[ grateful for tsukasa's kindness, xie lian feels a blossoming of warmth in his chest for this young man. it's affection, for his work ethic, his nature. he's truly a good child, the kind that montevallo needs if it intends to survive these troubles. surely, his uncle would have been proud.

taking all of that in, xie lian listens carefully, and stays quiet until the final question is asked. his expression changes, clouding over into something dangerously close to fury at the thought of a child, hands fisting slowly in his lap. it's only the question that has him acquiescing, offering a quiet, immediately answer. ]

There is. [ no harm in admitting it. ] I hope that you wouldn't think me the type to cause such suffering, no matter what financial straits we might be in. I had no part in ordering any of those things to happen, including the fire. It's not only that there's a traitor, but there's someone acting because they think I haven't acted fast enough.

[ xie lian softens, after a moment, his expression changes. it's heartbreak. utter, complete heartbreak, that weighs him down the way every other thing has, since this all started. the loss. the suffering. the image of a child, trapped in a cage. ] ...Thank you for acting so quickly to save that child, Tsukasa. Please don't blame yourself for the truck leaving, either.

[ whose fault is that really, but xie lian's? who let that go for so long, without knowing? ] What an appalling operation. All this, over money.