Chasing My Husband! The "Crown Prince" of the Beijing Circle Is Wildly Unruly! - Chapter 70

Wang Xinghe sat on the stool, reading the bold, forceful handwriting on the two pages over and over again. It was arrogant and unrestrained—it was classic Lu Jingze.

He had never imagined that the Lu Jingze he knew—the one who was wild, free, and carried a hint of roguish charm—actually came from such a family. It was a secret Xinghe had never known. It was no wonder Lu Jingze always measured things with money; his parents had never taught him how to handle the world with love.

Xinghe’s sigh echoed through the empty shop. Lu Jingze had already made up his mind to break through the chains of worldly conventions to be with him. But what about himself?

Xinghe fell into a heavy silence. He still couldn’t let go of the scene where his sister had screamed that he was “disgusting.” If his parents were still alive, would they have approved? He didn’t know. Even if those weren’t obstacles, what about his illness?

With a soul full of holes and a heart sinking into the mire, how could he possibly respond to Lu Jingze’s burning passion? He had nothing. While it was true he had saved Lu Jingze out of compassion once, that debt—whether of gratitude or love—had surely been paid in full long ago.

As he folded the letters, Xinghe realized with a start that he felt inferior whenever he faced Lu Jingze. Lu Jingze was too perfect. Whether as a lover or a friend, he was like a brilliant sun, capable of illuminating the darkness in anyone. Meanwhile, Xinghe’s own heart was like a deep, lightless pool—a place from which even light would recoil.

He spent three hours cleaning the shop from top to bottom. He bagged up the moldy quilts and threw them in the trash, along with all the old dishes and utensils they had once used.

The Lu Family Ancestral Hall, Kyoto

Lu Jingze was kneeling in the ancestral hall. He had just endured a lashing from the Old Master’s whip. His back was a bloody mess, yet his resolve remained unshaken.

Lord Lu laughed in exasperation, tossing the whip aside. “Lu Jingze, do you really think you can live a peaceful life by throwing everything away for the person you love? Have you spent all these years studying history for nothing? Once you strip away your power, you will only die faster—and more miserably.”

“Are you certain you want to continue?”

Lu Jingze replied respectfully, “Yes, Grandfather.”

“Fine. Then get out. Go and try this ‘perfect life’ of yours.” Leaning on his cane, Lord Lu turned and left the hall.

Lu Jingze slumped to the floor. Later, at the hospital, as his wounds were being cleaned, even his assistant He Zheng couldn’t bear to watch.

“President Lu, are you sure you want to leave for Qingcheng tonight? Your injuries…” The drive from Kyoto to Qingcheng took seven hours. The journey would be agonizing.

“Go,” Lu Jingze commanded.

The next morning in the small town, the scent of breakfast wafted through the streets. During his six months in Kyoto, Xinghe’s once-unshakable biological clock had failed him. By the time he opened his eyes, it was already 6:30 AM. He stretched his stiff body and rubbed his neck. Today was going to be a long day of shopping for supplies.

By habit, he opened the glass door and pulled the rolling shutter up with a loud clatter. The May breeze stirred the dust on the ground, and the green leaves on the trees danced in the wind.

A familiar figure was standing in front of his shop.

Dressed in black, Lu Jingze stood at the entrance. His face was pale and etched with exhaustion, yet he wore a faint smile. “Good morning, Brother. I’ve come home.”

Lu Jingze took a step forward. Xinghe’s feet felt as though they were nailed to the floor.

“Xinghe! Little Lu has been standing here for over an hour,” the youtiao uncle from next door called out, stepping forward with a large bag of hot fried dough sticks. “I invited him into my shop to eat, but he refused. He insisted on waiting for you so you could eat together.” He handed the bag to them. “Come back in a bit for the tofu pudding!”

Lu Jingze took the bag and grinned at the old man. “Thanks, Uncle! Your youtiao are the best I’ve ever had.”

“Haha, you’ve got good taste, kid!” The uncle beamed with pride.

Lu Jingze took Xinghe by the arm and led him into the shop, placing the breakfast on the now-spotless table. He gripped Xinghe’s shoulders and said seriously, “I’ve left the Lu family. From now on, I can only live with you on a few hundred million in pocket change. You’ll take me in, won’t you, Brother?”

Xinghe was moved to his core. He knew exactly how much weight those words carried. “Are you crazy…” His eyes welled with tears. It wasn’t just touched; it was regret. He regretted that his own hesitation and fear had forced Lu Jingze to take such drastic steps.

Lu Jingze wiped his tears away. “Actually, it wasn’t just for you. I was tired. I couldn’t bring myself to strike a fatal blow against my own parents, and because of that soft-heartedness, I kept getting hurt. My heart was already worn out.”

He smiled. “Besides, I only left the Lu family; I didn’t become a pauper. At the prices in this town, a few hundred million is more than enough to support you and our home.”

Recalling the contents of the letter, Xinghe felt a lump in his throat. He stepped forward and threw his arms around Lu Jingze.

“Tch—” Lu Jingze hissed. The pain in his back was so sharp that beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

Xinghe immediately felt that something was wrong. Frowning, he turned Lu Jingze around and pushed up his black shirt. He froze. The whip marks were terrifying—bloody and raw. Because of the iodine treatment, they looked even more gruesome.

“Who did this to you?” Xinghe’s face went white with heartache.

“It’s nothing. Just the Lu family rules. I took a few lashes, but it’s no big deal. My grandfather couldn’t bring himself to truly ruin me; these are just surface wounds. They’ll heal quickly.”

Xinghe was overcome with guilt. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I let things get to this point. If I had been braver, if I had fewer worries and less self-doubt, perhaps… you wouldn’t have had to go through this.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t stop himself from sobbing. “But I ran from you not just because of society, or our status, or my sister. It’s also because… I’m sick, Ze. I’m sick, and I don’t know how to fix myself. I’m afraid that one day I’ll suddenly have an episode, lose my mind like I did before, and want to die. I’m afraid that everything you’ve sacrificed will lose its meaning.”

“Lu Jingze, it’s me who doesn’t deserve you. Don’t you see? Someone like me isn’t worth all of this.”

Lu Jingze pulled the sobbing man into a tight embrace. “You silly man. I know everything.”

“It’s just depression. With me here, you will live a long life, free from pain and disaster. Brother, your kindness is unlike anything else in this world. You were the one who pulled me out of the abyss of being unloved. You taught me that not everything in this world should be measured by money.”

“I love you. I love your face, I love your heart, and I love your scarred past. As long as it is you, I will love you. Brother, are you willing to spend a lifetime with me?”

“A real lifetime. Even when the physical passion fades, even when the novelty wears off. Even when we are no longer young and our brilliance begins to dim. I will still love you. My scumbag father is proof of that—no matter how much my mother seeks her own destruction, he remains devoted to her until the end.”

“We Lu men are all the same. Once we’ve chosen someone, it doesn’t matter if they are human, god, ghost, or demon—we will throw ourselves into it, even if it means being ground to dust. I love you, until death do us part.”