The Mad King's Heir

Li Jun was really considering it. He was considering taking them all out and taking that position. Just then, a soft ding came from his phone. When he saw it was Lu Anu, his expression changed. He tapped on the message and found that it was a picture of Yu Wen. He was in a hospital bed, looking better than he did the last time he saw him.

He was wide awake, and he was looking at the camera with an expression as though asking his mother what she was doing. Li Jun felt a pang in his chest looking at that face that he had been thinking about all this time. He replied to the message but delayed sending it. He didn’t want to seem desperate or too eager.

LJ: How is he?

Lu Anu had seen the text bubble bouncing on the screen, but when she saw there was no response for a couple of minutes, she smiled, finding this little game funny. She had long seen through Li Jun’s antics, but she didn’t expose him. She smiled and replied.

LA: He is fine. Just a little grumpy.

Li Jun looked at her response and felt his heart warm up. He wanted to ask if Yu Wen had asked about him, but that would seem so abrupt. With a sigh, he lay on his bed while biting his lower lip. He was thinking of a way to ask the question in a not-so-obvious way.

Lu Anu seemed to read his mind. She sent him a message before he could reply.

LA: He asked about you. Should I tell him that you are worried about him?

His heart jolted like someone had inserted electric rods in his chest and flipped the switch. For some reason, he felt so nervous. He didn’t want Yu Wen to know that he was asking about him. He thought it would be great to end things on this note, so he replied.

LJ: No need. As long as he is doing well, that’s fine.

Lu Anu sort of expected this, but she held on to a little hope that these two would speak to each other. She could see it. She could clearly see that they were meant to be together, but they were just being stubborn. It seemed they needed a little more help.

Yu Wen had been watching his mother acting strangely while sitting at his bedside. Sometimes her face was beaming, and then sometimes she looked serious, like she was plotting something.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked while putting down his cup of water. She met his gaze and said,

"I am talking to Li Jun." His gaze, which had turned away, abruptly met her again. He had asked about Li Jun when he woke up. He was expecting to see him when he opened his eyes, but when he heard that he had long left, Yu Wen was disappointed. So disappointed in fact that he was in a horrible mood.

When he heard his mother had a way to talk to Li Jun, his lips twitched with the excitement in his eyes hard to conceal. He said, "Did he ask about me?"

Lu Anu chuckled dryly and asked, "What do you think?"

Yu Wen stretched out his hand and said, "Let me see. I want to see what you wrote about me."

He thought she would show him, but Lu Anu said, "No, it’s private. We are gossiping about you."

Yu Wen, "..."

He wasn’t going to give up. This was his one chance to at least be close to Li Jun, so he pleaded with her. "Mum, I just want to see it. At least let me take a look. Or better yet, let me speak to him."

"Oh, so I can get my privileges revoked? He said he doesn’t want to speak to you," she said, and Yu Wen looked genuinely hurt. He knew Li Jun was still upset with him, but he had at least thought they could have a conversation.

Lu Anu didn’t like seeing her son like this, so she said, "He does care for you. The entire time you were unconscious, he was always here, sitting by your bedside." She tapped her phone and pulled up the surveillance footage for the days that Li Jun was there.

When he saw the video playing on a floating screen, his gaze was so focused that he didn’t notice when his mother left. Li Jun always sat on the couch near him, and he would chat mindlessly with him.

When he wasn’t chatting, he would be playing games on his phone, or he would fall asleep. Occasionally, his mother would come to find Li Jun, and he would leave, but he would still come back and spend time with him.

It was clear that his actions weren’t only from guilt. He seemed to really care about him a lot, so why didn’t he want to give this a shot? What would he have to do to get his attention when Li Jun didn’t want to speak to him?

For days, he watched and rewatched the footage whenever he missed him. His yearning for Li Jun was evident. He looked like a loyal dog eagerly waiting for his owner to come back. If he were a dog, his ears would be drooping and his tail tucked between his legs.

He didn’t know how to get Li Jun to talk to him, but his mother did. For the past few days, she had been chatting with Li Jun. She would update him on Yu Wen’s progress and sometimes sneak in a few pictures. Li Jun would tell her what he was up to every day.

When she told him what Yu Wen liked to eat, the snacks and fruits he liked, Li Jun bought them for him. He paid a company to have it shipped overnight, so the next day, when Lu Anu came to the medical bay, she had a huge basket.

Yu Wen looked at the large basket filled with things that he liked, and he asked, "What’s going on?"

Lu Anu placed it in his hands and asked, "Do you like it?"

Yu Wen said, "I do, but that’s a lot. A bit wasteful, isn’t it?"

She was exasperated. With a sigh, she said, "If you like it, just smile and be grateful."