Chapter 74: Awakening

"I misunderstood! It was all wishful thinking on my part!" Sun Honglei suddenly raised his voice with a sense of grief and urgency to risk it all.

He took a step closer, his tall figure almost touching Luo Zhaohan, who took a half step back in surprise.

The distance between them instantly closed, so close that Luo Zhaohan could clearly see his eyelashes trembling with excitement. He clenched his hands tightly at his sides, and his fiery and desperate eyes were fixed firmly on Luo Zhaohan's face, which was slightly stiff with shock.

"But my feelings are real!" Sun Honglei's voice deepened, but each word was as heavy as if it hit ice. "From the first moment I saw you, I fell in love with you! Luo Zhaohan! I love you!"

He burst out with a burning confession, "For the past few months, you've been the only one in my eyes and heart! Concubine Li's thoughts, the pressure from Prince Rui's Mansion, are not the main issue! If I didn't truly love you to the core, why would I be in such agony? I only ask you... are you willing? Are you willing to give me a chance? I, Sun Honglei, swear to heaven, if I can gain your heart, you'll be the only one in my life, and I will never let you down! I swear on my Sun family ancestors and my own future!"

These words were like a bolt from the blue, hitting Luo Zhaohan's heart hard and shattering it!

She took a sudden step back, her pupils dilated in shock. "...What...did you say?!" How could this be possible? There had been no sign of this before, and she'd thought he was just as annoyed by his elders' mismatched matchmaking as she was!

Deep within the dry well, Pei Ji's tall body hunched in agony. He fiercely suppressed the excruciating pain and raging emotions churning within him, veins throbbing in his forehead and neck. Cold sweat, mixed with blood from the bite of his tongue, dripped down his tense jaw onto the muddy ground.

"I like you!"

"You are the only one in this life!"

Every word was like a red-hot iron, burning Pei Ji's soul, which was torn apart by the torture of the drugs.

Under Sun Honglei's intense gaze, Luo Zhaohan remained silent for a brief moment. This silence was like a blunt knife scraping through Sun Honglei's tense heartstrings. Then, she turned her face slightly, avoiding the overly intense light in his eyes.

"Young Master Sun," her voice was clear and calm, with a chilling chill, "I'm sorry."

Two words, clean and neat, leaving no room for ambiguity.

The light in Sun Honglei's eyes trembled suddenly, like shattered glass, and instantly extinguished, leaving only cold ashes and sharp pain. He froze in place, the hand that had almost touched her sleeve frozen in mid-air.

Pride supported his straight back—persistent? Sun Honglei couldn't do that! But the sincerity in his heart, expressed for the first time by a young man, felt like it had been pierced by a blunt object, and blood was dripping.

Luo Zhaohan lowered her eyes to the snow-covered dirt beneath her feet. She knew his passion and pride, and perhaps even a hint of sincerity. But when it comes to feelings, it's there, and it's not. Since he has no intention, why not just give up on him? That's the true respect.

"Crack--" The snow on the branches fell, breaking the silence.

Luo Zhaohan took a deep breath of cold air and prepared to say goodbye.

"Why?!" Sun Honglei's voice suddenly rose, hoarse with the unwillingness of being rejected! He suddenly took another step closer, and the stubbornness of a young man burst out, "What's wrong with me?! Miss Luo, I like you! Sincerely! I can change! What kind of person do you like? Do you think I'm frivolous? I'll restrain myself! Do you think I'm incompetent? I'll take the imperial examination! Become an official! With the foundation of my Sun family and with myself, I will definitely earn the glory worthy of you! Let you marry with glory!" He almost roared, his chest heaving violently, eager and domineering with a refusal to admit defeat.

Luo Zhaohan frowned slightly. He was closing the distance again, making her uncomfortable. Without hesitation, she took another swift step back, creating a safe distance again.

This step is like drawing a gap.

Sun Honglei looked at her calm eyes and smooth movements, and the fire in his heart extinguished with a hiss, as if extinguished by ice water. A sharp, sour taste surged up his throat.

"You...you..." He stared intently at Luo Zhaohan's cold face, his bottomless eyes obscuring any trace of emotion. A thought that made his chest ache suddenly escaped his lips, his voice dry and distorted with jealousy: "Do you...already have a crush?" - Was it Pei Ji? Why?!

Luo Zhaohan's eyes suddenly narrowed. She wasn't panicking, but the almost resentful jealousy in Sun Honglei's eyes set off alarm bells in her heart.

Her mind raced: If King Rui had ascended the throne in the previous life, Sun Honglei would have been the new powerful official!

But the Prince of Jin is watching closely, and the situation is uncertain. I can't easily make a future powerful enemy on this chessboard of power just because I reject a young love!

The pros and cons became clear in an instant. Luo Zhaohan suppressed the ripples and vigilance that had arisen in his heart at the mention of "sweetheart," his face revealing a deeper sense of distance and a hint of heaviness tinged with pity.

"Young Master Sun!" Her voice suddenly turned cold, and her expression became fierce. She did not retreat a single step, and her eyes were as sharp as a knife, piercing Sun Honglei's eyes, which were somewhat dazed by the burning of loss and jealousy.

Sun Honglei was startled by her sudden cold shout and subconsciously stopped asking questions.

Luo Zhaohan looked at him and sighed deeply, with helplessness and caution: "Your feelings are so sudden. Forgive my ignorance, I really don't understand where this feeling comes from."

She raised her head slightly, the cold winter light outlining the lines of her jaw, and her tone became increasingly cold and sharp:

"We've only met by chance before. How many times have we met? Our first meeting was right in front of my Luo family's doorstep, and you, Master Sun, personally echoed those rumors slandering me!"

She emphasized this section, her eyes showing no accusation, only cold analysis:

"Whether you were speaking out of turn, or if you wanted to hide your status under the name 'dandy', as a man, and more importantly, a member of the Marquisate's family, your words and actions carry immense weight!"

Her eyes were fixed on Sun Honglei's suddenly changing expression, and her voice was low but penetrating:

"Do you know that your 'joke' becomes a golden rule to those who want to curry favor with the Sun family? They will rush to throw dirty water on innocent people, just to make you laugh and improve their own future!"

Luo Zhaohan's voice was not loud, but every word was extremely powerful and sharp:

"How difficult is it for a woman to gain a foothold in society? How terrifying are rumors? The pain of being stabbed by a knife is like a knife scraping at one's bones. Young Master Sun, a child of destiny, you haven't experienced it, haven't thought about it, and I'm afraid you can't truly understand it, right?"

Every word was like a frosty blade, cutting through not only the young man's confession, but also the heavy weight behind the words and actions of the powerful.

On the thin snow at the mouth of the well, a drop of water dripped silently from the end of the icicle, with a light "tapping" sound, hitting the solidified air.

In the darkness of the deep well, Pei Ji pressed himself against the cold stone wall, lowering his head even lower. In the dead silence, he silently and slowly exhaled a long, condensed breath. The drop of water, along with the cold words outside the well that severed the ties of love, sank into the dark depths.

Luo Zhaohan's voice cracked like ice, carrying a heavy edge. "Young Master Sun, if you ever find yourself in a high position, your mistakes won't just be your responsibility. A single order from you, delivered to those below, could mean the death of hundreds of thousands, the destruction of entire families! The greater your authority, the more cautious you must be!"

Each word was like an icicle chiseling into Sun Honglei's tense nerves. His pupils shrank sharply, the blood drained from his face, his body swayed, and he stumbled back a step, slamming into the cold wall.

The chill of the walls seeped through her clothes, but it was nothing compared to the icy, heavy weight of her words that pierced her soul. The honors of the mansion, the flattery of servants, the playful banter of the inner circle... all those things she had once taken for granted were now ripped apart, revealing the responsibilities and shadows beneath that could crush anyone!

An unprecedented sense of panic spread like a chill along the spine.

"I..." His throat was dry, "At that time... I really didn't think so much! I just... I just agreed casually, just for fun... I didn't expect..." His voice became lower and lower, pale and weak.

Luo Zhaohan nodded slightly, his eyes sharp but no longer intimidating: "I believe that you had no ill intentions at that time." These words seemed to give Sun Honglei a breath of fresh air.

Then, her voice was calm, yet filled with deeper scrutiny: "But this 'never thought deeply' precisely demonstrates that you, young master, rarely consider others in your daily thoughts and ideas. Your heart and eyes are mostly filled with your own joys and sorrows, gains and losses, honor and disgrace. Have you ever truly lowered your head to observe the joys and sorrows of others? Have you ever listened to the cries of injustice in the world?"

Her words were like the sharpest knife, cutting through the unconscious cocoon of arrogance deep in Sun Honglei's soul that was caused by his noble birth.

"If one day you ascend to the throne and hold great power..." Her gaze rested heavily on his bleeding face, "I hope you will consider the suffering of the people and the justice of the world."

Deathly silence.

Sun Honglei felt as if his chest had been struck hard by a heavy hammer, the pain unspeakable. It wasn't an accusation that came at him, but rather she had revealed a pale and narrow-mindedness that he hadn't even realized existed.

Those once-praised talents suddenly became as ridiculous and shallow as children's play in the face of Luo Zhaohan's insight into the world and his concern for the world! He opened his mouth and found for the first time that he couldn't utter a word to defend himself.

Sun Honglei felt his face burning, as if he had been severely whipped by an invisible whip.

Every word Luo Zhaohan said was like a red-hot iron, branding itself into his brain and burning him so hard that his soul trembled.

All the pride and complacency of the past are now shattered to pieces, leaving only embarrassment.

The cold wind blew, blowing up the scattered snow foam on the ground and making Sun Honglei cold all over.

Luo Zhaohan watched him in despair, feeling no joy in her heart, only a sense of peace at having finally settled. She didn't mean to humiliate him, but simply to make him see the reality. This reality was too important to him, and to the Luo family.

"That's all I have to say." Luo Zhaohan's voice returned to its usual coldness, as if the weighty words just now hadn't come from her. "I hope Mr. Sun will take care of himself. Farewell."

She stopped looking at him and turned to leave. Her goal had been achieved, and there was no point in lingering.

"Wait... wait!" Sun Honglei suddenly raised his head, his voice hoarse and dry, with the urgency of a drowning man grabbing at a piece of driftwood, yet extremely weak, "Miss Luo, I... I understand..."

He struggled to stand up straight, but it seemed as if a backbone had been pulled out of his spine. He was no longer as tall and proud as before, but instead showed a sense of being crushed and depressed.

"I was rude and shallow today." He uttered these words with difficulty, each word weighing a thousand pounds. "You... were right to scold me." He didn't dare to look Luo Zhaohan in the eye again, his gaze falling on the compacted snow under her feet. "Thank you for the enlightenment."

This belated and extremely painful "I understand" and "thank you" made Luo Zhaohan pause slightly.

She could feel that this time, Sun Honglei was truly touched, and not just unwilling to be rejected.

However, how long would this touch last, and how much would it change him? Luo Zhaohan was unsure. The bad habits of the children of the rich and powerful were not formed overnight.

But at least the seed had been planted. She nodded slightly, accepting his belated realization, but she didn't pause and continued walking.

Just then—

“Plop!”

A dull sound of someone falling into the water, accompanied by an extremely suppressed, painful roar like that of a dying beast, suddenly came from the abandoned dry well next to it!

The voice was not loud, but extremely clear, carrying a creepy sense of despair, and instantly tore through the stagnant air between the two people!

Luo Zhaohan's face suddenly changed, he stopped abruptly, and turned around to look in the direction of the dry well!

Sun Honglei was also shocked by this sudden change. He was instantly freed from the immense pain and subconsciously looked in the direction Luo Zhaohan was looking, his face full of surprise and doubt: "What's that sound? Is there someone... in the well?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an even more terrifying voice rang out!

“Ugh—!”

A shrill, inhuman howl erupted from the bottom of the well, carrying with it a throat-tearing pain and an indescribable fury! It was followed by a series of muffled "bang! bang! bang!"

"Pei Ji!" Luo Zhaohan's heart instantly rose to his throat. He no longer cared about Sun Honglei and rushed to the edge of the dry well!

The darkness was like thick ink, heavily squeezing every inch of space.

"Get out! Get out!" he roared, his voice breaking. Like a trapped animal that had completely lost its mind, he used all his strength to slam into the cold, slippery stone wall again and again.

"Kill... kill..." Broken syllables squeezed out from between his teeth, his eyes were completely blood red, and only the madness of destroying everything remained.

Luo Zhaohan rushed to the mouth of the well, looked down in the faint light of the sky, and his heart sank to the bottom in an instant!

"Pei Ji! Pei Ji! Calm down!" Luo Zhaohan shouted towards the bottom of the well, his voice filled with anxiety that he himself was not aware of.

Sun Honglei also rushed to the well and saw the frantically struggling ghost-like figure at the bottom. Even though he was knowledgeable, he gasped in shock: "This... is this Pei Ji?! What happened to him?!"

He was completely unable to connect the madman at the bottom of the well with the cold, deep and unfathomable Pei Ji in his memory.

"He's been poisoned! It's happening!" Luo Zhaohan spoke rapidly, his mind racing. Pei Ji couldn't possibly be suppressed on his own if he was in this state! If he continued like this, he would either kill himself or go completely crazy! He had to be controlled immediately!

She suddenly looked at Sun Honglei, her eyes sharp as a knife, and with an unquestionable commanding tone: "Sun Honglei! Help me get down! Quick!"

Sun Honglei was shocked by her sudden order and the eagerness in her eyes.

Help Pei Ji? This man who had just made him jealous and crazy, and even took his anger out on Luo Zhaohan?

Reason told him to turn around and leave immediately, away from this muddy water. What did Pei Ji's life or death have to do with him? He even felt a faint sense of pleasure.

However, Luo Zhaohan's anxious eyes and her heavy words just now echoed in his mind like a spell.