479: Chapter 474 I'm Not Running Away

The wooden door closed behind him, sealing away the greedy faces of the couple and the musty air inside the cabin.

Sunlight poured down again, somewhat blindingly bright.

Shen Yan, walking ahead, maintained an unhurried pace, as if strolling through his own garden after a meal.

Behind him, Kevin followed closely like a startled fawn, the sound of his footsteps on the dry leaves and gravel being faint and tense.

The path downhill felt much longer than the way up.

The wind swept through the mountain pines, carrying the dry, fresh scent of vegetation, blowing away the stale air clinging to the young man.

Silence reigned between the two of them throughout the journey.

Shen Yan did not speak; he was waiting.

Waiting for the boy behind him to finally step out of the shadow cast by that wooden cabin.

After walking for about ten minutes, just as the outline of the highway at the foot of the mountain became vaguely visible, the footsteps behind him stopped.

Shen Yan also paused but did not turn around.

His sleeve was gently tugged by a small, cool hand.

The force was slight, carrying a hint of testing and hesitation.

“You…”

The boy’s voice was somewhat hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken properly in a long time.

“You know who I am, don't you?”

This question had finally come.

Shen Yan turned around, looking at the young man whose face still bore marks of injury, but whose eyes held a sharpness unbefitting his age.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly into a playful arc.

“Hmm? Why do you say that?”

Kevin tightened the hand holding his sleeve.

“Every district in Saint-Luo should be plastered with my picture by now.”

“The substantial US dollar bounty is enough to mobilize every hyena in this city.”

“Your appearance in that place doesn't seem like a coincidence.”

The boy’s logic was clear and well-structured.

A flicker of approval crossed Shen Yan’s eyes.

As expected of someone from the Hosen Family; even in destitution, his mind was still sharp.

“You certainly know your family well, Young Master Hossen.”

Shen Yan’s voice was flat, yet it struck the surface of Kevin’s feigned calm like a stone.

Young Master Hossen.

That title directly confirmed all of Kevin’s suspicions.

He abruptly let go of the sleeve, instinctively taking half a step back, his azure eyes instantly filled with vigilance.

“Who sent you?”

“My brother? Or my so-called father?”

A barely perceptible tremor entered his voice.

Shen Yan found his defensive posture somewhat amusing.

“Relax, Kevin.”

“If I were one of them, do you think you’d still have the chance to stand here and question me?”

Kevin froze.

That was true. If the other party belonged to his family, they could have simply used force to take him away. Why go to such elaborate lengths to bribe those greedy farmers?

It didn't make logical sense.

But if not, then what was this Eastern man's objective?

Was it for that ten-million-dollar bounty?

Kevin’s gaze became scrutinizing and suspicious once more.

Shen Yan saw through his thoughts.

“I know what you’re suspecting.”

He leaned against the trunk of a pine tree, his posture relaxed.

“You suspect I ‘bought’ you from those couple for the sake of the bounty.”

Kevin remained silent, but his expression confirmed the assumption.

Shen Yan smiled and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

He offered no explanation, simply starting to speak on his own.

“I also have a child, a daughter.”

“Her name is Youyou.”

His voice involuntarily softened when he mentioned that name, and the icy, iron-blooded aura around him quietly melted away a corner.

“She is five years old this year and just started kindergarten.”

“She’s very mischievous, but also very adorable.”

“She likes to cling to my leg and act spoiled, she likes strawberry ice cream, and she likes me to tell her bedtime stories.”

An expression appeared on Shen Yan's face that Kevin had never seen on any adult man.

It was pure tenderness and doting, untainted by any self-interest.

The vigilance in Kevin’s eyes unconsciously dissipated slightly.

He became somewhat curious.

“What… what does she look like?”

Shen Yan swiped open his phone screen, tapped on the photo album, and handed the phone over.

On the screen was a little girl with pigtails, riding on a man’s neck, grinning so wide her eyes were nearly closed.

Her eyes were large and bright, like two black gemstones.

The background of the photo was a field of brilliant sunflowers.

Under the sunlight, the little girl’s smile was even brighter than the sunflowers.

And standing next to her was a gentle woman, looking up with eyes full of smiles at the two of them.

It was a family portrait.

Something called “happiness” almost spilled out of the screen.

Kevin stared at the photo for a long time without speaking.

He had seen too many false smiles and too much cold-blooded kinship.

But in the photo, the smile of this little girl named Youyou was real.

The look in that woman’s eyes was also real.

Even the man holding the girl, who was Shen Yan before him, looked completely different in the photo.

“She is very cute,”

Kevin handed the phone back to Shen Yan and said softly.

“Yes.”

Shen Yan took back his phone and put it back in his pocket.

“So, I can understand how terrified a child is when facing danger and the unknown.”

His gaze fell back onto Kevin’s face.

“I found you not for your brother, nor for your father, and certainly not for that ridiculous bounty.”

“I just accepted a mission.”

“A mission to take you away from here.”

“Nothing more.”

Kevin fell silent.

The mountain wind blew, causing the pines to rustle.

After a long while, he spoke again, his voice carrying a trace of confusion.

“Where can I go if I leave here?”

“The Hosen Family’s influence spans across all of North America, even Europe.”

“As long as I still carry the Hosen surname, I can never escape that cage.”

His tone was filled with fatigue and despair unsuited for his age.

Shen Yan looked at him.

“Then change your surname, change your identity, go somewhere they can’t find you, and start a new life.”

“Is that so difficult?”

Kevin suddenly lifted his head, his blue eyes filled with shock.

Change identity? Start a new life?

He had thought of this possibility.

But to him, it sounded like a pipe dream.

“You… can you do it?”

“That depends on you, not me,”

Shen Yan said lightly.

“You have to tell me why you want to run.”

“Is it merely because you don't want to be a caged canary?”

Kevin’s lips pressed into a thin line.

He lowered his head, looking at the ground beneath his feet.

Dust, gravel, withered pine needles.

This was the real world.

Not the meticulously trimmed but lifeless lawns of Hossen Manor.

“I am not fleeing.”