Yan Jia couldn’t understand it. Li Jun was an ethereal beauty gifted to Aurelia by the heavens. He was extremely likable, kind, and sweet. He was also on the crazy side, but he showed it only to the people he disliked. Overall, both men and women lined up to be with him.

Yet he was sitting here, in this coffee shop, stalking Yu Wen like a creep. It was concerning. Whatever spell Yu Wen put him under, it must be strong otherwise, how could one explain this behavior?

"Your Highness, this is unlike you. It’s disturbing. People are looking," she said, taking the binoculars away.

Li Jun grabbed them back and said, "But he is buying co...," pausing before lowering his voice and whispering, "condoms. Who is he buying them for?" He resumed his creepy behavior, and Yan Jia sighed in exasperation.

He looked through the binoculars, but when he saw that Yu Wen was gone, he swore, "Shit," as he looked around for him. He then glared at Yan Jia and said, "He is gone, and it’s all your fault."

Yan Jia leaned closer and said, "Your Highness, your mother would be disappointed in you. You shouldn’t chase a man."

Li Jun pouted and said, "Who is chasing him. I just want my pendant back." That’s what he said, but neither of them believed what he was saying. "Let’s just go."

After saying that, Li Jun got up, but when he saw a familiar face walking up the stairs, he sat back down and slid under the table to hide. "Fuck fuck fuck," he whispered while hiding.

Yan Jia looked underneath the table and whispered, "Your high-" Li Jun gestured for him to shh and pointed in a direction. She looked up, and sure enough, she saw Yu Wen walking into the cafe.

He was looking around at the table near the windows before he sat down. Alex was right behind, looking confused as hell. Yu Wen didn’t go to such places unless it was absolutely necessary. Yet today, he just casually said he needed a drink and headed in this direction.

He sat opposite him and asked, "General, is something wrong?" Yu Wen looked at several tables occupied by different kinds of people. They were all strangers with no sense of familiarity.

His gaze trailed to the last table, and he saw a woman dressed in a cute aesthetic, but her gaze was so fierce that it didn’t match her look. She met his gaze and looked away. He felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn’t place those eyes.

Yu Wen licked his canine tooth in frustration. He was sure he would be able to recognize Li Jun even when he had a different face on. Looking at all of these people, they couldn’t be him. But since he was already here, he decided to get some coffee before heading back to the hotel.

Yan Jia watched out of the corner of her eye as Yu Wen and Alex placed their orders. Li Jun, who was underneath the table, tugged at the hem of her dress and asked, "What are they doing now?" in a whisper.

"They are drinking coffee," she whispered back, trying not to make it obvious.

After a minute of silence, he began to complain. He said, "My legs are cramping. Are they leaving yet?"

She whispered, "No, if you keep asking questions, they will know that you are here. Your Highness, bear with it." He lowered his head while complaining in his heart. He was once the imperial prince of Aurelia. Now he was hiding underneath a table on the dirty floors of a cafe. All he could think was, ’How the mighty have fallen.’

Yu Wen didn’t stay long. After finishing his coffee, he got up to leave. There was disappointment written all over his face. As soon as they left, Yan Jia looked underneath the table and said, "He is gone."

Li Jun heaved a sigh. He crawled from underneath, groaning from the cramp in his legs. "Phew, that was close," he said before taking a sip of whatever was left of his iced tea, but the ice had long melted, and now it tasted watery. He furrowed his brows and got up, saying, "Let’s go." But just as he took a step, his numb legs gave out, and he fell, his face planting onto the floor.

Everyone, "..."

Yan Jia hurriedly helped him up. Li Jun was so embarrassed that he smiled apologetically at everyone. The waiter rushed over and asked, "Sir, are you okay?"

"My legs are just numb. No need to worry," he said, wishing he could dig a hole and bury himself in it. He was dying of shame.

"Do you need help?" she asked, reaching over to touch him, but Yan Jia pulled Li Jun away and said,

"No need?" The two of them left the restaurant in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Yu Wen arrived at the hotel, and Alex infiltrated the surveillance at the cafe. He didn’t know why the general was interested in this, but he didn’t ask. He just did as told, and as the footage appeared on the floating screen, Yu Wen said, "You may leave."

Alex didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as the door closed, Yu Wen looked at the floating screen and pressed play. He fast-forwarded it, but ten minutes in, the footage began to glitch. After that, it was completely scrambled. It didn’t show them going into the cafe. It only returned to normal ten minutes after they left.

Instead of being frustrated, Yu Wen smiled. He was right. Li Jun had been watching him. Just that thought made his grin grow even bigger. He let out a soft chuckle. He was fine with this cat-and-mouse game, but when he finally got his hands on him, he would never let him go.

He bit his lower lip and leaned back into his chair. He caressed the pendant as he looked at Li Jun’s picture. The only picture he had of him smiling genuinely at him. He found this picture on Yu Xian’s account.

It was a picture of their second year at the academy. It was casually taken, but Li Jun was definitely looking at him with a smile so dazzling it could shake the world. The way he looked at him, it was like looking at something precious.