Chapter 1055: The Promise Buried in Time
Chapter 1055: The Promise Buried in Time
Yue Ling stared at the man standing before her, confusion flickering through her bluish-green eyes.
’I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.’
His words lingered between them, carrying a meaning she could not understand.
She gently pulled back from his embrace, just enough to look up at him.
"What do you mean?"
Lu Tian gazed down at her.
A faint smile touched his lips, but the emotions in his dark eyes were far more complicated.
There was longing.
An almost unbearable longing that seemed strangely out of place when the very person he yearned for was standing right in front of him.
Yet, for a fleeting moment, he was no longer the powerful man who commanded Lu Corps and Wolf Team.
He was that little boy again.
The boy who had followed a little girl through the gardens of the Ji Mansion, afraid she might disappear if he looked away.
The boy who had promised to grow up quickly so he could protect her.
And the boy who had waited for her to return, only to watch the days turn into months then years without ever seeing her again.
Lu Tian lowered his gaze to her hand.
He gently took it in his hand and brought her knuckles to his lips, pressing a lingering kiss against them.
"Go get the tea."
Yue Ling blinked.
Then her eyes narrowed.
"Lu Tian."
"Hmm?"
"You’re avoiding my question."
"Am I?"
She gave him a pointed look.
The corners of his lips curved slightly.
Yue Ling stared at him for another moment, clearly debating whether she should press him for an answer.
However, seeing the emotions he was struggling to conceal, she decided against it.
Whatever had stirred within him, she would give him the time to gather his thoughts.
"Fine."
She turned toward the kitchen, but after taking two steps, she stopped.
"Oh, and Tian?"
"Yes?"
She gestured toward the living room.
"Can you help me remove the covers from the furniture?"
Lu Tian glanced past her at the white sheets draped over the sofas and armchairs.
Then he looked back at his wife.
He inclined his head with exaggerated courtesy.
"With pleasure, my queen."
Yue Ling shook her head.
Despite herself, a small smile appeared on her face.
"You’re always impossible."
"Only for you."
She rolled her eyes before disappearing down the hallway.
Lu Tian watched until her figure vanished from sight.
The playful smile gradually faded from his lips.
He turned toward the living room.
For a moment, his gaze returned to the photographs arranged across the fireplace mantel.
Then he quietly began removing the protective sheets.
One by one, he uncovered the furniture.
The three-seater sofa was upholstered in a soft white fabric, its carved wooden frame matching the elegant armchairs positioned nearby. A polished coffee table stood in the center of the room, while an antique cabinet occupied the far wall.
Everything had been carefully preserved.
Even after years of being unoccupied, the room retained the quiet elegance of a home that had once been filled with life.
Lu Tian folded each sheet neatly, making sure the edges aligned before placing them into a tidy pile on one of the armchairs.
When he finished, he took a seat on the three-seater sofa.
The heating system had begun warming the mansion, gradually chasing away the chill that had settled into its walls.
Yet Lu Tian barely noticed.
His attention remained fixed on the photographs above the fireplace.
More precisely, on one particular photograph.
A little girl in a white dress.
Her hair was tied into two ponytails, and her face was bright with a carefree smile.
He could almost hear her laughter.
She was around that age when he first saw her at the Ji Mansion.
’I’ll grow up quickly.’
’Then I’ll protect you.’
His younger voice echoed through his mind.
Then his gaze shifted to the photograph of her holding both her grandfathers’ hands.
It was around that age that she had stopped visiting the Ji Mansion, and he had stopped seeing her.
At the time, he hadn’t known why she had suddenly stopped visiting, but he had made a promise to himself that one day, he would find her.
Lu Tian lowered his gaze.
He had made that promise with such certainty.
At the time, he had believed growing older was all it would take.
He would become taller.
Stronger.
Someone capable of standing between her and anything that might hurt her.
But life had not unfolded as simply as he had imagined.
His childhood had ended long before he understood what it meant to be an adult.
And somewhere between the responsibilities forced upon him and the dangers he had learned to survive, the little girl had slowly faded from his thoughts.
Not because she had become unimportant.
But because he had convinced himself that he needed to become strong enough before searching for her.
By the time he had achieved that strength, the promise itself had become a distant memory.
He remembered a time in his teenage years. Grandfather Ji told him that his daughter and son-in-law had passed away in a car accident.
At the time, he had felt a measure of sympathy for the old man. However, the harsh circumstances of his own upbringing had left little room for him to dwell on the suffering of others.
He had learned early in life that sympathy was a luxury he could scarcely afford, especially when he had barely understood how to confront his own pain.
Yet now, as those distant memories resurfaced, Lu Tian finally understood why the little girl he had once known had stopped smiling.
She had lost her parents.
Back then, he had noticed the sadness in her eyes but had been too consumed by his own struggles to understand her grief.
Now, knowing that little girl had grown into the woman he loved, the realization left a painful ache in his chest.
She hadn’t simply lost her parents. She had lost the warmth, security, and happiness that had once filled her childhood.
And with them, the innocent smile he remembered so clearly.
For the first time, he understood just how much had been taken from her.
Lu Tian leaned back against the sofa.
His brows drew together.
’How could I have forgotten?’
The question had been haunting him ever since he recognized her photograph.
Her photograph that unlocked memories he had forgotten.
He had spent years building a life in which no one could threaten him.
He had become someone feared by people who believed themselves untouchable.
Yet the very person he had once wanted to protect had endured so much while he remained unaware.
A quiet ache settled in his chest.
He knew it was unreasonable to blame himself for things that had happened when they were apart.
But knowing that did little to ease his regret.
"Tian?"
Yue Ling’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts.
He turned.
She stood beside the coffee table, holding a tray with two steaming cups of tea.
The delicate scent of tea leaves drifted through the room as she carefully lowered the tray onto the table.
When she looked at him, she noticed the distant expression in his eyes.
Her smile faded slightly.
She sat beside him.
"Are you sure you’re alright? You were spacing out again."
Lu Tian looked at her.
The concern in her voice made his heart tighten.
Even now, she was worrying about him.
He shifted on the sofa until he was facing her.
Then he reached for her hand.
His thumb brushed slowly across her knuckles.
"I was looking at your family photographs," he began, "and they stirred a memory."
Yue Ling glanced toward the fireplace.
"A memory?"
He nodded.
"Something from a very long time ago."
She remained quiet, giving him her full attention.
Lu Tian looked down at their joined hands.
"It was like finding something I’d locked away in the deepest corner of my mind. I knew it had been there all along, but I couldn’t remember it."
His thumb continued moving gently over her skin.
"Not until tonight."
Yue Ling studied his expression.
"What did you remember?"
Lu Tian raised his eyes to hers.
"You."
She blinked.
"Me?"
He smiled faintly.
"The little girl who used to visit Grandfather Ji."
Yue Ling went still.
A faint image surfaced in her mind.
The gardens of the Ji Mansion.
A young boy who rarely smiled.
Someone who had always seemed serious despite being no older than she was.
She had not thought about those childhood days in years.
Lu Tian continued before she could speak.
"I used to follow you around."
Yue Ling’s lips parted slightly.
"You did?"
He nodded.
"You were always running somewhere. I remember thinking that if I looked away for even a moment, you’d disappear."
A soft laugh escaped her.
"That sounds like something I would have done."
Lu Tian watched her smile.
For a moment, he saw the little girl from the photograph.
"Sometimes, you didn’t even know I was following you."
Then his expression grew solemn again.
"I promised myself I’d grow up quickly so I could protect you."
Yue Ling’s smile slowly faded.
"And when you stopped visiting the Ji Mansion, I made another promise."
His voice lowered.
"I promised I’d find you."
Silence settled between them.
Yue Ling stared at him.
She had known Lu Tian for the man he had become.
Cold.
Powerful.
Unyielding toward his enemies.
Yet beneath that formidable exterior was a little boy who had once made promises to a girl he barely understood.
Her heart softened.
Lu Tian lowered his gaze.
"But I didn’t."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"I grew older, and I forgot."
Yue Ling watched the regret pass through his eyes. She moved closer and placed her free hand over his.
"Don’t be so hard on yourself."
He looked at her.
She leaned against his shoulder, resting her head there as her gaze traveled toward the photographs on the mantel.
"I forgot too."
A small, almost embarrassed smile appeared on her lips.
"We both had our own lives to live. As we grew older, we simply moved on with them."
Lu Tian lowered his head until his cheek rested lightly against her hair.
"That’s different."
"How?"
"I was the one who made the promises."
Yue Ling tilted her head.
"And we were children."
He said nothing.
She squeezed his hand.
"Tian, we can’t hold our younger selves responsible for everything that happened afterward."
Her voice was gentle.
"We grew up. Life changed. Things happened that neither of us could have predicted."
She paused.
"And somehow, we still found each other."
Lu Tian closed his eyes briefly. He knew she was right.
But she didn’t know something.
Something he had never fully explained.
For most of his life, people had assumed his greatest responsibility was inheriting Lu Corps.
They saw the wealth, the influence, and the power associated with his family name.
Very few understood the price attached to it.
The reason he had to grow up fast.
Lu Tian opened his eyes.
"I need to tell you something."
He stared into her bluish-green eyes, debating in his mind before making a decision.
"It’s a secret my family has carried for decades."
Yue Ling lifted her head from his shoulder.
"People always say I had an easy life because I’m the eldest son of the Lu family."
He gave a humorless smile.
"They couldn’t be further from the truth."
She turned to face him.
"What do you mean?"
Lu Tian remained silent for a moment.
His gaze shifted toward the family photographs above the fireplace.
Then he slowly exhaled.
"My family..."
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
"We’re not exactly like other prominent families in Imperial."
Yue Ling frowned slightly.
Lu Tian gently squeezed her hand.
"We own numerous businesses. Lu Corps is only the part of our family that the public knows."
He looked into her eyes.
"But there’s another side to the Lu family."
The seriousness in his voice made Yue Ling straighten.
"What side?"
Lu Tian held her gaze.
"We’re the government’s shadow."
Yue Ling froze.
For several seconds, she simply stared at him.
Then her eyes widened.
"You mean..."
She could not finish the question.
Lu Tian nodded, understanding exactly what she was asking.
"When the government needs someone gone, they send us."
The words were spoken calmly.
Almost casually.
Yet their meaning was anything but ordinary.
Yue Ling remained silent.
Lu Tian continued.
"For generations, my family has handled matters that cannot be resolved through official channels."
He looked away.
"People who are too dangerous to leave alone. Organizations that operate beyond the reach of ordinary law enforcement. Threats that the government cannot openly acknowledge."
His expression darkened.
"We take care of them."
Yue Ling studied him.
She had always known there was more to Lu Tian than the ruthless businessman the public feared.
She had seen how Wolf Team operated.
She knew his men were highly trained and capable of carrying out missions that ordinary security personnel could never accomplish.
She had also witnessed how certain figures in the underworld reacted to his name.
But she had never questioned him too deeply.
Every influential family possessed private forces to protect its interests.
That had been her assumption.
Now, however, pieces she had never thought to connect began falling into place.
His resources.
His connections.
His ability to move through places where even powerful underworld figures hesitated to tread.
The fear his presence inspired.
It all made sense.
Lu Tian watched her expression carefully.
Then he continued.
"I learned the truth when I was fourteen."
His voice grew quieter.
And with those words, a memory he rarely allowed himself to revisit surfaced.
A memory that changed his view of life growing up.