Chapter 7
C07
I didn’t expect things to go wrong on the first night, but we were still lucky. There were quite a few aftershocks afterward, and we weren’t so lucky when we descended the mountain.
A landslide blocked the road ahead, and not far away was rushing water.
Natalie looked around and finally decided to take a risk and go through the only path.
I silently prayed for no more aftershocks.
I didn’t know if lan was protecting me, but the path was treacherous, and we safely made it out of Yoseph Mountain.
The rescue team hadn’t arrived at the scenic area yet. The casualties here were severe, so Natalie told us not to wander off.
That night, a violent landslide occurred. We had nowhere to run. I got separated from Natalie and the others, and huge rocks
blocked the way.
I couldn’t move. Before I passed out, I seemed to see a familiar face.
“lan, did you come to get me?”
I didn’t know how long I was unconscious, but when I woke up, I was in a lot of pain.
I saw Owen immediately. He was supposed to be abroad for an exchange, but he was here.
“Zoey, I’m glad you’re okay.”
Owen hugged me tightly, very emotional, crying as he said, “I don’t want to break up.”
So he had received it.
But having survived the disaster, I didn’t want to continue with Owen anymore. “We’ve already broken up, Owen.”
“I’ll change. I’ve already made arrangements for Alice. You know she was entrusted by my master. I can’t just ignore her.”
Owen was very anxious. He said this near–death experience made him realize that he could never let go of me.
He understood who the person in his heart really was.
“I don’t want to lose you, Zoey.”
I pushed Owen away. I never thought I would hear such words from him.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have blurred the boundaries with her, but you have to believe me. I’ve always treated her like a sister.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I explained to Owen, but he seemed to go crazy.
I was at my wit’s end.
“You see her as a sister; I see you as a stand–in.”
My words were like a death sentence to Owen, utterly devastating him.
“What do you mean?”
Owen’s mouth opened in shock, terrified by my words. He was about to hear something he could never have imagined.
“I never loved you. I was just looking for someone’s shadow in you.”
“?”
He looked at me in astonishment. I didn’t want to keep hiding it from him. It was time to end this game.
Owen released my hand in a daze and touched my forehead. “Zoey, are you delirious with a fever?”
He looked at me innocently, like a child who had done something wrong, but how could such a person be Owen?
“I’m not lying to you. Before you joined the Morris family, there was a young master named lan Morris, who looked exactly like
you.”
This was the Morris family’s secret, and also the secret I had kept in my heart.
My words were too much of a shock for Owen. I continued, “In fact, when lan was still alive, the Morris family never planned to bring you back.”
“Impossible, Zoey, impossible.”
“lan was a wild plant expert. His biggest dream was to protect that wilderness, to guard that greenery,” I said with a smile. “But that year, an accident happened. After his team went into Yoseph Mountain, they never came back.”
lan was my senior. He came from a wealthy family, but he never had the aura of a nobleman. He was especially gentle with me.
At that time, I was very introverted, only knowing how to study. People at school bullied me and called me a bookworm.
lan always fought back for me. It was then that I learned my gentle lan had such a violent side.
Later, he took me on motorcycle rides, showed me all the botanical gardens in Aford City, and introduced me to many plants whose names I didn’t know.
2.31 PMI
Our Love Was Broken in An Instant
“What do you mean?”
Owen’s mouth opened in shock, terrified by my words. He was about to hear something he could never have imagined.
“I never loved you. I was just looking for someone’s shadow in you.”
“?”
He looked at me in astonishment. I didn’t want to keep hiding it from him. It was time to end this game.
Owen released my hand in a daze and touched my forehead. “Zoey, are you delirious with a fever?”
He looked at me innocently, like a child who had done something wrong, but how could such a person be Owen?
“I’m not lying to you. Before you joined the Morris family, there was a young master named lan Morris, who looked exactly like
you.”
This was the Morris family’s secret, and also the secret I had kept in my heart.
My words were too much of a shock for Owen. I continued, “In fact, when lan was still alive, the Morris family never planned to bring you back.”
“Impossible, Zoey, impossible.”
“lan was a wild plant expert. His biggest dream was to protect that wilderness, to guard that greenery,” I said with a smile. “But that year, an accident happened. After his team went into Yoseph Mountain, they never came back.”
lan was my senior. He came from a wealthy family, but he never had the aura of a nobleman. He was especially gentle with me.
At that time, I was very introverted, only knowing how to study. People at school bullied me and called me a bookworm.
lan always fought back for me. It was then that I learned my gentle lan had such a violent side.
Later, he took me on motorcycle rides, showed me all the botanical gardens in Aford City, and introduced me to many plants whose names I didn’t know.
At that time, lan’s eyes sparkled. He said that humans were over–exploiting nature, and it couldn’t bear the burden. He wanted to do his part to protect that greenery.
He held me in his arms and said he would also protect me.
He made my ears turn red with his teasing.
But later, only his cold body was brought out of Yoseph Mountain.
“lan, you promised to protect me for a lifetime