Once Helian Zheng made a decision, not even his parents could change it. The patriarch of the Helian family looked at the chaotic hall, unable to understand why his son suddenly caused such a scene.
Madam Helian pulled him aside and quietly asked, “You agreed to this before. Why are you regretting it now?”
If Helian Zheng hadn’t agreed to it himself, no matter how beautifully the Li family presented it, they wouldn’t have accepted this arrangement. The Helian family’s foundation was clear—if not the Li family, there would have been better marriage prospects. Besides, Helian Zheng himself deserved someone even better.
When Madam Helian learned what Li Luo and his mother had done, she already regretted it—not because she disliked Li Luo’s scheming, but because she didn’t like how it had dragged Helian Zheng into it. Look at how those rumors had turned out—it didn’t just damage Li Shu’s reputation, but her son’s as well.
“It’s not regret. This marriage was a mistake from the beginning,” Helian Zheng didn’t want to explain further. This was the condition of his exchange with that person.
After meeting Li Shu again, he himself no longer wanted to continue with the marriage. Initially, it didn’t matter much to him. Children of noble families often treated marriage as a bargaining chip. If you hadn’t met someone you loved, it didn’t make much difference who you married. But once someone occupied your heart, things changed.
Helian Zheng had never liked these kinds of arrangements. He had agreed to it in the first place only because he didn’t want his mother to keep bothering him about it. He thought that even after the marriage, he would just leave his spouse on the Empire Star, adding another set of chopsticks to the dinner table—it wouldn’t change much from before. But now, he thought differently. If he were to marry, he wanted it to be with someone he truly connected with, not like his parents—together in appearance but apart at heart.
He didn’t want to become what he hated most.
Madam Helian couldn’t change his mind. After a few words, she sighed on the side. Her whole life before marriage had been according to her parents’ wishes, and after marriage, everything followed her husband. Now that her son was grown, she couldn’t control him either.
“Mother, don’t worry. I will handle this.” Helian Zheng pursed his lips, his eyes darkening.
What was supposed to be a grand engagement banquet had turned into a farce. One of the newlyweds had publicly backed out. It was clear how much of a blow this was to Li Luo.
He had schemed everything back then to ensure the marriage would go smoothly. He had almost succeeded. But with Li Shu’s interference, in the end, he had only shot himself in the foot.
After this day, the upper-class society would know that all the things Li Luo had done, and everything he had inflicted on the original owner would eventually come back to him little by little.
How could he accept that?
Unfortunately, the backup plan that Li Shu had arranged had already begun to take effect. The backyard of the Li family was on fire, and the patriarch of the Li family rushed to deal with it, leaving this matter to be hastily resolved.
As the farce concluded, Li Shu tidied his clothes and walked out of the hall.
“It was you, wasn’t it, Li Shu?” Li Luo emerged from the shadows with his fists clenched. After much thought, he felt that things couldn’t have happened so coincidentally. Someone must have done something.
After thinking it through, the only person with the motive to do this was Li Shu.
Staring hatefully at the calm and collected Omega before him, Li Luo was filled with rage. They had all been deceived, thinking this person didn’t know how to resist. They had underestimated their opponent, which led to their downfall at the most critical moment.
“Why did you frame me?” His voice was filled with uncontrollable fury.
“Li Luo, can you honestly say you didn’t do those things? That it had nothing to do with you?”
No, because those things were indeed his doing.
Li Shu continued, “And you know it yourself that this isn’t my doing.”
“Was it really not you?” Li Luo actually knew deep down that this probably had nothing to do with Li Shu. After living together for so many years, it didn’t make sense to say that Li Shu had been pretending all along. Besides, Li Shu was just an Omega—how could he know so much?
Even so, Li Luo was still furious. He admitted he was taking out his anger on the wrong person. If it hadn’t been for Li Shu, he wouldn’t have felt so uneasy and laid such a plan. Now that things had turned out this way, he blamed everything on Li Shu.
None of it was his fault, of course.
If he had to blame someone, he should blame Li Shu. If it weren’t for him catching Helian Zheng’s attention, none of this would have happened. If not for that, Helian Zheng wouldn’t have wanted to break off the engagement.
Now, he had become the laughingstock of the nobility. Soon, everyone—those who should know and those who shouldn’t—would know about it. He could only imagine what would happen to him.
And as for Li Shu, people would know that from beginning to end, he was innocent. This had nothing to do with him. Everything was his own doing, and he had no one to blame but himself.
He was jealous of his brother and plotted to ruin his reputation. Those who knew the truth would think that he deserved it, that everything he was about to face was just karma.
“Li Luo, do you really think I can do anything? Or do you think I can influence Helian Zheng to the point where he would destroy his engagement for me?” Li Shu calmly looked at Li Luo who had lost his composure.
The situation had completely reversed from back then. When the incident first happened, the original owner had begged Li Luo for understanding, explaining that he had done nothing wrong and had no idea that the person he had spoken to briefly was Li Luo’s fiancé. Li Luo had known all along that it had nothing to do with the original owner, but he still pushed him into the abyss.
“Impossible!” Li Luo retorted subconsciously. He refused to admit that Li Shu could have influenced Helian Zheng. How ridiculous would that be? After all his scheming, the person he worked so hard for didn’t even bother to look at him. If what Li Shu said was true, then everything he had done would have been nothing but self-humiliation.
Li Luo could never admit this. From childhood, he had always prided himself on being better than Li Shu, always striving to outdo him in everything. He couldn’t bear to lose now, especially not so thoroughly.
“You see, even you know it’s impossible. So, what are you trying to express by blocking my way now?” This time, Li Shu no longer hid the emotions in his eyes—mockery and disdain.
As if burned by the look, Li Luo abruptly turned his gaze away.
“You’re just taking out your anger. You know yourself that this has little to do with me. Helian Zheng backed out of the engagement because he didn’t want to be with you. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“Shut up!” Li Luo snapped viciously, having his innermost thoughts exposed.
Li Shu looked away. “Then can you step aside?”
Li Luo didn’t gain anything from this meeting. Instead, he suffered a blow to his pride. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only watch Li Shu leave.
Li Shu was no longer the person he had imagined. Li Luo had a premonition that even if this wasn’t Li Shu’s doing, it was certainly connected to him.
Li Shu hadn’t lied—he hadn’t expected Helian Zheng to break off the engagement. All he had done was cause some trouble for the Li family. It was also this move that forced the patriarch of the Li family to choose between the engagement and the family business, which, in a way, had helped Helian Zheng.
Thanks to both the Li and Helian families’ efforts, the matter of the engagement banquet wasn’t widely discussed. At least, no one discussed it openly. Whether people talked about it in private, no one could say.
After this, Li Luo didn’t go to school for a long time. Soon after, the school entered a long break. Li Shu packed his things and left Empire Star, heading for Moz Star.
Moz Star was far from the Empire Star. Once on the ship, Li Shu escaped the Li family’s surveillance and resumed his identity as “Lu Xi”.
Coincidentally, Gu Lin mentioned that there had been a lead on that matter.
As soon as Lu Xi appeared, the forces that had been watching him received word. Although they didn’t know why he had appeared on Moz Star, they still sent many people after him.
After the competition, Lu Xi had disappeared without a trace, causing many to use all their resources to search for him. For a strong figure like him, even if they couldn’t recruit him, they couldn’t allow him to fall into other people’s hands—especially not into enemy hands.
Having one Gu Lin was enough to give them a headache. If another “Gu Lin” appeared, it was something no one wanted to see.
Li Shu noticed that he had picked up a few tails, but he didn’t mind. He had come to Moz Star under this identity to stir up the waters. The more chaotic things became, the more likely something hidden would be revealed.
The Yue family’s matter had happened so long ago. Even if there had been traces left behind, they would have been erased over the years. How many people on Moz Star still remembered the Yue family from back then?
Time is the most ruthless thing; it can smooth over everything that has happened, whether tragic or joyful. In its presence, all people and events are equal.
On Moz Star, there were those sent by Gu Lin to assist and as soon as Li Shu arrived, someone approached him.
“Excuse me, are you Mr. Lu?”
Li Shu nodded, “There are some little bugs behind.”
The person took what Li Shu had in his hands. “Rest assured, sir, we will handle it.”
Gu Lin had arranged a place for Li Shu to stay. He only spent one night there and then made an excuse to leave the next day, disappearing without a trace.
“You say the person is missing?” Gu Lin put down the documents in his hand and asked.
“It was my subordinate’s mistake.” The man lowered his head, admitting his mistake. They never expected that the person who had obediently followed the arrangements would suddenly disappear the next day; it seemed the compliance on the first day was merely to lower their vigilance.
For a moment, no one spoke in the room, and the atmosphere became tense. The man kept his head down, not daring to defend himself.
After a period of silence, a deep male voice rang out in the room, “Wasn’t there news before that zerg had appeared in the Naz Star System? Arrange it; we are going there.”
“Marshal, it may not be appropriate to go there now.” Their matters were at a critical juncture, and leaving hastily could disrupt their plans.
“Do as I say.” The tone left no room for argument.
The adjutant wanted to say something more but, seeing the marshal’s expression, ultimately said nothing.
Moz Star belonged to the Naz Star System, and he understood why the marshal wanted to go there. Although the news had been concealed, it was no big secret that the Omega from the Li family, Li Shu, had disappeared aboard the spaceship to Moz Star.
Eliminating the zerg was a pretext; finding someone was the real objective. If he hadn’t been unable to leave, the marshal would probably have gone directly as soon as the news came.
Their return to the Empire Star had already triggered some people’s nerves; they were supposed to stay hidden for a while…
The adjutant sighed and went to make arrangements.
This was the first time the marshal had been moved; as the adjutant, he certainly had to support him.
Li Shu was stopped in a small alley by a somewhat disheveled-looking man.
“Stop investigating the Yue family matter.” The man went straight to the point.
