Chapter 15 – Assassination

Editor: Ning Ning

Proofreader: Bubbles

Long Junhao watched the lady in front of him. From every single angle, she seemed like the most ordinary of housewives as seen on TV. Clear signs of age in the form of wrinkles could be seen on her face and she had neither the elegance nor grandeur that both his cheap mother and Shu Wen’s mother had. She seemed to be from an ordinary family but the expenses for the institution were very high. On closer inspection, it looked as though this was the first time she was here and just found out that her son was a mental patient. Long Junhao knew that Chu Jian was already here when the institution was established. Didn’t she find it strange that her own son hadn’t returned home for two years? 

Long Junhao wondered about all of these facts. He turned towards Gu Chen, wanting to clear his doubts when he realized Gu Chen staring further away. Long Junhao looked up and saw the man who was a further ten meters back.

That man’s dressing was very casual and although he was standing still, he seemed to have a dangerous vibe.

“Who is he?” Long Junhao couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t know,” Gu Chen gave his honest reply as he stopped staring at this situation. At this moment, Li Xuan rushed over and introduced himself before getting some doctors and nurses to bring Chu Jian over.  

Chu Jian was currently using all his efforts to help deliver the child. His fullest attention was on Shu Wen. The institution staff were all invisible to him and they were helpless in getting this young master to stop. A certain prince had abundant experience in dealing with these creatures. When he saw the bunch of people glance at him, Long Junhao strolled over casually and glanced down at his wife. “Shu Wen.” 

“I’m here, husband. I’m here.” Comrade Shu Wen whispered like an obedient daughter-in-law.

“Mhmm, very good.” Long Junhao nodded with satisfaction before continuing casually, “You are only two months pregnant and can’t give birth. Understand?”

“Yes…” Shu Wen gazed bashfully. “Then…this is…”

“It’s just fetal gas. You’ll be fine after taking some medicine.” Long Junhao then turned to Chu Jian. “It was all a false alarm. Sorry to have troubled Physician Chu for nothing.”

Miracle Doctor Chu finally put aside his medical ethics and replied calmly, “It’s no bother. I shall take my leave then.”

Resolving this situation with a few words made everyone want to hug Long Junhao’s thighs and cry. Your Highness, you are the best! Shu Wen’s innocent eyes gazed adoringly at his husband. Feebly, he muttered, “Husband, I…”

Long Junhao twitched his lips. “You, return to your room and look after your fetus properly.” When he was done, Long Junhao got the bunch to drag Shu Wen away.

Since there was no baby to deliver, Physician Chu was led away by the entourage that was waiting for him.

The lady kept staring at Chu Jian’s back with reddened eyes. His back looked totally different from her son’s. But when the person turned around, she cried out “Ahh” in disbelief. With trembling lips and an expression full of grief, she muttered, “No…no, this isn’t Xiao Jian…”

She turned to the young man supporting her and realized that this person was gazing at her calmly. The lady froze and slowly turned her head back before continuing to stare blankly ahead for quite some time.

Li Xuan watched from the side before speaking to the lady cordially, “Madam, he is indeed Chu Jian. He has become this way due to some things that happened in the past. I will slowly explain his condition in detail.” He made an ‘after you’ gesture before asking Chu Jian who was following behind, “This is your mother. Do you have any impression of her?”

Chu Jian glanced at him, then at the lady. He momentarily paused, frowned for a long time, then buried his face in his hands. “I don’t have a mother… They said I’m dead, I can’t return without accomplishing my mission… I don’t have…”

“Alright, alright, you don’t.” Li Xuan interrupted and got him to calm down. He turned around and led the way for the group. When they all turned, they saw the man that was about 10 meters away—The man who had been staring at Chu Jian from the same spot all this time.

“Xiao Yi!” The lady was very delighted to see him and subconsciously wanted to push the young man supporting her away. However, she suppressed the urge and asked excitedly, “Why have you come?”

That young man supporting her was startled by the sudden appearance of the person. However, the hands holding on to the lady never released their grip.

The man who was alone continued with a smile, “Originally, I was going to see you. However, I saw you heading out so I followed you here,” he said before scrutinizing the other young person and smiled. “You are?”

The young man with the lady smiled politely. “I am Chu Jian’s younger cousin.”

The other man nodded as if he understood. “Oh, cousin, I…” He paused. At that moment, Chu Jian also came over and—— walked past him without a single glance. The man standing there held his breath. He clenched the fists at his sides tightly, as if trying his utmost to stay in control. His breathing returned to normal only after Chu Jian had completely passed him. In the end, he didn’t say anything and followed after Li Xuan. He wanted to know about Chu Jian’s current circumstances as well.

Long Junhao was watching the entire situation unfold. He shot a puzzled glance at Gu Chen. “What exactly is going on?”

Gu Chen squinted at the group as they left. He stretched out his hand and rubbed Long Junhao’s head before pulling him along as they headed back to the institution. “I only roughly know a bit of the overall situation. The director understands the situation best. You can ask him if you have the time.”

Long Junhao muttered an “oh” and followed after before suddenly halting. “Eh! Wait a moment. Didn’t you forget something?”

Gu Chen acted dumb. “What did I forget?”

“For example, your act of adultery with Xiu Cong.” Long Junhao narrowed his eyes at him. “Why do I feel that there is something going on between the two of you? Huh?”  

Gu Chen stared at him for quite a while. “Are you very bothered?”

Long Junhao seemed uneasy and didn’t know how to answer. In the end, he swatted Gu Chen’s hand aside with a “hmph” and returned back to his own room.

Gu Chen chuckled and went over to hug Long Junhao from behind. “Then, I will tell you about it when you aren’t bothered.”

Long Junhao was immediately annoyed. Gu Chen was already prepared and had tightened his embrace. He dragged Long Junhao in and plopped him onto a chair. “Alright, be good. I’ll head out for awhile. Keep the door locked and don’t open it unless it’s me.”

Long Junhao grimaced. “And why should I do that?”

Gu Chen stroked his chin and pondered. “Because I said so. Any objections?”

Long Junhao fumed. “Yes!”

Gu Chen had a strange look on his face. “Are you no longer infatuated?” He had clearly portrayed himself in the image of this person’s fabled ‘general’ yet strangely, this person before him wasn’t drooling. Was the sky going to fall?

“You dare accuse Your Prince of being infatuated?!”               

“Cough.” Gu Chen toned down slightly. “I just wonder why you aren’t treating me as the general this time.”

Long Junhao scoffed. “You should thank that strange dream. I can now differentiate you two very clearly. You are Gu Chen, great doctor Gu.”

“Oh.” Gu Chen turned to leave. He suddenly inclined his head back and inquired, “Is it because I don’t like that brown and white pussycat?”

“…” Long Junhao’s lips twitched. “Your Prince orders you to scram.”

“Remember not to open the door for anyone besides me.”

Long Junhao waved him off impatiently. “Got it, got it.”

Gu Chen took one final look at him before heading outside. Long Junhao bit his fingers while he was seated on the chair, pondering. Right now, he felt that he should hurry and research explosives in order to escape. He remembered reading something about ‘dynamite’ which was rather easy to manufacture. Thus, he settled on that.

He wanted to go search for materials but as he was about to step through the door, he halted. He wished to leave his room but his body wouldn’t move. Getting a nurse to bring him a book would be fine, right? Having decided that, he opened the door and peeked out to scan the hallway.

“You…hey.”

Long Junhao turned and saw the young man with a peaked cap that had been accompanying the lady. Chu Jian’s younger cousin walked over and said politely, “I’m lost.”

“Oh.” Long Junhao casually pointed at the end of the walkway. “Just go on straight and take a left. You will probably see Chu Jian’s yard…” Long Junhao found it strange as he gave directions. The courtyard he was at was rather isolated. This person wouldn’t have randomly ended up here even if he was lost. 

Long Junhao couldn’t help frowning but before he could speak again, a sudden force pulled him over. A familiar scent hit him. It was the same scent he smelled in all the embraces he had been in… He knew it was Gu Chen but he still tensed up.

With his mouth agape, Long Junhao saw a hand inches away from his neck. As the hand moved forward, Gu Chen caught it.

From what Long Junhao observed in that rapid moment, the young man before him might’ve been trying to clutch his neck. But before he could ask, the two men were already exchanging blows. His mouth gaped even further. Only today had he realized his primary doctor, Gu Chen, was actually such an impressive being… but… Why?

Amidst all the quick movements, Gu Chen caught that person’s wrist once again, used his own legs to block a kick and evaded a blow towards his neck. Pinning that person’s hand to the wall, he ordered, “Haohao, go in.” 

The vibe he gave off was chilling. When Long Junhao snapped out of it, he had already returned back into his room and even shut the door tight.

“…” He raised his hand to rub his chin. Who…who could explain what just happened?

The confrontation between the two at the walkway hadn’t yet concluded. Gu Chen dragged the other person to a corner. The young man scoffed, then chuckled. “Why didn’t you just guess that my target is Chu Jian?”

“Indeed, that might be a possibility.” Gu Chen nodded.

The matter with Chu Jian was confidential and completely sealed by the top. Nobody should have known that he was here. As for Chu Jian’s mother… She had already reckoned Chu Jian had died four years ago and naturally didn’t know her son was alive. Therefore, there were only two possibilities for the present circumstances. One was that someone at the top had loose lips, divulging information and allowing her to come over. But if this was the case, they would have been informed beforehand. Furthermore, she should be accompanied by personnel from the top and not a so-called ‘younger cousin’ of Chu Jian’s.  

Thus, there was only the second possibility left——She had been seized.

The young man’s expression didn’t change at all. “Although seizing Chu Jian’s family was the easiest compared to the other three, you should know that not anybody can accomplish investigating confidential matters. Therefore, the possibility of my target being Chu Jian is greatest, isn’t it?”

Influential families would always have enemies but there were only two who would be targeted for revenge reasons not relating to their families. One was Long Junhao, and the other was Chu Jian.

Those guarding the institution were mercenaries hand picked by Li Xuan and one could only enter this facility via means of being a patient’s family. Therefore, such extreme methods wouldn’t have to be used if the target was Long Junhao. As such, the possibility that this person came to find Chu Jian was far greater.

“How bright of you,” Gu Chen said. “Li Xuan has already deployed most of the personnel to Chu Jian all thanks to you.”

“Oh,” That person continued to chuckle. “But I was still caught by you. Let me think, this place, Chu Jian’s courtyard and the director’s office basically form a triangle. And you have been wary of me from the beginning. Judging from the direction you came from… Mmhm, you actually wanted to block me off between the director’s office and here?”

“I guessed your route wrongly, but fortunately I caught up.” Gu Chen gripped the wrist even tighter and muttered, “What’s in your fingernails? A drug?”  

The man’s expression changed and his smile became even brighter. “As expected of someone even those at the general headquarters fear. You really are extraordinary. What’s going on, heard you were abandoning this life?”

“I’ve already given it up.” Gu Chen scrutinized the hand once more and asked cheekily, “Are you going to tell me the composition of this drug, or shall I cut off your fingers and study them myself?”

The youth froze. “Haven’t you quit?”

Gu Chen retorted, “Did I say I was going to kill you?”

That man froze again and stared back for some time before sighing. “Poison, it’s not life threatening in the short term.”

“So that means the antidote is at Headquarters.” Gu Chen’s face darkened. “Trying to kill when he isn’t crazy and wanting to capture him alive when he is insane. What are you all up to? Trying to hypnotize a mental patient?”

“Who knows.” the man shrugged. “He is, after all, a talent and it would be a pity to kill him. But doesn’t it seem like you care quite a bit about him?” He shot Gu Chen a provocative look. “If he really does recover one day… The first person he hates might just be you. Ah no, he might even hide from you…”

“You don’t have to remind me of that.” Gu Chen released his hand.

The guy stretched his wrist. “Is this the stance you’re adopting?”

Gu Chen glared at him coldly. The other shrugged. “Alright, I’ll inform them. Goodbye.” He turned to leave without looking back.

Gu Chen watched him leave. Then, his eyes shifted as he stared towards the walkway corner nearest to him. The one over there felt his casting gaze and came out slowly. It was the man whom the madam had referred to as Xiao Yi. “Don’t worry, I just followed over to take a look. When a friend’s mother was taken inexplicably, I would also have to try to ascertain the motives of the one who took her.” 

Gu Chen nodded understandingly and scrutinized him. This person had a very mild bearing now, unlike before. He was an expert at concealing his emotions.

“Mhmm. Since that’s cleared up, then that will be all.” He then started to walk away. He had barely taken two steps when he suddenly turned around and flashed a friendly smile as he extended a hand. “Right, let me introduce myself. I am Luo Yi, from now on, I’ll frequently appear here.”

“Gu Chen.” Gu Chen shook his hand and they casually made some small talk before he went back.

Long Junhao was currently curled up on his bed. He rushed over when Gu Chen entered the room. “Has that person left?”

“Mmhm.”

“Oh.” Long Junhao turned his head in all directions before coming back. “Has he really left?”

“Mmhm.”

“Oh.” Long Junhao continued to rotate his head and look around before asking, “Will you still be staying here?”

“Mmhm.”

“Oh.” Long Junhao was still rotating his head but his sleeve was being held by someone. Gu Chen chuckled and pinched his face. “What exactly do you want to say?”

Long Junhao remained silent for quite some time before he finally spoke, “Say… Does that person want to kill me?”

“…” Gu Chen nodded slowly. “You are rather clever…”

“Ah?” Long Junhao was momentarily startled. “Why? I never committed any heinous crimes! I’m law abiding, sincere, trustworthy, noble…”  

“Cough,” Gu Chen interrupted him. “It’s because of this.”

“And what is this supposed to mean?”

“Bad people kill good guys.”

“…” Long Junhao fell silent. That’s f*cking bullsh*t. Without further ado, he headed out. Gu Chen hurriedly followed after. “Where are you going?”  

“Your Prince wants to commit some heinous crimes!”

“…”