Meanwhile, Jun-Yu had managed to slip away from the guards and made his way to a busy highway.
Sitting on the roadside beneath the scorching afternoon sun, he quietly lost himself in his thoughts.
"The blazing sun is burning above my head... the constant roar of traffic is splitting my ears... I'm still not sober... Sleep is crashing over me like a flood after a storm."
"My head feels like it's going to split apart. I wish I could just lie down here and rest for a while..."
"No... I have to keep going. But where? I don't have a home anymore. No matter what happens, I'm never going back to Mr. Jun-Kai's house."
"A place where my wishes, my dreams, and my feelings have no value... isn't a place where I have any dignity either."
"If nothing there truly belongs to me, then why should I stay? It doesn't matter how luxurious the mansion or the cars are—I don't want to live as a prisoner."
"But... where am I supposed to go?"
"What will I eat? Where will I stay?"
"Was it really the right decision to leave home and end up wandering the streets?"
"Should I go to my sister? But she lives in Beijing... I'm too weak to even make it that far."
---
Lost in his thoughts, Jun-Yu slowly forced himself to his feet and began walking.
His steps were still unsteady.
His head spun violently, and every ounce of strength in his body was fading away.
Even keeping his heavy eyelids open had become a struggle.
Yet he continued walking...
Toward an unknown destination.
Suddenly—
A sharp car horn pierced the air, jolting his already exhausted body.
A luxurious Mercedes-AMG SL Roadster came speeding toward him, missing him by only a hair's breadth.
At that very moment, Jun-Yu's legs finally gave out.
Time seemed to freeze.
The terror of death was clearly reflected in his eyes.
Then—
The car screeched to a sudden stop.
Having come face to face with death itself, Jun-Yu completely collapsed in front of the vehicle.
For a few moments, silence engulfed the surroundings. Time itself seemed to stand still—yet the heartbeat of fate refused to stop.
Inside the car was Shin-Yue, the one person whose only weakness in life was Jun-Yu.
Never, even in her wildest dreams, had she imagined that the person she cherished would one day collapse right in front of her car.
Without a second thought, Shin-Yue flung the door open and rushed out.
She gently lifted Jun-Yu's limp head onto her lap, then softly cupped his cheek with trembling hands.
Shin-Yue: "Jun-Yu! Jun-Yu, open your eyes! Please... talk to me. Jun-Yu, you're going to be okay. I'm here with you. Just... please open your eyes and look at me."
The very next moment, crystal tears rolled down Shin-Yue's delicate face.
Her heart burned with fear.
Her body trembled.
Panic took root deep inside her soul.
Is Jun-Yu going to be okay?
At that moment, the storm raging within Shin-Yue's heart was like dark thunderclouds gathering across an autumn sky, ready to unleash a devastating tempest.
★★★
Shanghai Guolu Town—
Jun-Kai and Mei-Xue had still not returned to Luoyang City when Jun-Kai's phone suddenly rang.
The caller was Zhi-Qiang, the director of Xin-Xing Company.
As soon as Jun-Kai answered, Zhi-Qiang spoke in a tense voice.
Zhi-Qiang: "Sir... we have some bad news."
Jun-Kai sighed inwardly.
"My son has already left me. What news could possibly be worse than that? They say misfortunes never come alone... I wonder what it is this time."
Suppressing his emotions, he asked quietly,
Jun-Kai: "What happened? What's the bad news?"
Zhi-Qiang: "The Silent Killer project has been hit with a copyright claim. The claim was filed by Yi-Xing Company—and by the author of the story himself."
Jun-Kai's eyes widened in disbelief.
Jun-Kai: "What are you talking about? Lin Yuxin personally came to us to sell this project. How could this happen?"
Zhi-Qiang: "Sir, I think this is a carefully planned scheme. Do you remember when Yi-Xing tried to recruit our brand ambassador, Rui-Xue, as their model? They lost face in front of the media after that incident. I believe they're taking revenge by doing this. Please come to the office as soon as possible. We need to hold an emergency meeting... and the media has already arrived."
Jun-Kai wasn't particularly surprised by what he heard.
He had already figured out that Yi-Xing Company was behind exposing the entire matter to the media.
Jun-Kai: "What exactly is the media reporting?"
At that question, Zhi-Qiang hesitated before answering.
Zhi-Qiang: "Sir... you know how the media works. They're digging into every detail. The questions they're keep asking... only you can answer."
Jun-Kai's expression darkened.
Jun-Kai: "Only I can answer? Then what exactly did you become the company's director for? If I have to deal with even something this basic, what is the purpose of having a director?"
Jun-Kai was about to say something else when Zhi-Qiang interrupted him.
Zhi-Qiang: "Sir, I'm the company's director. My responsibility is to oversee the company's official affairs. But the media is raising questions about your relationship with Prince Jun. I think Prince Jun may have been the one who leaked all this information to them."
Jun-Kai's expression instantly darkened.
Jun-Kai: "Mind your language! What do you mean by that? So what if I wanted Jun-Yu to be the lead actor in this project? Even if he doesn't want to work in the movie, why would he expose the company's embarrassing situation to the media? On what basis are you pointing your finger at Jun-Yu?"
Jun-Kai's sharp rebuke left Zhi-Qiang momentarily speechless.
After collecting himself, he replied cautiously,
Zhi-Qiang: "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to offend you. You were forcing Prince Jun to act, and you even destroyed his laboratory. So I thought... perhaps Prince Jun wanted revenge. Maybe he believed, 'If this project cost me my laboratory, then I'll destroy the project itself...'—"
Before he could finish, Jun-Kai exploded with anger from the other end of the line.
Jun-Kai: "Shut up, you fool! Stop talking nonsense. Call an emergency meeting and notify our lawyer immediately."
With that, Jun-Kai ended the call.
Staring at his phone, Zhi-Qiang muttered irritably,
Zhi-Qiang: "Serves him right. First it was Princess Jin-Yu, and now he's hurting Prince Jun as well. But as far as the company's official affairs are concerned, President Jun-Kai is completely innocent."
Meanwhile, after lowering his phone, Jun-Kai muttered to himself,
Jun-Kai: "What ridiculous logic. On what grounds would a son take revenge against his own father? The audacity! To suggest that my Prince Jun would conspire against me..."
Mei-Xue looked at him and spoke calmly but firmly.
Mei-Xue: "If a father can destroy his son's future, then a son, blinded by pain and despair, can also turn against his father, Jun-Kai."
Jun-Kai hadn't realized that Mei-Xue had been standing near the kitchen the entire time, silently listening to every word of his conversation.
The moment her remark reached his ears, it echoed relentlessly in his mind.
He could no longer bear this cold hostility.
It felt as though his wife and children would blame him for the rest of his life over a single mistake.
"Where would my son even accuse me from? He already left home in anger. Who knows if he'll ever come back... or if I'll ever even find him again."
"Forget Jun-Yu... Jin-Yu already knows that Xin-Xing Company is facing a massive allegation. Of course she'll know. She was born seeing me as her enemy too..."
Suddenly, Jun-Kai let out a heart-rending scream.
Snatching a fruit knife from the table, he shouted,
Jun-Kai: "Aaah! Mei-Xue, I'm not made of stone! Here—look! Cut open my hand and see! Blood flows through my veins just like yours! I'm a human being made of flesh and blood!"
"You... your son... and your daughter... Aaah... what should I even say? Are all of you my enemies, or am I yours?"
"First Jin-Yu, now Jun-Yu... and you!"
"You spend almost every waking moment stabbing at my heart like a half-burnt piece of wood in a blazing furnace. Have you ever once thought that I'm a human being—not a charred log that feels nothing?"
"Do me one favor..."
"Kill me."
"I can't endure this anymore."
Mei-Xue had never expected Jun-Kai to lose control like this.
Startled by his sudden outburst, she stammered nervously,
Mei-Xue: "J-Jun-Kai... what are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Let go of my hand! Put the knife down! You're hurting me!"
Jun-Kai immediately released her.
But in his rage, he shoved her away with so much force that she lost her balance and crashed onto the floor.
People often say tears are a woman's greatest expression of pain.
A tender-hearted woman can break down with just a little hurt.
Mei-Xue was no exception.
But do men never cry?
If women have hearts, don't men have hearts as well?
Can Mei-Xue truly not understand how deeply a father's heart aches for his children?
Would she never realize how much Jun-Kai worried about both his son and daughter?
The instant Mei-Xue cried out that he was hurting her, the blazing anger inside Jun-Kai vanished.
His heart clenched with guilt.
His conflicted emotions overwhelmed him.
Tiny tears gathered at the corners of his eyes as he let out a bitter laugh and spoke in a trembling voice.
Jun-Kai: "Ha... ha... ha... Did it hurt that much, Mei-Xue?"
"I'm sorry... I couldn't control my anger."
"I never imagined I'd have to hear someone accuse Jun-Yu like that."
"But... I can't keep carrying all of this anymore."
"This family feels like an endless ocean."
"You... Jun-Yu... and Jin-Yu... each of you is a vast sea."
"Trying to understand your hearts is like trying to count every wave in the ocean."
"And yet, I'm just a lonely traveler, sailing a broken boat across that sea in the hope of reaching you."
"But before I can even reach the depths of your hearts..."
"My rudderless boat keeps drifting... spinning endlessly in the middle of the ocean."
As Jun-Kai spoke, it felt as though he could actually see himself alone in the middle of a boundless sea.
He was sitting in a tiny boat without oars.
There was nothing around him except endless water.
His boat had been caught in a powerful whirlpool.
He wasn't even calling for help.
He could only stare helplessly as the whirlpool pulled him deeper and deeper.
Mei-Xue suddenly noticed that as Jun-Kai continued speaking, the strength was draining from his body.
His legs began to give way.
She hurried to her feet and rushed toward him.
But before she could reach him, Jun-Kai collapsed onto the floor.
The overwhelming emotional strain had become too much, and he hadn't even realized that he was growing dizzy.
Mei-Xue dropped to her knees beside him in panic.
Mei-Xue: "Jun-Kai! Jun-Kai! What's wrong with you? Open your eyes! Please... answer me!"