Chapter 223 Learning the truth
Karl's fingers tightly grasped Qiao Suisui's clothes, his knuckles turned white because of the force, as if he wanted to embed her into his body and never let her leave. His breathing was rapid and disordered, and his tears rolled down like beads that had broken off the string, wetting Qiao Suisui's shoulders.

"Sui Sui," his voice was low and hoarse, filled with endless desire and pain, "Are you really back? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Qiao Suisui gently stroked his back and comforted him tenderly, "Karl, I'm really back. This is not a dream, I'm here."

After confirming with him more than a dozen times, Karl finally let her go a little, but still hugged Qiao Suisui, as if only in this way could he confirm her existence.

"I thought I would never see you again," Carl's voice was almost drowned by tears, "I thought I could only meet you again in hallucinations."

Although Qiao Susu guessed that he used hallucinogens because of her, she felt a pain in her heart when she heard him say it himself.

Her tears kept falling, and she whispered, "Fool."

Karl took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner excitement. He gently let go of Qiao Suisui and held her face with both hands, with deep love and anxiety in his eyes. "I won't let you leave me again. Don't even think about getting rid of me in the future."

The warden had been keeping an eye on the situation and saw that Carl was now a completely different person from before. There was an expression on his face and he looked more alive. He secretly exclaimed that it was magical.

Zongfang breathed a sigh of relief, and only hoped that Carl could temporarily stabilize Qiao Qiao's attention. The matter of Scorsese and Libery could be delayed as long as possible.

Sang Yan saw the two people hugging each other and quietly turned his head away.

Qiao Suisui didn't want Carl to stay in the cell, he was not a prisoner. Although he had not completely quit hallucinogens, she believed that Carl was fine.

So he said to Zong Fang: "Let's take Carl back to the Imperial Court. If he can't bear the injection again, I will never see him again."

Karl, who was standing by, listened to this with a serious look on his face, held her hand tightly, and said, “There won’t be a next time. Don’t think about leaving me behind.”

Qiao Suisui knew that she had to be determined in this matter, so she deliberately provoked him, "What if you can't help it again?"

"No ifs. I don't need hallucinogens while you're here."

After getting his assurance, she felt relieved and smiled at him. Karl hadn't completely calmed down from the fact that she came back. He was afraid that she would leave quietly again, so he kept his eyes on her. Therefore, he didn't receive the look that Zongfang gave him.

Seeing that Zong Fang didn't say anything, Qiao Sui Sui asked, "What's wrong?"

Zong Fang was still trying to find an excuse for her not to return to the imperial court. Sang Yan sighed heavily and said, "This is not a solution."

"What?" Qiao Susu looked at the two of them, asking with her eyes what was going on.

Zongfang pursed his lips and said nothing.

Carl reacted at this moment and realized something immediately. He held Qiao Susu's hand tightly again and quickly glanced at the two men opposite.

Seeing the three of them playing dumb, Qiao Suisui pretended to leave and said, "If you don't tell me, I'll go and find out for myself."

Karl couldn’t let go of her hand, and coaxed: “Be good, go back and tell me, okay?”

Qiao Sui Sui frowned as she looked at Zong Fang who was silent. He rarely avoided her like this, so he must be hiding something from her. She turned her gaze to Sang Yan and asked, "Are you going to hide it from me like the other two?"

Sure enough, Sang Yan couldn't stand her questioning.

In other words, Sang Yan felt that she had the right to know everything.

"Colonel Scorsese"

"Sang Yan!" Zong Fang interrupted him harshly. Qiao Suisui's heart immediately began to rise, and she asked, "What happened?"

Zongfang walked up to her and hugged her, holding her head with his hands, and said softly: "What I am about to say, you must remember, has nothing to do with you. This is Scorsese's own choice."

The reason he kept delaying telling her was that he was more afraid that she would blame herself and feel guilty than that she was afraid that she would be sad. That feeling was the most uncomfortable because he had experienced it before, and it was thirteen years ago.

Qiao Susu felt the blood in her body flowing backwards and her heart was beating fast. The cross drawn by Lan Ze appeared in her mind, and she didn't dare to think further.

Karl felt that it was too cruel to tell her about this directly, so he interrupted and said, "Can we talk about it when we get back? She just woke up now, you..."

"I want to listen." Qiao Susu's teeth began to chatter.

Zongfang tightened his embrace a little more, giving her a full sense of security.

"Sicoses committed suicide."

Qiao Suisui stood there, as if frozen. The bad news came to her ears, and her brain was unable to process this sudden information. Her eyes were empty, staring blankly ahead, as if the world had stopped at this moment.

Her breathing became light and shallow, as if it would stop in the next second.

Seeing this, Karl was so scared that he pushed Zongfang away, put his arm around her shoulders, and gently stroked her cheek.

"Sui Sui, don't scare me, breathe"

Her mind went blank, and after a few seconds, the weight of reality began to oppress her consciousness. Her eyes gradually focused, and her pupils shrank slightly, as if she finally understood the meaning of that sentence. The voices of the three men were around her, and she heard them, but it was as if she didn't hear them. Her heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, but the pain was not immediately transmitted to her perception.

Qiao Suisui's lips slightly opened, her fingers hanging stiffly at her sides, and she asked, "Why commit suicide?"

As soon as she asked, she recalled Luka's words in her mind -

"Sui Sui, I really can't lose you."

"Sui Sui, promise me that when you stop loving me, you will kill me."

"Have I ever told you that I can't live without you?"

Suddenly, tears silently welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision. Her legs seemed to lose support, her body swayed slightly, and she almost couldn't stand steadily. Her fingers began to tremble, and she unconsciously grabbed something beside her, as if this was the only way to find a little comfort and support.

Zong Fang immediately caught her staggering body, his eyes filled with heartache.

"It's because of me. It's all because of me."

Qiao Suisui knelt on the ground helplessly, covering her face with her hands, tears pouring out through her fingers. She curled up into a ball, as if this could slightly alleviate the pain in her heart. Her heart seemed to be torn apart at this moment, and she was in so much pain that she couldn't breathe. She could only cry silently, letting the tears wet her cheeks and soak her heart.

Karl couldn't stand her crying like this, his eyes were already red, Zong Fang felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, Sang Yan stood there blankly, feeling it was difficult to breathe.

Qiao Susu raised her face from her hands, as if she thought of something, and a light flashed in her eyes.

Her eyes calmed down a bit, and she asked in a hoarse voice, "What about Ash?"

Zongfang was silent for a while, then said, "He was killed by the leaders of several member states."

(End of this chapter)