Through the rasp of his own voice, Xia Zhi forced a smile and consoled, "Don't worry, he'll be fine."
However, he forgot he was talking to Xinghe; she could see through his fake smile easily.
Xinghe's eyes turned ashen, like her soul had left her body; she was on the edge of breaking. Xia Zhi felt this change in her and was flustered. "Sis, don't be sad; I'm really not too sure about Xi Mubai's conditions! After you feel better, we'll go visit him. Don't overthink this; it's not as bad as you think!"
To his surprise, Xinghe nodded obediently. Xia Zhi was gobsmacked. "Sis, you believe me?"
"I do, now tell me what happened…" Xinghe opened her mouth weakly to say. Xia Zhi was afraid that she would be agitated by the details, so he only described it in broad strokes.
"The car explosion sent both you and Brother Xi flying. There was another woman in the car. The explosion seemed to be closest to her; she died on the spot. That was what happened, regarding the origin of the bomb, the police are still looking into it."
Origin of the bomb?
Lin Xuan's honest face cropped up in Xinghe's mind and hatred like a bright red brand seared her heart. It would keep on burning her until she settled this debt!
However, Xinghe didn't show any change of emotion before Xia Zhi. After Xia Zhi finished, Xinghe asked, "Help me up."
"Sis, what are you doing?"
Xinghe stared at him and said in fierce determination, "Take me to see Xi Mubai's remains."
Xia Zhi's eyes widened. How... how did she know?
Xia Zhi might have skirted around the topic, but Xinghe knew that Mubai sacrificed himself to save her. Other than small burns and general fatigue, her body was fine. However, the lighter her wounds, the greater her pain.
Who gave you the right to decide my life or death? Who‽
Other than anger, Xinghe felt immense sadness. In fact, this was the saddest she had ever been, even surpassing the sorrow she'd felt after their plane blew up in Country Y.
This time, grief tore through her face. It was so enveloping and concrete that she couldn't even summon the energy to cry. For the first time, Xinghe understood the meaning of 'despair is the greatest sorrow'.
She was in a complete daze when she was wheeled from her room to Lu Qi's medical experiment building.
She finally regained her senses when Lu Qi approached her and asked solemnly, "You really want to do this?"
Xinghe nodded slowly, "Yes."
Lu Qi squatted down to match her seated height because she was in a wheelchair. He advised, "You're still recovering. I don't think it's wise for you to see him."
"Bring me to him," said Xinghe; her words were succinct but sorrowful.
"…Alright, but you have to prepare yourself," Lu Qi said, but he had also prepared the necessary precautions just in case. If anything happened to Xinghe, he would be ready with his first aid kit.
Lu Qi personally wheeled Xinghe into the elevator.
The elevator opened to a large, structurally stable basement. Then he wheeled her into a lab.
As they entered, Xinghe saw Mubai lying inside a rectangular, transparent, airtight glass receptacle.