I am here

Chapter 34: I am here.

"Ling Yue, let us go upstairs. Get up" Li Wei tried to help her stand up but Ling Yue didn't yield to him and settled herself in his lap with her back against his strong chest.

She could feel his heartbeat drumming against her back and reverberating inside her chest. A vibration which synced with her own. Calming her nerves, and gently lulling her to slumber.

"Ling Yue. Get up" Li Wei started coaxing her to get up. Ling Yue stirred a little as she felt his vocal vibrations.

"Hmm... Li Wei.... Your heartbeat sounds like a beautiful euphony... I want to hear it more" Ling Yue's soft, dulcet tone reached Li Wei as Ling Yue turned a little and stuck her little ear to his chest.

"Li Wei. Don't disturb her. Take her upstairs" father Li instructed Li Wei. His tone was earnest, indicating he wasn't in a mood to joke and was serious.

Li Wei nodded before lifting up Ling Yue in his arms and walking towards the stairs.

The atmosphere was no more cheerful as before. They all felt like Ling Yue has bottled up a lot inside her and what they saw today was just a glimpse of it. And that too because she was drunk and all out.

Sigh.

Li Mei silently went back to her room.

Mother Li and Father Li were still in the living room. They felt a weird tightness in their chest as they watched Ling Yue cry. It was exactly how they felt when Li Wei or Li Mei cried.

Just like Li Wei, father Li too had done his homework on that Su family which had built a grave for their own daughter who was perfectly healthy and breathing. He didn't know what happened later.

He will not sit quite now. It has been long since he has done some proper work. He start with this Su family, and later move on to that Qin family. He smirked and retired to his room.

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"Ling Yue, let me go" Li Wei was lying on Ling Yue's bed with Ling Yue laying on top of him with her ear still pressed to his chest.

"Don't go, please. Few more minutes" Ling Yue spoke in a drowsy voice and if it wasn't for Li Wei constantly asking her to get up, she would have fallen asleep long ago.

Li Wei sighed. This 'few more minutes' has been going on for a hour now. Fine. This will be last few more minutes. He was going back to his room after this.

----

Li Wei was now back at the acme of Ji Jing. He looked around, finding the place a little different.

Huh? This place was not like this when he came here with Ling Yue.

He can see few well cultivated fields in the far.

Li Wei turned around when he heard rustling and crunching sounds behind him. His eyes widened when he saw Ling Yue coming out of the trees and bushes and making her way towards him.

But... No.. It was not Ling Yue.. It was Xenxi.. Her blue eyes. Disappointed and lifeless. A huge contrast to Ling Yue's.

He saw he walk towards him and passed through his vapour like invisible body.

"X-Xenxi" Li Wei called her, though he doubted he would get a response. And just as he doubted, she didn't hear him and continued walking towards the edge and stood their looking at the seemingly bottomless abyss of Ji Jing.

Li Wei panicked when he saw her looking down. Was she going jump down?

"Xenxi, don't stand there. Come back. Xenxi, xenxi, LING YUE" Li Wei never felt this helpless in his entire life. This girl had a strong resemblance to Ling Yue. And he knew, this was Ling Yue. The shadow of a forgotten past.

Xenxi took a deep breathe before taking a step back and collapsing on the ground. She looked at her left hand, adorned with a beautiful ring, given by her Rem, who was not her's anymore.

Slowly tears filled her eyes and travelled down her cheeks, and her silent sobs gradually turned into heart wrenching cries.

"Ling Yue ... "

Li Wei didn't know how long he stood there, watching her cry, alone and miserable as few scenes flashed across his eyes. Times when Xenxi and Rem played together, teased each other, confessed to one another, and also when Xenxi was framed by the villagers, when Rem chose to believe those superstitious cabals over his love, when he chose to hate Xenxi and hurt her.

Li Wei saw all. How Rem didn't deserve her love. And how Xenxi gave her everything in their relationship. He wanted to hug her but he suddenly felt disgusted by himself.

Xenxi finally calmed down and started collecting small rocks and pebbles. Li Wei watched her curiously.

Xenxi stopped when she felt she had collected enough and started arranging them on the ground. Li Wei watched her, and soon understood that she wanted to deliver a message.

'Rem, We won't be meeting ever again. You might have abandoned our love, but I will not. I don't need you to love you. And I am enough to love myself. Good bye'

Xenxi took a deep breathe before leaving the place. Li Wei still stood there and watched Rem come over and read the message. He laughed bitterly as saw Rem, a carbon copy of himself, kicking the stones and departing.

Li Wei can now describe Rem in a single word - JERK.

And how dare this jerk tell her whether she deserved to be loved or not. He clenched his fists but knew he could do nothing but watch.

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Li Wei gasped as he opened his eyes. His eyes were unfocused as he recollected the dream. This time it was no more blurry. He saw everything clearly. He remembered everything. He hurt her. He ridiculed her. He abandoned her.

Sob... sob..

Li Wei broke from his reverie as soon as he heard a faint sobbing in the room. He tried to getup but immediately felt a wait on his body and saw Ling Yue sleeping, while hugging his waist with her head still on his chest.

She looked restless and he can't watch her like that anymore. He took his right hand to cheek and caressed it.

"YueYue, I am here. Shhh..., you are no more alone dear" his voice was so tender, just enough to reach her ears.

"I am not going anywhere. You are not alone." Li Wei gently rubbed her back as he brought her closer and deeper into his embrace.

"YueYue. I didn't come to you so that one fine day I can leave you. I came to you because I wanted to stay with you. Shh.. Don't cry" Li Wei placed a chaste kiss on Ling Yue's forehead and softly rocked her, emancipating her from the clutches of her nightmare and putting her back to sleep.

Ling Yue agitation soon washed away as her subconscious mind processed Li Wei words.

Li Wei looked at now peacefully sleeping in his arms. He didn't see their entire life, but enough to see that he hurt her. He too had scarred her. He hugged her tighter as he remembered how she died, and he was late.

No. This time he won't let those misfortunes happen.

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Li Wei dozed off holding Ling Yue in her his embrace. But his biological clock woke him up as usual. He looked at the little bunny still hugging him and dreaming. A smile settled on his lips as soon as saw her.

He soon got off the bed and thought of making a hangover soup for her. He knew she might have a severe headache later.

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"B-Boss.. AtStar f-failed to get the deal" a young man in his twenties shivered as he informed his boss.

"Ohh.. So AtStar was useless" a deep voice sounded in the dungeon. The voice only elevated the already profound darkness in the lockup, sending bone deep chills to the young messenger.

The young man, Oscar, looked at the figure sitting in the shadows. There was no source of light in the room except for the little moonlight penetrating in through the fallen bricks.

The owner of that deep voice, clad in black clothes with a hood covering his face got up from his chair and moved towards a table which held a variety of knifes and nails.

The rings adorned on his hand shone as moon light fell on them. Those beautifully embedded stones, which were coveted by many for their beauty were now gleaming malevolently in the dungeon.

"Oscar, right?" the owner of the rings asked. His tone was innocent, seemingly curious, but the underlying danger was evident.

Oscar bobbed his head up and down. He cursed his fate. Why was he the one who delivered this bad news?

Jade Nicholas chuckled when he looked at the man who was just few years younger than him.

"Oscar, among all the things I hate, what I hate the most is a BAD NEWS. And second comes that unlucky postman who brought the news." Jade Nicholas spoke as he walked towards Oscar. Oscar was now struck in that dungeon. He knew trying to escape would be useless.

"Boss... Let me go an..." GASH

Blood gushed out of Oscar's now slit throat as he collapsed on the ground, desperately trying to catch breathe and helplessly watching his life slip away.

Jade Nicholas calmly watched everything till the man died and left the dungeon. His black cloak swayed along the night wind as he walked in the forest. The shadow of the hood cast on his upper half of his face veiled the surging blood thirst in his eyes.

The knife in his hand, still fresh with blood enticed the night creatures in the forest, akin to a siren luring it's prey out.

Jade Nicholas steps were like a viper silently lurking in the dark. His posture was relaxed as he moved further into the dense forest.

Roar ... growl ...

The eerie silence of the night was interrupted by a low roar. A black panther jumped down from a dead tree and made it's way towards Jade Nicholas. It's eyes fixated on the knife still dripping blood. The panther's yellow eyes hungrily looked at Jade but didn't dare to mistake his master as her meal.

"Black. Soon you will get a delicious meal. Heh. We have somewhere to go"