been through massacres on the battlefield. While she massacred the enemies, as a lady… she would also grieve for the wives and children those soldiers had left behind at home.
Neither Bai Wanyan nor those enemy soldiers were in the wrong. They were all doing what they could for their country.
Bai Wanyan didn’t really want the rank. It was because this position… had been given to her using other people’s corpses and blood. She couldn’t bear to accept it. This was her kind nature.
Massacre was something she had no choice but to do for the sake of the state of Shu. The more enemy soldiers she killed, the more peaceful it was for the state of Shu. Therefore, she didn’t hold back at all each time she went out to battle. She wanted the enemies to not dare to invade the state of Shu within the next few decades, swearing to kill every last soldier on the enemy side. This was her demonic nature.
Therefore, when she received the imperial edict, Lin Nuan had made a wrong representation. She shouldn’t be feeling surprised and thankful to the emperor.
Instead, other than feeling surprised, the feelings of hot-blooded vigor and exhilaration from the battlefield that she had suppressed in the bottom of her heart and was unwilling to touch would be awakened. This would make her feel that she was like a bloodthirsty demon even after she had returned to the flourishing imperial city.
Lin Nuan guessed that this was also the reason why Bai Wanyan had spent the latter part of her life on the borders, unwilling to return to the imperial city.
Lin Nuan’s gaze landed on the reflection of the car in the rearview mirror that had been following behind them all this while. She turned and asked Fu Huai’an, “Has anything happened recently? I noticed that there seem to be more people following me since this afternoon…”
Lin Nuan was certain that these people were there to protect her and weren’t trailing her or had some other intentions.
“They are Cen Mo’s men…” Fu Huai’an said.
Lin Nuan was stunned, and she asked, “Did something happen to my brother?”
As the relationship between Lin Nuan and Cen Mo hadn’t been made clear to the public, to others… they seemed to have ties because Lin Nuan was very close with Song Yao. Even if someone were to be after Cen Mo, they shouldn’t lay a hand on her.
Fu Huai’an understood that there were things that they couldn’t hide from Lin Nuan. He was planning on letting nature take its course. If Lin Nuan were to find out, then so be it. If she didn’t, it would be even better… in case she were to feel worried or scared.
“En?” Lin Nuan continued to push for an answer.
“Not really. Things should be even smoother for Cen Mo than they were in the past…” Fu Huai’an gently held onto Lin Nuan’s slender fingers. “It’s that Ah Zhan next to Li Muyang. He died.”
Lin Nuan was very surprised.
Even though Ah Zhan had barged into the TV station, wanting to forcibly take her away, Lin Nuan didn’t hold great hatred toward him, who was Li Muyang’s loyal subordinate.
She even felt great admiration for Ah Zhan’s loyalty as a subordinate.
If Ah Zhan hadn’t followed a master like Li Muyang, maybe… his prospects would have been very good.
“How did he die?” Lin Nuan asked.
“He probably realized that all routes had been blocked, and he could only use his death to fight for a chance for Li Muyang to live!” Fu Huai’an also held admiration for Ah Zhan.
Lin Nuan didn’t say anything for a while.
So, the reason Cen Mo had sent more people to follow her was that he was worried that she’d be in danger?
“The ones that Cen Mo sent are all elites…”
Fu Huai’an admitted that he had thought too badly of Cen Mo previously. He had thought that the reason Cen Mo wanted the group of elites in Gu Qingcheng’s hands was to help him deal with his own matters!
This wasn’t wrong, either. Cen Mo had used this sharp sword very well.
Based on what Fu Huai’an knew, out of the ten groups of elites that he had given Cen Mo, eight of them had been sent out to carry out missions, while two teams were left behind to protect Song Yao…
But when Cen Mo learned of Ah Zhan’s death, he was afraid that Lin Nuan would be in danger in Haicheng, so he forcibly transferred back the teams that were carrying out missions. Six teams were now following around Lin Nuan, but when those people concealed themselves, they were as silent as shadows and were undetectable.
The other two teams didn’t come back. Due to that, Cen Mo probably didn’t feel at ease, which was why he sent the men he had left in Haicheng to protect Lin Nuan in the open.
To Cen Mo, his sister Lin Nuan was more important than anything else. This was even though they didn’t often keep in contact with each other.
Fu Huai’an now understood that Cen Mo wasn’t joking when he said that he was willing to take care of their safety after Gu Qingcheng had faked his death.
What Cen Mo was doing now… was this.
For his younger sister Lin Nuan.
After Fu Huai’an went back, Lin Nuan called Cen Mo in the bedroom. Cen Mo told Lin Nuan to go on with her life at ease and to take good care of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. There wasn’t a need for her to be concerned about other things…
Although Cen Mo sounded domineering, it was his concern that he, as an elder brother, had toward Lin Nuan.
Lin Nuan looked at Yuan Yuan, who was lying down on her stomach on the big bed, and asked Cen Mo, “When will you be coming back to see Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan?”
The moment she finished saying this, Yuan Yuan gave the honor of crying out in baby talk.
Lin Nuan heard Cen Mo’s laughter, and his voice also became softer, which was a rare occurrence. “It’s better for me to stay further away from you guys. It’ll be safer for you guys! If you’re free, send more of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan’s photos to Yaoyao. I’ll know that they’re doing good when I see the photos!”
Cen Mo meant that Lin Nuan should call him less in the future as well. If she needed to contact them, then contact Song Yao. Others wouldn’t be able to find out about their relationship, but only if Lin Nuan were to keep her distance from him.
Right now, Cen Mo had pushed his status to a brand new height…