12

Wayne's eyes burned with a dark flame. His breathing was violent and heavy, but the kiss was very gentle and extremely careful. After a short moment, he withdrew from the kiss.

Translations by Vanilla Muse. If you find this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Right now, the injured Daniel wouldn't be able to stand even the slightest force.

Maybe it was the fear and alarm he felt when he found out that the other party was kidnapped, or maybe it was in the moment when Daniel took the bullet for him, or maybe it was even earlier, when he saw the flash of warmth in the other's eyes.

The guilt and remorse he felt when he suddenly realized the truth. Intense longing for the other party to survive. And that inexplicable pounding of his heart even he himself was hard pressed to explain. Don't know when it had became implanted in his person, wanting to pull his heart out, it was a hurt drenched with blood.

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Perhaps he was scared by Wayne's sudden action, the young man beneath him was looking up at him with wide eyes. With his heart pounding, he covered his mouth. Right now, there wasn't even a hint of the cold, arrogant, and iron-blooded marshal.

Daniel's lips were thin, and with a simple purse of his lips he could affect a cold and harsh aura at any time. But with his lips slightly parted like this, he looked increasingly soft and innocent.

More than a day without food and water, his lips were inevitably dry and peeling, and because he was very weak right now, he did have any color of life on his face. Even if it were carefully moistened, it would still make anyone looking at him feel stuffy in the chest.

Wayne lightly stroked his short hair and lowered his body again. His gentle and low voice reverberated against Su Shi's ear, making Su Shi subconsciously hold his breath.

"I don't want your apology, Daniel. I want you to keep on living."

Su Shi's eyes finally revealed some helplessness.

His eyes softened as he looked at Wayne's taut profile. He used all his strength to raise his hand and gently pulled on the other's sleeve. "Help me up. I want to sit for a bit."

Wayne carefully lifted him up. He was afraid that Su Shi wouldn't be comfortable and specially stuffed two pillows behind him. He worried that Su Shi would feel cold and pulled the quilt up.

Translations by vmnovels(.)com

No matter how Wayne fussed and adjusted, he still felt that it wasn't enough. Su Shi also patiently let him do what he wanted. Su Shi wanted to show a more relaxed and calm expression, but the pain originating from his stomach was too much and he couldn't help furrowing his brows.

Wayne's held Su Shi's hand, which had been unconsciously pressing against his stomach. Wayne placed his hand atop Su Shi's stomach, raised his head, and stared at him. "Is the stress too much? Is it always like this?"

Stomach illness and mental factors were closely related. He remembered that back at the academy, Daniel had the strongest stomach of them all. No matter what kind of crazy army ration they got, Daniel was able to stuff it down his throat with some cold water.

In just five years, this guy had abused himself to the point of stomach bleeding, and he didn't care if he rushed towards his death.

"It wasn't so big at first. After you got captured, I couldn't wait to hang my heart in my throat*."

[*T/N: That's literally what the raws say. 我恨不得把心吊在嗓子眼里 I guess it means he was really worried and thus stressed.]

Su Shi's head hurt so much that he ended up complaining sincerely.

Although he didn't know his true thoughts, Wayne's lips still pulled taut with a guilty conscience. He lowered his head and fiddled with his pale, cold fingers, stubbornly trying to make them a little warmer.

Looking at his movements, Su Shi suddenly had no confidence in what he had to say.

"Wayne, if-"

"I won't let you go back, Daniel. Don't even think about it. We have a way to win, but victory is not to be built on your sacrifice alone."

Before he even had time to say it, Wayne stopped him with his words, and even sealed off all his possible methods of arguing back.

Su Shi blinked, but he still held on to a small glimmer of hope. "What about Nathan, then? You didn't leave him behind did you?"

Right now he couldn't even stand up and walk two steps at a time. If he could find a lieutenant who was absolutely loyal to him, things could still turn around.

Wayne met his gaze. After a short pause of silence he answered, "I asked him to do something. There is no danger, you don't have to worry."

It would be strange not to worry. Nathan must have been sent to find evidence that could clear Daniel's name.

Su Shi worried to the point of his stomach aching. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists.

"Wayne, this is your battlefield. My battlefield is in the presidential palace. From the day our teacher handed me this task, I was destined to live in the darkness. The glory that you guys get is enough. It never belonged to me…"

Wayne's expression twitched slightly, but he merely lowered his line of sight without a word. He only helped Su Shi rub his stomach, his strength gentle and very careful.

He didn't think that the other party would have such a willful attitude. Su Shi smiled helplessly. He looked at him patiently. His tone once again soft and gentle.

"There needs to be someone to do the dirty work. Since I have already reached this step, let me go. Before I die, I can still see you guys off, isn't that very good already?"

Wayne abruptly looked up. The look of hurt in his eyes was so painful that it froze all of Su Shi's thoughts.

Su Shi said quite a bit, but it was really the last resort. Fortunately, only Wayne heard them. Since the protagonist had already guessed what happened, even if he told him the truth, it would probably not cause much change in the experience value.

Su Shi thought he was lucky, although his eyes wavered with guilt. Then he heard Wayne's low voice.

"Since you've all come, then come inside. All of you heard clearly, do you still need me to explain again?"

The door was carefully pushed open, and several youths with their heads hanging down slid into the room against the wall.

It was the high-ranking officers of the insurgent army that came in that day, and each and every one of them had a look of shame in their eyes.

Su Shi's stomach hurt even more.