Chapter 60: Chapter 52: Yu Lan’s Heart Aches, and She Won’t Leave

Mrs. Li’s sudden appearance startled everyone present for a moment.

Li Yufei hurriedly stepped forward and called out guiltily, "Mother."

Mrs. Li glared at her, then looked toward the fully armed Li Family private soldiers behind her.

"I haven’t seen you for a few hours, and you’ve already made such a huge mess."

"All of you, stand down at once."

As long as Li Yucheng was unable to return to his human form, Mrs. Li’s orders were paramount.

The Li Family’s private soldiers withdrew in an orderly fashion.

Only after all the private soldiers had withdrawn did Mrs. Li turn her gaze to the Black Panther in the iron cage, who had kept his back to her the entire time.

She let out a helpless sigh.

"Yu Cheng, hurry and let Miss Yu out."

The Black Panther didn’t respond, but his arrogant, domineering, and possessive tail, wrapped tightly around Yu Lan’s waist, loosened slightly.

Yu Lan stood up from the Black Panther’s embrace.

Her beautiful eyes gazed outside the iron cage.

There, they met a pair of eyes that were gentle yet held an undeniable authority.

The next moment—

Mrs. Li’s voice rang out.

"Miss Yu, you can come out of the iron cage now."

"Don’t be afraid. It’s all right. Yu Cheng won’t hurt you."

Yu Lan shook her head, not a trace of fear on her face.

"I know he won’t hurt me."

She hadn’t sensed the slightest intention to harm her from the Black Panther.

Even when he deliberately bared his fangs, he would carefully pull them back just before they touched the beautiful female.

Mrs. Li breathed a sigh of relief at her words.

She studied Yu Lan’s face carefully. After confirming that she was genuinely unconcerned and not the least bit afraid, Mrs. Li felt even more satisfied.

After Yu Lan stepped out of the iron cage, Mrs. Li took the initiative to step forward, take Yu Lan’s hand, and lead her toward another room in the castle.

"What happened today was because Yu Fei was too rash. She’s just so worried about Yu Cheng. I apologize to you on her behalf. I hope you don’t mind."

Yu Lan shook her head.

Now that she knew just how precious the shattered Human-shaped Recovery Potion was,

how could she possibly mind?

She could only feel that any of Li Yufei’s actions were justified.

"It’s nothing."

"Miss Li is a person of strong feelings."

"Hah..."

At these words, however, Mrs. Li heaved a heavy sigh.

Perhaps because it had been too long since she had anyone to confide in, upon seeing the gentle and beautiful Yu Lan, she couldn’t resist the urge to say more.

"Do you want to know why Yu Cheng ended up in his current state?"

Yu Lan tilted her head slightly, a hint of confusion on her face.

’I thought it was a genetic disorder or something similar.’

’Apparently not.’

’Is there more to the story?’

Mrs. Li looked up, her gaze drifting into the distance as her eyes quickly grew vacant.

"Back then, the Li Family wasn’t the glorious, unassailable powerhouse it is today."

"But we had already started dealing in munitions."

"In this line of work, it’s inevitable that you’ll make a few enemies and rivals. That’s perfectly normal."

Mrs. Li’s voice grew heavy.

"But I never imagined that when those people realized they couldn’t get to me or Yu Cheng’s father, they would somehow track down Yu Cheng and Yu Fei. They actually went after two small children."

"Yu Cheng, who was only six years old at the time, was taken by them during the struggle to protect Yu Fei."

"We never would have imagined that those people were secretly conducting experiments on males."

"By the time we found him, Yu Cheng had already become what he is now, having lost the ability to return to his human form."

Li Yucheng was Mrs. Li’s eldest son.

A prodigy with exceptional 3S-level talent.

The future heir of the Li Family.

Yet he had been reduced to this state.

Forced to live forever in his beast form.

Mrs. Li was heartbroken.

For so many years, vast sums of money and countless rare medicinal ingredients were poured into the effort.

All for the sake of giving her son a chance to once again stand on his own two feet under the sun.

Mrs. Li raised a hand to wipe away her tears. The corners of her eyes were red, and her voice was tinged with sorrow.

"Yu Fei and Yu Cheng have been close since they were children."

"Not to mention, Yu Cheng was only taken because he was trying to save Yu Fei."

"For all these years, day and night, the person who has wanted Yu Cheng to regain his human form the most is Yu Fei."

"The Science Research Institute finally managed to develop a Human-shaped Recovery Potion, only for it to be shattered right in front of her. To be given such hope, only to have it snatched away and replaced by despair... In her panic, that’s why..."

Mrs. Li didn’t say any more.

But Yu Lan understood what she meant.

She nodded obediently and said in a gentle voice,

"I understand. When it comes down to it, the ones who are truly despicable are the people who experimented on those males."

"Both Young Master Li and Miss Li are just victims of those experiments."

"Fate can be so cruel."

Looking at this gentle, beautiful, and empathetic Yu Lan,

the light in Mrs. Li’s eyes shone even brighter.

’She’s the perfect, impeccable daughter-in-law of my dreams.’

’Alas, with Yu Cheng in his current state, who knows when he’ll be able to return to his human form.’

’Ultimately, it’s a missed opportunity.’

At this thought, Mrs. Li spoke with a hint of regret.

"We weren’t certain about the effects of this newly developed Human-shaped Recovery Potion anyway."

"What’s broken is broken."

"Miss Yu, please join us for a simple meal, and then I will have someone take you home."

"I do apologize for all the trouble Yu Fei caused you today."

Mrs. Li was willing to let Yu Lan go so readily.

On the one hand, it was because the effects of the Human-shaped Recovery Potion from the Science Research Institute were still unknown.

What if, like all the previously developed potions, it had no effect at all?

She couldn’t, just because it was now broken, start assuming it would have worked and get an innocent person involved.

On the other hand, Yu Lan was the developer of the "Hope" potion.

As soon as the "Hope" potion was announced, it took the interstellar world by storm and turned countless heads.

Now, everyone was patiently waiting for the "Hope" potion to be successfully brought to market.

To all the males across the interstellar space, Yu Lan was an outstanding researcher.

Mrs. Li admired her.

And for that reason, she couldn’t bear to see her life ruined over this.

"Mother!"

Not expecting Mrs. Li to make such a suggestion, Li Yufei’s eyes widened instantly.

Her expression was one of extreme dissatisfaction.

"You clearly saw how Brother is toward her..."

Li Yufei’s words trailed off under Mrs. Li’s glare, and she didn’t dare finish her sentence.

But her expression was still one of undisguised disbelief.

’She’d clearly seen how different the fierce, untamable Black Panther was around the beautiful female.’

’Even if Yu Lan really couldn’t develop a Human-shaped Recovery Potion, it would still be good to have her stay and keep Brother company.’

’At least his happiness would be real.’

’Besides, if she stayed with the glorious and illustrious Li Family, a top financial powerhouse, they had the resources to get her anything she could possibly want.’

’That had to be better than going back to work in a lab.’

’Why were they letting her leave?’

Li Yufei couldn’t understand it at all.

Likewise, Yu Lan had to admit that Mrs. Li’s offer was incredibly tempting.

’She could just nod, agree, and leave right then and there.’

But when she thought of the Black Panther, lonely and confined to an iron cage since the age of six, she felt an inexplicable pang in her heart.

She pursed her lips and said,

"Mrs. Li, one must take responsibility for one’s actions."

"Since I was the one who shattered the Human-shaped Recovery Potion, I am willing to stay and look after Li Yucheng, to help him find a way to change back into his human form."

"But in return, I need my freedom."

"I’ll come to the Li Family estate during the day and return to the Central Star at night. Is that acceptable?"

The person who could have simply walked away was actually choosing to stay.

Both Mrs. Li and Li Yufei were visibly surprised.