Ten Years of Yearning. My Love, Let Me Protect You.

His eyes seemed dark and void of any human emotions, the same kind which stared at her with hostility back in that day when he threw her out from the bridge with cruelty and distance.

Luo Lixi saw this unfamiliar crazy brother of hers. When the stifling feeling joined with the unbearable pain, a thought crossed her mind, 'Today… I got so many shocks. It must be my end…'

Luo Lixi felt Luo Lixiang's hands shaking against her as the gun pointed at her chest. It was moving around on her bare skin and snapped her out from her daze. 

Trying to see what was going on with her crazy brother, she widened her eyes and then, she caught something flickering within his dark eyes.

'Did he just… look hurt?' Luo Lixi questioned herself which seemed unbelievable as she searched for something in those eyes.

As a sudden wave of sounds flew over, Luo Lixiang's eyes flickered back to the same empty dark eyes void of any emotions. 

This time, his hands got steady against her chest as she trembled, her teary eyes were still peering deep in his orbs, making the latter unstable. 

Bang!

In the darkroom, the man finally triggered the gun as it was pointed on Luo Lixi's chest. Both people's eyes changed at that instant. Luo Lixi's eyes changed into pain and helplessness while Luo Lixiang's in shock and disbelief. 

His demeanour changed again and again, from shock to ecstasy then to despair which confused her, despite the pain surging through her body she felt the need to figure out something before she died. 

Blood rushed in Luo Lixi's mouth and the tape couldn't block it as it was stained in crimson colour. Her eyes dropped in a moment and her body slothed down on the chair. 

Luo Lixiang saw all of this with his trembling eyes, his heart beating hard against his ribcage with unknown emotions. He didn't know what happened but for some reason, he seemed to have woken up from a terrible dream. With teary eyes, he went up to her and lifted her face. 

Luo Lixi met his eyes and watching his dark gaze, she was at a loss. The person before her eyes was the same person she grew up loving and caring. After their parents died, she took care of him as if he was her entire world. 

'You… finally achieved your goal, my... dear little brother…' As she thought, tears rushed into her eyes but Luo Lixi didn't let them fall on the ground. 

She tried to laugh for the last time but the blood pooled up in her mouth and the tape blocked it which made her choke. 

Luo Lixiang, who saw everything, hurriedly grabbed the tip of the tape and pulled it off of her mouth. 

Instantly, Luo Lixi vomited blood all over his chest and felt relieved. All of a sudden Luo Lixiang laughed like a maniac, Luo Lixi frowned as she watched him throw her down on the ground.

She whimpered as more blood gushed out of her chest and mouth, her mind went numb from the continuous pain she received and her vision turned all blurred.

"NO!... HAHA~ YES!" The man started yelling, like a crazy person.

With an expressionless face, Luo Lixi extended her hands towards him. Watching her on the floor, all messed up, something flicked in him.

He shook his head violently and clutched it as he collapsed on the ground and crawled towards her.

Very similar to his face, yet it slowly turned lifeless in his own hands. Luo Lixiang suddenly started to laugh hysterically. "Hahahaha!"

The familiar whistle came, urging him to leave the room but this time, the man didn't listen to it even though going against it would make someone experience hell on earth. 

"Sister, you just got your freedom… Why don't I accompany you?" Luo Lixiang murmured as a sudden idea came to his mind. 

Luo Lixi found her consciousness slowly fading away. Despite her eyes trying to close shut, she wanted to see Sheng Ruming for the last time. Talk to him and know what he was doing and asked for the last time, 'Will you still love me after I die?'

The man in front of her laughed out aloud and whispered, "I killed you, you will kill me. Then the score will be equal, won't it?!" 

Luo Lixi frowned as she turned to him with the last bit of her strength. She had the urge to slap Luo Lixiang harshly before she left the world. 

Then without wasting time, he unbound her and threw the ropes away. He put her weight on his front and then, with her right hand which had the cut scar, he pointed the gun at his head and triggered it after he mouthed, 'Sorry…'

Luo Lixi who read his lips, mouthing her sorry, widened her eyes in fear. She shook her head but before she could do anything she heard a similar loud noise.

Bang!

Luo Lixi saw her brother dying right in front of her and falling on the floor. His smile vanished and blood rushed out from his forehead.

Her will to stay conscious faded away when she saw him motionless and found her eyes getting heavier. Her numb heart was heavy and in pain. 'Two people had died before me…'

With the last tear flowing out of the corner of her eye, Luo Lixi drowned into the void from where she could never escape. A sigh left her lips as she thought, 'Finally, all the pain will end…'

...

"That fool really dared to suicide?" Madam Wang asked in disbelief. The shooters exchanged glances and then she was brought to the room where the two siblings were on the floor, together, drenched in their blood. 

The woman snorted as she turned to them, "Did you record everything?"

"Yes, Madam" One of the shooters nodded and gave Madam Wang a USB drive. The woman nodded in satisfaction and then turned around to leave. 

Looking at her leaving, one of the shooters asked hastily, "What should we do with the dead bodies?"

"No need to move. Burn down the place and make it natural." The woman glanced sideways and gave the command. 

"Understood." The shooters nodded.

… 

Creak~ Crack~ Crackle~

Slowly, Luo Lixi opened her eyes. When she glanced around, fire and heat entered her eyes and nose, making her choke endlessly. Dazzling light blinded her vision. When she tried to get up, she didn't have any strength to do so, not to mention the body which was on top of her. 

'Why did you kill yourself? Didn't your wish come true after shooting me?' Luo Lixi thought with tears as she stared above, looking at the face. 

But, she could no longer think as the heat became higher and higher. Luo Lixi realised it was impossible for her to escape the scene with the injured body of hers. 

With a bitter heart, she wrapped her shaky arms around his stiff waist and murmured, 'Grandfather, please live on. I will wait for you in the netherworld.'

As it turned out, the drug, the bullet or the unbearable pain didn't kill her, rather the fire. When all burned down to ashes, in that pile of bones, something shone brightly. 

The ruby, which was given to Luo Lixi by Sheng Ruming, the family heirloom of the Sheng family, was drenched in three people's blood on the same day. After all signs of life vanished from the surroundings, the ruby glowed brightly and as time went by, the red light turned brighter and brighter. 

After shaking for a long time, it disappeared. 

...

After an unknown period of time, Luo Lixi slowly opened her eyes and saw a blue sky with fluffy shiny clouds. Also, she felt very refreshed as if she had had a very good night's sleep. 

For a moment, her mind was blank with confusion. Slowly she sat up from the lying position and touched her body as she murmured, "I didn't burn down to death?" 

When she looked down, she saw herself in white silk which covered her whole body except her head. Luo Lixi touched the fabric which was so soft that her heart melted. 

"Am I already dead? Is it afterlife?" She whispered and glanced around. Soon, she frowned as she got up from the ground. 

The surroundings looked very familiar as if she had come here before. Just right in front of her lay a huge ocean. At that moment, Luo Lixi subconsciously stomped on the ground and her body flew over. 

In no time, she was floating above the clear ocean, one which she seemed to have seen once before. Luo Lixi blinked her eyes and went down. 

'I want to drink water… Can I?' Luo Lixi thought as her hand moved down. She remembered that the water of this ocean couldn't be held and had a sweet smell of it.

Despite knowing that she wanted to touch the water in the ocean and surprisingly it didn't leak from her hands. 'Oh? I can touch it this time?'