Chapter 96 - Are you scared?
He paused for a little while as he remembered every bit of that memory from that day. As soon as he heard that, he quickly booked a flight with Lu Qiang in his arms. He called his Uncle and Aunt to inform them of the news as well and the two of them rushed as soon as possible.
Seeing that lifeless body of his cousin and his wife in that table knocked the air out of his lungs. If it wasn"t for the baby he was holding, he would"ve surely stormed out to beat up the shooter who did those things. Watching his Uncle and Aunt break down in front of the two bodies, the baby seemed to sense the current situation as well. He cried so loudly that day as if he knew that his parents already left him alone in this world.
"The police did an investigation about the shooter and they tried to figure out the motive behind that shooting spree. The shooter just confessed that he did out of spite to all the people who looked so happy living their lives and he was just left to live in difficulty. So they summed it up as envy."
His fist clenched as he remembered the police informing him that they were closing the investigation since they"ve finalized the motive and all. But Lu Chen did not stop there. With the power he gained from the old man, he mobilized his people and had them investigate the background of the shooter.
He found some things that did not fit the puzzle so he grew more suspicious. Later on, he found out that his cousin"s wife, Jing Li Yan, got involved with him while she worked as a reporter. Digging deeper, his cousin was involved with a case related to him as well.
Since the shooter wasn"t directly related to both cases, it didn"t look like he would both know them at all.
As he continued digging deeper into the truth, a couple of his men met their demise. It wasn"t unusual with their line of work, but to kill a couple of his men that were a.s.signed to follow the case was murdered less than a day, in different areas of the city.
Clearly, someone was aware that he"s hot on the case and there must be a mastermind behind that. And that someone didn"t want them digging deeper, hence warning him by killing his men.
He didn"t want to stop.
He treated his cousin as his older brother. His wife was like his older sister.
He watched the baby who was innocently eating in front of him unaware that he had just become an orphan.
If that person was determined to kill his cousin and his wife, he finally realized the danger it has for Lu Qiang.
That person was probably aware of Lu Qiang"s existence, and who knows, one day that person might go after Lu Qiang next.
Lu Chen"s forehead creased as his face grew dimmer. He was used to getting himself involved in dangerous cases, but this time, his family was getting involved into one too.
"Since it wasn"t the real truth, I realized the danger Lu Qiang could be potentially in. Originally, I planned to have Uncle take care of the baby since no one from the wife"s family was stepping up to adopt him, but if his life was in danger, I couldn"t dare leave him in my Uncle"s hands."
His eyes glinted as his eyes narrowed. His clenched fist trembled in his lap.
"I applied as a legal guardian and worked on his papers to officially adopt him. After that, I took care of him until he grew up like the kid you know as of now."
Xiu Mei listened to Lu Chen as his mood continued fluctuating. She watched his expression change to loneliness to anger to a determined one. This was the first time she was seeing him get so emotional.
She was used to his aloof and cold side. His smiling and flirty side. His teasing side. But this one, he was showing so much emotion on that cold expression of his.
Listening to his story, she fully realized that things really weren"t as simple as it seems.
She"d heard that they died, but she didn"t expect that there was such a dangerous story behind it.
Xiu Mei"s eyes paused at Lu Chen and their gazes met.
Somehow, the two of them are quite similar but different.
She has his own nightmares and he has his own. It may be different but the pain and struggles were almost similar. It wasn"t really right to think like this but somehow, she felt closer to him.
"I"m sorry, I made you remember such a terrible memory." She apologized to him.
As a person with firsthand experience, she knew how difficult it was to always remember that terrible memory that would always fill you with torment. She couldn"t even remember the last time she talked to someone about the incident she had 10 years ago.
"It"s fine." Realizing that he was losing his grip in his emotions, Lu Chen took a deep breath as he slowly tried composing himself once again.
"It"s better that you know the story as well. Since you"ll become Lu Qiang"s mother, I would"ve told you this sooner or later if you didn"t ask about it."
After that, the whole room fell into a deafening silence. As if they didn"t know how to continue their current conversation any longer or was it even right to just suddenly change the topic to something a bit livelier.
Lu Chen stared at Xiu Mei who kept looking at the image on the phone and wondered.
"Are you scared?"
"What do you mean?��
"After hearing that, aren"t you scared?"
Xiu Mei glanced at Lu Chen. Even though his previous expression a while ago was now wiped off his face, she didn"t miss the slight anxiousness in his voice.
"Do you want me to be scared?" She asked, straightening her back while slightly tilting her head.
"No." Lu Chen honestly answered her question.
Xiu Mei didn"t respond immediately, but she stood up from her seat and walked over to his side. She sat beside him and leaned over to him. Resting her head on his shoulder, she finally answered his question.
"You said you married me because you wanted to protect me."
She looked at him by resting her chin on his shoulder as she continued speaking, "And you adopted Lu Qiang because you wanted to protect him."
Lu Chen turned his head to look at her, making their faces a few meters closer to each other. But Xiu Mei didn"t move away and finished what she was trying to say.
"How can I be scared if the reasons that Lu Qiang and I are now living so freely is because you worried and loved us enough to risk your life to protect us." She reached out for his hand and interlocked their fingers.
"You had a choice to ignore it, but you didn"t look away. And instead, you bravely stood in front of us, trying to cover us from wind and rain. You said you wanted to know if I was scared, so listen to me."
She took a deep breath before honestly spoking out her deepest thoughts.
"No, I"m not scared. When I listened to your story, I realized once again how courageous you are and dyou"re not the person people thought you to be. Being a father isn"t an easy task, but you willingly took that role for the sake of Lu Qiang. Then being a good husband is a different role with its own responsibilities as well, but you still proposed to me and promised me that you"ll do your best to be a good husband."
Her grasp on his hand tightened as the emotions inside her seems to slowly spillover through her words. She warmly smiled at him, as she continued her words.
"People say you"re like a robot, a heartless emperor ordering people around. But what I see is a man that has so much love to give that he would willingly become a knight in s.h.i.+ning armor for the people he cares about."
"Lu Chen, I haven"t really said this to you before but thank you. Thank you for saving me, for being there for me. You didn"t even ask me about the story that kept haunting me, and even though I"m quite sure you somehow knew something about it, you didn"t speak about it anything at all. You just kept staying at my side, bringing me to your home for safety and just protecting me without trying to open my wounds."
She could feel tears slightly pooling in her eyes, but she tried blinking it all away. She didn"t want to cry.
With her free hand, she reached out and caressed his face.
"Lu Chen, I will never feel scared as long as you"re by my side."