Chapter 29: Ten Years Too Long
After Qin Jinnan laid everything bare, perhaps sensing that I no longer resisted him, he seemed completely at ease.
He carried me straight from the car into that solemn and imposing villa.
The moment we crossed the threshold, the indoor lights turned on automatically, casting a warm glow over the quiet space.
Right by the entrance, a massive oil painting hung on the wall.
It was a portrait of a young girl—her features soft, her expression calm, immortalized in time.
Qin Jinnan followed my gaze and looked at the painting with me. His voice was low and distant:
"Ten years. It's been too long."
"So I taught myself something… just to pass the time."
At that moment, a soft melody from a piano drifted down from upstairs—then abruptly stopped.
The sound of a door opening followed.
A figure stepped out and stood on the second-floor landing.
It was Xu Nian.
He looked just like his father.
Even at home, he wore a pressed uniform shirt and trousers, the sharp lines giving him an air of quiet dignity beyond his years.
He stood there, still and expressionless, gazing down at us.