Survival and the desire for death are two vastly different states of mind; perhaps there is no eternal, unchanging truth in this world regarding which is nobler.

Xiao Shu led Xiao Yu to the elevator bay on the second floor, where a group of doctors was already waiting. Upon seeing the two ascend, one doctor, who bore an eight-tenths resemblance to the Li Xiaohao they had previously encountered, save for a scar across his left cheek, approached Xiao Yu. He quickly dressed him in a patient gown, sterile cap, and disinfected slippers, then placed him onto the gurney and wheeled him directly into the operating theater. The entire process was so orderly, it seemed as if it had been rehearsed, or perhaps, repeated countless times before.

Xiao Shu watched Xiao Yu until the operating room doors hissed shut and the red indicator light flickered on. Only then did she find a bench and sit down quietly, leaning back against the chair. A massive weight pressed upon her heart; she couldn't put aside the anxiety she held for both Xiao Yu and Hua Gu until the final results were known.

Meanwhile, at the far end of the corridor, near the bend by the stairwell, a pair of tear-filled eyes watched him secretly. From a distance, they meticulously scrutinized his hair, his eyes, his nose, and the diagonal scar across his cheek—the gaze held an ineffable mixture of lingering attachment and reluctance to part. Only when Li Xiaohao silently sat down beside Xiao Shu did those eyes vanish around the corner.

“I thought you wouldn’t show up,” Xiao Shu asked directly, without turning her head as she registered Xiaohao sitting beside her.

“I’m not as despicable as you imagine,” Xiaohao smiled at him.

“No,” Xiao Shu nodded, gazing at the tiled floor, “you’re not as despicable as I imagined. You’re far more shameless than I could have conceived.”

Li Xiaohao sighed, left without words. The despicable always strive to present themselves as virtuous; this is an unshakeable truth in human history. From Liu Bang and Li Shimin of China to Hitler of Germany, every one sought elaborate justifications for their shamelessness, borrowing spineless literati to gloss over their glories.

“I am different from you. You were born with life, whereas I grew up amidst abandonment and being abandoned. This world is far crueler to me than it is to you,” Xiaohao said, showing no anger, but calmly voicing the words long hidden in his heart.

“Yes, so you resort to slaughter, to destruction, to seizing what belongs to others by any means necessary…” Xiao Shu intended to elaborate, but suddenly realized the conversation was veering toward that one topic she desperately wished to avoid. She stopped herself, stood up, and began pacing outside the operating room door, unwilling to engage with Li Xiaohao any further.

However, that was merely his self-serving notion. Li Xiaohao certainly did not find their exchange tedious. He, too, rose from his chair and followed her to the operating room door, saying with a touch of dark humor, “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a heart-to-heart so close.”

Heart-to-heart? Xiao Shu didn't consider this a heart-to-heart. Any normal person would agree that this was not a conversation of intimacy. That Xiaohao could find joy in this unpleasant exchange made Xiao Shu lean her head against the wall, wishing she could suddenly turn and land a punch, forcing him to awaken from his self-obsessed world.

“The situation isn't as bad as you think. Once the surgery is over, you’ll know the result. Though I enjoy killing and walk my own path, I cherish my family more than anyone, including you—my brother.”

Hearing this, Xiao Shu could endure no longer. She spun around abruptly and struck Li Xiaohao with all her might, roaring, “If you cared about my feelings, why did you take her away?”

The shout was clear and resonant, almost piercing the entire length of the corridor, perhaps audible even downstairs. In the stairwell, a departing figure’s heart leaped sharply, genuinely startled by the words. Just as she was about to turn back, a large hand grasped her arm, and he shook his head at her, saying, “Let the brothers settle their own affairs.”