March 22nd, 1:47 PM — Gu Tianhao's Compound, South Longwan
Jiang Roulan POV
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The sun had shifted. The long shadows now curved toward the west, painting the walls of the broken shelter in soft orange light. But nothing inside the room softened. Nothing warmed.
An hour or two had passed... But I found myself lost in my thoughts.
Just sweat, hunger, and the weight of silence.
I sat on that creaking mattress like a general pretending to be calm. My back was straight, but every second, the pull in my chest grew worse. John's bloodied face flickered in my mind. That idiot.
I could've protected him.
I should've dragged him to bed. Held him. Made him understand.
And now…
My fingers brushed over my bare thigh, where the edge of the short rags they gave us barely covered anything. I hated how exposed I felt—but more than that, I hated how normal it already seemed.