01:45;

"I think I can give you everything Xi Yuan can.", Diablos chuckled, outstretching his hand toward the girl. Avoiding his touch but, Rong Xinghe stood up, walking out of the candle-lit room, him following behind her into the delightfully quiet backyard. "I am not here for preposterous confessions, Mr. Yang.", she said as a cold breeze hit her face.

"What do you mean?", the man smiled. He knew he couldn't push it too far. His affections for her. From how highly she thought of Xi Yuan, it was clear what her answer would eventually be, anyway.

"How did you know my parents?", the girl turned to him, both her gaze and her tone earnest, "You knew about the Jet blast, and that Bro Lu was aware of it. You know something I don't. So spill."

"I was 13 when my father decided to cut ties with me. Apparently, I was not as competent as my elder brother was, and since he already had a successor, I was just an extra mouth to feed for him.", Diablos began, "I was an orphan strolling down Country N's streets, begging, crying, fighting; for months. Alone. Back then, most of Country N was a playground for emerging terrorist organizations. They used to train kids to engineer bombs, fight their wars. Come on, you know terrorism much better than anyone, Xinghe. You understand what happens to the innocent public amid it all.

"It was not enough for my Dad to just abandon me, and to let me be in the safer side of the country. He commanded his men to throw me into the most frightening pit of the nation, instead. God! He really must've hated me to do so.

"But that was when I met your Father. Doctor Rong Anguo. He was there for some sort of research, and he had a VIP entry, even in such a dangerous area. No one would question him. But they didn't like him either. He'd just visit the research laboratories once a month, question the workers about ammunitions sometimes, and return to wherever he came from. So once, I climbed into the trunk of his car. He saw me do it. But he didn't pull me out. He just reopened the trunk and smiled at me, shutting it close tightly then.

"He helped me escape the hellhole, Xinghe, knowing very well how perilous it would've been, had he been caught. He was a great man."

Rong Xinghe could feel the corners of her eyes sting, her throat closing in, as each second passed by. The girl attempted to act firm, still. Looking away from the man, she kept walking, indicating for him to resume.

"He took me to a place. A chemical lab or something.", the man resumed, "He introduced me to your mother there. Feng Sying. She had your voice, you know? And smile, too. She was a scientist on the same project your father was working on. They both appeared to be in charge of something huge. But they didn't want to keep me around, for they were afraid of the chemicals harming me. And so, after their working hours, they'd hunt for a reliable orphanage for me. It took them three weeks to settle on one, even so.

"I lived in their apartment until then. Your Mom was terrible at cooking, unlike your father. He would always cook for her, and me for the limited days I accompanied them. She would chat with him from the living room, a glass of red wine in her hands. They missed you and Xiao Xiao dearly. They really did. Your mother had a locket, with both her girls' pictures in there. She never allowed the silver thing out of her sight for once, you know. But... they had sacrifices to make for something much greater.

"Anyhow, I was given away to an orphanage shortly after. I tried to search for them for about a year before I received the news about the flight explosion. Sorry."

The girl stayed quiet for several minutes. Diablos didn't utter a word himself. He couldn't even imagine whatever it was that she was going through. He had loathed his father, his family, for years. She, on the other hand, had longed for those very things. Ironical, wasn't it? He desired to forget a parent who could only be considered a barbaric monster underneath the human flesh, while she was left with no memory of her perfectly angelic ones.

"I need to go.", the girl mumbled under her breath, turning around to face the exit of the old mansion.

"What if I tie you up and keep you to myself until your wedding day?", Diablos smiled softly, "All the past sagas aside, Xi Yuan is still my love rival, Xinghe."

"You'll kidnap me?", the girl raised her brows, her lips curling into an amused smile subconsciously.

"Maybe.", the man shrugged.

"More than half your men are lying around knocked out right now, Mr. Yang.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "So let's not push our lucks, shall we?"

"You brought back up, I see.", Diablos laughed, "And I thought we had trust between us, Miss Rong."

"Baby steps.", the girl laughed back, walking away from him. As the woman stepped out of the huge but dusty place, she could see a vintage car waiting for her, its headlights glaring at her furiously. Shawn Florence sat over the hood, cross-legged, holding onto a takeaway coffee cup in his left hand.

"Rough day?", the man grinned, handing the hot beverage to the girl, "Here. A tall skinny latte with a double shot. Just as you like it."

"Thank you.", Rong Xinghe smiled, getting into the passenger seat of the Black Miura, "Where are Elijah and David?"

"Still inside.", Shawn answered, opening the door to the driver's seat, "What's wrong? You look upset."

"Drive me home, please?", the girl said, her tone worn out, the spark in her gaze fading gradually, "I need to see Yuan, as soon as possible. Like, right now." The girl could feel her heartbeat racing, her fingers and toes turning cold. She was yet to process the things Diablos had just told her completely, but one thing was for sure, she missed them. Her parents. More so than she ever had before.