Long Yifan's face froze for a second. His eyes flickered with guilt.
"I…" he began, but the words stuck in his throat.
Mr. Gu crossed his arms. "You hurt her once, Long Yifan. We haven't forgotten."
Mrs. Gu nodded, her face calm but cold. "She never told us what happened. But we had investigated the past."
Gu Jichun gasped.
"Wait, you were the boy whom she had chased when she was a teenager!"
Long Yifan looked down. "Yes."
Gu Jihu took a step forward. His eyes were sharp now. "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"I didn't think I deserved to," Long Yifan said quietly. "Not after what I did…"
The battlefield was silent again. The enemies were tied up, the danger was over—but now, a different storm was brewing.
Gu Jichun looked torn. "But you protected her just now. You saved all of us…"
"That's why I came back," Long Yifan said. "Not just to fight. But to make things right."
