Tear

Lili woke up in the bed, alone. It was really weird for her, the first moment because lately she always woke up with Lei tangled around her body. Guarding her.

But now she was alone, in their bed in the guest house. But she only guessed it because of the familiarity of the sheets and the furniture she could recognize in the dark.

Lili stood up from the bed carefully and searched for her phone. With no success, though. She then lit up the nightstand lamp and blinked a few times, because the sudden light blinded her.

Yes, she was right. She was in the game-house room. And alone. Lili walked to the window and opened the blinds and got blinded the second time because outside was a bright sunny day.

She opened the blinds completely, letting the sun in, and walked to switch the lights off. When she was done with those petty tasks, Lili decided that she should take a shower.

She still had her bloody clothes on and Lei's sweatshirt, which could only mean that it wasn't Lei who brought her in. Because if it was him, he wouldn't hold back and undress her to change her clothes.

The long and hot shower really helped her sort out her thoughts.

Lili still couldn't get over how there could be such a monster to do this to their own child. Especially a mother. The one person that should love her own child, even with the price of her own life.

The only thing she wanted to do now was to catch Nou Rao and modify her facade with her fists. But given that she was so dangerous, Lei wouldn't allow her to go near her.

Lili got out of the shower, put on fresh clean clothes, and felt really good. Well, as good as she could in this situation.

She opened the door and walked down the stairs straight away. She could see everyone was already by their computers and playing as if nothing had happened. And it was probably the best for now.

She looked at the two places next to each other that were vacant and tears welled up in her eyes. Lili walked there, to the place where Yitian spent his days. And touched the chair. It was cold.

"What happened yesterday? We got a message that you would tell us everything," Yixing asked when he put down his headset and turned to her.

Lili looked quite shocked. She thought that Dylan had already told them everything. And she would only look over their training. Not to be the one to break out that horrible news to them.

"Dylan wasn't here?" she asked, stunned, because she really wasn't good at this, given how Chao reacted.

"No, he sent the message. For what I know, he only dropped you off and went away," Huobai answered her, and Lili groaned.

"So what happened? Where is everyone?" Yuhuai finally took down his headset, as the last one remaining wasn't paying attention to her. But now, she was watched by seven pairs of eyes, expecting her to tell them what was going on.

Lili sighed, groaned once more, and sat in Chao's chair, fearing that her legs would be able to take the stress.

"Something happened last night," she paused for a brief moment, looking at the clock on the wall saying it was four in the afternoon.

"Well, I won't keep going around the wall. Yesterday, Yitian got hurt, and he is in a hospital with Chao, Dylan, and Lei," she said and finally let out the breath she kept holding in.

There was silence for a while and they all started talking at once.

"He is injured?"

"Is it serious?"

"When will they show up?"

"How is he injured?"

"Who did it to him?"

Questions like that were asked and repeated all over again when Lili kept silent about everything. But to her credit, she kept mentally preparing herself to talk about it. And once she opened her mouth, they all went silent.

"His injuries are very serious and he is in a critical condition. That's why Chao will be there for him. We don't know when he will come back." She made a pause again but started just after a little sharp inhale.

"And if we believe the words, Yitian said. It was his mother who did that to him…" Lili let it all out, and they all looked grim. By those faces, she could see they knew about Yitian's relationship with his mother.

She looked at Yixing and Huobai, who were the second oldest here and the next in command, and smiled at them. It made them shiver. Even Huobai was a bit scared, which surprised him and even more Yixing.

"You two are the leaders now. You know how to do it. At the same time, it will be me or Dylan overseeing your progress, so be prepared," Lili laughed in the same voice as the villains in the fairy tales laughed. It sent shivers down the spine of everyone.

"So Yixing and Huobai to the conference room, right now." Lili stood up from the chair and walked there, just to sit back in a chair. She could hear the footsteps close behind her.

When they looked down too and the door fell back to its place, she turned on some music on the laptop and gestured for them to come closer. They leaned forward and waited.

"It's really bad, but the team can't know. Yitian's heart stopped for a moment and, to be honest, the doctors don't know when and how he will wake up. Because of the brain damage he suffered." Yixing put his hands over his mouth and fell back into his chair, his eyes wide open. Huobai was still as a statue, emotionless.

"Now, he is stabilized, but still in critical condition because he had a collapsed lung and a few other injuries. And his left hand was broken too." Lili now imagined in her head all the potential problems and outcomes, and perhaps her mind was too depressing, but none of it had a good end.

"He is strong. He will be back. Let's not tell others and just train harder now that we are two players down." Huobai said, and Lili was surprised at his calmness. Yixing nodded, trying to regain his usual cheerful self that was hard to find.

But as they walked back to the rest of the team, Lili noticed that Huobai's eye escaped one lonely tear. So he wasn't as emotionless as she thought.