My angel will judge me.

part 16

....The courtroom was packed.

Rows of reporters. Protesters outside. Cameras flashing like lightning.

And in the center, behind cold steel bars, stood Lan Zhan.

Pale. Silent. Still wearing the same white shirt from the night he was arrested - now wrinkled, bloodstained at the cuff where he had clenched his own wrist too tightly.

He didn't look up.

Not when the judge entered.
Not when the charges were read.
Not even when the words finally came:

"Dr. Lan Zhan, for unauthorized human experimentation, medical negligence resulting in fatality, and violation of biomedical ethics-
this court sentences you to five years in federal prison."

Gasps echoed in the room.
Reporters scribbled furiously.
Flashes of cameras danced across Lan Zhan's blank expression.

He didn't flinch.

Not even when he heard the judge's final words:

"This court finds your actions not malicious, but reckless. Your remorse, however... is noted."

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Wei mansion

In dining room Wei Ying stood in front of the television screen, hands trembling.

The news played on every channel.

"Famous research prodigy sentenced-"
"Experiment leaves one dead, another in coma-"
"Dr. Lan Zhan: From brilliance to disgrace."

On the screen, Lan Zhan was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs, head bowed low.

And for the briefest second, he looked up-Right at the camera.

As if searching for someone.
As if begging to be seen.
As if, somehow, he hoped Wei Ying was still watching.Wei Ying gritted his teeth.His nails dug into his arm.He was.And it hurt.

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The walls were gray.
The ceiling was peeling.
The bed was cold.

And for twenty-three hours a day, Lan Zhan sat in silence.

No visitors.No letters.No calls.

The first week, he kept looking up every time the guard came down the hallway.
He waited for a voice-his brother's, maybe.
Or-

No. He always knew Wei Ying wouldn't come.

Not after what happened.
Not after Madam Wei.

But still...Some foolish part of him hoped.

Days passed.
Then weeks.

And then-
he stopped looking up when the footsteps came.

Because no one came for him.

In the quiet of his cell, when the lights dimmed and the noise of the outside world disappeared,
Lan Zhan would sit curled on the edge of his bed, knees pulled to his chest, face buried in his arms.And he'd cry.

Silently.

As if even now, he didn't want anyone to know he was broken.But he was.

He missed his brother.
Lan Hai Kuan, who once taught him how to tie a tie.
Who used to gently scold him for skipping meals.