RSE Chapter 79: The End (2)

"Why don't you try shooting me?" Chris spoke slowly, "Don't you want to know what'll happen after you shoot?"

Elizabeth glared at Chris while gritting her teeth and remaining silent.

"My brain will burst onto your face. Red and white matters will mix together." Chris's tone was still light.

"I told you to let my mother go! Do you think that I really won't shoot?"

"I thought you no longer care about anything." Chris curved up his lips and leaned forward.

Elizabeth couldn't help retreating. Even though she was the one holding the gun, she appeared to be more frightened.

"I never belong to you, Elizabeth. From very early on, I don't even belong to myself. Why are you giving up everything for someone who can never belong to you?" Chris's voice was still cold, yet faintly soft.

"After losing this arranged marriage and the Taylors' assets, you are still the young lady (cousin) of the Osbornes, holding 6% of the conglomerate shares. You can still live proudly. Why are you sacrificing your happiness to retaliate against me?"

(T/N: yeah, 6% stock share of a billion-dollar company is at least tens of millions of U.S. dollars)

Elizabeth's shoulder trembled and she felt like crying. When her heart was thrown away like garbage, she felt like she had nothing, no wealth, no pride, and no self-esteem. However, at this moment, she realized that she hadn't lost everything. She just hurt too much and forgot.

"But after you make this shot, you'll become a silly woman with nothing but jealousy. Your poor mother still has to live and clean up your mess. She's already working very hard after marrying your father, an ambitious man. It's already difficult for her to keep the shares your grandfather left for her. If you do this, she can no longer lift her head in the Taylors and the Osbornes. The world is so big but there won't be a place for her."

Tears had fallen down Elizabeth's face.

"Drop the gun." Chris pointed to the cell phone on the table. "Your mother is looking at you."

"I don't want to! I don't want to!" Elizabeth leaned over and pointed the gun at Lin Yifei again. "Why do you have everything? The Osbornes' wealth, your father's love and the person you like!"

Lin Yifei looked at Chris, but there's no fear on his face. Chris's eyes calmed him down.

"I will give you ten seconds to drop everything." Chris's palm was placed over his heart. What he wanted Elizabeth to put down was not the gun, but the weight in her heart. "If you can't put this burden down, then bear with it forever."

Elizabeth's lips trembled, but she couldn't let go. Five years had passed since she first saw Chris at eleven years old. How could she put it all down?

"Ten, nine, eight, seven…"

Mrs. Taylor shook her head desperately through the cell phone video. Chris turned on the sound.  

"Liz! Liz! Don't do anything stupid! Liz! Think about Mom, please!"

"Six, five, four…"

Elizabeth's finger remained on the trigger. Kevin and Rhett stood there with their eyes wide open, as if the world was coming to an end.

"Three, two…"

"Waa…waa…" Elizabeth suddenly cried out loudly. Her pain and anger all rushed out during this burst.  

Lin Yifei slowly reached out to grab Elizabeth's gun.

Kevin swallowed his saliva as his muscles tightened. He wanted to help him, but he was afraid of stimulating Elizabeth. If she went crazy again, who could stop her?

But Lin Yifei was unusually calm. He slowly broke Elizabeth's fingers off the gun. The gun turned half a circle and fell into Lin Yifei's hands.

Elizabeth still maintained that posture of pulling the trigger, as if her life had come to a stop there.

Chris suddenly got up. He pulled Lin Yifei into his arms then took the gun from Lin Yifei's trembling hand and unloaded all the bullets before tossing it on the ground.

The entire living room was quiet except for Elizabeth's cry.

Chris held Lin Yifei tightly. He couldn't breathe fast enough. Chris stroke Lin Yifei's soft black hair and pressed their forehead together. He kissed his cheek and his forehead hard. Lin Yifei in his arms felt his trembling breath.

It turned out that Chris wasn't as calm as he thought. After the bullets finally landed on the ground, all of his fears surged out.

Lin Yifei hugged Chris and patted him on the back. His nose was sour.

In the end, they held each other tightly. For more than a year, they hadn't spoken or contacted each other. Even their thoughts of each other could only evaporate into the air.

Chris kissed Lin Yifei's lips madly. He plundered his breath and bit his chin, as if to suck Lin Yifei into his own blood.

Kevin heaved a long sigh.

Rhett's mind, which just got the daylights scared out of him, slowly returned to his head, only to be petrified again after seeing the two boys' crazy kissing.

"What should we…do now?" Rhett whispered.

George came in and gave Kevin and Rhett a slight salute.

He draped a coat over Elizabeth, who was sobbing on the sofa, and said calmly, "Miss Elizabeth, Mrs. Taylor is waiting for you downstairs."

Elizabeth's entire body shook.

"What did you say?"

"Mrs. Taylor is waiting for you downstairs."

"Mom…Mom wasn't taken hostage by you…"

"The cell phone's video is taken inside the opposite cafe. We didn't hold Mrs. Taylor hostage." George calmly explained.

Elizabeth turned her face to look at Chris, who was holding Lin Yifei tightly.

All of his attention was on Lin Yifei.

It turned out that she was so stupid. Chris only had Lin Yifei in his world. He didn't need anyone else to come in.  

"Miss Elizabeth, please remember that you are still the cousin of the Osbornes, a proud young lady. Even if you lose everything, you can still raise your chin and walk with a straight back under the ridicules of everyone else."

Elizabeth looked at George and laughed, "This sentence sounds familiar."

"This is what master (Chris's father) once said to the young lady (Elizabeth's mother)."

Remember that you are the princess of the Osbornes, a proud young lady. Even if you lose everything, you can still raise your chin and walk with a straight back under the ridicules of everyone else.  

Elizabeth slowly stood up. She tried to calm her excitement and looked to the door.

Chris Osborne, thank you for letting me grow up.

Even though the pain of growing up is enough to make me crazy.

Finally, Chris was the only one left in the living room. He imprisoned Lin Yifei in his arms like a sculpture.

Rhett turned his head stiffly and looked at Kevin. "What do we do now?"

"Have some tea and snacks."

Kevin turned and walked to the kitchen.

The water in the teapot had completely cooled. He pulled up the overturned table and lowered his head. Tears involuntarily fell down his face. He had always been confident in his maturity and reliability. Compared to Chris's indifference and stubbornness, he felt that he was better for Lin Yifei. He could comb Lin Yifei's undeveloped feathers and spare no effort to support him to fly to the sky. (T/N: Kevin 😭)

But he was wrong. If Lin Yifei really yearned for the sky, it was only because Chris was up there.  

He was just a gift loaned to him. A gift with a time limit.

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Kevin was ready to return him long ago, but his heart still hurt when he finally had to let go.

Rhett turned around. He looked at Kevin's bent over back and walked there. He and Kevin didn't just meet recently. So, Rhett realized earlier than Kevin that Kevin cared more about the teenager than mere appreciation.

"Everything will be fine, Kevin."

"I know."

Once Chris regained his cool, the late afternoon tea` was also served.

Kevin sat across the tea table and watched Chris keep a hold on Lin Yifei's waist.

"Taste the black tea I brewed. It's no worse than the Osbornes'."

"Thank you." Chris picked up the black tea with simmering steam. He took a sip of it, then slowly put it down, "It's very mellow."

"Has everything at home been settled?"

"Yes. I'll take Yifei back to Washington tonight."

Lin Yifei was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Chris to return to the U.S. in such a hurry.

"Yes, as long as there's no shackle, you'll surely take Lin away in a hurry like your pants are on fire." Kevin gracefully picked up the cup and retaliated against Chris, "See you next time at the World Fencing Championship."

When Chris came to Lin Yifei's room, Lin Yifei was shocked by the speed in which Chris packed his suitcase.

In less than ten minutes, all of Lin Yifei's belongings in the entire room were systematically packed into the suitcase while Lin Yifei just stood there. Chris's action made him stunned and couldn't return to himself for a while.

"Chris…" Lin Yifei still felt like he's in a dream. Just now Elizabeth pointed a gun at them. Lin Yifei had prepared for the worst. But at this moment, all their problems seemed to have been instantly solved.

After zipping up the suitcase, Chris pulled over Lin Yifei for another mad kiss. His strength was so great. Lin Yifei was forced to kneel on the ground with some pain on his eyes. Meanwhile, Chris simply sat on the suitcase holding Lin Yifei and continued to do whatever he wanted.

"This is…Kevin's home…" Lin Yifei who was being held didn't know how to stop him.

They had too many things to express to one another that mere language became insufficient. Only their constant kisses and hugs could affirm each other.

Chris stopped and gasped against Lin Yifei's forehead.

"I miss you so much."

This was a very light sentence. But because it came from Chris, it's extremely precious.

"Are you sure you want to take him away right now without even taking a rest?" Kevin leaned against the door with his arms hugging his chest and looked at the two men jokingly.

"Yes."

"All right." Kevin calmly smiled, "Then remember this, if one day you aren't strong enough, I'll take him away."

Chris and Kevin stared at each other. There was no strong smell of gunpowder and no provocation, just a calm atmosphere in the air.

"You won't have that chance."

While pulling the suitcase, Chris grabbed Lin Yifei by his wrist and took him out of Kevin's house.

Through the window, Kevin watched Chris pull open the gate for Lin Yifei, then put his suitcase into the car trunk. When the car started, Lin Yifei rolled open the window and waved at Kevin by the window.

His smile was somewhat awkward and embarrassed because Chris always showed the same (rude and indifferent) personality to people.

But Kevin knew that this was Lin Yifei's smile for his favorite person. It's as clear as sunlight penetrating through the air.  

If you can, please smile like this forever.

After the car went far away and Lin Yifei could no longer see Kevin, Chris reached to hold his waist and brought him back to him.

When Lin Yifei turned back, Chris's head rested on his shoulder. He understood what Chris was trying to say.

Don't have too much nostalgia for others. I'll feel uneasy.

Along the way, Chris had been tightly clasping Lin Yifei's wrist, which had almost become his habitual action. After a seven-hour long flight, Chris took Lin Yifei back to the Osbornes.

George hadn't come back yet and one didn't know where the rest of the servants went.

Chris threw Lin Yifei's suitcase at the door and couldn't wait to hug him and kiss him. Lin Yifei knew that Chris had been holding back along the way. He wanted to have him, now more than ever.

His tongue invaded Lin Yifei's mouth impudently, pressing him against the door and kissing him hard. The back of his head was hurt by hard mahogany door. Lin Yifei struggled a little, which made it easier to press him back harder. Even his back now felt dull and painful.

Chris held his lips and sucked with ecstasy. The palm of his hand picked up the hem of his T-shirt and tore open his trousers.

"Chris…Chris…" Lin Yifei frowned, afraid to make any resistance, lest his refusal hurt him, "It hurts…"

Chris stopped. He stretched out his hand and hugged Lin Yifei, as if to say sorry for his rudeness, and stroke his sore back.

"I'm sorry. I scared you."

Chris gently parted Lin Yifei's fringe, revealing his eyes and kissing them.

"I really want to have you right away."

Lin Yifei's heart shook. He knew that Chris still remembered his promise to wait until he reached adulthood.

At that time, Lin Yifei said he should wait until he reached adulthood because he thought that Chris was still a child. They needed time to find out what they wanted.

Now, Lin Yifei felt his resolve more than ever. He wanted to be with him.

"There's still one year, one month and twelve days." Lin Yifei kissed Chris on the tip of his nose. His eyes became wicked.

"But I can kiss you, can't I?" Chris pulled Lin Yifei upstairs. The entire Osbornes' villa seemed to have become their playground.

Lin Yifei was kissed by Chris over and over again with complete pursuit and persistence.

He thought that all of this was beautiful like a dream.

Their hands grasped on to their swords and ambitions while they completely belonged to one another.

———–

T/N: This is the end of the novel. There're two chapters of extras (3 more releases) coming up. Hope you enjoy this novel as much as I did reading through it the second time. 😊

~My thoughts on Elizabeth

I read an angry review on NU about why Elizabeth didn't get punished. Well, she's a minor and she didn't shoot anyone in the end (except the tea table, but the tea table can't sue her). Even if they bring her to court, it's unlikely that she'll go to jail. At most, she'll be on probation and have to pay fines.

I actually like this ending for her. Kind of like a redemption. Yes, she did wrong. But now she understands her wrongs and gives up on Chris. She's only 16. There's plenty of life waiting ahead for her than to give up everything (and go to jail) for a boy who never has her in his eyes. She did pay a huge price for 'growing up'. (by getting her heart broken, losing her social standing and her father's 'love').

Of course, all of her past behaviors don't just go away. But the author is showing that it's never too late to give up one's negative obsession and change for the better. I prefer this positive message than reading about her bad ending. 😊