My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"Let me go…!" Harsh wind and heavy snow slapped Shi Nian's face. She wore nothing other than a school uniform and a pair of thin socks. The biting weather almost numbed all of her senses. The twigs and leaves crunched under her staggering steps. Cuts formed on her body. Yet the only thing she focused on was to pull the chain back so that she wouldn't die of asphyxiation. "Nan Xukun, you're going to kill me like this!"

Nan Xukun was totally out of his mind. He bore no mind to Shi Nian's rugged condition and proceeded to pull her behind him.

Everywhere Shi Nian looked was dense forestation, barren wild trees and steep hills covered in snowflakes. The plane was unmistakably tilted downward. Rocks and soil rolled down along their rush. The entire scene overlapped with the one in her memory. This was also the scenery she had seen a year ago before the landslide happened.

However, there was one thing that made everything different.

"...Nian!"

"Shi Nian!"

Stumbling and faltering, often stopping for a moment to clutch his knees, Jiang Jinyan chased after them. Pain marred his face and blood soaked through his jeans, leaving a glaring bloody trail on his wake. Yet what remained in his eyes was only desperation, recklessness and determination.

Shi Nian's eyes grew blurry with tears and she shouted at the top of her lungs. "GO AWAY!" 

Didn't he know that his leg would become incapacitated for real if he kept this up?! He had painstakingly learned how to live with his artificial leg like normal people. How could he not take the risk into mind?!

Jiang Jinyan's feet got caught on a vine and his body staggered, only barely managing to keep his stance by holding onto the tree trunk. Lifting his head, their eyes met across the distance. 

Without a word, Shi Nian knew what he was going to say.

—Just like earlier when she wasn't willing to leave him behind, he, too, would do anything to get her back. Anything.

A sob escaped her lips and she started to thrash around. This time in twice the desperation. "Let me go! I won't forgive you! Nan Xukun, I am going to hate you even in my death!"

Nan Xukun didn't stop running. A dry chuckle traveled to Shi Nian's ears. "Okay. If I am going to die, then you should go together with me. You have promised to be together with me forever, haven't you, Xiao Nian?"

"You crazy bastard! It's just a childhood promise! I understood nothing back then!"

"How cruel…" He started to have difficulty holding her down. Yanking her hair, he delivered a harsh slap right on her face. His face twisted in sadness. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Nan Xukun, don't you dare lay a hand on her!" Jiang Jinyan bellowed from a distance and picked up his pace, the pain thrown to the back of his mind.

Shi Nian suppressed the pained muffle and glared at him vehemently. "Right back at you! A sick person like you won't understand what I mean!"

Nan Xukun turned around and continued running. He murmured again and again under his breath. "It's okay…It's okay if you hate me. We're going to be together even in death. Slowly, you will figure out everything about me. After all, the only person in this world who can understand me is you, Xiao Nian…"

Shi Nian gnashed her teeth, enraged. Damn it, how she wished to smack some senses into that twisted mind of his! Exactly how did the Xiao Chun in her memory become like this?!

"I won't!" She screamed. "No matter what you do, I will never become like you!"

"SHUT UP!" He tightened his hold on the chain, forcing the breath out of her chest. 

Shi Nian coughed hard, her pale lips slowly turning blue from both the chill and lack of oxygen. She gasped, eyes fixing on Jiang Jinyan that gradually closed the distance between them. However, the continuous lack of air quickly rendered her sight blurry and white noises attacked her mind. It was getting harder to think straight.

The space in front of them opened up, revealing a dead path that ended with a cliff. A thrilling smile covered Nan Xukun's eyes as he rushed forward like a madman. "Soon, Xiao Nian… soon…"

"No!" Jiang Jinyan's desperate roar sobered Shi Nian's mind for a split second.

…She was unwilling to die! Not in a place like this!

Glancing at her surroundings, she gritted her teeth and made a split second decision. Nan Xukun was currently too engrossed in his own thoughts, making it the perfect opportunity for Shi Nian to act. The blurry scenery flashed through her eyes. One of Shi Nian's hands grabbed the chain around her neck while the other reached out and wrapped tightly around the tree trunk!

The force Nan Xukun exerted in the opposite direction instantly dislocated her shoulder. A sharp scream wrenched out of her lips yet her arms vehemently hooked on the tree, forcing the man to halt in his tracks. Pain shot up Shi Nian's entire body and strength quickly left her, but that few seconds' pause had granted Jiang Jinyan the opportunity to catch up on them. 

"DAMN YOU!" He delivered a flying kick right on Nan Xukun's chest, causing the man to fly a few meters away. The chain around Shi Nian loosened and she slumped to the ground, wheezing. 

"Shi Nian…Shi Nian…" Jiang Jinyan tremblingly gathered her into his embrace. The rims of his eyes reddened. "It's okay. You're with me now…"

Shi Nian mustered up a smile. The relief flooding her chest caused her to feel weak. She nuzzled her head on Jiang Jinyan's chest, sobbing. The man hugged her loosely in return as if she was a cracked porcelain that would shatter with the slightest pressure, his entire body trembling violently.

Shi Nian buried her head in his shoulder, her eyes landing on Nan Xukun who got up in stagger.

Patting Jiang Jinyan in panic, she exclaimed. "Jinyan, watch out!" 

She had lowered her guard down last time because of Jia Ming'en's presence, resulting in their situation now. There's no way for her to repeat the same mistake the second time!

The same thing was also in Jiang Jinyan's mind. Turning around alertly, he protected Shi Nian behind him and pounced on Nan Xukun, landing one severe punch after another on him. "This is for hurting Shi Nian, bastard!"

At first, Nan Xukun resisted furiously and the two fought tooth and nail. Nonetheless, Jiang Jinyan was too fueled by rage and he didn't hold back his strength at all, making him hold the upper hand. 

In fact, Jiang Jinyan was certainly stronger. He was a former athlete regardless of what had happened in the past. However, the situation was quite dire now. He had been detained for days, hungered and injured all over. It nearly depleted all of his strength to deliver the final blow.

Fortunately, Nan Xukun seemed to have given up soon after and could only defend by curling his body up, cursing under his breath. Gradually, those curses also subsided, replaced with weak sniffles and sobs. Without any warning, he broke out in tears and wailed like a helpless child. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, forgive me, father. Don't hit me anymore. I… I will listen to you!"

Jiang Jinyan's fist halted in midair 

…What did he just say?

He thought there's something wrong with his ears but then, Nan Xukun kept on pleading with a grievous tone. Tears streamed down his bruised and swollen face. "I'm sorry, father. Please forgive me! Please… it hurts. Don't hit me anymore…"

The man's body trembled violently as he buried his head into his arms, curling like a wounded cub that lost the protection of its mother. His cry was heartrending to hear. 

"Jinyan…" Shi Nian stood up by holding on to the tree. "He…"

Jiang Jinyan frowned and pulled Nan Xukun up by his collar, snarling. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Yet, Nan Xukun acted like he had just encountered the worst devil ever existed on Earth. His wide, terrified eyes didn't seem fake at all, so did the subconscious reaction of his body under extreme stress. His eyes darted around in panic until it landed on Shi Nian. As if finding a sanctuary, he reached out to her. "Xiao Nian… Xiao Nian, help me! It hurts…It hurts…"

Shi Nian stared at him, perplexed. His sudden movement caught her off guard and she took a step backward by reflex. Unfortunately, that small act dealt a huge blow on Nan Xukun. With a pair of desolate and blank eyes, he stared at her as if he had been abandoned by the whole world. 

"Why?!" He wept sadly. "Why are you like this?!"

Jiang Jinyan's heart wasn't moved at all by Nan Xukun's change of act. Pulling his collar back, he punched him once again in the gut. "Don't get close to her!" 

Nan Xukun hugged his stomach and fell down on his knees, his head hung low. Tears fell down pitter patter from his eyes to the snowy ground. His thin shoulders trembled, blood splattered his shirt in multiple spots. He looked so fragile…so feeble as if he was going to break with a single touch.

"J—Jinyan!" Shi Nian stopped Jiang Jinyan right before his punches landed on Nan Xukun again.

With the man's collar in his grasp, Jiang Jinyan turned to her, frowning. "Do you pity him?"

"I…" Shi Nian's tongue was tied. She touched her bruised and bloody neck, shivering whenever she imagined what would happen if Jiang Jinyan didn't arrive in time. However, as she looked at Nan Xukun like this, Shi Nian couldn't bring herself to be utterly heartless.

She wasn't going to forgive him, but she also wasn't a person who would kick someone when they were down. 

The most important question was…why did Nan Xukun suddenly change? Could it be an act? Was he such a good actor then?

One second he was trying to kill her while the next second he bawled like a child. His condition was completely unstable. Shi Nian had no idea how to deal with him. "It seems like something isn't quite right with him. Can you just knock him—" 

The words got stuck in her throat. In that moment, the wind ruffled, blowing Nan Xukun's messy bangs away. And hidden underneath it was a pair of menacing, sinister eyes. One that was desperate and ready to forsake everything to bring Hell down to Earth. That was the eyes of the serial killer!

Shi Nian's heart almost jumped out of her throat as her feet kicked off the ground, hands reaching out toward Jiang Jinyan. "Let go of him!"

Jiang Jinyan felt a forceful yank pulling his arm forward. The sudden move put pressure on his leg and he lost his balance. His body tilted backward together with Nan Xukun. The gale blew harshly, carrying toward him the sight of Shi Nian's horrified and desperate look. His hand reached out in reflex to hold the girl's outstretched one and the two's fingers touched for a split second before they separated again. 

A sense of weightlessness overcame Jiang Jinyan and her name had yet been uttered from his lips when his body rolled down the steep hill, again and again like a boulder before he plunged straight down the cliff. 

Shi Nian's knees gave up beneath her and she collapsed to the ground, her mind on the brink of breaking apart. Trembling, she murmured with blank eyes. "Jinyan…?"

…Close. She was so close. Just a little bit more and she could have reached him.

The last scene repeatedly flashed through her mind. His dilated pupils, shocked expression and at last, the lips that moved as if wanting to say something… 

Once again…she could only watch as the man left her behind, throwing her into a world surrounded by nothing but darkness that chilled her down to the bones. 

Slowly, her sight blurred and her body swayed, crashing to the snowy ground like a marionette whose string had been cut off.

The snow rained heavily that day, enveloping Earth in pure whiteness. The sky gradually brightened and bursts of golden light painted the horizon. From a distance, the siren of the police cars rang out faintly, carrying with them the final curtain call to the case that had been ongoing for more than a year.

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A/N:  Don't worry, it's a happy ending. 

The police always come late _(:3」∠)_ no just kidding lol they have to secure the area first, formulate plans, report to higher-ups etc and remember, they're behind Jia Ming'en and Xu Binchen by an hour 

Next chapter, we will enter the case closure!

Mass release [3/3]

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