Su Ningyan hadn't expected that. Not from Su Qiyuan.
Qiyuan's hands trembled as he dropped to his knees.
Then, he bowed. Forehead pressed to the ground.
"Please… Ningyan." His voice cracked. "I am sorry for everything that happened to you. But you have to understand… I cannot lose my sister."
Silence.
Ningyan's grip tightened slightly around the unconscious Su Nianci.
He looked down at her. Then back at Qiyuan.
Why… Did this feel wrong?
A faint frown touched his lips.
He should have felt nothing. Satisfaction, maybe. Vindication.
But instead,
He felt like an asshole.
…Good.
Ningyan exhaled quietly.
At least that meant, he wasn't a monster.
Not yet.
"You're begging on behalf of your mother?" His voice was calm. Too calm. "That doesn't reassure me that she won't send more assassins after me, Su Qiyuan."
He stepped forward. Landed lightly on the roof of the manor.
His wings vanished. But the ominous purple glow around him did not.
