Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Truly Forgive Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Truly Forgive He could only reply to Mu Lan in a hesitant voice.

“Maybe…”

Mu Lan, looking at Huo Tingxiao in this state, instinctively stretched out her arms to embrace him.

Her slender arms wrapped around his waist, her face pressed against his shoulder, as she softly comforted him.

“Don’t be sad, I’m here.”

Huo Tingxiao’s eyes brimmed with tears, a lump in his throat so painful that it hurt to swallow.

“I really don’t want you to see me like this.”

His voice hoarse, his hands limply hanging at his sides, he longed for Mu Lan’s warmth, yet felt too weak doing so. In Huo Tingxiao’s mind, he should be the support for a woman, not exposing his own fragility and becoming a burden to her.

The Huo Tingxiao of now still didn’t know how to expose his most vulnerable part to Mu Lan.

He felt… very ashamed!

Mu Lan held him even tighter.

“What, isn’t it the time for you to be clingy with me again?

Back then you wouldn’t leave no matter what I said, and now you want to push me away?

Huo Tingxiao, do you really think I can be summoned and dismissed at your whim?”

As soon as Huo Tingxiao heard these words, he immediately retorted:
“No, that’s not what I mean, I just feel…”

“Alright, I know you feel embarrassed that a big man like you is showing this to me.

But do you even understand what it means to be husband and wife?”

Mu Lan’s question left Huo Tingxiao dumbfounded.

“Mu Lan, you…”

“Isn’t being husband and wife about sharing honors and disgrace, relying on each other like lips and teeth?

Everyone has a side of themselves they don’t want others to know about. I understand, and I can give you that space to face it on your own.

But when I find out, I hope you can tell me that you need me, instead of pushing me away.

Huo Tingxiao, if you really need to be alone, I won’t stick around you, but I know that you actually don’t want to be alone.

You’re just habitually wanting to face it by yourself.”

Mu Lan’s words pierced through all pretense like a knife.

She wasn’t wrong at all; he didn’t want to deal with it alone. He wanted someone to accompany him, to feel that someone cared for and loved him.

Only, he wasn’t sure… if Mu Lan would be willing.

If she didn’t want to, then he…

Lifting his arms, Huo Tingxiao hesitated for a moment, then reciprocated the embrace, holding her slender body.

“Mu Lan, have you forgiven me? You’ve agreed to love me again, haven’t you?”

Huo Tingxiao’s voice was hoarse as he carefully sought confirmation, as if he was afraid he had misconstrued.

Mu Lan didn’t hesitate in her response:
“Idiot, if I wasn’t willing to love you again, why do you think I stayed?

Huo Tingxiao, I forgave you a long time ago, just that I couldn’t find the chance, or maybe, I didn’t know how to completely break free from the shadows of the past.

Your indifference in the past hurt me and made me wary of trusting you, that’s true, but… I’ve seen your changes with my own eyes, that’s also true.

Even though I’ve lost a few months of memories, some feelings remain in my heart, and I can feel them.”

Huo Tingxiao’s grip tightened even more as he held her, scarcely believing what he had heard, ecstatic.

But after the elation, that zeal chilled in an instant. It was a habit he had cultivated over many years, and changing it seemed very difficult.

“You… are you sure it’s not out of pity?”

This talk almost made Mu Lan laugh out of anger, as she gave him a pat.

“What are you babbling about? Saying these things just out of sympathy? There are many people I feel sorry for, I even feel sorry for Pei Zhao.”

Huo Tingxiao froze for a moment before hugging her tighter.

“Don’t mention him.”

Mu Lan curved her lips upward, hm, he was jealous.

“Alright, if you say not to mention, then I won’t mention.”

Huo Tingxiao felt like he was damn close to dying, how could the person in his arms be so cooperative? He felt like all this was a dream, no, he didn’t even dare to dream such a thing, afraid that he would wake up to nothing at all.

“You’re not lying to me, you mean everything you say, right?”

Mu Lan knew that he felt insecure, and she wasn’t impatient, giving him affirmations over and over again.

“Yes, it’s the truth, so no matter what happens, we will face it together.

Huo Tingxiao, you are not alone, and you shouldn’t underestimate my shoulder.”

In fact, some things are catalytic. Mu Lan hadn’t planned to admit her feelings so quickly, yet there are some words that would have to be said sooner or later. When the timing was right, there was nothing she couldn’t say.

She indeed had hated, blamed, and struggled.

She loved Huo Tingxiao; after seven years of giving, he had hardly responded.

But when she objectively thought about it, was the situation between them solely caused by Huo Tingxiao?

No, it wasn’t. If there was blame to be assigned, Huo Tingxiao had seventy percent, but she also had thirty percent.

Before, she didn’t want to admit it, but as she gradually calmed down and tried to step back and view it from an outsider’s perspective, she could be more objective.

After watching Gu Xiaoman end her marriage decisively and without dragging her feet, Mu Lan realized what she had always been lacking.

She had plenty of enthusiasm but sometimes used the wrong method and intensity.

Loving someone also requires the right approach, and this was something she had only figured out now.

“I have many dark sides, Mu Lan, you wouldn’t like that part of me,” said Huo Tingxiao with closed eyes, his voice distant.

“I know that you might not be able to express all of yourself right now, Huo Tingxiao. In fact, I’ve only just realized, it’s not just me who feels insecure–you do too.

I haven’t given you enough security to fully trust me either.”

Mu Lan’s tone was very light and soft, like a feather lightly brushing over his heart, making him quiver.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I…”

“I don’t mean to blame you. On the contrary, I understand you.

We have all the time in the world, we have a lifetime, let’s take it slow.”

When Huo Tingxiao heard her mention a lifetime, he almost cried.

He never dared to hope for something like a lifetime; his grandfather’s relationship, his father’s feelings, even the marriages of everyone in the Huo Family, none had given him such confidence.

In Huo Tingxiao’s belief, there was no such thing as everlasting.

Yet, when he realized he loved Mu Lan, he also began to yearn for a lifetime, for forever.

“Do you know, when you talk like this, I truly won’t be able to let go in this lifetime!”

Mu Lan smiled.

“Then don’t let go. Who asked you to? Give you another chance, if you dare not to cherish it, I’ll…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Huo Tingxiao had already reached out and held her chin.

He wouldn’t be foolish enough to make the same mistakes again. Unless he died, he would never let go of her hand.

It was evident how deeply Mu Lan’s recent words had affected him.

Mu Lan sighed inwardly; she had now provoked a lion, and being an Animal Trainer was not an easy job…