Mia Grant looked dazed. After a few seconds, she frowned and corrected him, "Don’t be like that."
"You’re a man of faith, for goodness’ sake. How can you always talk like that?"
"The Buddha will be displeased with you."
"Let Him be displeased, then." The man’s tone was detached, so casual it was as if he considered it a trivial matter.
Mia Grant was dumbfounded.
She’d always thought Yates Donovan was the kind of madman who would carelessly snuff out a life, or failing that, Silas Grant.
But now it seemed Kian Keller was the true Yama, a killer who wouldn’t even blink.
For instance, he had managed to imprison Serena Grant in secret last time.
If she hadn’t discovered it by chance, perhaps that time... Serena Grant would have died.
"Don’t be like this, she..."
She felt a headache coming on.
"I’ve been wanting to know since our last conversation. Why do you care so much whether she lives or dies?"
Kian Keller didn’t want to talk about someone else right now.
Mia Grant had forbidden him from acting, so for the time being, he’d reined himself in and done nothing to Serena Grant, merely keeping her under surveillance.
He had it all planned out. Just as Mia Grant had said, he would make his move after Serena Grant’s twentieth birthday.
But he didn’t know the reason for that specific timing.
’Was it related to those stories she told a few days ago?’
Mia Grant was at a loss for words.
They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before the man leaned down, wrapped her in a hug, and kissed the corner of her mouth.
"Let’s not talk about her. I won’t touch her for now."
’For now.’
Mia Grant suddenly remembered what the System had said: in the previous world, Yates Donovan had indeed developed the intent to kill by the end, but by the time he found Serena Grant, she was already dead.
And now, the man before her was filled with malice toward Serena Grant.
In the last world, he hadn’t been ruled out as a suspect, either.
’Then...’
Mia Grant’s eyelashes trembled fiercely. ’How could I not have thought of it!’
’It was Kian Keller!’
She clutched the hem of his shirt, surprised that even now, she was still thinking about preserving the plot.
"You can’t lie to me."
"Mm."
Kian Keller kissed her lips again. It had been a long time since he’d kissed her.
Not once since they had parted ways.
"I had someone transplant a few crabapple trees into the courtyard."
"What?" Mia Grant returned to her senses, her lips slightly parted as his kiss swallowed her next words.
Knowing she was ill, his kiss was gentle, like a prince kissing his Sleeping Beauty.
After a long while, he let her go.
"You’ll be able to see them when you’re discharged from the hospital."
Mia Grant gasped for breath in his embrace.
Hearing his words, she asked, "Isn’t the blooming season over?"
"There are many varieties. Some have finished blooming, but you can still see others."
"It will be too late by the time I’m discharged."
He didn’t hesitate. "When your surgery is over, I’ll cut a few sprigs and put them by your bedside."
"..." Mia Grant shot him a reproachful look. "Flowers are for admiring. You’re not supposed to pick them."
"They bloomed just for you. If you can’t see them, there’s no point in them being alive."
Mia Grant was at a loss for words.
"Then... just pick one blossom."
Afraid he might actually snap off whole branches, she paused, then added—a rare concession—"They’ll... they’ll bloom again next year. I’ll go see them then."
A flicker in Kian Keller’s eyes revealed he’d finally heard what he wanted. He held her tighter. "Okay."
However, the pleasant atmosphere created by her words didn’t last long before she shattered it herself.
"If the surgery fails, you can move the crabapple trees in front of my grave afterward."
"It won’t fail."
"I mean... just in case." ’All surgeries have risks.’
Mia Grant had already left everything else she wanted to say in letters.
The crabapple trees were the only thing she hadn’t planned for, so in the worst-case scenario, she hoped Kian Keller would remember.
"When the time comes, just find a..."
"Go to sleep." Kian Keller cut her off.
"..."
Meeting her mournful gaze, Kian Keller’s voice was heavy. "If Death is taking anyone, they’ll take me first. As long as I’m not dead, they won’t take you."
Mia Grant frowned.
"Why would you say something so inauspicious?"
His silent stare seemed to say, ’So you know it’s inauspicious, then.’
Mia Grant was at a loss for words, then she heard him say, "I’m a few years older than you. I will go before you."
"As long as I’m alive, you won’t die."
Mia Grant was about to curse him, but he said, "I asked the gods and Buddhas. They said the same thing. They said your early life was fraught with hardship, but as long as you overcome this ordeal, you’re guaranteed to live a long life, with a home full of children and grandchildren in your later years."
After a long pause, Mia Grant lowered her hand. "Really?"
"Mm. I might lie, but the gods and Buddhas won’t."
"But I don’t want to have kids, so where would the home full of descendants come from?"
This question didn’t stump Kian Keller. "Then we’ll adopt a few you take a liking to, or adopt from a side branch of the family."
Mia Grant was speechless.
—
At dawn, the first ray of light pierced the clouds, rising slowly from the horizon.
Mia Grant hadn’t expected to be in the mood to watch the sunrise before her surgery.
Early that morning, the hallway was filled with the constant sound of footsteps as many people arrived one after another.
Since no one was leaving her room, it quickly ran out of seats, forcing latecomers to stand.
Mia Grant felt uncomfortable.
It wasn’t just her usual circle; elders had come as well.
Mrs. Sinclair had arrived early in the morning, having clearly just received the news. She clutched Mia’s hand and comforted her for a long time. She was on the verge of tears, but Ian Sinclair stopped her just in time.
Later, Mrs. Sinclair must have decided it was inauspicious, because she forced a smile for Mia Grant.
To her surprise, Mrs. Keller, whom she had only met once before, also arrived.
She wasn’t as warm as Mrs. Sinclair, merely offering a few brief words of consolation and leaving some things behind before departing shortly after.
What was even more surprising was that the Donovan family patriarch had made a special trip.
The old man had needed a cane to get around ever since his last hospital discharge.
Mia Grant was flattered and amazed.
Even Yates Donovan said, "Why are you here?"
"And you! You didn’t even tell this old man that Mia was sick."
After a few chiding words, he turned and looked at Mia with a wide grin. "Don’t blame Grandpa for only coming today. It’s all this rotten kid’s fault."
Mia Grant quickly shook her head. If it weren’t so inconvenient, she would have gotten up to greet him.
It was Yuri Sinclair’s first time meeting the Donovan patriarch, so he gave up his seat for the old man.
But the old man didn’t stay for long.
He told them to call him after the surgery to let him know she was safe, and invited her to the family home for dinner once she was discharged.
Mia Grant agreed to it all.
The old man was talkative, and the atmosphere in the room lightened considerably.
The weight on Mia Grant’s chest finally lifted.
But she was nervous all the same.
For the past few nights, she had been secretly using her phone to look up medical advice online.
She knew it was a bad idea, but she felt completely uncertain.
It wasn’t her own condition she was looking up, though.
She was focused on the surgical procedure for lung cancer.
Things like where they make the incision and the duration of the surgery.
And whether the anesthesia actually hurt.
Then one night, Ian Sinclair found her and confiscated her phone.
Before being wheeled into the operating room, Mia Grant’s breathing grew more and more rapid until, finally, she couldn’t bear it anymore and burst into tears.
The emotional outburst came so suddenly, it was as if a dam of long-suppressed feelings had finally broken.
It caught everyone off guard because her recent facade had been so convincing.
Now, as she cried, everyone’s already unsteady hearts felt as if they had plunged into the depths of the ocean.