That night, Zane looked at Rover sitting on his bed with a smile on her face and began recalling exactly where he had offended this little ancestor today.
"What? Remember now?"
Meeting those half-smiling golden eyes, Zane felt as if his heartbeat had stopped for a moment.
"Um… Rover, we can talk this out, no need to get physical."
"Oh?" Rover raised an eyebrow, stood up from the bed, and walked over slowly on her long, smooth legs.
The red eye makeup at the corners of her eyes lifted slightly, adding a touch of charm and allure to her clear, flawless gaze. A faint smile rested on her delicate, fair face.
"When did I say I was going to get physical?"
"Or…"
Zane felt a warm breath by his ear, and a faint fragrance drifted uncontrollably into his senses.
"You want me to get physical, hmm?"
'Mom, she's so dominant.'
As she spoke, Rover took Zane's hand and led him to the bed.
She felt that the hand, which should have been warm, was now unusually cold.
Thinking about everything that had happened earlier at the Huaxu Research Institute, the file the Doctor found made her vaguely realize something.
After handing over Director Zhang, the fat researcher, and the rest of the criminal group to Sanhua and the patrol guards, she had hurried over.
From what they said, Rover learned that Director Zhang had only been a small part of those who actually carried out the act back then.
There were many who wanted Zane dead. And the situation at the time had indeed been a dead end for him.
The brightness in her golden eyes was now covered by a layer of shadow, but in the next moment, it softened again.
His heart was already full of scars. What he needed now wasn't worry or anger, but… companionship.
She believed he could handle it himself.
With that thought, Rover took off her over-the-knee boots, knelt on the bed, and patted her lap, signaling for Zane to lie down.
Looking at the strip of absolute territory formed between her black over-the-knee socks and the hem of her skirt, Zane suddenly didn't know what to do.
Usually joking about it was fine, but now…
The soft light fell gently over the girl, covering her in a thin veil. Under the light, her fair skin carried a faint blush. With every glance, an uncontrollable urge to savor it welled up from deep within.
Zane hesitated for a moment. Seeing that Rover didn't seem to be joking, he slowly lay down.
The softness beneath his head made his tense mind gradually drift.
A breeze slipped through the curtains, whispering softly. The two of them sat quietly on the bed, immersed in the silence.
'Mom, she's so beautiful.'
"I didn't know you could get shy."
Rover looked at Zane's face with interest, trying to catch a different expression on his handsome features. But Zane closed his eyes, not wanting her to see what was in them.
"Are you curious about what happened back then?"
Rover froze for a moment, not expecting him to change the subject like this.
What Zane referred to was definitely related to that batch of substandard weapons Director Zhang had transported. She really did want to understand him more, to understand his past.
That black-haired girl who suddenly appeared… her name was Doctor, right?
Even though she had been around for the shortest time, she seemed to understand him the most.
Only in this regard, deep inside, Rover felt a voice constantly telling her, 'you can't lose'.
But thinking about the sadness and regret hidden beneath Zane's anger back then…
Rover smiled softly and shook her head.
"What happened, or what didn't happen, what does it matter?"
Rover placed one hand over Zane's eyes, gently stroking them, while her other hand tidied his slightly messy white hair.
"What matters is that you're still here now. You made it through that past that might not have been so good, and you're here with me."
"Compared to those things that are already over, I'm more curious about the future ahead of us, aren't you?"
A gentle and moving smile spread across her flawless face, like sunlight breaking through heavy clouds and reaching him.
Her hair was like black silk, the soft ends falling beside her ears, shimmering under the light.
'Mom, she's so teasing.'
Perhaps realizing the ambiguity in her words, a blush suddenly spread across her face, like she was slightly drunk.
But she had no intention of taking it back.
After saying that, Rover fell silent, simply continuing to stroke his somewhat prickly hair.
After all, she had just teased Zane about being shy. She didn't want him to turn it around and ask if she was shy too.
Without thinking, Zane reached out and squeezed the soft flesh on the inside of her thigh, making her raise her brows slightly as a faint blush spread from her cheeks to her ears and neck.
Her thighs were full and firm. When tensed, the smooth lines of her muscles could be felt, and when relaxed, they were like a soft, warm cluster.
Black and white, firmness and softness, fullness and slenderness, each blending into the other. On Rover's thighs, it formed a delicate and perfect balance.
After a long silence, Zane slowly spoke, "Three years ago…"
Rover lowered her head in surprise. Zane still had his eyes closed, speaking as if in a dream.
"At that time, I was still the captain of a squad under the Midnight Rangers, stationed at Yuanwang Camp to resist the Remnants."
Rover hadn't expected him to tell her this. From the look in his eyes earlier at the institute, it wasn't hard to tell how deeply that event had affected him.
Even so, he was willing to tell her… her heart softened, and she listened quietly.
"One day, while I was at the frontline, I received a report from Jinzhou City. It said a merchant caravan had been attacked by Remnants and ordered me to lead a team to rescue them."
"But when I led my troops to the location in the report, that was when I realized it wasn't any damn caravan at all! And there were no Remnants attacking them either!"
Rover frowned slightly as an ominous feeling crept into her heart.
"The cargo trucks were filled with explosives, and escorting them was a group of lunatics ready to die with us. Just as we made contact with them, they suddenly ignited the explosives…"
Zane paused. Just as Rover thought the story had ended, he continued.
"When it rains, it pours. Just as I was counting casualties, news came from the frontline that Yuanwang Camp had been attacked."
"So I had part of the soldiers escort the wounded toward Jinzhou City while seeking help from other units along the way, and I led the remaining combat-capable soldiers back to the frontline."
"At that time, I still didn't know who the attackers were. I only knew they were masked, their bodies wrapped in blood-red bandages. After a day of fighting, we repelled them. But right after that, a Remnant tide broke out…"
"Only when the tide arrived did the soldiers realize that their weapons had unknowingly turned into scrap during the earlier battle…"
"And the rations… while we were entangled with the attackers, they were burned to the ground by a few traitors from the Midnight Rangers who appeared out of nowhere."
Fatigue that couldn't be erased colored Zane's voice.
"We didn't know how long we fought, nor how I managed to survive and hold on until the end under those conditions."
"I only remember the sky full of blood, the endless enemies, the constant sound of metal clashing, and the cries of my comrades…"
Rover said nothing as she gently wiped the moisture from the corner of his eyes, unsure whether he was grieving for surviving or mourning those who had fallen.
"When Sister Jihnsi and General Jiyan arrived with the main force, I was the only one left on the battlefield… along with the bodies and remains of 972 comrades."
"Not a single one of them retreated. Every one of them fought until the very last moment… they were all brave…"
Rover leaned down and gently embraced this young man whose voice was catching.
"This wasn't a war at all. It was a coordinated murder from both inside and out!"
"Fortunately, we never lost the position. Until reinforcements arrived, my comrades didn't let a single Remnant cross into the camp."
"…Their sacrifice wasn't in vain…"
Rover gently soothed this young man's scarred heart. Three years ago, he had only been thirteen…
"Th… thank you…"
Under Rover's comfort, Zane's voice gradually faded as he fell into a deep sleep.
She looked at him and silently added in her heart, 'You're a hero too.'
As Zane spoke, Rover felt like she had uncovered a corner of that battle from years ago.
But even so, she still had doubts.
Three years ago, combined with the timing of Jinhsi becoming magistrate… were these two events connected?
Why did the Remnant tide break out right after those mysterious attackers withdrew?
Where did the unit sent to request help go?
Before leaving, the Doctor had told her she had searched the entire archive but never found any record of this battle.
And the missing details in Zane's story…
How did a boy not even fourteen survive without weapons, food, or medicine?
Besides that, Zane clearly remembered fighting the attackers for a day, but couldn't recall how long he fought against the Remnant tide.
'What exactly happened during that time…'
Rover felt like her head was about to explode, so she decided not to think about it anymore. When the time came, she would just ask Jinhsi and everything would become clear.
With that thought, Rover gently moved Zane onto the pillow and lay down beside him. A sentence suddenly appeared in her mind, as if she had said it countless times before, "Good night, Zane…"