Rebirth Counterattack: I Heard That the Imperial Marshal Has a Crush on Me

After eating, Chu Muxi was contemplating whether to explore the area when Lu Junzhi asked him, “Would you like to go to a higher place to have a look?”

Curious, Chu Muxi inquired, “A high place?”

“Yeah.”

Eager to try, Chu Muxi agreed, “Okay, where to go?” Assuming he would board the aircraft and fly outside, he prepared to head to the aircraft.

Unexpectedly, Lu Junzhi grabbed him and said, “We won’t take that one.”

“Not take the aircraft? Then, how do we get there?” Chu Muxi was puzzled.

Lu Junzhi curled up the corners of his lips. Under the moonlight, his smile made Chu Muxi’s heart skipping a beat.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and when he came back to his senses, he was held in Lu Junzhi’s arms, soaring into the air. When he regained his senses, they had landed on the trunk of a towering tree. Fortunately, the trees here were robust, and the extended branches could bear the weight of two people.

Chu Muxi, still in Lu Junzhi’s arms on the tree trunk, exclaimed, “You… you can fly?”

Lu Junzhi shook his head and revealed two small wing-like armor plates on his back. “Flying armor made by the military.”

Chu Muxi was familiar with flying armor. Chu Mubei once asked Chu Tianhao to buy one for him as his coming-of-age gift.

ack then, Chu Tianhao indulged him and bought a larger one, not as refined as Lu Junzhi’s, capable of flying to the third floor at most and carrying only an adult man’s weight.

Chu Mubei had proudly flaunted it in front of him for quite some time.

“What the military department did is indeed extraordinary. It’s small and exquisite, and it can even carry one more person,” Chu Muxi praised in surprise.

Lu Junzhi looked at him intently, “If you like it, I’ll give it to you.”

Chu Muxi snorted, “This is too expensive.”

He recalled that Chu Mubei’s flying armor was said to cost one hundred-thousand-star coins. When Chu Tianhao loved someone, he indeed spent a considerable amount.

Reflecting on his past gullibility, Chu Muxi mused, ‘I wonder why I couldn’t see the truth back then. Just because Chu Tianhao said he would give me a more expensive pair in the future, I really believed it.’

“It’s not expensive. If you like it, I’ll give it to you,” Lu Junzhi said seriously.

Chu Muxi frowned, “Don’t regret it later.”

.

The two sat down on the branches, and Chu Muxi looked up at the vast starry sky, sighing, “It’s so beautiful.”

In the Central Star, they could naturally enjoy such a starry sky, but the towering buildings in the inner city obscured the sky, and there was also a protective shield. The deep and dense jungle here provided a different, unobstructed view.

In such a jungle, sitting on a high tree and gazing at the starry sky above provides an ethereal feeling.

“You can come often in the future,” Lu Junzhi suggested.

Chu Muxi hummed and focused on the stars, sharing a childhood memory, “When I was a child, my mother always took me to the top of the mountain to watch the stars.”

This marked the first time he mentioned his mother to someone else, with a hint of nostalgia and sadness in his tone.

“In the future, if you want to come, I will bring you here.”

Chu Muxi suddenly tilted his head, leaning on Lu Junzhi’s shoulder. Lu Junzhi immediately tensed up; besides his mother, no one had ever been so close to him. His adjutants and subordinates usually kept their distance due to his reserved nature.

But Chu Muxi treated him like an ordinary person, never showing fear. Lu Junzhi didn’t mind; in fact, he appreciated it. He didn’t want Chu Muxi to fear him; he wanted them to be closer.

“Then I would like to thank Lu da-ge first.” Chu Muxi smiled wryly and continued, “My mother had the gentleness, virtuousness, and knowledge of a woman from a wealthy family. Yet, despite this, she was betrayed by that scumbag Chu Tianhao. It hurt even more. Sometimes when I think back, I always wonder how nice it would have been if she had lost her temper, yelled at Chu Tianhao, or divorced him directly. In that case, she might have felt much better, maybe not gotten angry and sick because of it.”

Lu Junzhi pondered for a moment but said, “No, it won’t.”

Chu Muxi turned his head to look at him, asking, “Why not?”

“Your mother.” Lu Junzhi’s voice was low but carried a reassuring tone. “That’s your mother’s pride. It’s different from those people.”

Chu Muxi was stunned for a moment. He lowered his head and fell into silence.

.

He acknowledged that Lu Junzhi’s words held truth. His mother differed from individuals like Chu Tianhao and He Hui precisely because she hailed from a well-educated family.

In reality, her deteriorating health and eventual illness were indeed influenced by Chu Tianhao and He Hui. But she was genuinely unwell during that period, and her condition wasn’t solely a result of irritation caused by Chu Tianhao and He Hui.

Perhaps his mother didn’t take them seriously—

“She was more worried about you at that time,” Lu Junzhi gently awakened him.

Chu Muxi suddenly realized. Yes, what mother wouldn’t be concerned about her children? In Shen Lan’s final moments, she didn’t care about Chu Tianhao and He Hui’s actions, or He Hui’s attempt to flaunt her power with the illegitimate children.

She was solely worried about her imminent departure and how Chu Muxi would fare alone. How would he navigate life in the Chu family without her?

Her father was already aging; how many more years could he endure? Chu Muxi was still underage, and Chu Tianhao wouldn’t treat him kindly. Faced with those ruthless individuals, could her son grow up healthy?

This was Shen Lan’s concern in her final days.

Hence, she didn’t engage in arguments or confrontations with Chu Tianhao. She responded calmly and amicably when He Hui appeared at her doorstep, all for Chu Muxi’s sake.

Chu Tianhao needed to grasp that she was the eldest daughter of the Shen family, and she wouldn’t stoop to their shameless level. Behind her was a wealthy family.

As long as the Shen family stood firm, Chu Tianhao couldn’t harm Chu Muxi in the slightest.

Unfortunately, she didn’t anticipate that Chu Tianhao, who appeared polite and courteous, was not only a romantic man but also downright ruthless.

He held no regard for the Shen family in his heart, completely forgetting that he was destitute when Shen Lan married him, she never complaining despite their financial struggles.

He believed he achieved his current position solely through his efforts, even feeling that the Shen family looked down on him, intensifying his sense of humiliation. He thought that his difficult background hindered him, causing others to look down on him.

“However, he forgot that when he first established the so-called company, he relied on my grandfather to provide him with connections to find resources. Fearing for his so-called self-esteem, he had to operate secretly. Yet, everything went smoothly, and he thought it was because of his exceptional capability and uniqueness, haha,” Chu Muxi sneered, a tinge of sadness flashing through his heart.

He despised Chu Tianhao for his cruelty and ruthlessness, and he harbored even more disdain for himself for being blind.

Individuals like Chu Tianhao might possess a modicum of cleverness, but primarily they were unscrupulous.

“It’s okay,” Lu Junzhi reassured, pulling him into his arms and hugging him tightly. “From now on, I will be here.”