Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 159: Our Bond Is Finally Going to Strengthen

In the sitting room of Storm Mansion, Mr. Lee sat beside Leon and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"What did you actually see?"

Leon’s head remained pressed in his palms, sweat dripping from him. In his head, the dream resurfaced over and over again until he raised his head and looked Mr. Lee in the eye.

"I don’t know how to describe it in words." He lowered his head once more, then sighed heavily.

Mr. Lee tilted his gaze from Leon to the stairs. Soft footsteps echoed as Feng descended with a smile on his face.

As soon as he reached the base of the stairs, he turned and gave the second floor a final glance.

"He really isn’t dead," he whispered softly, then brushed his palms over his face.

Mr. Lee stood from his seat and met Feng. "Well?" His shoulders rose, his arms opening wide.

Feng’s smile shredded. "It is what it is."

He walked past Mr. Lee, then stopped by Leon’s side. He blinked twice as he stared at the boy, then tilted his gaze to Lily, who had now unwrapped herself from Min-seo.

Feng neared her, crouched down on one knee, then smiled at the girl. "Everything will be okay."

After straightening up, he sat down close to Leon and crossed his legs.

Silence ruled in the room as everyone, including Min-ji, who had been staring at Leon from the kitchen’s angle, tried fixing the strange dream in their heads.

Outside, dust spiraled on the ground, carrying weak leaves and pushing small stones from their place. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Tires rolled over the asphalt streets after the fire trucks pulled away the burnt vehicles that had blocked the road from the center.

More vehicles drove past the marked scene where tiny drops of blood still lingered.

On the road leading to Bastion Hospital, the Qing family’s vehicles drove at high speed. Countless vehicles moved past the hospital and took the right junction leading to the Qing’s land.

Returning from Jade’s compound to their own felt like moving from a water-filled area into a volcanic one.

Hot air swept past them as they all descended from the vehicles and went straight into their distant mansions.

Darian and Zoe remained the last, while Kira followed Hu Qing and his wife.

"Sis," Darian said as he turned to Zoe. "If it wasn’t for Kira, your actions there would have brought shame upon our family. Upon the Qing name."

Zoe folded her arms across her chest. "But I don’t want to marry into that family." Her voice echoed loudly, and all the birds in the nearby trees burst into the sky.

"You’ve got no choice but to marry from that family," Darian countered, then placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder as they stopped under a thick tree.

"You know what this reunion will bring to you. To us. And to Thule at large."

The words sounded soft to him, but they landed louder in Zoe’s ears.

"Right now, I’m even fed up," she stated bluntly, then leaned against the tree and hit her head on the bark.

"Why do you say that?" Darian frowned. He studied Zoe’s face and her breathing, then shook his head.

"Don’t tell me..." Darian paused, then turned as footsteps erupted from behind him.

From behind him, Kira clapped her palms and laughed. "It’s the same person you’re thinking about, Darian."

She closed in, then the clapping stopped. She threw a dissatisfied glance at Zoe, then laughed heartily.

"The Dusthollow Rat, isn’t it?" Darian’s expression intensified. "I don’t even understand why you would fall for that thing."

Zoe’s eyes widened. "Darian. You too?" Her mouth remained still, her face filled with shock.

Darian joined Kira in laughter, then placed a hand on his cheek. "Oh, dear Zoe." He moved a step forward. "Do you think the son of that painter had a chance in this family?"

"But—" Zoe paused, her mind reeling through the days when Darian treated Leon as part of them. "Weren’t you the one who was always on his side? Even going to the extent of taking his mother and sister from their trench house?"

Her eyes welled up as she shifted glances from Darian to Kira, then back to Darian. "I never knew you would..."

Kira moved a step forward. "Oh, you now know I was the one being honest, right?" She leaned on Darian’s right shoulder.

"Zoe, let me tell you something." Darian folded his hands across his chest, then inhaled deeply.

"In this life, don’t think that when someone is good around you, takes care of your needs, and does all the things you need, they love you."

A short laugh escaped him. "All I did was for a reason." His shoulders rose and fell.

"Zoe," Kira continued, "although he had the right to utilize his bastard dad’s inheritance—"

"Kira!"

"What? Let me talk." She shut Zoe down, then continued. "Did you think the Qing would stoop so low for a painter, let alone his son?"

She shook her head. "Nah. Nah. Nah. Even if he was a god, we wouldn’t. So far as he was tagged as a painter, he has no right to be part of this family. Let alone join our bloodline."

Silence ruled between them as two leaves—a dried one and a fresh one—descended from the tree and spun around their faces.

"So, like I was saying, you’re marrying Jade, the son of the Lord of the Mortal World."

Tears traced thin paths on Zoe’s face as she watched Darian and Kira leave, jumping in joy.

She slid down from the tree and sat on the leaf-filled ground, her face cupped in her hands.

In the branches of the tree, two squirrels moved slowly from their nest, then curled themselves around each other. Their small eyes remained locked on the weeping lady as soft wind raised the fur on their skin.

Above the tree, birdsong filled the sky as birds flapped their wings slowly and dived into the clouds.

At the front of the family treasure room, Hu Qing stood there, his hands folded across his chest.

A smile tore across his face as he looked at the picture frame that held both his and the Lord of the Mortal World’s childhood memories.

"Our bond is finally going to strengthen, Baek Dojin."