No Safer Place

"Hello?" The man on the other side of the line called out after He Juan abruptly paused mid-sentence. "Do you need me to bring the car now, Boss? But the weather is very terrible right now, I'm afraid it will be a little hard to travel. Why don't we wait for a few hours until morning? Hello, Boss???"

Outside, the storm was raging and the rain was mixed with small pieces of ice, smashing onto the roof with sharp and unsettling rattles. But inside, it was completely quiet with only Mu Yuze's little sobs and uneven breathing could be heard. His pleas were soft like the cries of a newborn kitten, weak and stubbornly making himself be heard.

Yet it was exactly those soft pleas that almost tore He Juan apart from within.

He Juan let out a shaky exhale as his eyes fell shut, his grip on the phone handle tightening until it almost cracked. "Let go," he said, his voice quiet and strained on the edges.