The Mad King's Heir

Li Jun’s pupils trembled, staring at Yu Wen’s skin that was covered in blackened scorch marks from shielding him. He took a step forward in a daze, and his fingers gently touched the medical capsule. He felt a sharp twist in his chest, the guilt gnawing at him.

The healing light was knitting the flesh that had been torn back together. Yu Wen was unconscious, but his expression twisted slightly from the pain as the healing light touched a fresh wound.

"You didn’t have to do this," he whispered, looking at Yu Wen’s pained face. Maybe it was an illusion, but when he spoke, Yu Wen’s brows relaxed slightly. "I guess now we are even," he continued. He called it being even, but he still felt horrible. No amount of logical reasoning he could come up with could ease the guilt in his heart.

In the end, he said, "Get better soon. Come see me when you have recovered. I will owe you a favor." After saying that, he glanced at him one more time before turning to leave. As soon as he turned his back on Yu Wen, the person who should have been lying still moved slightly. His fingers twitched, his eyelids struggling to open.

Li Jun stepped out, and just as the door slid shut, he was startled to find Lu Anu standing there. He yelped in surprise, and Lu Anu chuckled, finding it amusing. What was he getting startled for? He was acting like a teenager caught sneaking out of his little boyfriend’s bedroom through the window.

"Why are you so squeamish. You are acting like you are doing something bad," she teased, finding it hilarious.

Li Jun felt so embarrassed hearing the implication in her words. "Nothing, I just didn’t expect to see anyone outside," he said, his ears feeling hot.

"Let’s go get you something to eat," she said before leading the way. The way she was so happy, puzzled Li Jun. Shouldn’t she be enraged knowing that her precious son was injured because of him? This entire thing was because of him, so why wasn’t she blaming him?

Seeing his dejected look, Lu Anu asked, "Why the long face?"

A group of soldiers passed them. They stepped aside and saluted. Lu Anu dismissed them and looked at Li Jun, wondering what he was thinking. When they walked into the captain’s private lounge. There was already steaming food served on the table.

Yu Wen pulled a chair for her, and Lu Anu sat down. She felt it was lovely having two sons. They were both so considerate. When he sat down, she asked, "What’s bothering you?"

Li Jun didn’t know how to ask this, but if he didn’t say it, Lu Anu wouldn’t let it go. After gathering his courage, he asked, "You seem... not upset about this." He had seen Lu Anu get mad about Yu Wen before, and it wasn’t pleasant. When she was in raging mama bear mode, it was best you stayed clear of her path.

Lu Anu laughed and said, "Oh, you thought I would be throwing a fit because of this? He has been hurt way worse before. Apart from the pain, he will heal very soon. The last time he got hurt, he was at death’s door, and even when I yelled at him about it, he still ran into the fire like a superhero. I am used to it."

"But this time he got hurt because of me," he said, his voice softer than usual.

"I would rather he get hurt because of you than someone else," she murmured. Her voice was so low that Li Jun didn’t hear what she said.

He was about to ask when Lu Anu changed the subject, saying, "Hurry up and eat. We can’t have your grandpa thinking that I was starving you."

Li Jun, "..."

Starve where? If he stayed around her, he was sure to gain weight. She had this way of making him eat more. Lu Anu acted like she was fattening him up for something. Like a little piggy that needed to be fat enough for Christmas, and like an idiot, Li Jun kept eating.

Lu Anu smiled with a pleased look on her face. She was thinking Li Jun would make a handsome, plump groom. "What size ring do you wear?" She suddenly asked, and Li Jun choked on his food.

She realized she had blurted out what she was thinking, so she said, "Never mind, I was just looking at your chimera ring." She really had to rein in her excitement, otherwise she would scare him away.

Li Jun said, "Oh," as he glanced at the ring on his finger. It used to belong to his father and was the only thing of his that he always had with him. "It used to belong to my dad."

"I remember, it also belonged to your grandfather. He always wore it," she said with a slight smile.

***

Li Jun was cleared the next day, but Lu Anu wasn’t ready to part ways with him. She managed to convince him to stay for two more days. Li Jun agreed. It was just two more days anyway. It wasn’t a big deal. At the back of his mind, he was hoping that Yu Wen would wake up. At least he would be able to have peace of mind.

Draco, on the other hand, thought it was a very big deal. He wouldn’t feel at ease unless Li Jiun was back on Nox. It took Lu Anu talking to him to let Li Jun stay for a few more days, but his grandpa was mad about it the entire time.

He asked where he was going to sleep and where Yu Wen was. When he told him that Yu Wen was still unconscious, Draco smiled like the grinch.

Li Jun, "???"

He was pretty sure his grandfather was hoping that he wouldn’t wake up until Li Jun left. As though his prayers were answered, Yu Wen didn’t, in fact, wake up until Li Jun was gone. Draco was in a good mood the second his grandson left that Warship.