“Sister, big brother… take me away from here… all right? I don’t like… this place.” On the bed, the frail girl brought the frail words out.

“Mm.” Ye Tianxie did as she asked. He lifted her off the hospital bed, a body light as a wad of cotton wool, and held her tenderly against him, moving as gently as if he were picking up a newborn. He asked softly, “Where would you like to go, then?”

Leaning in his arms, resting her head against his chest, Chenxue could feel the beat of her own weak heart, and the sense of being cared for was like a dream she wanted to lose herself in. It was a feeling that had only ever come to her while she slept. She said, in a very small voice, “Big brother, I want to go to your house… I want to see your house. All right?”

“All right… of course you can. We’ll go right now.”

Zuo Pojun came in, his call finished, and nodded at Ye Tianxie. “Second Brother, they’re getting it ready. It shouldn’t take long.”

“…We’ll go back first. To my house.” He carried Chenxue toward the door.

“Mm!” Zuo Pojun opened the door for him and watched Ye Tianxie and the frail girl in his arms with something complicated in his eyes. For a girl like this one, there was nothing surprising in him doing what he was doing. His heart can be harder than anyone’s at times. At others it is softer than anyone’s.

Back at the house, the door opened and Su Feifei came hurrying out to meet them. “Tianxie, where have you been…” she said, in a small burst of temper. “Huh?” She had seen the girl in Ye Tianxie’s arms. A look of astonishment came over her, and then she saw at once how frightening the color of that girl’s face was… as pale as white paper.

“Hello, big sister.” Chenxue got a smile onto her face and greeted Su Feifei in her weak voice.

“Hello, little sister. You’re… Tianxie, who is this?”

The door had started to swing shut on its own when it was pushed open again, and in came Zuo Pojun, Murong Qiushui, and Ran Chenxin, a deep strain and awkwardness on her face. At the sight of them, Su Feifei’s lovely eyes went wide with surprise.

“Big Brother Zuo, Qiushui… and little sister Chenxin. What are the three of you doing here?”

Since she had come to live with Ye Tianxie, she had never once seen him let anyone through that door except Xiaoxi, and ordinarily nobody came at all. Zuo Pojun and Murong Qiushui turning up she could take without surprise. Chenxin standing here she could not.

“Heh. Miss Su.” Zuo Pojun let out a small laugh and greeted her, and what was in the laugh… neither of them needed to say.

“Sharing a bed and sharing a table, roosting and flying together — enough to make anyone die of envy. And poor Murong Qiushui, of dazzling talent and beauty without equal, has to this day found nobody at all who can take possession of his body and his soul… Ah. Is it heaven that envies me my beauty?” Murong Qiushui tipped his head back and let out a lament full of pity for himself.

Su Feifei’s face went scarlet in an instant, and then, angry and embarrassed together, she shouted at them in a very low voice, “What are you two… What nonsense is this! Hmph! I can’t be bothered with either of you… Little sister Chenxin, how did you—”

“Big sister Feifei, I…” It was the first time she had met Su Feifei in the real world. She felt some gladness at it, and some unease, and more than either of those, the weight Chenxue had put on her.

Su Feifei laughed lightly, went over, and teased her softly at her ear. “Hee. Did that great villain Tianxie use some trick to lure you here? Let me tell you, he’s very wicked. He’s better at fooling girls than anyone, and he loves taking advantage of them… He hasn’t—”

“No, no.” Ran Chenxin shook her head in a fluster. Standing here, she felt a strain and a guilt she could not have put a name to. This place belonged to Ye Tianxie and Su Feifei — it was the world the two of them had, and would her coming here disturb it? “Big Brother Tianxie is a very good man. He saved me…”

“Chenxin’s little sister has a terminal illness, and Second Brother wants to save her… The short of it is that the connections here and what lies behind them are very complicated, and we’ll tell you about it later. But in a little while, whatever Second Brother does, don’t try to stop him. All right?” Zuo Pojun let out a light sigh as he said it.

Su Feifei was blank for a moment. She turned her head to look at Ye Tianxie, and then nodded slightly.

“Big brother… your house… it’s so big. So beautiful.” Chenxue’s gaze moved from corner to corner of the place. Set against the cramped space she lived in, this was so very wide. This was the sort of place that only ever appeared in her dreams.

“If you like it here, then once you’re well you can come and play here with your sister every day.” Ye Tianxie said it softly at her ear.

“And if I wanted… to live here with my sister always, could I? There are so many, many rooms here.” She blinked, and those eyes, dimmed as they were, still glittered dazzlingly.

“Of course you could. On the day you’re well again, whatever you want, I’ll agree to it.” Ye Tianxie answered without hesitating. He was using a promise that weighed a thousand pounds to light up as much as he could of the small flame of her life.

“Big brother… you’re… so good… You’re the best person… in the world…”

A good man? All Ye Tianxie could give her was a very gentle smile. He has never thought himself a good man. It is only that plenty of things have to be done even when they are bad things, and some things are good things and can be ignored all the same. Since he is a good man in this girl’s eyes, he will be a good man for now.

“Looking, looking, looking for a friend, found myself a good friend, give a salute, shake hands…”

The ringtone of Zuo Pojun’s phone knocked every person in the room flat. Su Feifei and Ran Chenxin both gave him exceedingly strange looks. He took the call without a blush or a flutter, exchanged a few short words, and hurried over to Ye Tianxie’s side. “Second Brother, it’s all ready. Seventeen minutes from now there’s a flight to Wall City in Meili. Your identity papers and Chenxue’s, visas, everything, are all prepared; once you get there you can board directly… There wasn’t time to get a private jet ready, so it has to be a scheduled flight… South of Wall City is Meili’s planning base for the interstellar service to Planet Lyle. It’s easy to find. It’s just that the guard on a place like that… ‘heavily guarded’ doesn’t begin to cover it… Second Brother, you must be careful. If there’s anything you need help with, contact me any time.” He paused, then raised his head and looked Ye Tianxie in the eye. “Whatever happens, Second Brother, Fourth Brother and I will back any decision you make… and we believe there’s nothing in this world you can’t do. Going now, you might go straight on to Planet Lyle, and it might be a long time before you’re back. Go without worrying. We’ll keep this place safe, and we’ll be waiting for you to bring Chenxue home healthy.”

Chenxue’s condition could not stand the smallest delay any longer. Every minute and every second it was put off took her one step closer to death. He would walk out of here and go straight to Meili, and the best outcome might be going straight on to Planet Lyle from there, with no telling when he would come back… But for the sake of a life that ought not to be lost, he cut off his own misgivings.

“Chenxue, we’re going now. You see how anxious big brother is for you, so you have to be very good and hold on, and let all of us see you come home healthy. All right?”

“Mm…”

He nodded to Zuo Pojun, and Zuo Pojun went out ahead of him. Ye Tianxie went over to Su Feifei and said, with apology on his face, “Feifei, I have to go away for a while. It might be a long time, or it might… be very short. Pojun and Qiushui will have people keep this place safe, so you mustn’t be afraid… And take care of Xiaoxi, all right?”

Even now Su Feifei did not know what had happened. All she knew was that he was going to save the girl in his arms, in whom there was hardly a breath of life to be felt. Thinking of what Zuo Pojun had said a minute ago, she nodded slightly. “Tianxie… come back soon.”

Ye Tianxie nodded, and then said to Ran Chenxin, “Chenxin, stay here for now. Don’t worry, and wait for Chenxue to come home healthy.”

That said, he did not wait for a reply, but walked quickly out of the door.

Su Feifei and Ran Chenxin followed him out and watched in silence as the helicopter lifted away, as if it could not wait a moment longer, and was gone. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

Since she had come to live with Ye Tianxie, Su Feifei had never once been away from him. Sticking close to his side had become a habit before she noticed it happening. Now he had gone in a rush, with no warning to prepare her, and she felt as lost as if she had dropped something exceedingly precious.

Ran Chenxin’s eyes and the sea of her heart were both shaking with a warmth that had touched her… Whether or not they truly reached Planet Lyle, whether or not Chenxue could hold on that long, whether or not she could come home healthy the way they longed for her to — he had gone to Meili for Chenxue’s sake without a moment’s hesitation, to fight for the first passage there that could be had. That kindness alone was already a debt the two of them could not finish repaying in a lifetime.

Capital Airport.

“Second Brother… this is as close as the helicopter can put down. You and Chenxue go on in; there’ll be people to meet you inside… The plane will take off the moment you’re aboard.” The helicopter was stopped on the outer edge of Capital Airport, and Zuo Pojun said it in a heavy voice. No flying object is allowed anywhere near this whole area, and being able to set down even here was an enormous privilege.

Ye Tianxie answered him and nodded. He jumped down from the helicopter with Chenxue in his arms and made straight for the entrance.

Zuo Pojun watched Ye Tianxie’s back, lay back against his seat, and said with a sigh, “Fourth Brother, there are things I truly cannot say in front of Second Brother, and can say still less in front of Chenxue. Because… the interstellar service is an enormous undertaking that the whole world is watching. I’ve always believed there’s nothing Second Brother can’t do, but this time — can he really get Meili to start it early for him… or even send out a spacecraft specially for him…”

“That idea is far too naive. Do you think there’s any chance of its happening?” Murong Qiushui shook his head.

“No,” Zuo Pojun said, shaking his head flatly.

“Second Brother doesn’t want to give up the last hope… That girl isn’t only Ran Qingsheng’s daughter. Add the charm she has to it, and she does have every claim on him to make him do it. I don’t know about anything else… but what I am certain of is that if Second Brother gets there, there is going to be enormous trouble.”

Zuo Pojun nodded, deeply of the same opinion. If Ye Tianxie decides to do a thing, he will dare to use any method at all to reach it.

“Only, there’s one thing that’s been overlooked, and I have never said it out loud… That one had better be left for Big Sister to say.” Murong Qiushui looked out of the cabin and said it in a soft, faraway voice.

(End of Chapter 277)