Yong Liwei didn't expect to hear such words from her. His situation was too complicated and he never thought that one day, he would end up meeting someone who saw him in this way. Did Han Yizhou see this coming? Was he already expecting this from her? Was that why he didn't hold back when he decided to integrate with him?

She chuckled a bit. "Why are you crying?" She released his hand just so she could touch his cheek.

​​

He blinked his tears away upon realizing that he began crying in front of her. Again. He avoided her touch and wiped his own tears instead. It was becoming so unmanly of him to cry in front of her.

Lu Mengjie stared at him for a few seconds before she lowered her hand upon thinking that he was back to being Yong Liwei. She turned to the food that she had set on the table a few minutes ago. "You should eat before the food gets cold."

She was about to turn and give him a moment by himself but she was halted when he grabbed hold of her wrist.

In the next second, she was pulled close to him. He held her by her nape as he directed her to his lips.

Lu Mengjie was startled, her eyes were wide and the tears that were tempting to fall again disappeared.

As Yong Liwei moved his lips against hers, she slowly shut her eyes and began kissing him back just as lovingly.

They were two imperfect souls; one was damaged, and yet, it had a small fire burning inside that refused to be put out by the coldness of the world around her, while the other was filled with complete darkness, eaten by the cruelty that the world had shown him. Simply intended to be together, their love for each other was perfectly imperfect, and out of their control.

"Ahem."

Startled by the voice that interrupted them, Lu Mengjie quickly jumped away from her husband to turn to the guest that came.

A handsome silver-haired man was leaning against the door with his arms crossed. He was wearing glasses that only added to his beauty but at the same time, it only added to his arrogant impression. He looked around him, and his eyes met with Lu Mengjie's for a moment. She blushed harder, and was embarrassed.

"H-Han Xukun… you're here."

His lips curled into a smile. She was certain he was making fun of her. "I came here as soon as I could when I heard that my brother was in danger. You looked all fine, Han Yizhou," Han Xukun said as he turned to look at Yong Liwei who was staring at him in annoyance. "I apologize for interrupting your moment with Mengmeng."

"Why are you here?" Yong Liwei asked rather icily.

"Are you not glad to see me?" He snickered. "I've been busy with the work you've been throwing my way, you should forgive me for disturbing your lovey-dovey moment."

"We brought fruits for you, brother Yizhou." Both Lu Mengjie and Yong Liwei turned to the woman beside him. The woman had breast-level brunette hair. She had a soft radiant around her as she flashed them a small smile. She was holding a basket with fruits in it.

"Sister Xingyan…" Lu Mengjie mumbled.

Lu Xingyan was one of the Lu family's precious princesses. She was Lu Mengjie's cousin who was just a few months younger than her. She was the daughter of her father, Xia Sinian's, younger sister, Xia Meilin who happened to be Li Bingbing's best friend. As for Lu Xingyan's father, he was Lu Mengjie's real father, Lu Xian Yu's twin brother.

Han Xukun was one of Lu Mengjie's best friends. He may have almost been engaged to her because of his father but for some reason, Han Qinshan changed his mind. She knew how persistent that old man was when it came to wanting to engage his sons with one of the Lu girls back then, so it was a surprise when he stopped annoying her father, Lu Xian Yu. They later found out that it was all because of Lu Xingyan who soon got engaged to Han Xukun instead.

Lu Xingyan tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was such a simple gesture and yet she had done it so elegantly. "I heard what happened from Xukun."

"Yizhou is not in danger anymore, Han Qinshan came just in time to save him."

Upon hearing what his wife said, Yong Liwei furrowed his brows at her. "What do you mean? Han Qinshan came?"

Lu Mengjie turned to him and told him what happened as both Han Xukun and his lover strolled inside the room, shutting the door behind them.

"For him to leave Azure… that means he's finally going to choose his successor," Lu Xingyan commented, placing the basket of fruits on the table.

"We already know who it is going to be." Han Xukun turned to his older brother. "He will not stop until you agree with him."

"He only has a shorter time left in his life than mine, I can wait until then." He grabbed the chopsticks from the table and began eating the food that his wife brought for him.

Lu Mengjie looked at the two brothers and noticed the unseen tension between them. It seemed like Han Xukun was also against Yong Liwei turning down their father's offer of the throne.

"How about we do it like this?" Lu Xingyan turned to the two Han brothers. "We can solve this problem. Would you like to hear me out?"

Everyone turned their gaze towards her, waiting for her to continue.

"Brother Yizhou doesn't want the throne but someone has to take it or else, chaos will break free starting from that place, spreading until the mainland. Uncle Xian Yu has his past enemies and I'm sure both brother Yizhou, and Xukun have their enemies in the underworld. If hell breaks loose in Azure Republic, it can put all our loved ones in danger. Others will be able to hire assassins and mercenaries to attack our families if another King takes the throne. We know that the Han family has been trying to keep the balance between the six great families, as well as for years, the Han family has tried to keep things in control when it comes to the mainland's dirty business. Because of them, the golden rule was implemented throughout all the criminal organizations. Let's not forget these important facts."