770 Not a Dream

She was willing to do anything for him.

Perhaps there wouldn't be another man that she would be so willing to do anything for.

This was destiny.

Xia Moyan controlled his urge to tear that irritating sycamore to pieces. Every possible way of killing a person flashed through his mind, and he had to chant silently to himself to calm down.

"You're really not going back with me?" His tone of voice was menacing.

Xia Ling still replied stubbornly, "No."

Xia Moyan warned. "If you ever face any more problems, don't even think of coming to me."

Many sought help from The Preceptor, and she only needed to say a word and he would come. So many would give all their riches to be able to call him at will, but Xia Ling was not moved.

She gritted her teeth and looked at her brother in the eye. "Okay."

It was not that she didn't realize what she was losing, but that she understood that there were some things more precious to her. That was Li Lei—her one true love.

Xia Moyan was overcome with anger. "Good… very good… I hope you will never live to regret this."

She responded softly, "I won't."

Xia Moyan got up and walked towards the door.

Little Shaohui, who was watching anxiously from the side, knew that his uncle was truly angry. Oh no… what was he to do? Mummy was really cool to reject his arrogant uncle like that…

Little Shaohui gave a silent thumbs up to his mother.

While he was still wondering how to rectify the situation, he saw his uncle return from outside the room and regard his mother with a dark expression. "Remember to look for me if you are in danger again in the future."

Xia Ling was mildly taken aback before laughing. "Okay, brother."

She understood the depth of her brother's love for her. How could he bear to leave her in the lurch when she was in danger?

Xia Moyan gave a cold huff and grabbed Shaohui on his way out again. "Don't disturb your mother from her rest." Xia Ling's body was weak and she needed to recuperate.

The pair of them left the room.

The ward quietened down and the natural fruit fragrance became more apparent.

Xia Ling lay on the bed staring at the little angel prints on the ceiling in a daze, recounting the happenings over the past few days. She hadn't thought that she would meet Li Feng and Old Master Li on the ship. After all that animosity, how were they to act the next time they came face-to-face?

She was going to be together with Li Lei and they would become her relatives.

This was truly a complicated and messy situation.

A rustle from outside the window broke through her thoughts. "Who's there?" She asked in full alert.

There was the rustling of leaves outside the window again before someone jumped through it. It was an agile young man with the toned limbs of a lion. His tan skin seemed to shine under the sunlight that came through the blinds. He was so attractive that she could hardly tear her eyes away.

"Li Lei." She called out to him.

Li Lei walked over to the bed and lowered his gaze to look her over. "Xiao Ling, the doctor said that the surgery was a great success and you'll recover fully after a good rest. How do you feel?"

She nodded and asked, "Why did you enter through the window?"

Li Lei gave a bitter smile. "Your brother is barring me from entering the room."

Xia Ling returned his grimace. Just how much did her brother hate Li Lei?

She said softly, "I just had a quarrel with my brother. He wants me to leave you."

"And you rejected him?" Even though he had an inkling of the conclusion from her words, Li Lei was still nervous to hear the answer to his question.

Xia Ling smiled. "I told you that you are not to have another wife."

"Hmm?"

"So…" She continued. "I'll take responsibility for you."

Li Lei blinked blankly as the words sunk in. Then he broke into a huge smile. "Xiao Ling…" He said elatedly. "Are you saying that you'll be my wife?"

She cocked her head to the side. "What do you think?"

Before she finished her question, Li Lei had already pulled her into his arms. "That's awesome! I have a wife now… I have a wife now!" He was overjoyed and kept kissing her cheeks.

Her wound hurt under his tight bear hug, but the pain she felt made everything feel real. It was truly the best feeling in the world to be together with this man. Why didn't she ever feel like marrying him before? To love one another and grow old together, and to seal that promise in marriage.

They embraced for a while longer.

Li Lei thought that he was dreaming. "Pinch me once."

Xia Ling gave him a hard pinch.

Li Lei yelped in pain. "Did you really have to pinch so hard?"

Xia Ling rolled her eyes. "Didn't you tell me to pinch you? Do you still think you're dreaming now that I've agreed to marry you? Do you want me to pinch you awake from this wondrous dream?"

"No, don't!" Li Lei hurriedly exclaimed. "Let's go to register our marriage once we go back. We need to invite all of our friends and relatives! We need to tell the world that we are getting married!"

Xia Ling didn't nod this time. "What are we going to do with your grandfather, your brother, and my brother?"

Their families were all against them being together. Xia Ling didn't want to go through with a wedding without their blessing.

Li Lei calmed down and thought about her question, before saying, "Your brother broke four of my brother's ribs to help you get back at him."

Xia Ling didn't expect Xia Moyan to be so vicious. She said, "Sorry, my brother just loves me too much. He…" She wanted to say something to apologize on Xia Moyan's behalf as his actions weren't particularly friendly towards people that were about to become relatives.

But she couldn't think of a reason to apologize.

Perhaps subconsciously, she thought that her brother had done the right thing.

It was instead Li Lei who consoled her. "I know what kind of person my brother is. He should have a taste of his own medicine; otherwise, he will get too out of hand. However…"

He frowned.

"What is it?" Xia Ling asked.

Li Lei said, "Your brother hit my brother and locked him up in a cage. But somehow my brother managed to escape. We're on open waters… I have no idea where he managed to escape to." Li Lei had mixed feelings about this. Should he be angry because the criminal had run away? Or should he be happy because his brother had managed to escape?

After all, Li Feng was in a precarious position at the hands of the powerful Preceptor.

Xia Ling asked, "Then, what do we do now?"

"I've already sent men to look for him." Li Lei said. "There needs to be some closure between my brother and me." They had been at loggerheads their entire life. When Li Lei was alone that wasn't too much of an issue, but now he had Xia Ling and little Shaohui. He wouldn't allow anyone, not even his own brother, to harm them.

Li Lei had thought through the matter carefully. "After I've found my brother, I'll have a good chat with him. If he still plans to act like a lunatic, then I'll lock him up forever." With Li Feng's crimes, a life sentence was already letting him off easy. He should be killed a hundred times over.

But, he was still Li Lei's brother. Blood was thicker than water.

Li Lei could only bring himself to give him a life sentence.

But first, he had to capture him.