Chapter 238: Back To That Key Moment ⑦

Previous Chapter ◊ Table of Content ◊ Next Chapter

Chapter 238: Back To That Key Moment ⑦

After Lu Xiufan left the capital, even the Queen could no longer contact him directly. He had originally planned to stay in Linde Town for a year or so, but his vacation ended early after less than three months. The reason was simple: Her Majesty had begun publicly searching for the “missing” Prince through the media. By now, the entire world probably knew that a certain lord had abandoned his official duties and skipped work for three months.

Given the complicated situation in the capital, Lu Xiufan did not bring Shang Ke back with him. No matter how reluctant they were, they could only separate temporarily.

“These are for you.” Before leaving, Lu Xiufan handed Shang Ke three cards. One was a premium bank card granting the highest tier of service, another was a fund card tied to dividends from the Lu Family’s businesses, and the last authorized access to all real estate owned by Lu Xiufan. Shang Ke’s fingerprint credentials had been added to all three, giving him the same usage rights as Lu Xiufan.

“This fund card also gives you access to the network behind every business under the Lu Family. If you run into any trouble, you can ask them to handle it for you.” Lu Xiufan explained everything carefully, his eyes filled with worry and reluctance.

Shang Ke put the cards away safely, then watched Lu Xiufan leave without saying a single word of farewell.

Once Lu Xiufan returned to the capital, every faction that had been surging beneath the surface instantly became calm and peaceful. He was like a pillar capable of calming the sea: as long as he stood there, no one dared stir up waves.

A certain someone had returned brimming with murderous intent, only to find not a single troublemaker in sight. Naturally, his mood became terrible. Just as he was considering who to use as a sacrificial target, he received an encrypted message from his personal guards. 【My lord, Second Young Master left Linde Town today and flew to Duri City.】

In private, the guards all called Shang Ke “Second Young Master.” Lu Xiufan was the second son of his generation in the Lu Family, so his “wife” would properly be the Second Young Madam. For convenience, the guards simply shortened it to “Second Young Master.”

Duri City bordered the capital, Soya, and could be reached in only a few hours. It contained the country’s largest industrial district and technology park, drawing outstanding talent from every field. After a moment of thought, Lu Xiufan guessed Shang Ke’s purpose. He had seen Shang Ke’s business plan before; evidently, Shang Ke was preparing to put it into action.

“I’ve only been gone three days, and he already couldn’t wait to fly off…” Lu Xiufan looked lonely. Then he remembered that Shang Ke had chosen Duri City as the location for his business. The reason was obvious: it would make seeing him much easier.

Lu Xiufan’s expression warmed, and his normally perfectly upright posture relaxed backward by five degrees.

A week later, another message arrived from the guards. 【Second Young Master is preparing to register a company. He has several possible names and would like to ask for your opinion.】

Lu Xiufan replied: 【I have no objections. Let him decide.】

The guard reported: 【Second Young Master’s company has been successfully registered under the name Covenantor Technology Co., Ltd.】

Lu Xiufan: 【On opening day, send fifty flower stands and a batch of laboratory equipment.】

Guard: 【Second Young Master says fifty flower stands are too many. Two will be enough.】

Lu Xiufan, furious: 【Who told you to warn him beforehand? Couldn’t you have just delivered them on opening day?!】

Guard: 【Actually… Second Young Master cracked our communication encryption himself.】

Lu Xiufan: “…”

See? Having a lover who was too intelligent was not necessarily a good thing…

Lu Xiufan and Shang Ke remained in constant contact through the personal guards. With messages passing back and forth every day, the distance between them seemed insignificant and even developed a peculiar kind of charm.

Their once-daily exchanges soothed Lu Xiufan’s violent restlessness. Gradually, he settled down enough to focus on his work, resolving one lingering danger after another as thoroughly as possible.

While Lu Xiufan traded polite smiles and hidden blades with the various political factions, Shang Ke concentrated on building his own career. The two cities stood side by side and were not far apart, but both men restrained themselves and did not meet.

Three months later, Shang Ke’s company officially began operations. It was not large at first, but it had abundant funding, complete equipment, and an impressive concentration of talent. Its starting point was high enough to leave competitors dumbfounded. Shang Ke, however, kept an extremely low profile and attracted little outside attention. Only when the company’s new technology swept through the market at astonishing speed and triggered a craze did every faction finally begin paying attention.

Lu Xiufan had originally prepared to protect the company from behind the scenes. Instead, Shang Ke advanced from victory to victory without a single obstacle, giving him absolutely no opportunity to show off.

See? Having a lover who was too capable was not necessarily a good thing either…

Half a year passed before anyone noticed. Shang Ke transformed into a reclusive technical expert, personally handling only research and development while leaving company management to professionals. Unless an important decision required him, he almost never appeared in public.

While Shang Ke’s side flourished, someone elsewhere was living an utterly miserable life.

At the old Yue Family residence, Yue Xuan sat in front of the television and watched the news with a blank expression. Suddenly, a familiar figure flashed across the screen. His pupils contracted. His numb face slowly twisted into something vicious, and he grabbed a cup from the table and hurled it at the screen.

“Ah-Xuan, what’s wrong?” His mother, Lady Chang, hurried over and asked nervously.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” Yue Xuan seized Lady Chang by the throat, madness and violence filling his eyes.

Lady Chang’s face turned blue as she struggled in pain.

The servants outside heard the disturbance and rushed in to save her. Yue Xuan was extremely strong, and it took several of them considerable effort to pry him away.

“Cough, cough…” Lady Chang clutched her throat and coughed uncontrollably, tears filling her eyes as she stared at her deranged son.

Years ago, she had schemed to turn Yue Ze into an emotionless Covenantor. Now her own child had, through Lu Xiufan’s designs, become a mentally unstable madman. She hated Yue Ze. She hated Lu Xiufan. Most of all, she hated herself for not having been ruthless enough. If she had simply killed Yue Ze back then, how could she have ended up like this today?

Yet it never occurred to her that none of these tragedies would have happened if she herself had not been so greedy and calculating.

Lady Chang looked toward the television. The screen was showing news coverage of an exhibition, and she had missed the fleeting figure entirely. In her mind, Yue Ze was already dead while her own child was still alive. It was only by clinging to that pitiful, twisted satisfaction that she had managed to endure until now, guarding her insane son and living inside a world of her own making…

After Yue Ze’s “death,” the Yue Family had gradually declined. Offending Lu Xiufan was equivalent to offending the entire political establishment and business world. Unless they left the country, they would never rise again.

Years later, when they finally discovered that the heir they had once discarded was still alive, he had already reached a height they could never touch and become an influential figure in the field of technology.

Beep! Late one night, while Lu Xiufan was still working, an encrypted message arrived from his personal guards. 【My lord, a suitor has recently appeared around Second Young Master. Every night, he stands beneath Second Young Master’s building and sings love songs.】

What? Lu Xiufan’s gaze sharpened.

【Since when?】

【One week ago.】

【Why are you only reporting this now?!】

【My apologies, my lord. At first, we did not realize that the man had improper intentions toward Second Young Master.】

【Have you identified him?】

【Jebru, twenty-seven years old, heir to the Telema Group. Handsome, charming, distinguished in appearance, and exceptionally masculine.】

His identity would have been enough. Why add all those adjectives?

Lu Xiufan’s face turned cold as he continued messaging. 【You said he was doing what beneath Second Young Master’s building?】

【Singing love songs.】

Excellent.

Lu Xiufan opened his communicator and quickly dialed a number. A pleasant female voice answered almost immediately. “Hello, this is the XOX Reporting Center. How may I assist you?”

“Someone is creating excessive noise in the XX residential district and disturbing the residents. Send someone to deal with it immediately.”

“Understood. The report has been recorded, and personnel will be dispatched immediately. Thank you for your public-spirited report.” After hanging up, the operator noticed that the number was not local but came from the capital. She initially assumed it was a prank—until she saw that the area code belonged to a royal line. Nearly scared out of her wits, she immediately notified her superior.

Thirty minutes later, four or five police vehicles stormed into Shang Ke’s residential complex. A large group of heavily armed tactical officers poured out and bundled away the unlucky man who had been loudly singing love songs as though they had just apprehended a terrorist…

Shang Ke glanced curiously out the window, paid it no further attention, and returned to editing his program.

After an unknown amount of time, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Shang Ke was deep in thought and did not notice when the bell stopped after several rings. A figure opened the door and quietly entered his room.

“Keke.”

Shang Ke felt a pair of powerful arms wrap around him, followed by warm breath beside his ear.

“A’xiu?”

His answer was a deep, passionate kiss. Lu Xiufan pulled Shang Ke onto his lap, wrapped both arms around his waist, and gently nibbled at his lips.

Shang Ke drew back slightly. “Why are you here?”

Lu Xiufan had not even put on a coat. A trace of winter chill still clung to him, yet his body itself burned hot.

“I missed you.” And I was worried someone might steal you away. Lu Xiufan rested his head against Shang Ke’s chest and quietly listened to the familiar beat of his heart.

Shang Ke stroked his hair, then suddenly asked, “Have you showered?”

Lu Xiufan paused. “No.”

“Perfect. Neither have I.” Shang Ke sincerely invited him, “Let’s shower together.”

“Gladly!” Lu Xiufan instantly came alive, swept him into his arms, and strode eagerly toward the bathroom.

“I’m off tomorrow.”

“Perfect. So am I.”

Lu Xiufan “disappeared” again. He was gone for only three days this time, but that was still enough to leave the Queen worried sick.

Lu Xiufan’s temper had improved lately, but he seemed to care less and less about actually doing his job. The Queen began considering whether she ought to punish him somehow—perhaps by docking his salary.

Before the Queen could act, however, Lu Xiufan had already begun planning his “retirement”…

Three years later, Lu Xiufan laid down his heavy responsibilities. He retained only his noble title and an honorary councilor position, devoting himself thereafter to being an idle aristocrat.

With Lu Xiufan’s help, Shang Ke’s planned Covenantor school successfully received approval and was established, offering free admission to Covenantors from throughout the country. In its early years, Shang Ke poured enormous amounts of manpower and resources into the school without receiving any profit. Many people respected what he was doing while secretly laughing at him for taking on so much thankless work.

But when the first class of Covenantors graduated and entered Shang Ke’s companies and factories one after another, they finally proved their value through results.

Covenantors were focused, conscientious, and meticulous about fulfilling their assigned duties. Only a handful of them were needed to form an efficient, streamlined workflow. More importantly, once they signed a contract, they did not arrive late or leave early, skip work without cause, change jobs on a whim, leak trade secrets, accept bribes, or deviate from the terms of their agreement. The only exception was when an employer violated the Covenantors’ basic code of conduct first—for example through abuse, withheld wages, or demands that they participate in illegal activities outside their contracted duties.

A few years later, one Covenantor completed more than a thousand tedious experiments and successfully developed a powerful evolutionary vaccine. The achievement won an international award and caused an enormous sensation worldwide.

Yet an even greater sensation followed. The renowned Prince publicly chose a Covenantor as his life partner. And when the Covenantor who had won the international prize returned home, he presented the honor he had earned to the couple as a wedding gift.

Lu Xiufan and Shang Ke’s wedding became a turning point in the social status of Covenantors…

As more and more Covenantors entered different professions, the scale of their contributions only continued to grow. By the time employers began actively seeking them out, Covenantors had already become highly sought-after talent fought over by every major organization. Not long afterward, the Queen formally authorized Shang Ke’s Covenantor school as the only official institution qualified to oversee Covenantor placement.

Previous Chapter ◊ Table of Content ◊ Next Chapter