Chapter 18.1

Merlin stood dressed in his black priest’s robe, framed by the passionate sunlight streaming in from the window overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

When Mo Zimu pushed open the door, Merlin turned to look at him. His slight, delicate smile carried a hint of shyness and timidity, but his eyes were so remarkably clear that it was hard for anyone to disappoint him once he began speaking.

Mo Zimu sat across from him.

“Seven, are you doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Mo Zimu replied flatly.

Merlin shifted his hands nervously, unable to settle them in one position.

Mo Zimu sighed faintly, softening his tone. “Lin Lin, what are you doing here?”

Merlin raised his head. “I just came to see you… and to apologize on someone’s behalf…”

Mo Zimu removed his glasses, gently rubbing the lenses with his thumb, but he said nothing.

“Rong… Rong Qing made a mistake this time,” he stammered. “I know the hurt he caused you can’t be undone…”

“Lin Lin, go back to Italy,” Mo Zimu interrupted firmly. “There’s nothing here for you to fix. I don’t want to… I don’t want to hear his name anymore.”

“Because you still care about him, don’t you?” Merlin asked gently.

“No, I don’t.”

“But he cares about you,” Merlin said, his voice slightly hoarse. “I know he loves you! He just feels guilty about me, that’s all!”

Mo Zimu interrupted him once again. He took a deep breath and said, “Lin Lin, leave now. Right now, in my eyes, you are you, and he is him! I don’t want a day to come when… I don’t even want to see you!”

“Seven, don’t you have any faults of your own?” Merlin’s voice softened. “Sometimes you’re too stubborn, too absolute. Unless someone has great understanding and patience, no one can know that under your icy exterior lies a volcano…”

“He has the right not to love me, but he doesn’t have the right to trample on my feelings!” Mo Zimu snapped.

“So, you won’t even give him a chance to atone?”

Mo Zimu suddenly roared, “Did he ever give me a chance? Just one? What do you want me to do? Give him a chance, kill him, or take revenge on him?”

“Seven, aren’t you already taking revenge on him?” Merlin said softly. “You’ve found the best way to hurt him. You refuse his help, you deliberately put yourself in a place like this… Seven, ask yourself. You’re smart. You must know that deep down, Rong Qing regrets everything. You’ve trapped him in a cycle of regret, making him suffer more and more every day.”

Mo Zimu let out a soft laugh, his voice slightly hoarse. “Lin Lin, isn’t everyone supposed to be equal before God? Why are you treating Rong Qing so well? If that’s the case, then why are you leaving him?”

Merlin’s voice became slightly hoarse. “Seven, I can’t stay with him until he’s old. I’m begging you, please give him a chance, let him make up for what he did to you. Let you be happy.” His eyes locked onto Mo Zimu’s, hoping to meet his gaze.

He hoped Mo Zimu would understand his feelings. Although Mo Zimu seemed indifferent on the outside, Merlin knew he was warm-hearted deep down.

However, Mo Zimu didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he stared blankly at the sunlight streaming through the door.

Whether it was Li Mo or Merlin, both could touch a soft spot in his heart. Yet, he could not find any comfort from this softness. They were both kind, and in some ways, pure-hearted. Even when they hurt him, he sometimes couldn’t bring himself to say it hurt, because their kindness was so pure, and their willfulness equally so.

After a long pause, Mo Zimu said lightly, “Lin Lin, I envy you for being able to love someone, from beginning to end, without regret. But your feelings are your own, and my feelings are my own. I won’t pay the price for your feelings, and I won’t be with Rong Qing.”

“And you think it’s better to be with a cruel, bloodthirsty, and notorious mob boss?” Merlin asked, his brows furrowing slightly.

“If we’re talking about being a gangster, Ivan is neither cruel nor bloodthirsty,” Mo Zimu replied casually.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized that he had subconsciously defended Ivan, and he knew he was being insincere. Was Ivan not cruel? Not bloody? He simply didn’t like to make things bloody when it wasn’t necessary, but when it was, he knew Ivan wouldn’t show any mercy, just like the knife in Jude’s eyes. And as for the infamous part, who in the American underworld didn’t know the Russian bear Ivan?

For a moment, Mo Zimu couldn’t help but frown at himself. Merlin looked at him with a shocked expression and said, “Seven, you’ve lost your mind. You are a person with a strong sense of justice. You are completely different from someone like him! You’ll ruin yourself!”

“I’ve already been ruined… don’t tell me you don’t know. Lin Lin, I never expect God to be fair, but can I at least expect you to be fair?” Mo Zimu lifted his head and stared directly at Merlin, but Merlin avoided his gaze.

Merlin was silent for a moment, then said, “Do you know that Rong Qing and I grew up together in an orphanage? My heart has always been weak, and I need to take medicine for years. The headmaster didn’t like me because I couldn’t work and couldn’t be sold, so he always delayed my medication whenever he could… Do you know how I survived until today? It’s because of Rong Qing. At nine years old, Rong Qing begged for money and sold his blood to buy my medicine.

One day, we were out asking for money when it suddenly rained heavily. Rong Qing fainted from blood loss, and I had to drag him half-conscious to a church. There, I swore to God that I would make Rong Qing happy and safe for the rest of his life, and in exchange, I would dedicate my life to Him.” Merlin’s voice softened, and he pleaded, “Seven, I know you’re actually a forgiving person. Please forgive Rong Qing.”

Mo Zimu’s voice was hoarse as he replied, “If I forgive him, how do I forgive myself?”

Merlin fell silent again, for a very long time. Just as Mo Zimu began to rise to say goodbye, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Reaching into his pocket, Merlin pulled out a simple card. It was plain, with only a few lines written in pen. Mo Zimu recognized it immediately. Merlin pressed the card against the wire mesh and said, “Seven, I want you to fulfill my first wish. I ask you to forget Rong Qing’s mistakes and return to his side.”

The card seemed to carry weight beyond its simple appearance, reminding Mo Zimu of a story he once heard. A fisherman had found a bottle with a devil trapped inside. The devil said, “Thank you. You gave me freedom back when I still believed in fairy tales. As a reward, I’ll grant you three wishes.”

For Mo Zimu, this card symbolized the debts he owed Merlin. The kindness of being taken in, the care he had received, and the suffering Merlin endured because of him. It felt like a wish granted, but one burdened with expectations.

Mo Zimu was not someone who expressed gratitude easily. This card concealed all his thanks to Merlin, and the three wishes were his promise to Merlin. He would do anything to fulfill Merlin’s wishes, even if it meant risking his life.

However, the first wish Merlin asked for made him realize that not every wish could be faced with ease.

“This is the only gift you’ve ever given me. I know this represents your promise, Seven…” Merlin said softly. He pulled out a stack of papers, biting his lip as he held his pen for a long time.

Finally, he placed the pen on the paper and passed it through the iron mesh. “I know you’re a man of your word. This is a transfer application form. As your legal guardian, I’ve already submitted it to the Virgin Islands Unified Court. With your signature, you’ll be transferred to a Florida juvenile detention center this week. Rong Qing will make all the arrangements for you there. In six months, you’ll be released on parole, and you can temporarily attend the Florida Music Academy. We’ll find the right opportunity for you to return to Vienna.”

The words on the paper were clear, black ink on white paper, but all Mo Zimu could see was a blinding white blur. He couldn’t see anything except the faintly visible “Sign” at the bottom. The black pen in his hand felt impossibly heavy, so heavy that he finally understood how easy it was to make a promise, but how burdensome it was to fulfill it.

Closing his eyes, Mo Zimu quickly signed his name on the paper.

Even though Merlin knew the moment he presented that card, Mo Zimu would inevitably give in, he still felt a twinge of unease.

“S… Seven, you… you’ll keep your word?” Perhaps because the greatest burden in his heart had been lifted, Merlin, who was usually fluent in speech, began stuttering again.

Mo Zimu stood up, not even glancing at Merlin as he walked toward the door. Merlin watched his retreating figure with a flash of regret in his eyes but persisted in asking, “S… Seven…”

Mo Zimu closed his eyes briefly and said, “I’ll keep my word.”

Merlin stared at the closed door and let out a long sigh.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have feelings for Mo Zimu. On the contrary, Mo Zimu was the most important person in Merlin’s simple life after Rong Qing.

As he left Mammon, Merlin suddenly understood that noble intentions and noble methods did not always align. He loathed the version of himself that had just used emotional debts to coerce Mo Zimu.

But in Merlin’s devout eyes, giving Rong Qing a chance for redemption and freeing Mo Zimu from his current situation, and the people entangling him were urgent priorities. If it meant Mo Zimu would hate him instead of Rong Qing, he would gladly bear that burden.