Chapter 980: Time to wake up
Yue Lingâs fingers twitched. Her breathing deepened. Eyelids fluttered, then cracked open, revealing eyes still glazed with sleep. She blinked a few times, trying to focus, her brow furrowing as the world came into view.
Her body felt heavy, her limbs stiff, and she was reluctant to move. She stretched slowly, wincing slightly as her muscles remembered the night.
Confusion lingered for a heartbeat as she thought.
Where am I?
But then memory caught up quietly and gently, and the fog lifted.
The moment she confirmed that Grandfather Ji was dying. The moment she confronted him, she found out that Lu Tian had known her all along.
She had asked to be left alone.
She thought she would drive around Imperial to clear her mind, but her legs brought her to her family home in City Z for some unknown reason.
She looked up at the view before her and felt like time had stopped.
Sunlight filters through translucent panels, casting a soft, golden glow over rows of vibrant plants. The air is warm and damp, carrying the earthy scent of soil and the fresh, green fragrance of growing things.
Shelves and tables overflow with potsâsome neatly arranged, others a bit wildâfilled with herbs, flowers, vegetables, and exotic plants with names only gardeners remember.
Itâs peaceful inside. Quiet.
It is as if time slows down to match the rhythm of nature. Outside, the world can rush and roarâbut inside the greenhouse, life simply grows.
Her harabeojiâs greenhouse.
The one place he found solitude and peace.
The one place that became her solitude, too, after losing him.
Her eyes trembled, and she stood up, remembering how different it was last night when she entered the building.
Seeing it now was like she had returned to the past when he was alive and always maintained the greenhouse no matter how busy he was.
Her footsteps made no sound, gliding over ground that shifted with every blink. There was something distant in her eyesânot empty, but faraway, as if she were seeing another world layered over this one.
Then she sees the figure of someone she misses dearly.
His back was turned to her, but she recognized it instantlyâthe familiar slope of his shoulders, the way he stood with quiet strength, hands clasped behind him just as he always did when deep in thought.
Her breath caught in her throat. So many memories lived in that silhouette. So much love. So much regret.
He was feared in the underworld, but she wasnât scared of him. To her, he kept her safe and never judged her.
Tears made their way to her eyes, and she trembled a whisper.
"Harabeoji..."
And like every time she calls to him, he turns to look at her.
His warm smile was like a quiet sunriseâgentle, steady, and full of quiet reassurance.
"My child, whatâs wrong?"
The question made Yue Ling and her tears slide down her cheeks. She doesnât hesitate and runs to him. Her arms wrap around his waist, and she sobs into his chest.
"I missed you so much."
Old Han sighs, his smile enhancing the creases in his eyes. He holds his granddaughter with one hand while the other is raised to caress her head.
"Iâve missed you, too, my child. You have grown to be an outstanding woman."
He let her stay in his arms until she stopped crying, then sat her down on the bench in the greenhouse. It was the bench she always sat on when she was young and waited for him.
Yue Ling held her paternal grandfatherâs hand as if he would disappear the minute she let go. Her words were brokenâfragile, scattered, caught between breath and emotion.
"Harabeoji... Yeye... heâs..."
Her lips trembled, and she struggled to form the next sentence. Each word seemed to take effort, like speaking through a tight throat full of unshed tears.
"Yeye, heâs..."
The words she wanted to say were there. But sorrow made them slippery, fragile, hard to hold.
Old Han looked at her with eyes that softenedânot with pity, but with quiet understanding. His hand gently tightens on her before stroking her hair again.
"I know."
Yue Ling lifts her head to look at him, a tear slipping from her eyes. She wants to ask how he knows, but a quiet voice in her head tells her how he knows.
As if he had heard that voice, Old Han sighed another smile.
"Ah Ling, I know you are hurting. I heard you cry. Your sadness and angerâI can feel them."
He raises a hand to caress her cheekâhis expression as if engraving it into his soul.
"You have suffered so much."
His eyes tremble with unshed tears.
"Although weâve left you, Old Ji is still here. Do not shut yourself out. Use this time to spend every waking moment with him. Do not make decisions that you will regret when his time is up. If you do, you will regret it for the rest of your life."
His words fell over her like a comfort long missed, and with a tenderness only he possessed, he gently wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Parting is always hard," he murmured, "but itâs time to wake up, my child."
He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"There are still others who need you."
As he pulled back, his eyes met hersâfull of love, full of quiet pride, soft and unwavering in their gaze.
"Never forget," he whispered, "our hearts will always be with you. And we are so proud of you."
Yue Lingâs shoulder trembles as tears slide down her cheeks in silence. She hugs her paternal grandfather as if telling him not to leave her.
However, she knew better than anyone that she couldnât ask him to stay.
She clutched the edge of his shirt, looking for something solid to hold onto as her world seemed to be falling apart. She knew she would never see him again if she let go of him.
And thenâ
A sharp inhale.
Eyes opened.
The room was still. Quiet but familiar.
The tears were still fresh on her face, the heaviness lingering in their chest, but the dreamâthe memory, the sorrowâhad faded into morning light. She blinked, disoriented, caught between sleep and reality, unsure which one hurt more.
The light was soft, filtering through the curtains, but it wasnât what pulled her back. It was the presence holding her in his lap.
He was there, arms cradling her to his chest, his eyes searching her face with quiet urgency. His brows were furrowed, lips parted as if holding back a dozen questions.
The moment their eyes met, his expression shiftedânot to relief but to something deeper: worry wrapped in love.
"Youâre awake."
He breathed, voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking louder might break her again.
His hand hovered near hers, not touching, just closeâwaiting. Watching. Wanting to help, afraid to hurt.
She blinked slowly, trying to figure out where she was and why his eyes looked so stormy. But in that moment, all she could see was himâhis fear, his care, and the way his world seemed to be holding its breath just for her.
Her hand raised to touch his face. Her eyes were searching his for longer than a second.
"Tian..."
Lu Tian grabs her hand and leans into it as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded.
His eyes closed for a moment, lashes brushing against his cheeks. He exhaled slowly, like the warmth of her touch was something he hadnât realized he needed until that moment. Her palm rested against his cheek, gentle and trembling, but he held it there as if anchoring himself to something real.
"Iâm sorry."
Two simple words, but they carried the weight of everything he couldnât fix.
He held her closer to him and kissed the palm of her hand.
"Iâm so sorry I kept it from you. I should have told you the moment I found out."
He lets go of her hand but only to wrap his hand around her, joining his other hand. He pulls her closer to him on his lap and leans his head on her shoulder.
"You can hate me, yell at me, or hit me. Do whatever you want, but please donât leave me. Please, donât push me away."
Yue Lingâs eyes trembled at his words. She struggles a little to move her arms and hugs the man holding her.
"Iâm not leaving you."
She had thought it was the best choice to leave him so he would not have to suffer the tragedies that came her way, but now, she wanted to walk it with him.
With this decision, she pulled away from Lu Tian and held his face with her hands, her bluish-green eyes gazing into his dark ones.
"I wonât lie that Iâm not angry, but I understand. I know yeye, and he must have made you promise not to tell me in fear of hurting me."
Lu Tian felt some weight lifted from his shoulders, but that still didnât compare to the guilt that lingered.
"Still, I should have told you. Heâs your grandfather, and it was only right that you knew instead of being too late."
Yue Ling could feel the guilt eating him from the inside. She leans in and kisses his forehead.
"I donât blame you."
She presses her forehead against his and inhales his scent.
"Just donât keep any more secrets from me."
Lu Tian nods in promise, and this time, he looks at her. His expression holds a gentle sadness. His brows are slightly drawn, and his mouth parted, like he wants to say something but doesnât know how to tell her.
"What is it?"
Yue Ling knew the look in his eyes. It was the kind that made one make when something profound happened.
At this thought, her eyes widened as fear crept inside her.
"Is my grandfather alright? Did something happen?"
She had left after confronting her grandfather without hearing his explanation. Could it be that something happened because she decided to shut everyone out?
Not hearing a response, she stares at the man in front of her, not realizing she was holding her breath.
"Tian, what is it?"
Lu Tian remembered how she looked when he first arrived at the greenhouseâfragile and distant, as if the weight of the world had pressed the light out of her eyes.
And then, heâd seen her cryâsoft, silent tears slipping down her cheeks as her body curled in on itself.
He couldnât forget it. He didnât want to. Because that pain reminded him just how much she had endured. And how much he wanted to help carry it now.
However, he needed to tell her.
He holds her hands with both his and squeezes them lightly.
"Your brotherâs been kidnapped."