While Yue Lingtian and Xu Rui were off on their honeymoon in space, Li Wenzhe had also gone traveling around the world, leaving Xu Hesheng frantic because he couldn’t find anyone.
Ever since Li Wenzhe had left the Xu family, Xu Hesheng had secretly sent people to keep watch on him at the Li residence. Naturally, Zhang Tianlin and Pan Lichi, who were responsible for protecting Li Wenzhe, had seen through this little trick long ago.
They didn’t alert the spies. Instead, they simply had Li Wenzhe switch rooms. Then, every night at nine, they arranged for a slender servant who looked much like Li Wenzhe to sit by the window and read for an hour before turning off the lights and going to bed.
After Li Wenzhe left on his trip, the servant continued sitting by the window to read every night at nine. With several layers of curtains hanging down, it was impossible to distinguish the real person from the fake one based on the shadow cast by the light. Besides, this room really was Li Wenzhe’s room. During the day, the spies had also genuinely seen Li Wenzhe lift the curtains and even push open the window to look down.
With the routine repeated every day and the figure looking so familiar, the two people assigned to keep watch had no idea that the real Li Wenzhe had already left the Li residence.
It wasn’t until Xu Hesheng grew suspicious that he realized something was wrong. Given Li Wenzhe’s temperament, there was no way he would stay quiet for this long. So Xu Hesheng personally went to the Li residence to see him, but he nearly got swept out by his father-in-law, Li Mingzheng’s, robot. Unable to meet Li Wenzhe, Xu Hesheng had no choice but to look for Xu Rui instead. However, he was told by Yue Xin, the second butler, that the eldest young master and the eldest young master’s husband had gone on their honeymoon. As for where they had gone, the answer he received was actually, “General Yue’s personal privacy must be kept confidential.”
Xu Hesheng could only have Lawyer Jin formally notify Li Wenzhe that he wished to discuss the divorce. Who would have thought that the lawyer who showed up would be Huang Gangping, who claimed to be acting as Li Wenzhe’s fully authorized representative in the divorce case?
By this point, Xu Hesheng didn’t need to think very hard to realize that Li Wenzhe had successfully evaded him. He didn’t even know where Li Wenzhe had gone.
“You idiots! How can you not even know that someone as big as him has left?!” Xu Hesheng was so furious that he smashed the cup in his hand. The two people responsible for watching Li Wenzhe immediately lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.
Xu Hesheng paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. For more than two weeks now, he had been racking his brains every day to send Li Wenzhe flowers and gifts. He had said more sweet, flattering words than he had in the entire forty-odd years of his life. When he saw that Li Wenzhe hadn’t refused to accept his flowers, Xu Hesheng had secretly rejoiced. Who would have thought that it had all been a smokescreen set up by Li Wenzhe!
Divorce, divorce! Hadn’t he treated Li Wenzhe well? Over the past twenty years, hadn’t he always gone along with everything at home? Whatever Li Wenzhe said, that was how things would be. He had never objected.
In twenty years, apart from Li Wenzhe and Meng Ming, he hadn’t fooled around with anyone else outside. Xu Hesheng genuinely felt that he had been wronged. Wasn’t he merely bringing Meng Ming and his son home? Fine, bringing Meng Ming home had been wrong, but Xu Yi was his son too!
Xu Hesheng gritted his teeth and said to the two men, “I don’t care what methods you use. Hurry up and find out exactly where Li Wenzhe is now!”
“Yes!” The two men hurriedly answered before retreating.
Xu Hesheng walked out of his study. The house was deathly quiet.
Xu Rui had married and left. Li Wenzhe had left. Meng Ming had left too. Xu Yi was often at school. The house was practically empty. In this enormous home, only Xu Hesheng remained!
At middle age, he watched the people around him leave one by one. In the end, he was the only one left to keep watch over this house. It really was an unpleasant feeling.
Xu Hesheng felt a little regret, but he refused to admit that he had done anything wrong.
If he admitted he was wrong, it would mean denying the value of his entire life up to this point. That was his pride! He was the one who had taken the Xu family’s business to new heights. He was the one who had created its glorious success. How could Xu Hesheng possibly admit that he had made a mistake?
If there had been any mistakes, they could only have been bringing Meng Ming into the Xu family after listening to his instigation, and failing to cut ties with Meng Ming when he brought Xu Yi home.
Looking at the empty house, Xu Hesheng suddenly felt a little lonely. He opened his electronic communicator and contacted Xu Yi.
“Xiao Yi, tomorrow’s the weekend. Come home tonight and have dinner with me.”
There was a brief silence on the other end before Xu Yi’s voice soon came through. “All right, Father.”
Xu Hesheng felt somewhat comforted, and a smile appeared on his face. “Then I’ll have the butler come pick you up.”
“Okay.” Xu Yi agreed readily, then added, “Father, I’ll go tell my instructor. Goodbye.”
“Mm. Goodbye.”
Xu Hesheng happily ended the call. Xu Yi really was a good child: smart, outstanding, magnanimous, and sensible! Nothing like that little brat Xu Rui, who took advantage of others and kicked away the ladder once he’d crossed the bridge, just like his father.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi, whom Xu Hesheng had praised for being sensible, silently ended the call. There wasn’t the slightest smile on his face.
Because Xu Hesheng hadn’t lived with them while Xu Yi was growing up, Xu Yi had often been mocked by his classmates for not having a father. When he was little, Xu Yi would cry to his father, Meng Ming, about it. But Meng Ming would only tell him to study hard, study hard, and study even harder. As long as he was outstanding enough, he would attract the attention of his father, Xu Hesheng, whom he saw fewer than twice a year. Then Xu Hesheng would come back to them.
Xu Yi had followed his father’s teachings and studied diligently. But year after year passed, and Xu Hesheng never returned to them as Meng Ming had promised. It wasn’t until Xu Yi was admitted to Fenoman Military Academy with excellent grades that his opportunity finally arrived.
Xu Rui was an arrogant young man who had been showered with affection by everyone in the Xu family. Although his physical condition wasn’t particularly good and he was somewhat frail, he was clever and had excellent grades. Above him, his grandfather and grandmother doted on him; below them, his father and father-in-law showered him with care and affection.
Xu Yi both envied and resented Xu Rui. Apart from their different births, what was he inferior to Xu Rui in? They had the same father, yet their fates were completely different. Why was Xu Rui blessed with the best wishes and love from the moment he was born, while Xu Yi had to work ten, twenty, even a hundred times harder to fight for a place that should have belonged to him in the first place?
So, when Xu Yi returned to the Xu family like a victor, he showed no mercy. He openly mocked Xu Rui, who had already been given an injection and was still physically weak. He mocked him for being destined to spend the rest of his life beneath someone else’s body, never to rise again. He mocked his father, Li Wenzhe, for giving everything only to personally hand the fruits of his labor over to someone else…
And so, provoked by Xu Yi, Xu Rui had struck him. That was exactly the moment Xu Yi had been waiting for. He barely needed to exert any effort to fight back before he could trample Xu Rui beneath his feet…
Xu Yi closed his eyes. How satisfying it had been back then! It was as though the resentment bottled up in his chest had vanished into thin air the moment Xu Rui fell. That feeling of getting even and settling old scores was something Xu Yi would never forget!
But everything had come so quickly, and disappeared just as quickly.
When Xu Yi received Meng Ming’s message saying that he had already left the Xu family, he didn’t know what to do next for a while.
Perhaps, at first, Xu Yi had still held some hope for this father of his. But when Li Wenzhe demanded a divorce and left the Xu family, and when Meng Ming left the Xu family in tears for his sake, Xu Hesheng’s completely different attitudes toward them had chilled his heart until it turned to ice!
Yet Meng Ming had told him, “You are the future head of the Xu family. We’ve waited so many years already. We can’t give up halfway. My child, endure it! Remember, everything in the Xu family belongs to you.”
Xu Yi felt that his entire life had been pulled in different directions, leaving him no control over it. Ever since he was little, his father had demanded that he do this and forbidden him from doing that. He had been told to endure, to put up with everything!
Xu Yi envied children who grew up in complete families. He was jealous of Xu Rui, who could constantly hold hands with his father, Xu Hesheng, and Li Wenzhe… He was Xu Hesheng’s son too, yet he had nothing. And all Meng Ming ever told him was to endure, endure, and endure!
Meanwhile, the Xu Rui whom everyone envied was currently being pinned down by Yue Lingtian on a round bed, making love in the honeymoon cabin of their spaceship bound for Saturn.
Saturn was the final stop on their honeymoon trip.
Xu Rui was tearfully repenting. Sure enough, he couldn’t easily believe that a big pervert would change! All that nonsense about his attitude improving and him no longer being a sadist was complete bullshit! Yue Lingtian had only been a little more tender and affectionate toward him for those two days. Once Xu Rui had let his guard down, Yue Lingtian went right back to his old ways. Whenever he felt like having him, he simply pushed him down and went at it! He kept making Xu Rui put on one uniform after another, then wore a wicked grin as he slowly stripped each one off…
Waaah! Everyone really ought to come and see what their revered, icy, stern, and dignified General Yue was like now. What a lecherous scoundrel!
“Are you done yet?” Xu Rui gritted his teeth in fury, clenched both fists, and pounded the bed. The wonderfully elastic round waterbed bounced several times under his blows, making Yue Lingtian and Xu Rui, who were pressed together like conjoined twins, bob up and down on it.
“Your strength has increased,” Yue Lingtian said, narrowing his eyes in comfort. “Hit it a few more times. This feels pretty good!”
Xu Rui had been holding his neck stiff and his head tilted back, ready to let out an angry roar, but the sound suddenly got stuck in his throat. With a smack, he collapsed back onto the bed, tears streaming down his face.
Yue Lingtian immediately began soothing him with every trick in the book. “Good boy. After this round, we won’t do it again. I’ll teach you whatever you want to learn.”
Xu Rui’s fingers scratched at the bedsheet a few times. He turned his head and asked through gritted teeth, “Will you keep your word?”
“I swear on my teeth, and may they turn into diamonds if I break my promise.” Yue Lingtian made his vow, then lowered his head and whispered suggestively into Xu Rui’s ear, “You’re really tight.”
Xu Rui blushed, gritted his teeth, and cursed. This big pervert!!!
Where Xu Rui couldn’t see him, Yue Lingtian broke into a delighted smile. If the Four Treasures at home saw this expression, their jaws would surely hit the floor.
Ever since Xu Rui had told Yue Lingtian that he wanted to become stronger, that he wanted to visit the planet where Yue Lingtian was stationed, and that he had all sorts of dreams about becoming a soldier, Yue Lingtian had begun teaching him some military knowledge during his free time.
Now they were traveling through space, and warfare in 3013 had already become interstellar warfare. Yue Lingtian took advantage of their surroundings to teach Xu Rui some space-related knowledge and skills.
Of course, exactly how much Xu Rui could accomplish would have to wait until he returned to school, underwent testing, and received systematic training before they could know.
“Xiao Rui, remember this. This balance and weightlessness bracelet is designed for ordinary people. If you want to become an outstanding soldier, you must learn how to control your body and move around in a weightless environment,” Yue Lingtian said seriously. “Your enemies won’t wait for you to put on the bracelet before attacking. They won’t wait until you’ve learned to control your body before attacking, either.”
“Yes, I’ll remember.”
“Then let’s begin. Take off the bracelet.”
“Yes, sir.”
Xu Rui had seen astronauts training on television before, but when it was his turn, he discovered just how difficult it was to control his movements. His body floated in midair, able to rotate a full 360 degrees, but he simply couldn’t touch the ground. Forget attacking someone—even standing properly was impossible.
“Take a deep breath. First, calm your mind.”
“Yes, sir.”
…
And so, the two of them spent the journey sightseeing, having fun, studying, training, and making love, all the way until their honeymoon trip through space came to an end.
With studying and training added to their daily routine, the two interacted more frequently and came to understand each other more deeply. Yue Lingtian greatly appreciated Xu Rui’s seriousness and dedication, while Xu Rui admired Yue Lingtian’s vast knowledge and strength. As the days passed, the bond between the two husbands grew deeper and deeper.