Lin Juan seriously considered the possibility of knocking the man out.
Then he realized it wasn’t very feasible.
Because his hand was already gripped by the man, those pitch-black, profound eyes stared deeply at him. Lin Juan wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt a wisp of eerie purple light flash through the depths of the man’s eyes.
Considering the man’s weakened body, Lin Juan didn’t dare to use force. He merely tugged his hand back lightly. “Let go.”
Where did this habit of grabbing people come from?
He grabbed him while unconscious, and now that he was awake, he still grabbed him.
“Who are you? What is your purpose here?” Lu Yanzhou frowned as he looked at the young man sitting on his bed.
Very beautiful.
That was his first impression.
The young man before him was extremely beautiful, with long hair cascading down. In the interplay of light and shadow, he was beautiful beyond mortal semblance.
The man’s gaze was too sharp, as if it could pierce right through him. Lin Juan had never been this close to anyone before. Even though he had taken the initiative to approach, guilt made him lose control in that moment.
Under that oppressively intense stare, he blurted out, “I’m a caregiver!”
“A caregiver?” Lu Yanzhou raised an eyebrow playfully. “Can a caregiver just casually touch…”
“I was giving you a massage!” Before he could finish, Lin Juan hurriedly interrupted him. “Right, a massage. You’ve been lying down for so long—without one, your muscles will atrophy!”
After saying that, Lin Juan gritted his teeth. Of all times to wake up, why now? Being the one in the wrong, he could only make up nonsense.
He certainly couldn’t say, I’m the marriage partner you arranged but never met.
Lin Juan had no intention of staying bound to this person forever. If the other party had remained comatose, he could have taken care of him out of gratitude for the Lu Family’s generosity. But now that he was awake, a conscious marriage partner was entirely different from an unconscious one.
Lu Yanzhou knew the young man before him was lying. Who hired such a beautiful caregiver? One who perfectly matched his tastes in every way?
He was a successful businessman and wouldn’t make things difficult for someone irrelevant. The young man’s presence here was undoubtedly tied to his father.
Asking the young man wouldn’t necessarily yield answers. There was no need.
Thinking this, he still asked, “What’s your name?”
“Lin Juan.” Lin Juan answered.
“I see.” Lu Yanzhou nodded.
Lin Juan waited a long time, but the man didn’t speak again. Puzzled, he asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me anything else?”
“Would you tell me if I did?”
Lin Juan gave an awkward laugh.
Lu Yanzhou had expected as much.
He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, so he needed to figure out the situation first.
“Call Uncle Lu for me.” Lin Juan was still leaning over Lu Yanzhou and didn’t want to maintain this awkward position any longer. He got up to find the phone.
Uncle.
Lu Yanzhou keenly noted Lin Juan’s form of address and committed it to memory.
Judging by Lin Juan’s familiarity with the surroundings, he seemed to have lived here for quite some time.
How could his father feel at ease leaving a young man with no connection to the Lu Family in his room?
After making the call, he saw Lu Yanzhou trying to sit up. Sticking to the principle that the Lu Family had paid him, Lin Juan helped him and even tucked a pillow behind his back.
“Is this okay?”
Under the soft lighting, the young man’s features were gentle, his eyes shimmering like rippling water. Lu Yanzhou’s breath hitched.
He lowered his gaze, thinking that this caregiver was quite professional.
If he had no ulterior motives, keeping him around wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Lin Juan had no idea that his offhand remark had been taken at face value by the man. Right now, he just wanted Old Master Lu to arrive quickly and end this awkward situation.
Old Master Lu arrived very quickly.
After parting with Lin Juan, he had returned to his own room. Though he wasn’t clear on what had happened to Lu Mingxuan, combining the circumstances, it was likely similar to what happened on the night of the marriage ritual. He couldn’t sleep and had called for the butler.
Before he could speak much with the butler, the room phone rang.
It was Lin Juan calling.
Old Master Lu’s heart skipped a beat.
Lin Juan had been at Lu Garden for so long but had never called alone before. Could something have happened to Yanzhou?
Old Master Lu didn’t dare delay. He picked up the phone, and before he could ask, Lin Juan’s voice came through, speaking faster than usual.
“Uncle Lu, Mr. Lu Yanzhou has woken up.”
“What?” Old Master Lu’s hand tightened fiercely around the receiver. The shock blanked his mind instantly. “You mean…”
“Lu Yanzhou has woken up. Do you want to come take a look?”
“I’m coming, right now.” Even after hanging up, Old Master Lu remained in a daze.
“Did I hallucinate that?” Old Master Lu steadied himself against the table with trembling hands, so excited he was incoherent. “Did Xiao Juan just call and say Yanzhou woke up?”
“Yes.” The butler’s excitement was no less than Old Master Lu’s. He had gone abroad to study with the Lu Family’s sponsorship in his youth and, upon returning, had served by Old Master Lu’s side. He had practically watched Lu Yanzhou and his brothers grow up, so the events with Lu Yanzhou pained him more than anyone.
“I faintly heard it from the side. Mr. Lin did say the word ‘awake.'”
“Quick, let’s go see!” Old Master Lu couldn’t bear to waste even a second.
Before the small courtyard, Old Master Lu paused, uncharacteristically hesitating. “I really didn’t mishear just now, did I?”
If it was just a hallucination born from his desperate hope for his youngest son to wake, barging in rashly might trouble Lin Juan.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened—waking up in the middle of the night in shock, rushing to Yanzhou’s room, only to find Yanzhou still peacefully asleep, his faint breathing the only solace for Old Master Lu.
He didn’t hesitate long before the door ahead was forcefully flung open from inside.
Lin Juan had waited a long time in the room. Finally hearing footsteps, they suddenly stopped. Facing Lu Yanzhou on the bed in silence was too awkward, so he broke the ice. “I’ll go check if Uncle has arrived.”
The door opened, and seeing the two men outside, Lin Juan felt like he had spotted his saviors. “Uncle, Butler Cheng, why didn’t you come in?”
He hurried over and supported Old Master Lu. “Mr. Lu has been awake for a while and is waiting for you inside.”
Old Master Lu grabbed Lin Juan’s arm with trembling hands, his voice still laced with disbelief. “Yanzhou… he’s really awake?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this. Come in and see for yourself if it’s true.”
“Good, good.” For the first time, Old Master Lu was so beside himself that he stumbled on the steps.
Lin Juan steadied him. “Don’t get too worked up. Take care of your health.”
Entering the room, Old Master Lu spotted the man sitting on the bed at once.
Handsome features, imposing aura—it was unmistakably his youngest son!
“Yanzhou!”
“Dad.” Compared to Old Master Lu’s agitation, Lu Yanzhou was much calmer.
From Old Master Lu’s loss of composure, he could easily infer that his coma had lasted quite a while.
“Good that you’re awake. Good that you’re awake.” Old Master Lu strode forward.
Lin Juan pulled a wooden chair to the bedside. “Uncle, sit down first.”
He didn’t want Lu Yanzhou to wake up only for Old Master Lu to faint.
Having seen his youngest son awake with his own eyes, it took Old Master Lu a good while to calm himself.
After chatting a few words with Lu Yanzhou, the latter learned some recent events. His coma had lasted even longer than expected.
No wonder his father was so emotional.
“It was all thanks to Xiao Juan.” Old Master Lu glanced gratefully at Lin Juan.
Then he turned back to Lu Yanzhou. “You need to get along well with Xiao Juan from now on, got it?”
He was too excited, and during their talk, Lu Yanzhou did most of the asking—how long he had been out, the company’s status, if the newly launched product had issues, project progress…
He asked a great many things but never about his personal affairs.
This led Old Master Lu to assume that during the time he had been awake, Lu Yanzhou had already spoken with Lin Juan, that they got along well, and that he had accepted the marriage ritual. So he didn’t bring it up.
Young people’s matters were for them to handle; an old man like him wouldn’t interfere.
Lu Yanzhou instinctively felt Old Master Lu’s attitude toward Lin Juan was off, but he only saw him as a special caregiver and didn’t think much of it.
Little did he know, Lin Juan wasn’t some caregiver but his legally wedded wife.
Since Old Master Lu didn’t mention it, Lin Juan naturally wouldn’t bring it up either.
Two hours earlier.
Deep in the undeveloped park.
The Tailwing Squad arrived to handle cleanup. Dealing with a thoroughly dead C-Rank Anomaly [Fantastical Mushroom] was no easier than one that was half-dead and still struggling to attack.
Fortunately, with proper protection, they didn’t have to worry about threats from the shadows. Their biggest challenge was the corpse of the [Fantastical Mushroom].
That was what they needed to deal with as well.
Disgusting mucus oozed from the chunks of flesh. Standing at the scene felt like entering a massive slaughterhouse.
The foul stench seeped everywhere. If the dead flesh chunks didn’t move no matter how they were handled, they might have thought they faced a brand-new anomaly.
“Damn, how long is this cleanup going to take?”
“Be glad they didn’t send us against the live one.”
“We need to hurry. The instruments show pollution levels rising around us.”
“Are all anomalies above C-Rank this tough? Even dead, it’s a nightmare.”
No one could answer that.
They had encountered few anomalies above C-Rank so far, and the few times they had nearly led to total annihilation. Without Lin Juan this time, they would have suffered heavy losses too—their experience was too limited.
“Look at this!”
An exclamation interrupted their conversation.
They stopped and looked toward the voice.
“These anomaly chunks…”
“They’re withering.” The Tailwing Squad captain spoke gravely.
Like blooming flowers wilting, the fresh, massive anomaly flesh seemed drained of moisture by some invisible force, gradually shriveling and collapsing.
“This side too!”
“And here!”
No one knew exactly what was happening. In mere seconds, the remains left by the C-Rank Anomaly [Fantastical Mushroom] were erased by some unknown entity, vanishing without a trace.
The pollution detector showed pollution values plummeting.
The foul air cleared, and a breeze brought fresh air.
Everything passed as if the wind had left no trace.
“What the hell?”
The Tailwing Squad members, facing this for the first time, exchanged bewildered looks.
At Lu Garden.
The medical team was on standby. With Lu Yanzhou awake, out of caution, Old Master Lu decided not to announce it publicly yet and had them come secretly for a checkup.
After such a long coma, Lu Garden was fully equipped for basic medical procedures.
After bustling half the night, the doctors concluded: Lu Yanzhou’s physical condition was excellent.
Old Master Lu’s heart, suspended all night, finally eased.
With Lu Yanzhou awake, Lin Juan seized the chance to suggest they sleep in separate rooms.
Sharing a room with a conscious man felt too awkward no matter how you looked at it.
But Old Master Lu refused. As soon as Lin Juan mentioned it, he fixed him with pleading eyes.
“Xiao Juan, Yanzhou just woke up. We don’t know if he’ll lapse back into a coma, and that fake master who deceived me hasn’t been caught yet. I won’t feel at ease if you’re not with him.”
Lin Juan thought it made sense and relented. “Alright then. We’ll wait until the guy’s caught.”
Old Master Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
He firmly believed Lu Yanzhou’s awakening was thanks to Lin Juan and wouldn’t let them separate no matter what.
A young couple should share a bed!
After seeing Old Master Lu off, Lin Juan asked the silent Lu Yanzhou, “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
He figured Lu Yanzhou probably didn’t like having an extra person in his room out of nowhere either.
“Say what?”
“That I should go sleep in another room. Don’t you think it’s weird for two grown men to share a place?”
“You’re my caregiver,” Lu Yanzhou countered. “As my caregiver, isn’t it only right for you to stay with me?”
