Chapter 162: The Grand Finale

Lu Chen's long legs gave him an advantage; fortunately, that explosion didn't cause him to lose his legs.

Lu Chen took huge strides, and Xie Wantang was exhausted from chasing him.

As they neared the parking lot, Lu Chen deliberately slowed his pace, letting Xie Wantang catch up in an instant.

"Lu Chen, what did you just say? You said King isn't dead? Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true. If King pursues you, would you accept his courtship?" Lu Chen asked.

"King really isn't dead?" Xie Wantang was still wrestling with the question.

If King isn't dead, why would Professor Wu say otherwise?

"Answer me first: if King pursues you, would you agree?" Lu Chen insisted on that answer.

"If he pursues me, I would definitely say yes," Xie Wantang lifted her head and neck, deliberately provoking Lu Chen.

"……"

Yet Lu Chen didn't get angry; instead, he laughed out loud.

Xie Wantang thought his laugh was oddly weird.

King is Professor Wu's student, and Professor Wu is Lu Chen's grandfather, so Lu Chen is currently the only person in the world who knows King's whereabouts.

"Where is King? Can you take me to see him?"

"If I take you to see him, you'll have to become my girlfriend."

"……"

Xie Wantang was stunned; Lu Chen was quite good at playing mind games.

He could manipulate her so easily.

Xie Wantang pursed her lips, "What if I refuse?"

How could she let him succeed so easily? She had secretly loved him for a long time, only to be deceived by him for so long.

"Then I won't take you to see King. Whenever you become my girlfriend, I'll take you. For now, let's go eat first; you can think it over slowly; I'm not in a hurry."

Lu Chen was steady; he easily had Xie Wantang under his control.

Xie Wantang felt like vomiting to death.

"Fine, I agree," Xie Wantang said before even getting into the car.

She was disgusted with her own incompetence, but what could she do? After all, she had laid her cards so completely bare in front of Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was her real-life hero; for saving her life, she offered herself to him.

King was her ideal idol, a legend in the voiceprint world; if he had kept studying, doing the kind of work like retrieving bodies from the sea, he might have broken through years ago.

But she didn't know what happened to him; he quit the voiceprint circle midway.

Otherwise, there would be no day for her to shine brightly.

"You agreed so quickly?" Lu Chen, seeing his scheme succeed, laughed heartily, "Get in the car first."

"……"

Xie Wantang obediently got into the car, eager to see what Lu Chen intended to do.

He knew many of her weaknesses, but Lu Chen didn't understand women; after all, women are fickle.

She now agreed to be his girlfriend, yet she could still get angry.

Getting angry and demanding a breakup is a woman's right.

She is a woman; enjoying that right is beyond reproach.

Thus, the two got into the car with their own plans.

It wasn't Qingming; there weren't many cars leaving the cemetery, and on the whole road down the hill, there was only their car.

Only a few scattered vehicles, occasionally an engineering truck or something.

Lu Chen rolled down the window; a gentle breeze ruffled Xie Wantang's long hair.

"Lu Chen, are you finally going to say it?"

"Alright, say it," Xie Wantang urged.

"Far away in the heavens, yet close before the eyes."

"……"

"Are you... are you King?" Xie Wantang thought for a long time before understanding Lu Chen's hint.

She stared at Lu Chen in disbelief, thinking, "This guy, is he lying without even drafting it?"

Lu Chen nodded, admitting he was King.

But Xie Wantang didn't believe him.

Lu Chen turned on the right turn signal and pulled the car over to the roadside.

He rummaged in the car for a casual notebook and, on it, smoothly signed King's name.

"You've seen so many of my notes; you should recognize my handwriting, right?"

"……"

Indeed, she recognized it.

But...

Xie Wantang could feel her anger level rising.

Who previously said he had laid everything out honestly?

Who earlier claimed he would never deceive her again in this lifetime?

She had been constantly trying to find him for him, and that damned Lu Chen, he kept official matters hidden, and now even this private matter he hides from her.

Pretending to be Lu Yanshen was to find Lu Yanshen; he didn't tell her, so she gave up.

Moreover, there was a bomb in the car; to keep her and the child alive, he chose to sacrifice himself alone, keeping it from her for her sake, and she could also let it be.

So, why hide the fact that you're King?

After all this time, she just couldn't believe that Lu Chen couldn't find a single opportunity.

He even had the nerve to use King, forcing her to agree to be his girlfriend.

Sheer shamelessness.

Too much.

Xie Wantang chose to get out of the car directly, without even saying goodbye to Lu Chen.

Seeing Xie Wantang get out of the car, Lu Chen was dumbfounded; he thought it was a huge surprise, so he saved it for last.

As a result, Xie Wantang blew up.

Lu Chen pushed open the door, left the car door open, and went after her.

"No, Xie Wantang, what do you mean?"

"Lu Chen, we're completely over. Don't ever come looking for me again in this lifetime. Get lost."

……

Oh wow!

He messed up.

He had originally thought of saving this surprise for the night of their wedding, when the bridal chamber would be lit with candles.

Fortunately, fortunately.

If he had followed his original plan, I'm afraid Xie Wantang would have overturned the bridal chamber.

When she explodes, it's truly incredible.

Lu Chen chased after her again; this time he directly scooped Xie Wantang up by the waist, turned, and walked toward his car.

"Lu Chen, you bastard, put me down."

"No, we'll talk in the car."

"I won't."

She could call her family's driver to pick her up; she refused to ride in Lu Chen's car or be with him.

Xie Wantang was stubborn, and Lu Chen became even more insistent.

Holding her, he quickly flung open the rear car door, placed Xie Wantang inside, and then got in himself.

When Xie Wantang tried to open the car door, Lu Chen, quick-eyed and quick-handed, pulled her back into his embrace.

"Let me explain."

……

Xie Wantang quieted for a moment, then began to struggle again.

Lu Chen simply cupped her face, kissed her first, then spoke.

After kissing for a long, long time, Lu Chen still didn't let go, and Xie Wantang suddenly felt wronged.

Tears streamed uncontrollably.

He said he'd explain, but in the end he didn't utter a single word of explanation, just playing the rogue.

What kind of man is this—how did she ever fall for him, and stay with him so long?

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.

She no longer wanted to like him.

He was truly annoying.

Feeling Xie Wantang crying, Lu Chen panicked, quickly let her go, and said, "Sorry, Xie Wantang."

Xie Wantang turned her head away, ignoring him.

Lu Chen still held her tightly and began to explain: "It's like this—when it comes to not being King, I have to mention my foster parents. I know you misunderstand them, thinking I'm dead and they're cold-hearted, and that Yan Xiu approached them for cooperation, which they agreed to."

"Actually, they're people who love scientific research, who love work above all else. At that time, they wanted to run a memory-transfer experiment, hoping to find someone with high intelligence to volunteer, but no one was willing."

"They're the ones who raised me. I happened to be heading to Sijiucheng to find Lu Yanshen, so I agreed to be their lab rat. For this, my maternal grandfather even argued with them."

"Now the experiment is a success; the crystal card storing memories related to King has been reimplanted in my brain, and all my past memories tied to King have been recovered."

"In the future, if there are patients with hereditary Alzheimer's in the family, this could prevent it—when young, store important people and events on a memory card, transfer them first, then, when the disease strikes, surgically reimplant them back into the brain so they can be recalled."

"If this ever goes clinical, it'll be a boon for countless patients, right?"

……

Xie Wantang was shocked, yet she relented.

She realized that all of Lu Chen's concealments seemed to have reasons that made it hard for her to stay angry.

Sigh——

There's nothing to be done; in this lifetime, she's destined to fall into Lu Chen's hands.

"Lu Chen—" Xie Wantang truly came to her senses; after hearing his explanation, she was no longer angry with him, and she voluntarily leaned into his embrace, one hand around his neck, saying, "You really must not lie to me again."

"Mm, I promise."

"Then do you love me?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Half an hour later, a black car slowly descended the winding mountain road, ushering in their new journey……

(End of text)