Scarred Hearts — A Girls' Love Tale - Chapter 19

Entangled emotions, a love so deep it could never truly be cut. The threads of fate tied them together, making it hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

“When I grow up, I want to be with Qinghan,” a tiny voice said seriously, a child’s vow.

Luo Qinghan tugged gently at the soft hair on the little one’s forehead and teased her, “What if you forget? Am I supposed to wait for you forever?”

“I won’t, I won’t!” The child waved her hands in panic, her face turning red as she promised. Then she rested her chin in her hands, thought for a while, and ran out clumsily. When she came back, she was holding a sword in her arms—one that looked very similar to the one she usually played with.

“Look!” she said softly. “Grandpa said this kind of sword is only given to the person you love the most—besides family.” She looked a little embarrassed, tugging at the hem of her clothes. “I… I don’t have any other kids to play with… only you…” Her voice trailed off, too upset to continue.

Luo Qinghan found her adorable and couldn’t help but pull her into a hug. The little one pressed her face tightly against Luo Qinghan and casually tossed the sword aside.

“I like you…” the little girl kept whispering.

“I know,” Luo Qinghan said, poking her soft cheek with a smile.

“You have to sleep holding me tonight,” the little one said, burying her face into Luo Qinghan’s arms and whispering, “Please…”

“Okay,” Luo Qinghan said, bending down to pick her up into a warm embrace.

They were childhood sweethearts, already bound by love from a young age.

“Shuangfei, that was so cool!” Shen Jiayan clapped and shouted excitedly. She had been pestering Yan Shuangfei to perform some sword moves for her.

Yan Shuangfei, finally giving in to her persistence, reluctantly showed off a flashy, but mostly harmless, sword routine—more show than power, just to keep Shen Jiayan happy.

“That’s enough,” Luo Qinghan said when she saw the sweat forming on Yan Shuangfei’s forehead. “You’ve seen it now, Jiayan. Come over here, I want to talk to you about something.”

Shen Jiayan looked like she just had an epiphany, pulling her gaze away from Yan Shuangfei and walking over to Luo Qinghan.

Yan Shuangfei couldn’t be bothered to figure out what those two were secretly discussing and sat down in a chair, breathing slightly heavily.

Her face was pale to begin with, and after that brief exercise, her lips were cracked and dry. She subconsciously licked her lips—right when Luo Qinghan looked over. Luo’s heart skipped a beat, suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to act on her feelings right then and there.

Yan Shuangfei didn’t notice. She just endured the sharp pain in her back, frowned slightly, and after a short rest, headed upstairs.

Whatever Luo Qinghan and Shen Jiayan were talking about downstairs didn’t involve her, so she focused on her own matters.

She made a phone call, and as expected, found out the head of the Chang family was dead. The news had caused an uproar. The balance of power was broken. The three major families were now busy dividing up the Chang family’s assets before they could even think about going after the Yan family.

As for Yan Qi, he was being closely watched by Yan Yudie. No matter how much they hated each other, they were still father and daughter in name and had to keep up appearances. Only the inner members of the Yan family knew the truth. The subordinates, thinking the two were close, freely reported all of Yan Qi’s movements to Yan Yudie without hesitation.

Her rough clothes rubbed against her wounded back. Yan Shuangfei sat on the bed, thought for a moment, then took off her top and lay under the blanket. It had been so long since she’d had a proper rest. With that thought, her eyelids grew heavy.

She yawned and drifted to sleep alone on one side of the bed.

When Luo Qinghan finished talking with Shen Jiayan and returned to the room, she saw Yan Shuangfei fast asleep. The blanket barely covered her chest, revealing her delicate collarbones and bare shoulders—a quiet, breathtaking beauty.

Lifting a corner of the blanket, Luo Qinghan saw the wounds on Yan Shuangfei’s back in the soft light.

The bandages were done hastily and messily, already stained with bl00d in patches. Even in sleep, Yan Shuangfei’s brows were tightly knit, though her overall expression seemed peaceful.

Luo Qinghan suddenly felt a deep ache in her heart. She brought over the medicine and gently tried to turn Yan Shuangfei onto her stomach so she could rewrap the wounds. But the moment her hand touched her, Shuangfei woke up. Her clear, alert eyes showed she hadn’t truly been asleep—just resting lightly.

Light sleep had become a habit. It kept Yan Shuangfei ready to respond to danger at any time.

What kind of inhuman training had she been through? Luo Qinghan didn’t dare imagine. She could only speak softly: “Be good, lie down. I’ll rewrap the bandages for you.”

“Mm…” Yan Shuangfei’s reply carried a lazy, sleepy tone—somehow alluring.

As she turned over, the full extent of the damage on her back was revealed.

Aside from the whip marks that Luo Qinghan herself had once inflicted, there were gunshot wounds, slashes, even burns.

As Luo Qinghan gently applied the medicine with her fingertips, all Yan Shuangfei felt was the cool touch sinking deep into her bones. The pain seemed to vanish, smothered by the overwhelming tenderness and love in each motion.

She let out a soft hum of contentment, which made Luo Qinghan freeze. “Did it hurt?” she asked quickly.

Yan Shuangfei silently shook her head. Once the bandages were replaced, she turned back over with a relaxed and satisfied expression that captivated Luo Qinghan. Almost as if under a spell, Luo leaned down and kissed her—gently, yet filled with intense emotion. Her kiss was serious, almost reverent.

“There are tons of women out there more beautiful than Luo Qinghan,” Yan Shaoqiu had once said, puzzled. “With your status, even if you prefer women, you could have anyone. Why go through all this for her?”

Why, indeed? Yan Shuangfei pondered that question. Why go through so much?

It’s not hard. Not at all.

I love Luo Qinghan, simply because she is who she is. That’s all the reason I need.

It sounded silly. Yan Shuangfei laughed at herself, but she couldn’t think of a better way to put it.

“She doesn’t deserve your love,” Yan Shaoqiu had said bluntly.

But love was never about who deserves who, or whether it’s fair.

Yan Shuangfei, a cold-blooded killer, had somehow carved out a part of her dark, vicious heart just for Luo Qinghan. She gave all her patience and gentleness to love her.

So does Luo Qinghan not deserve that love?

But who else would so tenderly kiss someone the world feared—a so-called “monster”—and care for her with such devotion?

Love and pain—sometimes the pain comes first.

Hatred makes the pain hard to erase.

But that’s okay. As Yan Shuangfei responded softly to Luo Qinghan’s kiss, she thought to herself: I can wait.

A lifetime… should be enough.