Chapter 76: He Is a Good Boy

“We’re here to visit prisoners!”

Only after seeing the Distinguished Student medal held up by Nangong Yuchen did the dozen or so soldiers slowly lower their weapons.

“Follow me!”

The officer in charge waved his hand and ordered his men to surround Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin as they escorted the two of them into the prison.

As they passed through the entrance, a blue electric scan swept down from above, apparently checking whether Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin were carrying weapons.

Once they passed the inspection, they continued deeper inside. Yet the farther they went into the prison complex, the more unsettled Nangong Yuchen became at the fortress-like security around him. The soldiers stationed everywhere and the electrified fences lining the walls made him feel as though escape would be impossible even if he had wings.

A few minutes later, Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin were taken to a hall to register their visit.

“Names?” a female officer asked through the intercom installed in the reinforced glass.

“Nangong Yuchen. Nangong Kexin.”

“The prisoners’ names?” the female officer asked as she entered their information.

“Nangong Jianyuan and Fu Wanyu,” Nangong Yuchen replied.

Hearing that there were two prisoners, the female officer frowned. “What is your relationship to them?”

“They’re our parents!” Nangong Kexin answered this time.

After the exchange, the female officer quickly checked their information. Two minutes later, she finally granted permission.

“You may visit for half an hour.”

With approval secured, the tension in Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin’s hearts finally eased. They then followed two soldiers into another building.

“How heavily guarded,” Nangong Kexin muttered as she watched one of the soldiers enter the password several times before the silver metal door finally opened.

In truth, she had never regarded her parents as criminals. They had been wrongfully accused. She was deeply unhappy that they had been locked away in a place so heavily fortified.

“Turn left at the second passage inside. Someone will take you from there.”

After giving the instruction, the two soldiers stood guard on either side of the metal door.

Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin continued onward as ordered. A few minutes later, they turned left and encountered two more soldiers. Without a word, the soldiers turned around and led them deeper into the prison. After winding through one passage after another and descending several steps, they finally stopped outside a room.

“Go in. The prisoners you’re visiting are already inside,” one of the soldiers said.

At those words, Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin both trembled. Their emotions had been churning all along the journey. They had repeatedly wondered what they should say first when they saw their parents. Yet now that they had finally reached the door, they stopped in their tracks, suddenly at a loss.

“Whew… Kexin, you go in first. I’ll come in a little later.”

Knowing that they had only half an hour with their parents, Nangong Yuchen did not dare waste any time. Forcing a smile, he urged Nangong Kexin to go inside.

“You… you’re not coming in with me?” Nangong Kexin’s head drooped.

“Mm.” Nangong Yuchen nodded faintly, then smiled again. “Go on. Mom and Dad… must be missing you terribly.”

At those words, Nangong Kexin’s eyes reddened. She quickly turned away. How could she not understand what Nangong Yuchen meant? He was the reason their parents had been sent to prison.

Two months ago, she would never have thought of it that way. But after everything they had been through, she had unknowingly forgiven Nangong Yuchen long ago.

“Whew…”

Suppressing the urge to cry, Nangong Kexin steadied herself as best she could before pushing open the door and walking inside.

Creak—

The moment she entered the room, Nangong Kexin froze.

A pane of glass divided the room down the middle. Through it, she stared fixedly at the two figures on the other side, both dressed in blue-and-white-striped prison uniforms.

On the left stood the slightly haggard-looking man, Nangong Jianyuan. Long stubble covered his resolute face, and his skin had darkened, as though he had just endured the harsh passage of time. His once-tall frame had become slightly stooped over the past six months. He was no longer the strong shelter who could shield his family from every storm.

On the right stood Fu Wanyu. Her beautiful face bore a striking resemblance to Nangong Kexin’s, but over those six months, her skin had grown slack and several new wrinkles had appeared at the corners of her eyes. Even strands of white had begun to show at her temples. Clearly, the past half-year had been anything but easy for her.

“Dad, Mom, I came to see you!”

Nangong Kexin’s voice trembled through the room as she struggled desperately to control her tears and emotions. But the moment she saw how much her parents had changed, a sharp pain clutched at her heart, and her eyes reddened before she knew it.

“Kexin!”

Nangong Jianyuan and Fu Wanyu were struggling to contain their own emotions as well.

“Dad, Mom, I’ve missed you so much!”

Nangong Kexin hurried forward. Seeing her parents just within reach, she stretched out her hand, wanting to hold theirs. But the glass stood between them, leaving her able only to press her palm firmly against it, as though she could somehow feel the warmth of her mother’s hand through the barrier.

“Silly child, we’ve missed you too! Where’s Yuchen? Why didn’t he come with you?”

Fu Wanyu’s face was filled with tenderness. Looking at the daughter she had not seen in so long, her eyes reddened first.

“Is Yuchen still blaming himself for what happened?”

Nangong Jianyuan shook his head, a trace of disappointment crossing his face at not seeing Nangong Yuchen.

Fu Wanyu wiped the corner of her eye and smiled lovingly. “Come here, Kexin. Let Mom have a good look at you. Have you and Yuchen been well these past six months?”

“Yes, yes! Yuchen and I have been doing very well!”

Nangong Kexin wiped away the tears that had unknowingly spilled down her cheeks and pressed her face against the glass where Fu Wanyu’s palm rested. Then, as though remembering something, she hurriedly added with pride, “Oh, right! Dad, Mom, Yuchen and I have both become Distinguished Students at Star Academy. Isn’t that amazing?”

Her voice was proud yet trembling, like a child eagerly waiting for her parents’ praise.

“A Distinguished Student? Kexin, you really are impressive!”

…

Tap, tap.

Outside the room, Nangong Yuchen finally could not hold back any longer. He crouched in the corner and began to sob.

His parents were only a wall away, yet to Nangong Yuchen, that wall was like an uncrossable chasm.

He still remembered clearly what his father, Nangong Jianyuan, had said when they were arrested six months earlier:

“Child, I’m sorry. Dad failed to hold this family together for you.”

And his mother’s words of comfort:

“Yuchen, you must take good care of Kexin from now on.”

Their gentle affection, free of even the slightest reproach, filled him with guilt and remorse. Ever since that fire four years ago—the fire that should never have been lit—Nangong Jianyuan and Fu Wanyu had been trying to make amends for their mistake. Even after both of them had been sent to prison, neither had ever blamed him.

Nangong Yuchen had engraved all of it deeply in his mind. After so many years, he still could not let go. He could not bring himself to face the parents who loved him so deeply.

Just then, a soldier outside pushed open the door.

“Visiting time is over. It’s time for you to leave.”

Inside, the three family members had been immersed in the sweetness of their reunion. The soldier’s interruption shattered the moment. Two soldiers appeared on the other side of the glass and stepped forward to take Nangong Jianyuan and Fu Wanyu back into the prison.

Seeing this, Nangong Kexin burst into tears. After half a year, she had finally realized her wish of seeing her parents, only to be torn away from them again the moment they had reunited. In her agitation, she pressed herself against the glass and cried out:

“Dad! Mom!”

There was nothing she could do. Her parents were led away.

At that moment, Fu Wanyu suddenly turned around and called to her daughter, “Kexin, when you go home, remember to tell Yuchen that Mom and Dad don’t blame him. Tell him not to blame himself so much. And tell him…”

Tears streamed down her face.

“He’s a good child!”