Volume 12
Chapter 24: Without a Father, Without a Mother
Wen Hupo. These three words had always held a special meaning in Lu Li’s heart. His memories of his youth were already a little blurry, but the feeling of his heart accelerating was something he would remember for a lifetime. He had to admit that in his past life, he hadn’t been faithful enough to Baili. Sometimes, just a casual invitation from Hupo could make him cancel all sorts of appointments to meet her. Perhaps every man has such a woman in his heart, that love and admiration would extend to every girl he had met before. Some say that a man in his lifetime is forever chasing the shadows of two women: one is his mother, and the other is his first love.
He didn’t want Jingyi to get involved, and similarly, he didn’t want Hupo to either.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” Hupo asked with confusion. “Why aren’t you talking?”
“You with the surname Lu, Little Qiao only has three hours left!” Zhu Xi urged anxiously.
“Is Zhu Xi with you?” Wen Hupo asked.
“Yes.” Lu Li’s tone was very low. “Hupo, Little Qiao is in critical condition. She is a Miko of the Zhu family and can only be saved by the power of the Reincarnation Crystal. And to use the Reincarnation Crystal, a woman with the aptitude of a Miko is needed to assist…” Lu Li spoke for a long time without getting to the point, because his own mind was also a complete mess.
“…I understand.” Wen Hupo’s reply was simple. “I’m on my way to you now.”
No more detailed questions, no asking about the consequences, no asking about the risks, no asking what Lu Li had been through during this time, just a plain “I understand.” But it was this plain sentence that made Lu Li’s eyes well up with tears. He knew this was his karma.
Hupo continued, “But, Outstanding Representative, I must tell the other girls at home about these things. We can’t hide such an important matter from them. We are a family, aren’t we?”
Lu Li’s mouth fell open, unable to speak. He had subconsciously thought of temporarily hiding it from them so they wouldn’t worry, but this shameful thought was obliterated by Hupo’s one sentence. Yes, they had long been a family. Why look for all sorts of excuses to hide things?
“…Okay. Comfort Baili well. Don’t let her do anything stupid. I’ll go and tell my sister myself.”
Zhu Xi reached out her hand. “Give me the phone.”
Lu Li handed her the phone. He saw Zhu Xi’s tone become calm. “Shirley Amber, you should head to Mulan Airport immediately. I will arrange the earliest flight for you. It will take at least an hour and a half to fly from Mulan to the Capital City. Call this number as soon as you get off the plane.”
“Your Royal Highness, I hope you understand that I’m not doing these things for you, but for Lu Li.”
Zhu Xi looked at Lu Li with a complicated expression. “I know. This scumbag man is really lucky.”
After hanging up the phone, Lu Li called his sister again. She didn’t pick up, but a few minutes later, his sister sent back a text message: “In a vote, will call you back later, love you.”
Lu Li recorded a five-minute voice message and set it to send at a scheduled time. If he didn’t cancel it after three hours, this recording would be sent to Yameng, telling her everything he knew. After doing this, Baili’s call came again. She and Chen Jianing were fighting to speak on the phone. Lu Li smiled and comforted them. When he hung up, he laughed at himself. “It feels like I’m arranging my affairs before death.”
Zhu Xi now had a way to save Zhu Qiao and was no longer so anxious. She gently stroked Zhu Qiao’s face. “You with the surname Lu, do you know how much I envy you? So many people love you. I envy you to the point of jealousy. I sometimes think, how great it would be if your family were to be destroyed one day. I would definitely clap my hands in celebration.”
“…”
“But then I thought about it carefully. If your family really were to be destroyed, I might be even more unhappy,” Zhu Xi said with a forced smile.
“There are people who love you too,” Lu Li comforted her.
“Who? Who else besides Little Qiao? Yan Rujun dared to send people to kill Little Qiao, just to cut off my path of retreat. She never loved me, her granddaughter. I’m so stupid. She hurt Little Qiao again and again, and I was actually foolish enough to believe her again and again…”
“…There’s one other person who loves you.”
“Who? You?” When she said the word “you,” Zhu Xi stared at Lu Li intently, as if wanting to carve his answer into her memory.
Lu Li could have nodded. He also wanted to say yes, even if it was just a comforting, expedient measure. But the two Prices flashed through his mind, and the words that came to his lips became: “Your father.”
“…” A light flickered in Zhu Xi’s eyes, with some disappointment, and also some surprise.
“Aren’t you going to give him a call?” Lu Li urged. “Perhaps this is the last time you’ll ever speak to him.”
Zhu Xi was silent for a long time. She looked at Zhu Qiao in Lu Li’s arms. Little Qiao could no longer speak now; what came from her throat was a hoarse, gasping sound, which was terrifying to hear. She remembered a long time ago, when Little Qiao would pester her, asking where her dad was, what his job was. She would impatiently say not to call him dad, that his job was to be a coward. Speaking of which, Zhu Youcheng seemed to have never had a chance to meet Zhu Qiao. He couldn’t even step through the main gate of the ancestral hall.
Just for Little Qiao…
Zhu Xi sighed and dialed the number at the very bottom of her contact list. It was answered in seconds. The man’s voice on the other end of the line was a little shaky. “…Xi’er…? Is that you?”
“Zhu Youcheng, Little Qiao and I forgive you.” After saying this, Zhu Xi directly hung up the phone, not giving the current emperor of Shenzhou a chance to say a single word.
Lu Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Zhu Xi, your father-daughter relationship is a bit too stiff.”
“…Perhaps. To me, Father was just a figure full of hatred, cowardice, and timidity fabricated by Yan Rujun. Little Qiao and I are actually without a father and a mother.” Zhu Xi’s gaze was fixed on Lu Li. “You with the surname Lu, if, I’m just saying if, your biological parents found you at this moment, wanting you to acknowledge your ancestors and return to the clan, and to divide the career you’ve built up among your well-fed and well-clothed brothers and sisters whom you’ve never met, would you be willing?”
“I am also a person without a father and a mother,” Lu Li’s answer was simple.
If they had wanted to find Lu Li, there were naturally ten thousand ways. He had been abandoned in the Low-Rent District and had grown up in the Low-Rent District. In these eighteen years, they had had countless opportunities to return to the Low-Rent District to inquire about a boy.
Perhaps he was just the accidental product of a pair of ordinary working-class lovers after a bout of lust. The cowardly young father hadn’t dared to take responsibility for the extra cub and had abandoned him by a trash can, not even leaving him a name. Lu Li had perhaps inherited their frankness toward desire in his personality. He had no hidden illustrious family background, nor any world-shattering talent. He was just an ordinary Lu Li.
Zhu Xi smiled. The tear stains from her previous crying were still there. Now, her smile was like crying. “You’re also a no-dad, no-mom.”
