"If I were alive, knowing you are here, I would surely appear. He wanted to use this to confirm whether I was truly alive or indeed dead. Therefore, when you entered the village, there was an extra person, secretly monitoring your every move."

Ye Lu felt a chill in her heart.

She was not privy to the internal affairs and naturally didn’t know that her every action was under the control of her godfather.

Her whole heart was fixated on his matter of life and death, and she had essentially lost her ability to judge, only wanting to find him, paying no regard to anything else—this reaction fell perfectly into the godfather’s calculations.

"I was too careless," she blamed herself endlessly.

Feeling that inadvertently, she had become an accomplice to the godfather.

Helping the godfather to draw him out.

Waves of regret washed over her; she regretted being too impulsive, forgetting to be vigilant.

Seeing her self-reproach, ThirdYoung Master Jun’s heart ached as he gently stroked her hair, "It’s not your fault. If upon hearing of my death you remained calm and not sad, that’s what I would truly worry about."

The more pain and collapse she showed, the more it proved the depth of her feelings for him.

If she could still be rational, would that be called love?

All he knew was that through this, he had fully realized the profound depth of her feelings for him, making him feel that all his sacrifices were worthwhile.

"Besides, if anyone should say sorry, it should be me. I knew his scheme and your reaction, so on one hand, I wanted to force you out of danger as soon as possible, and on the other, I wanted to take the chance to prove to the godfather that I was already dead.

That’s why I staged the blood-stained clothing incident, to deceive you, to make you believe that I truly died! I know... I hurt you deeply, and it pained you a lot. Even though there was a reason, the harm to you was still immense." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He embraced her, tenderly kissing the top of her head with a heart full of pain.

Ye Lu’s heart clenched; indeed, she minded this matter because it hurt too much, almost shattering her soul.

Just now, when she learned that he was still alive, she truly hated him, hated him for being so heartless, watching her suffer unbearably.

But now, she decided not to mind it anymore, because nothing was better than him being alive, safely alive.

"Does the godfather believe you are dead now?"

"At least ninety percent convinced, because your breakdown and undisguised pain are much stronger evidence to him than a fall off a cliff. Deer, I’m sorry, if I hadn’t let your true pain come to light, the godfather wouldn’t have believed."

Third Young Master Jun was filled with guilt; in this matter, he had personally inflicted a wound on her.

Ye Lu bit her lip: "I’m willing to be used by you."

As long as he was alive, all her heart-wrenching pain was at least not in vain.

"Fool," he tousled her hair, "But that man, even with the truth in front of him, will always harbor a bit of doubt." Having followed the godfather for so many years, he knew the godfather’s style all too well; hence, he never dared to let down his guard.

Ye Lu tensed up, "What do we do now? If we recognize each other, would it be discovered?"

"Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping an eye on that spy. He left when you guys planned to leave two days ago. For him, to witness your breakdown and despair was enough to confirm the investigation into my life or death, and he has already gone back to report to the godfather."

Third Young Master Jun gripped her hand tightly, his gaze solemn.

"But until you’ve completely left the Su Family’s sphere of influence, you will still be under surveillance, so, you must behave as if I am truly dead, and not let anyone detect any issues."