Chapter 54 – Lets Meet Up

Jian Mei seemed a bit skeptical, “Are you sure you’re better?”

Lu Xingwang replied, “If I weren’t better, why would I stop taking the medicine?”

“…”

That made sense.

Jian Mei’s young mind couldn’t quite comprehend it, and he couldn’t think of a reason why DaZhuang ge wouldn’t continue taking the medicine, especially considering that Big Brother Lu wasn’t the type to shy away from hardship.

“That’s great,” Jian Mei told him, “Congratulations. I’ll work hard too.”

Lu Xingwang’s voice carried a hint of seriousness, “You will get better.”

Even though he wasn’t Jian Mei’s attending doctor and didn’t fully understand the nature of Jian Mei’s illness, he could confidently utter these words, and that seemed to boost Jian Mei’s confidence.

Jian Mei smiled softly and agreed, “Yes!”

Lu Xingwang was about to leave, and he told Jian Mei, “I might have to go on a trip to a distant place. The signal there may not be very good. If I don’t reply promptly these days, don’t worry.”

For some reason, although Lu Xingwang had been on business trips before, Jian Mei felt unusually nervous now.

He had some inexplicable worry, “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“It’s okay,” Lu Xingwang said. He walked to the window of his bedroom. The lights outside were bright, but the sky was misty. The palace was enormous, like a monstrous beast, and it could be frightening at times.

Jian Mei spoke softly, “I’ll wait for your return.”

Lu Xingwang replied softly. He didn’t know how long he had left to live, but at this moment, he suddenly felt the fear of what would happen if he didn’t return. He wasn’t afraid of death, but now he had something to lose. If he didn’t come back, what would happen to his Jian Mei? Even after all this time, he hadn’t revealed his name to the other. He called out, “Jian Mei.”

Jian Mei responded gently, “Yes, what’s wrong?”

“Wait for me. I want to tell you something when I come back,” Lu Xingwang leaned against the window sill. He knew this decision was quite unconventional, but he didn’t regret it. “Do you want to hear it?”

Jian Mei didn’t hesitate for a moment, “I want to hear it.”

Lu Xingwang’s eyes revealed a faint smile. His Highness usually carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, but right now, he finally relaxed briefly. “Are you not going to ask me what it is about?”

“I want to hear everything about you,” Jian Mei’s voice was soft, but in the silence of the night, it felt like a warmth embracing his heart. “So, there’s no need to ask.”

Lu Xingwang lowered his gaze, concealing the thoughts in his eyes. “Okay.”

He was about to embark on his journey. When a warship initially sets sail, it needs to block all communication. Lu Xingwang and Jian Mei wouldn’t be able to talk to each other for a few days. He had always been used to traveling alone and had never felt this attached. In the past, when he saw someone clingy and unwilling to hang up, he thought it was melodramatic. Now he was in that position.

But His Highness was always rational. He spoke up, “You can hang up. Get some sleep.”

Jian Mei responded, “Okay.”

Just as Lu Xingwang was about to end the call, he heard Jian Mei’s soft voice from the other end, “I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Lu Xingwang’s movements paused, and the deep color in his ink-black eyes deepened. He didn’t say much in the end and hung up the communication.

After ending the call, Jian Mei was in high spirits, thinking about the secret that DaZhuang ge would tell him upon his return. While he was still feeling joyful, the door to the ward was pushed open from the outside, and it was his mother’s voice, somewhat teasing, “What’s making you so happy?”

Jian Mei suppressed a smile and felt a bit embarrassed, “Nothing.”

Jian Mei sat up from the bed, pleasantly surprised, and looked at them, “Xiao Pang, how did you come here?”

“Isn’t it the holidays now?” Xiao Pang had contacted Jian Mei’s parents before coming, knowing that he could visit. He said, “Final exams are in two weeks, so we came to give you some class notes. If you have free time, you can take a look.”

Cai Zhenzhen looked at Xiao Pang disdainfully, “His handwriting is so ugly, it’s practically calligraphy. You’ll probably find his class notes more challenging than studying Confucianism literature. You can just borrow mine to read.”

Xiao Pang protested, “My handwriting isn’t that bad, is it?”

Cai Zhenzhen snorted and ignored him.

Jian Mei felt happy and content being surrounded by his classmates. When he was sick in the past, his room was usually cold and empty. At that time, he lived in a single room, and most of the time, he could only sit on the bed reading books, watching cartoons, or just daydreaming. Later, the doctor thought it wasn’t good for his personality, so he moved him to a shared room.

There, he met other children who were also suffering from illnesses, and he made friends with them. This made Jian Mei feel somewhat happy. However, he soon experienced the downside: some children passed away, while others who left the hospital never kept in touch. Jian Mei had to say goodbye to some, and he experienced more of life’s joys and sorrows, gains and losses. If we trace it back, he wasn’t happy back then, but now it was different.

Jian Mei opened the class notes and saw neat handwriting inside. It seemed very diligently prepared, not just regular class notes but knowledge points organized specifically for the person who missed the class. Moreover, to make sure he didn’t find it dull, there were some personal comments and annotations included.

Jian Mei smiled gently.

Cai Zhenzhen, feeling oddly nervous, asked with a touch of arrogance, “What’s so funny about my handwriting?”

Jian Mei shook his head, “It’s not.”

Cai Zhenzhen let out a sigh of relief deep inside and crossed her arms, saying, “Of course No one has ever called my handwriting ugly.”

Jian Mei looked at her, his eyes filled with the image of a young girl. He took the exercise book and said softly, “Thank you, Zhenzhen. I will study this diligently. You’ve been a great help.”

Such a sincere thank you made the young girl blush.

Xiao Pang saw through it all and chuckled, “Meimei, don’t just thank Zhenzhen, our class monitor also brought you this exercise book, right?”

Meng Ting was not good at stealing the limelight, and she was hesitating about how to approach this situation. Now that she was named, she quickly approached and handed the exercise book to Jian Mei, saying, “Here you go, it’s these exercises. The questions aren’t very difficult, but they’re a bit tricky. You can look at them casually when you have the time while recovering. Don’t let it delay your treatment.”

Jian Mei was grateful and sincerely thanked her, “Thank you, Class Monitor.”

Xiao Pang chimed in, “Meimei, how will you thank us?”

Cai Zhenzhen glared at him, “If anyone should be thanked, it’s us. What’s it to you?”

Xiao Pang said, “Oh, my words were wrong. I’m emotionally concerned about Meimei.”

Jian Mei smiled and said, “Once I’m better, I’ll treat you all to a meal.”

The others accepted the invitation, teasing each other and discussing various topics. They talked about the school’s new restaurant, which seemed pretty good, and their plans for the upcoming winter break. The single-patient ward was now lively and warm, and from the beginning, the smile never left Jian Mei’s face. Time was quiet, yet filled with the warmth of fireworks, and everyone was there, with no one leaving.

…

Interstellar Space

The spaceship entered the airspace from Stan Star, and the passage of time changed. They had spent only a few days on the warship, but on the planet, half a month had already passed. At this point, they hadn’t yet entered the combat zone for commanding troops. Soldiers, during their training, would start engaging in casual conversations. Some missed their families back home, while others longed for the cafeteria’s food. Drinking tasteless nutritional liquid on the warship was quite uninspiring.

Lu Xingwang does not usually participate in such idle chatter. At this time, he would usually find a place and open the interstellar network to read information about warships and mechs to pass the time.

Zuo Qingshan came over and said, “We had a brief skirmish with the enemy a couple of days ago. The losses were not significant, but we did sacrifice a few soldiers. Their combat mechs are indeed fierce. This time, they came prepared.”

In front of Lu Xingwang were several enlarged information screens, displaying intricate code and complex images. Zuo Qingshan could hardly make sense of it with just a glance, but the memory genius was efficiently processing and controlling everything. It’s strange that even with the enemy’s strong capabilities and restlessness among the military personnel, having Lu Xingwang here was like having a calm and unwavering anchor.

Zuo Qingshan said, “We’re about to enter the supply station, and you can unlock the signal source. If you have any communication with the ground, you can let them know you’re safe.”

Lu Xingwang paused for a moment and said, “Transmit the current situation back to the control tower.”

Zuo Qingshan reminded him, “I meant contact someone personally , you know.”

Lu Xingwang gave him a faint glance, and Zuo Qingshan made a playful face and left. His words were there, but whether to make contact or not was the His highness decision.

…

Once Zuo Qingshan left, the seemingly indifferent His Highness stopped his actions.

After the signal was unblocked, he opened the information terminal and unsurprisingly received a large number of messages. Even though he had informed Jian Mei about his business trip and the possibility of no signal, Jian Mei continued to share his daily life without a break. He sent many photos of his life and mentioned that his health had improved significantly and he should be able to leave the hospital soon.

Lu Xingwang read through each message and replied, “That’s good. Please cooperate with your treatment.”

As long as he didn’t take the medicine, Jian Mei’s condition shouldn’t worsen, so he didn’t need to worry. Shortly after sending the message, Jian Mei responded with some excitement, “Is your business trip over?”

Lu Xingwang told him, “Not yet, I found some free time to send this.”

Jian Mei seemed a bit disappointed, “Okay.”

Lu Xingwang noticed his lowered mood but wasn’t sure what to say, so he fell into a brief silence.

Jian Mei asked, “How long will it take for you to come back?”

This was a good question, but Lu Xingwang didn’t know the answer.

He looked around and saw some soldiers communicating with their loved ones. Some even shed tears due to homesickness. The past few days of combat had claimed lives, making the grim reality of war more apparent to these people and prompting them to confront its brutality directly.

Lu Xingwang stood up and walked to the window of the warship. He initiated a brief communication with Jian Mei and replied, “I’m not quite sure.”

Jian Mei asked in confusion, “Huh?”

“So, you…” Jian Mei tentatively inquired, “Will there be several more days without contact later?”

Lu Xingwang replied, “Yes.”

Jian Mei felt sad, but he didn’t want to show it. He could only say softly, “Okay.”

Lu Xingwang’s mood was also affected by him and became somewhat somber.

In the midst of this impasse, Jian Mei added quietly, “I’ll be waiting for your return.”

…

This softly spoken sentence seemed to ripple through the hearts of the people, including the new recruits who were silently yearning for their families nearby. Lu Xingwang looked out of the window. He didn’t know how long he would live. In the quiet night, listening to that voice on the other end, he felt an unexpected desire. From childhood to adulthood, he had few desires because everything was driven by responsibility – the responsibility of being a prince, the responsibility of being a son. But this time, he harbored a genuine, personal desire from the depths of his heart.

He mentioned a name, “Jian Mei.”

Jian Mei responded softly, “Yes?”

“When I return from this business trip,” Lu Xingwang said, “let’s meet.”

…

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

Jian Mei’s initially calm heart suddenly quickened. He tried to compose himself and asked cautiously, “But we’re so far apart.”

Lu Xingwang replied, “Don’tworry about it; leave it to me.”

A smile appeared on Jian Mei’s face involuntarily. “Really?”

Lu Xingwang raised an eyebrow. “Do you not believe me?”

“I believe you,” Jian Mei answered without hesitation. His voice was also unintentionally softer but very resolute. “Then I’ll wait for you.”

Lu Xingwang said, “It’s a promise.”

Clearly delighted, Jian Mei replied with great solemnity, “A promise.”

Translator’s Note-Guys don’t forget to support and comment your views(^-^)