Chapter 44

Chapter 44

After nightfall, dreams always flooded his mind accompanied by a deathly silence.

Countless cold mists formed a giant web, deeply shrouding his mind and dragging it into an abyss never to see the light of day.

Since Yan Zhuo left, Ruan Yunchu hadn't dreamed for a long time.

But when he opened his eyes in the morning, a warm dream slowly poured into his mind. The too-bittersweet atmosphere made his heart ache slightly.

But what had he dreamed of?

He sat blankly on the bed for a long time, then finally just sighed and turned to get up.

The Ming family was already prepared. He hadn't been doing rehab recently, but he had picked up a new daily habit instead.

Chen Quan's visits to the Yan residence gradually decreased. Assistant Xiao came to the estate daily. In the early morning, she could see a familiar figure sitting on the terrace, head slightly bowed as he wrote. She was curious but knew she had no right to ask.

Over time, she came to understand why the typically absent Mr. Commander had suddenly brought back such a young omega.

Ruan Yunchu definitely gave off a unique vibe.

Being around him was always peaceful, putting almost no pressure on anyone. But the reason for this was likely because he didn't expect anything from anyone around him either.

If that were the case... wouldn't it be very difficult for Mr. Commander to get his wish?

Assistant Xiao wasn't the gossipy type. After thinking it over, she quickly put it out of her mind.

She went upstairs and asked about the rehabilitation.

"If you don't plan to participate in rehabilitation in the near future, should we let them leave first? There are doctors on standby at the estate, and they aren't of much use here."

Hearing her words, Ruan Yunchu withdrew his gaze and said softly, "It should have been done long ago. They can be more useful outside."

Assistant Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

She thought the topic was over, but just as she turned to leave, she heard the young man speak from behind.

"If I want to send a message to Yan Zhuo, how should I do it?"

Assistant Xiao was startled: "You can leave it to me. We have a dedicated channel to the front lines. Although Mr. Commander has gone to the front, he often asks for your messages."

After she finished, the young man was silent for a long time. She asked softly, "Are you writing him a letter?"

"Mm." Ruan Yunchu didn't deny it. "Do these letters need to be reviewed?"

"There should be a machine that scans each one, but please rest assured, there is no risk of them being leaked."

"Alright."

Ruan Yunchu said okay, but didn't make a move to do it.

Seeing he didn't mean to give her the message to deliver, Assistant Xiao hesitated for a moment before leaving the terrace.

The wind rustled the lawn below the terrace, carrying a faint scent of grass.

Ruan Yunchu stared off at the wide lawn for a while, then wrote the last sentence, sealed the envelope, got up, and went back to his room.

Three months later, Assistant Xiao received news from the front lines and secretly started preparing Ruan Yunchu's 20th birthday party.

The number of invitees was not large, and it wasn't at the Yan house but at the Ruan house.

Ruan Yunchu was not surprised by this arrangement. He even went along with it completely, putting on the formal clothes and accessories without complaint.

Lin Zheng was at the front and didn't come, but Ming Ya and Ming Yuan naturally showed up.

On the day of the banquet, the atmosphere at home was quite pleasant. Chen Quan hadn't seen Ruan Yunchu in a long time and was pretty sentimental.

But late that night, as Assistant Xiao accompanied Ruan Yunchu to see off the guests, she got some unexpected news.

Seeing her expression change, Ruan Yunchu calmly saw off the guests first and only asked on the way back.

Assistant Xiao seemed very hesitant about whether to tell the truth, but Ruan Yunchu stopped pushing her. She thought for a long time and finally lowered her voice: "Ruan Jing has been taken away."

At these words, Ruan Yunchu was momentarily stunned.

"The rebels?"

"Yes."

Assistant Xiao wasn't at liberty to go into details with him and couldn't help sighing deeply.

"I'll take you back first, then go back to the Alliance to get the details."

Ruan Yunchu's fists clenched and unclenched. Though he knew he wasn't qualified, he couldn't help but ask, "What does the Ruan family actually have?"

Something he didn't know about, something that made the rebels so greedy for it and forced the Alliance to guard it carefully, even making Mr. Commander go himself.

Assistant Xiao paused: "I'm sorry, I can't tell you that. It's classified."

Having received the expected answer, Ruan Yunchu felt no particular emotion. He nodded slightly and stopped asking.

But Assistant Xiao added softly, "But please rest assured, this thing isn't that important. It's just—"

"It's fine."

Ruan Yunchu didn't want her to say any more, so he interrupted her hesitant words.

That night, back at the Yan residence, Ruan Yunchu lay in bed unable to sleep. He clutched the thin envelope in his hand, his expression cold as ice, as if weighing a choice.

Two days later, Yan Zhuo's latest letter from the front arrived. This time, Ruan Yunchu didn't put it off for days. Instead, he opened it as soon as he returned to his room.

"I've been busy lately. Happy 20th birthday, young master. Growing a year older, but I hope you don't mature any more. You're already thinking too much, and it's weighing too heavily on you. I often wish you could just be relaxed and happy. This letter probably won't arrive on time, but I still want to say, happy birthday.

Given the current trend, my return might be delayed, but everything is going smoothly. Does the young master miss me?

Because I miss you very much. Can you take a photo and show me?"

A very short letter.

After reading it, he stared blankly for a long time. His fingertips gently traced the cursive handwriting, then he slowly closed his eyes, like a cold statue, his face betraying no emotion.

After Ruan Jing was taken away, the number of guards around Ruan Yunchu increased, and he gradually stopped going out.

Finally, after one check-up, Assistant Xiao noticed his worsening depression and grew concerned.

Before Mr. Commander left, he had specifically told her to keep a close eye on the young master's psychological state. Now this situation... yeah, it was hard to stay positive.

In the end, she took the initiative to ask Ruan Yunchu if he wanted to go out. After thinking for a moment, he tapped on the preview of a play on his terminal screen.

Assistant Xiao furrowed her brows slightly. "There are way too many people for this kind of occasion."

Ruan Yunchu didn't push it and just closed the screen. "It's fine," he said coolly, his voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

And just because of that, Assistant Xiao felt a pang of guilt. She went back to look into it, planned everything out, then went back to Ruan Yunchu with a set time.

Ruan Yunchu didn't show any particular enthusiasm, just nodded like usual.

Yet Assistant Xiao didn't know that after she left the room, the young man behind her let out a silent sigh of relief.

On the day of the performance, the place was packed. Assistant Xiao had booked the best box on the second floor, with a perfect view.

Ruan Yunchu was almost completely covered, wearing a mask and a hat. His pheromones had been acting up recently, so he wore a suppressor around his slender neck.

Standing behind him, Assistant Xiao watched the actors below without much interest. But she noticed the young man's back was relaxed against the wheelchair, his eyes fixed and unblinking, as if he were genuinely entertained.

A wave of inexplicable sympathy welled up in her.

After a while, Ruan Yunchu suddenly put down his drink and turned to look at her. "I need to use the restroom."

"Alright."

Assistant Xiao immediately arranged for others to go with him, while she stood there, lost in thought.

But not long after, her wrist terminal suddenly started beeping urgently—the emergency alert.

Assistant Xiao's mind went blank, but she reacted instantly. She set off the alarm in the box, and a piercing siren immediately spread throughout the venue.

"Evacuate! Everyone out of the theater!"

She responded quickly, contacting the venue's manager in the briefest terms. Seeing everyone rushing out, she felt a little relieved, but as she watched the approaching threat on her terminal, something suddenly struck her.

She dashed out of the box, but the hallway was already crammed with people fleeing.

"Two minutes! Move out in an orderly fashion! No pushing!"

Her voice was drowned out by the panicked crowd. Assistant Xiao's face turned cold as she figured out where the restroom was and pushed against the tide of people, urgently contacting other soldiers.

Time was running out. She ran to the restroom at the end of the hallway, but it was empty.

A chill ran through her from head to toe. After confirming it was empty, she hurried back out.

Finally, someone reported in the channel. "Assistant Xiao, the restroom up there was too crowded, so we went downstairs and are heading out now. Please come down quickly."

Assistant Xiao let out a huge breath of relief and strode toward the exit. She noticed some stragglers and guided them out too.

When they stepped out, the area was mostly cleared. The Alliance forces were lined up in a distant safe zone. Seeing people emerge, they immediately rushed over.

But just as they stepped out, an intense white light erupted above them.

"Hit the deck!"

Boom—

A deafening explosion blasted behind them. Assistant Xiao threw herself to the ground. A sharp ringing filled her ears, almost making everything inaudible.

Debris fell intermittently onto them. Everyone's minds were numbed by the shock, their limbs devoid of sensation.

Even Assistant Xiao lay there for a long time before slowly getting up with the help of a nearby soldier.

Her mind was blank. She saw fully armed soldiers speaking to her, but she couldn't hear a word. She simply shook her head to indicate she was fine.

A few people who had just escaped were knocked unconscious, and intense rescue sirens sounded around.

Assistant Xiao turned her head, removed her earpiece, and walked unsteadily toward the distant safe zone. When a soldier asked if she needed to go to the hospital, she just shook her head and headed toward the familiar faces.

She had something more important to confirm.

"Assistant Xiao!"

Someone rushed up to her urgently, their voice muffled as if through a fog.

"Mr. Ruan—"

Assistant Xiao realized something and turned to look around. Most of the people they had brought were there, but the figure in the wheelchair was missing.

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.