Chapter 117 - Vendettas and Vengeance (2)

Han Ru was in front of him, wearing a worried expression.

"You were answering any of my calls, so I came," Han Ru said.

"Hm," Long Jie replied, opening the door wider, letting him in.

"Is anything wrong? I was worried that you were sick. You have to go back home soon, and I wanted to see if you would like to spend the last few days you're here."

"Wouldn't you be going back to Shanghai, too?"

"Not until the fall," replied Han Ru.

"I see," Long Jie said.

Han Ru remained quiet. "Listen, Long Jie; there's been something I wanted to tell you."

Long Jie glanced at him, wondering what he'd say.

"I'm not good at making friends. Heck, I scare people away; I act like an arrogant jerk. But, you were always there for me, knowing the circumstances at my home...about my mother."

"On how she hits you?" Long Jie replied.

Han Ru nodded. "I want you to depend on me as a friend... like a brother. I want to be there for you like you have been for me."

Indeed, Long Jie met Han Ru in the same place they were in, one year before. He was bloodied and bruised, drenched from the rain in the dark. Han Ru sat in front of a nearby coffee shop, a place Long Jie would buy fresh loaves of bread.

The boy looked like his age, and Long Jie asked about his family. Han Ru responded that he felt like he didn't have one because they only wanted to use him as a puppet鈥攆or his money.

Worried about his health and safety for a young boy, Long Jie offered to take him to the townhouse he stayed in. That night they played games and talked about their hobbies and school life, swapping tales about what they've seen.

Since they first met, their friendship matured.

Han Ru was a troubled kid that needed guidance, like his father mentioned. Long Jie was determined to be that guidance going forward; even if Han Ru planned to do something against him, he would help him change.

When he married Song Luli, he told her of his past with Han Ru. She offered to be a part of it, to be his friend, trying to help Han Ru change, too. Long Jie was against it; he didn't want her near him, but it was their plan all along. Song Luli insisted that she would spend time with Han Ru, to confide in him, to be his friend. It was a risk, but they were willing to take it.

...

Present Day:

Long Jie woke up three hours after he blacked out in a hospital, not knowing what happened after he lept into Song Luli's arms, relieved that she had found him; that they had found each other.

Song Luli was holding his hand tightly. Long Jie only felt a bit dazed and parched; he sat up, wearing a hospital gown.

"Are you okay?" Song Luli questioned, her eyes widening.

"...Thirsty," he replied.

Song Luli gave him water, and he downed it, and then he downed another.

Long Jie stretched his arms after, trying to loosen the aches in his arms and shoulders. "Is it bad to say that I had a good nap?" he said to Song Luli with a teasing smile.

Song Luli hit him on the shoulder, pouting. She then swiftly embraced him. "You worried me," she said, clinging onto him.

Long Jie wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she replied, her eyes watering. "It's my fault."

Long Jie rolled his eyes. "You didn't know. I didn't know that he would try something. The question is, are you all right?"

Song Luli lowered her gaze. "I spoke with him..." she said distantly. "He doesn't want to change. He's hell-bent on you, on us."

"He blames us for what happened to his real father. He thinks we've robbed his childhood, his happiness. He was a troubled child, used a pawn, forcing him to uphold his title with no genuine people to support him," Long Jie replied.

"But you were there for him," Song Luli said.

"I don't think I was enough. Especially when he saw me with my parents, happy, and when he saw me with you," he said, meeting her eyes directly.

Song Luli sighed. She hugged him tighter. "I love you," she reminded him.

Long Jie caressed her hair. "I love you, too," he said to her, kissing her gently on the mouth.

He heard someone enter the room. Long Jie broke the kiss, glancing up. His mother came, getting in between him and Song Luli to hug him. She squeezed him so hard that he could have hardly breathed.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I was only sleeping," he said.

"You could have died," Xue Guangli said.

Long Jie nodded. "True," he said.

After her, Long Huojin, Su Xiang, and the others swarmed in.

"Miss Mao was arrested for attempted murder," Xun Zichen informed him. "We found her locked inside the room you escaped from."

"I see," Long Jie replied.

"Can you tell us as to why Miss Mao tried to kill you?" Xun Zichen pressed.

"Ah, yes," Long Jie replied. "Well, um. She took me into a room, telling me that it was Long Group who destroyed her family when we set them up for bankruptcy. You see...we don't have the best reputation," Long Jie hated to admit.

"Hm," Xun Zichen said, trying not to chuckle. "I've noticed that."

"But she secretly worked for Han Ru, and within my company. That explains why I had been having issues losing investments and projects," Long Jie added.

"Who isn't after you?" Xun Zichen asked.

"That's a good question," Long Jie replied.

Su Xiang then started to check up on Long Jie. She then told him that he was ready to home after she finished.

Song Luli drove him home while holding his hand.

"I've confronted Han Ru so he will make another move soon, and he has Xun on his side," Song Luli said worryingly.

Long Jie sighed. "Then, I have to gather my forces."

"What forces?" Song Luli questioned curiously.

Long Jie pointed at his chest, at his wife's arm.

"The Dragon society?" she asked him.

"Hm," he replied.

"I didn't think that you'd ever do it," she continued.

"The dragon has slept for too long," he replied.