Dilemma, Crashing Whenever She Meets Serena

"You don't understand." Serena let out a sigh. To her, this was far more than just killing someone.

"I really don't get it. Killing is killing—what difference does the method make?" As an assassin, Left Shore couldn't understand why Serena was so disturbed by how she killed.

Stepping out of the cell, the cold wind hit her face and made Serena shiver, clearing her mind a little. She gave a self-mocking smile: "You're right. Killing is killing—the method doesn't matter at all."

Her hands had long been stained with blood—pretending to be innocent was just self-deception.

Although Left Shore's bluntness helped untangle her mind a bit, Serena still couldn't shake off the impact of using medicine to harm someone.

Lying in bed, Serena couldn't sleep at all. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her professor's disappointed gaze and silent reproach, driving her nearly mad.

Maybe others would think her insistence was laughable, but to Serena, this was the bottom line of her medical practice. Today, she had broken it—and from now on...

If it happened once, it would happen again. She couldn't lie to herself that this was the first and last time; if faced with the same dilemma in the future, she'd do it again.

In the end, she had let her professor down.

Serena sighed and lay there, eyes wide open until dawn.

At the same time, far away on Night City’s frontier, Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan couldn’t sleep either. After discussing battle plans with Warren Yu and the others, Nolan dismissed his attendants and walked alone outside the camp, staring blankly in the direction of Eastlyn.

Nolan knew Serena wouldn’t suffer at Bella Qin’s hands, nor would she take Bella seriously, but he couldn’t help worrying.

He was well aware that the longer some truths were hidden, the more painful it would be when they finally came out.

Nolan had wondered more than once if he should find an opportunity to tell Serena everything—after all, hiding it forever wasn’t a solution. But...

He’d just used Brandon Bu as a decoy at the Martial Arts Conference, making everyone—including Serena—believe Lance Quinn and Ninth Royal Uncle were unrelated. If he confessed everything now, wouldn’t all his previous efforts be a joke?

Most importantly, if he told her now, could Serena forgive him? Could she understand?

If she knew he already had a fiancée, would Serena still stay by his side?

The answer was no. Not just because of Serena’s pride, but her identity as well. Even if Serena herself didn’t care that he had a fiancée, the Phoenixfield Clan would never stand by and let her remain entangled with him.

Nolan looked up at the sky, his usually expressionless face now tinged with sorrow. His mind was a mess; no matter how he tried, he couldn’t sort things out.

He’d concealed things to this point—if he spoke now, all his work would be wasted. But if he kept hiding it, the contradictions between them would only deepen, and eventually, even the strongest love would be worn away.

What was he supposed to do?

He was a master strategist, always calculating, but whenever he faced this problem, his brain just froze. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t find a good solution.

The next day, Serena stepped out with bloodshot eyes and dark circles, earning plenty of worried looks from the servants. Even Little Feng Jin reached out his tiny fist and punched Serena’s dark circles.

"Eeya..." Feng Jin frowned, looking very serious as he poked at Serena’s eye bags with his chubby hand, babbling nonstop.

Serena couldn’t understand what Feng Jin was saying, only that he was being unusually affectionate. She couldn’t help but smile, hoisting him up so their foreheads touched. Laughing, she said, "Oh my little treasure, you know how to worry about your sister now."

"Eeya..." Little Feng Jin wasn’t pleased. He poked Serena’s cheek twice with his chubby finger: Don’t treat me like a baby.

"How are you so adorable?" Serena couldn’t resist and playfully bit Feng Jin’s cheek, smearing him with her saliva. Seeing Feng Jin turn away in disgust, she laughed even harder: "You act so grown-up, but you’re still just a kid. If you keep frowning like a little old man, you’ll never find a wife."

As she spoke, Serena pinched Feng Jin’s cheeks until they turned red and his eyes grew watery, caught between crying and not.

Spring and Autumn quietly turned away, pretending not to see anything.

Simon Sun walked in and saw Serena bullying Feng Jin. He hurried over and snatched Feng Jin from her hands: "Master, Feng Jin is still little—you can’t bully him like this."

Little Feng Jin wrapped his arms around Simon Sun’s neck, burying his face in Simon’s shoulder. His small body shook with exaggerated sobs, looking so pitiful that Simon’s heart ached for him.

Simon gently patted Little Feng Jin’s back, soothing him with soft words.

Serena looked up at the sky... She was certain Little Feng Jin was laughing, not actually upset.

Sure enough, every force meets its match.

Serena meekly accepted the scolding, not daring to talk back. Only when Little Feng Jin fell asleep contentedly in Simon’s arms did Simon finally stop lecturing her.

"Take Young Master Feng Jin away," Serena signaled to Spring with a glance. Spring stifled a laugh and stepped forward, taking Feng Jin from Simon’s arms.

"Careful, don’t hurt Feng Jin," Simon reminded Spring. She smiled and replied, "Don’t worry, Master Sixing, I won’t hurt Young Master Feng Jin."

"Yes, gently. And have the kitchen keep Feng Jin’s food warm—he’ll be hungry when he wakes up." Simon added more instructions, and Spring agreed to them all.

Simon truly doted on Feng Jin, caring for him deeply. Even Serena’s teasing of Feng Jin would earn her a stern lecture from Simon, let alone Left Shore, whose rough hands always made Feng Jin cry.

With Feng Jin gone, Simon finally noticed Serena’s unusual pallor and asked with concern, "Master, what’s wrong? You look awful—were you out stealing last night?"

"Didn’t sleep well," Serena replied with a bitter smile. The good mood Feng Jin had brought her vanished in an instant.

Seeing Serena didn’t want to talk, Simon didn’t press further. The two finished breakfast in silence. Simon was just about to discuss Logan Ling’s illness when Bella Qin walked in, her maid following with a small tray.

"Brother Sixing, you’re here too!" Bella Qin’s eyes lit up when she saw Simon, and she hurried over, speaking in a sweet voice: "Brother Sixing, you’ve been so busy lately—I haven’t seen you in days, and you haven’t come to visit me."

If a five- or six-year-old girl said this, it would just sound like she was being cute and seeking attention. But coming from a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl with a fiancé, it was disgusting—Serena had the urge to rush over and slap her.

Why couldn’t this woman stay away from her apprentice? What was the point of clinging to him like this?