Chapter 68: Smile more
While Li Mingze was focused on Yu Hu, Li Jun got up, his steps light but fast. He rushed towards Yu Wen, who was slipping in and out of consciousness. Li Jun shook him while whispering, "Hey, wake up. You have to go."
Yu Wen was unresponsive. Li Jun looked back just as his father stabbed Yu Hu with his sword. He grabbed both of Yu Wen’s arms. Breathing heavily, he dragged him out of the temple. The pain in his back intensified, but he didn’t dare make a sound. He bit his lip and dragged him out.
The camera feed changed to the one in the passageway. The Yu Wen watching remembered opening his eyes at that moment and seeing Li Jun covered in blood, towering over him. But what he thought was a grin was actually a smile of relief.
When he saw Yu Wen open his eyes, Li Jun was relieved to know that he wasn’t dead. He was about to say something when he heard his father roar. Li Mingze was calling his name in a tone that instilled fear in him.
He dragged Yu Wen in a hurry. The next feed showed him pushing the door open and half carrying Yu Wen towards the rockery. Li Jun said, "I will call for help," while taking out his phone to call the imperial physician.
Just then, Li Mingze kicked the door open, screaming, "Li Jun! Where the fuck are you?! Li Jun!"
He trembled slightly as he said, "Hurry, he is badly injured," before hanging up. Li Jun knew that if his father found him, he would kill Yu Wen, so he got up to leave. Yu Wen, who had his eyes closed, grabbed the pendant on his neck, refusing to let go while mumbling something.
Li Jun tried to unclench his fingers, but Yu Wen was so stubborn. His father’s voice grew louder and more terrifying. Out of ideas, he unclasped the pendant and got up, leaving it in Yu Wen’s hands.
"Father!" Li Jun called out while standing at a safe distance. At a glance, one could tell that he was terrified. He rubbed his fingers together, clenching and unclenching his fists as he stood rooted on the spot.
Li Mingze’s wild and ferocious eyes suddenly vanished. His expression softened, and his gaze brimmed with warm tenderness. He turned into a doting father expressing his affection for his son. "Little Jun, come to me," he said, beckoning him over, his eyes watery.
Li Jun was used to this. His father would go on a tirade, and in the next second, he would get back to normal like nothing had happened. He knew his father was sick, but he didn’t know how to help him.
His father knelt on the ground, his arms stretched. "Come here, are you hurt. Let father take a look." Li Jun hesitated for a second before running towards him. His father embraced him tightly and broke into tears, apologizing and telling him that he loved him so much.
Yu Wen watched this scene with complicated emotions. He didn’t know that Li Jun went through this. Li Jun suffered so much in Li Mingze’s hands. Not only that, but also it was Li Jun who saved him. All these years, he had been wrong.
Li Jun hadn’t laid a hand on his father. It was his father who had wanted to kidnap Li Jun. That crime alone should have had him and his mother sent into exile, and they would have lost everything. Li Jun had also dragged him out of there, not Li Yu.
His world was shattered to pieces, seeing the truth laid out before his eyes. The weight of years of misplaced hatred crashed him, leaving him hollow, ashamed, and trembling in disbelief. His heart ached, a twisting, agonizing pain from the realization that the person he despised was the person who saved him.
He was about to get up and look for that pendant he had kept all those years when he saw Li Yu’s figure appear on the screen. She had waited for Li Jun and Li Mingze to leave before approaching him. He remembered that at that time, he had woken up and found Li Yu looking at him worriedly.
At the time, he had asked her if she had saved him, and she had said yes. She told him not to move and that she would call for help. Just then, the imperial doctor arrived. He should have known then that it wasn’t Li Yu who helped him. If she had, she wouldn’t have said she would call for help. That doctor had been called to come over, way in advance.
When he had asked her how she got him out of the temple, she claimed that she had pulled him out when Li Mingze was gone. He had even tried to give her back the pendant, but she didn’t want it back. She had said that it was just a jade she had casually bought, and he could throw it away. Who would have known the pendant didn’t belong to her? That’s why she was acting all casual.
His emotions chaotic, he got up and absentmindedly bumped into the corner of the desk. The miniature mech he had brought back with him to his home office tilted, and with a thud, it hit the floor. After bringing Dec to his office, he didn’t feel like it was safe there, so he brought it back to his home office.
In a panic, he knelt to pick it up when he saw that the stand had cracked. He picked it up and turned it over. It was then that he realized it wasn’t cracked. It was open. The bottom could be twisted open, but he had just never noticed. Inside was a note, and this handwriting he was especially familiar with. He had spent years trying to get to know his enemy. He could recognize that handwriting in his sleep.
It read, "Happy birthday. Smile more, it suits you."
No one in the academy knew his birthday, and he had done this on purpose. He wasn’t there to make friends. But in his third year, he opened his locker and found a miniature version of his mech. He was angry at first, thinking who would break into his locker. He asked around, but no one gave him an answer. He was mad, yes, but he loved the gift.
