"What about Zhu Ri?"
Yichen was silent for a long moment, his hand stroking my hair in a steady rhythm. I wondered what he was thinking for him to be quiet for this long.
"She made her choice," Yichen said finally, his voice low and devoid of the earlier warmth. "When she begged for Lixuan, she made her choice."
I propped myself up on one elbow, wincing slightly as a cramp twinged in my side. "What does that mean? Yichen, she's still... she's still a victim, isn't she? Lixuan terrified her."
"Terror and love are often two sides of the same coin for people like them," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "She is terrified of him, yes. But she also believes she cannot live without him. She believes in something we don't."
He turned his head to look at me, his grey eyes serious in the dim light.
"I spoke to the Police Chief while you were in the bath. Lixuan will be processed. He will face charges for kidnapping, arson, and terrorism. He is looking at life in prison."
