Chapter 12 – Showdown

Editor – Chubby Dragon
Proofreader – Happy Bubbles

Ever since he successfully breathed in the air outside the walls of his asylum, Long Junhao reckoned that the outside was much better than the inside. He would try to enjoy this fresh air every other day and after he was discovered for the 11th time, the initially amiable security guard made Long Junhao kneel down. He stared at Long Junhao with a pair of scary panda eyes and tears streaming down as he bawled, “Young Master, please. Let. Us. Off. Just let us have some peace of mind and catch up on some sleep!”

“…” Long Junhao lifted the reel of rope on his shoulder and pointed at himself. “I’m not sleeping either.”

The security guard’s sobs intensified. “Yes, you try this every few days but we have to stand guard every other day!” You are actually trying to get back at us, right? It’s definitely revenge, right?!

Long Junhao scrutinized the haggardness of this person beneath the dim light and asked skeptically, “Don’t you sleep during the day?”

The pitiful security guard glanced at him and choked up. “I have the elderly and the young in my family. All of them are depending on me…”

“So?”

“So I am working both during the day and at night… The wages here are high…”

“…” Long Junhao stared at him as though he was studying an extraterrestrial. “Aren’t you afraid of dying from exhaustion?”

The security guard wiped away his tears, using the sleeve of his shirt. “I wasn’t afraid in the past.”

Long Junhao raised an eyebrow while waiting for the punchline.

With eyes brimming with tears, the security guard said, “Now that you have suddenly started sleepwalking…”

“…” Long Junhao turned to leave and added in a lackadaisical manner, “Then, you should die of exhaustion.”

“Don’t…” The security guard continued crying. “Could you please show mercy and not sleepwalk during my shift? You can do so any other time as you please.”  

Long Junhao turned a deaf ear and walked away. He quickly returned to the main entrance and floated past the calm gaze of the duty nurses and back to his room.

A young nurse chuckled. “It turns out the prince is really interested in rock-climbing.”

Another nurse nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, I don’t even understand how that three meter artificial hill can have such a great appeal.”

“Indeed.”

The guards that followed behind went crazy when they heard this. What artificial hill? He is climbing the asylum walls, okay? How can you all think he has been climbing the artificial hill all this time?! No way, right? Dr. Gu can’t be this biased, can he?                          

Naturally, Gu Chen wasn’t being biased. That day, he spoke to the nurses and told them to just perform their jobs properly. After work, he drove to the security office and imparted some life lessons to the guards. Such as asking them whether they knew why flowers were red. “Don’t know why? Alright, I will personally give all of you the answer the day Long Junhao successfully escapes due to one of your carelessness. I wouldn’t just tell you all, I will tell it to all your families as well. What do you all think of this suggestion?”  

All the guards wept in silence. All of them had been working alongside Li Xuan right when the asylum was built. Naturally, they understood Gu Chen’s status and could only wipe away their tears and praise this suggestion. Gu Chen patted their shoulders and returned home with a smile on his face. And thus, the arduous life of these guards began.

Only so much anger and rancor could be accumulated before everything blew up. Therefore, on this day, Gu Chen was immediately surrounded by a blockade when he arrived at the institution. All these guards hugged his thighs and cried, “Please, let us off Dr. Gu!” “If this goes on, we will really be heading to meet our ancestors and military instructors down below!”

Gu Chen felt rather sorry for these beings at his feet. “I thought you guys would be stronger than most other security guards…”

Everyone cried harder, “You should know that we have already done very well enduring up to this point. Having to deal with this young master on top of those people that try to come in from time to time. Even if we have mercenary backgrounds, we also can’t stand such torment!”

Gu Chen stopped what he was doing and lowered his head. “Have there been many people coming these few days?”

“Lots,” The guards spoke through muffled whimpers, “During the day and even at night. Batches one after the other… That’s why… It’s not that we don’t want to attend to that young master but we really can’t handle it. Please, just think of a way…”

Gu Chen thought about it and nodded mercifully. “Alright.”

Everyone shed tears of gratitude and dispersed happily. Gu Chen stood on the spot, watching them leave. He pondered in silence for a moment before heading in the director’s office.

The young master they were talking about was in a deep slumber, replenishing the energy he had spent last night. A group of nurses stood with warm breakfast by his side. They were waiting patiently for him to wake up on his own——Because no one dared to wake him up.

However, Long Junhao didn’t wake up naturally. He was awoken by the cries of a familiar female voice. He slowly opened his eyes. Xia Han was holding his hands and bawling, “My son, who was so vicious as to hurt your hands like this? Was it that Shu Wen who insists you take responsibility?”   

Long Junhao hadn’t fully woken up yet and his mind was hazy. “…Ah?”

“My son, don’t worry, Mommy will help you.” Xia Han grasped Long Junhao’s bandaged hand even tighter. “We won’t take responsibility. If he approaches you again, just tell him to have a miscarrage. Hmph!”  

Long Junhao who was still groggy, “…Oh.”

“That’s right.” Xia Han huffed. “I will never accept someone who dares to bully my son. Tell him I won’t accept such a daughter-in-law over my dead body! Don’t you agree, hubby?”

As always, Long Xi remained unperturbed and nodded his head in silence.

“What daughter-in-law? Are you talking about Gu Chen?” Long Junhao was finally slightly alert and sat up hurriedly. Seeing the two people in the room, he scrambled over excitedly. “Mom~Dad~You came~”  

Xia Han answered passionately, “My Son~I’m here~” 

Having shown enough affection, Long Junhao returned back to the topic. “Mom, I heard something about a daughter-in-law…”

Xia Han nodded. “I heard something about Gu Chen…”

Long Junhao nodded. “Mhm, I said that.”

Surprisingly, Long Xi spoke up on his own accord, “So, you reckon both of these two are equal?”

Long Junhao looked up with an extremely innocent expression. “…Huh?”

Long Xi met his gaze calmly. Long Junhao shuddered. He actually wouldn’t be too sure of his own stance regarding Gu Chen at the moment. But after dreaming about the general, he now certainly didn’t mistake Gu Chen as that person. The person by his side now was Dr. Gu and not General Gu. He knew this fact and also knew that the one he liked was the general. However, when Long Xi stared at him this way, Long Junhao couldn’t help feeling guilty even though he didn’t exactly know why.

After a few seconds of silence, Xia Han’s voice filled the air again, “This doctor is rather alright. At least he’s much better than that Shu Wen person… Mmhm, when Shu Wen’s child is born, we can let Dr. Gu look after the child.”

Long Junhao’s lips twitched. He felt this cheap mother should also come and stay in the asylum for a few days. He glanced at Long Xi. That person continued to show a wooden expression and didn’t react one bit. However, that scrutinizing gaze was gone now.

Xia Han had enquired with the doctors and nurses about Long Junhao’s condition many times. These people had advised that following along with the patient’s topics would delight them. She was observing him secretly and wasn’t able to see any happiness on her son’s face. Thus, she felt there was a need to try harder. “If you want, you can take both of them as your wife…”

Long Junhao’s lips were on the verge of spasming. “Uh, let’s change the topic…”

“Oh, very well.” Xia Han nodded in agreement. Her attention turned to Long Junhao’s hand and her eyes reddened. “My son, your hands…”

Long Junhao shifted his gaze down and realized he had forgotten to remove the bandages wrapped around his hands before going to sleep last night. After the first time he suffered a rope burn, he started to wisely bandage his hands to protect them each time he tried to escape.

Xia Han didn’t know that the skin beneath the bandages were perfectly unharmed. Dabbing at her tears, she asked, “Son, tell Mommy who did this to you. Mommy will make him pay.”

Long Junhao wanted to tell her that he was alright but hesitated when he saw the tears in her eyes. His mind went to work before he eyed the floor and muttered, “No one, it’s just blistered from when I tried to climb the wall…”

“Climb the wall?” Xia Han was shocked. “Why?”

Long Junhao sniffled and his shoulders slumped. “I wanted to go out… You don’t want to bring me out… So, I can only rely on myself to get out…”

Xia Han’s waterworks ensued and she threw herself forward. Only when Long Xi placed a hand on her shoulder did she forcefully restrain her impulse to bring her son home.

Long Junhao waited and upon discovering  there wasn’t any progress, he knew this wasn’t enough. He then continued on miserably, “I have clearly recovered and can take care of myself… I just have a home I can’t return to. Therefore, I can only choose to escape and lead a vagrant life… bitter and lonely…”

Xia Han’s crying intensified. Long Junhao pushed his luck even further. He glanced at Xia Han with damp eyes and a choked up voice, “Dad, Mom. Your son isn’t filial. I can’t be by your sides… You two must take care of your health in the future…”

Xia Han couldn’t take it anymore. She looked up and said sternly, “Hubby, let’s bring our son home. Let’s bring him home even if he isn’t completely recovered. Okay? I’m begging you, okay?!”               

Long Junhao eyed Long Xi who carefully met his gaze. Long Xi calmly groaned before heading out of the room.

With the bloody truth laid out in front of him, Long Junhao’s eyebrows twitched. “What are you going to get this time?”

Long Xi turned back with the same expressionless gaze.

Long Junhao became livid. He felt he wouldn’t be able to overcome this demon no matter how much he studied. In the end, the one who would be disgraced and shamed would be himself!

“Alright, then…” He spoke after a prolonged silence and stared at them. “Actually, I’m not from this world, neither am I your son…”

Xia Han’s crying suddenly ceased. Long Xi was silent for a moment and came back slowly.

Long Junhao rubbed his face and went for broke. “I am a prince. I was hurt and became a soul. By coincidence, I entered this body. That is the reason why I don’t recognize you two. This was the reason why I can’t recognize all these new technologies. This is the reason why you all don’t believe me when I say I am not sick!”

Xia Han felt shocked. Long Xi slowly held her hand.

Long Junhao took a deep breath. “I retain the memories from young till my adulthood. I remember everything clearly. If you all don’t believe me, I can talk about it in detail…”

It became so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard. Xia Han broke into a cry shortly after and Long Xi pulled her up and out of the room.

“…” Long Junhao became furious. “Stop right there and return at once. What your prince is saying is true!”

The two continued walking.

“It’s true, it’s true! AHHHH!”