After Xu Jiaojiao Left, Xie Yuchen Had No Home

On a snowy night at the Xie residence, eight-year-old Xie Yuchen had just taken up the family seal when he found a four-year-old orphan girl huddled in the porch and brought her home. He named her Xu Jiaojiao. The little girl clutched his hand and called him “Boss” for the first time in her bright, clear voice. From then on, she became the shadow that never left his side.

Jiaojiao stayed up with him in the ancestral hall, memorizing the family rules, and quietly nudged a warming pot toward him. When he was ambushed while making a move on a black-market deal, she stood in front of him with a brick in her hand, trembling but refusing to back down. Later, he became “Master Hua.” His guards came and went, but Jiaojiao stayed. Her martial arts were only average, yet she always watched his back, guarding him against hidden arrows. No one called him “Boss” with more affection.

Xie Yuchen had fallen for her long ago, but caught in the whirlpool of the Nine Gates, he didn’t even know whether he would survive his next adventure. How could he dare pull her into it? He deliberately drew close to Huo Xiuxiu, laughing and chatting in front of Jiaojiao. When blood seeped from Jiaojiao’s arm and her forehead swelled red, he merely tossed out, “Get that treated,” then turned away to discuss clues about the mechanisms with the Iron Triangle. He thought this would make her give up, never noticing how the light in her eyes dimmed, bit by bit, as she hid the safety charm embroidered with the character “Xie.”

It wasn’t until the stone spike fell in the Second Tomb Under Heaven that he finally understood. His mind was fixed on protecting Wu Xie, but Jiaojiao threw herself in front of him. As the spike pierced her back, she still reached out to touch his face, her breath faint: “Boss, this time… I didn’t hold you back, did I?”

That last “Boss” became her final word. Xie Yuchen held her cold body, clutching the crumpled safety charm as he sobbed in the dusty tomb. He knew she had never heard him say he loved her before she died…

After she was gone, he had no home… and no one waiting for him to return.