EBE Chapter 1026 Dream?
Chapter 1026 Dream?
"You...you're not Korean, are you?" In the end, IU mustered up the courage to break the silence.
"Yes, Chinese."
"You speak Korean so well," IU exclaimed sincerely.
"I studied it for a few years."
Are you here for tourism?
"I guess so," Xu Mo replied vaguely, not wanting to reveal too much about his identity.
IU gave an "oh," then didn't know what else to say. She felt that all her usual smooth social skills seemed to have failed her in front of him.
Just then, the coffee shop's TV suddenly started playing highlights from the MSI finals. When the camera focused on Xu Mo's Kassadin securing a pentakill and leading RNG to a comeback victory, the commentator roared in an excited, almost hoarse voice:
"Penta Kill! King is back! That man, he's back!"
IU's gaze was drawn to the television screen. She watched the purple figure dominating the game, then looked at the man quietly sipping coffee in front of her, and an unbelievable thought popped into her mind.
She widened her beautiful eyes, pointed at the television, then at Xu Mo, and asked in a trembling voice:
"That...King...could it be..."
Xu Mo followed her gaze to the television, then turned back and met her eyes, which were filled with shock.
He neither admitted nor denied it.
He simply put down his coffee cup, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"What do you say?"
At that moment, the sunlight streaming through the window shone on his face, making his smile seem somewhat unreal.
IU's heart skipped a beat at that moment.
At that moment, IU's heart skipped a beat.
She looked at the man before her, the man known as "King" in the e-sports world, who sat quietly opposite her, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips. The sunlight softened his features, but could not conceal the unfathomable mystery in his eyes.
"Jingle Bell--"
IU's phone rang, breaking the strange atmosphere. It was her manager; the car had arrived at the alley entrance.
"I...I should go." IU stood up somewhat flustered, a strange sense of loss welling up inside her.
"Hmm." Xu Mo also stood up, but didn't seem to intend to see her off.
"Thank you so much for today." IU bowed deeply again. "If... if you were still in Seoul, I would like to treat you to a meal as a way of repaying you."
This was the most courage she could muster.
"It depends," Xu Mo replied, still ambiguous.
IU was somewhat disappointed, but still politely said goodbye and quickly walked out of the cafe. Even after she got into the van, her heart was still pounding uncontrollably. She lifted a corner of the car curtain and saw that figure still sitting by the window, like a solitary island undisturbed by anything.
"Um...who is he?" IU couldn't help but ask herself.
The entire RNG team returned to China safely, greeted by a deluge of praise and flowers. The club gave the players a short break to rest and recuperate.
Xu Mo didn't go home; instead, he stayed at the base in Shanghai. He knew that the turmoil in Seoul was just the beginning. Park Jung-tae had suffered such a huge loss; he would definitely not let it go easily. He needed to stay in the safest place and wait for his opponent's next move.
Meanwhile, after finishing her schedule in Seoul, IU also arrived in Shanghai to prepare for the first stop of her upcoming Asian tour.
The threads of fate once again drew the two closer.
The night before the concert, IU and her team hosted a celebratory dinner at an upscale restaurant. After the dinner, IU felt a bit tired, so she left early to return to her hotel to rest.
As she walked alone into the underground parking lot, several figures silently surrounded her from the dark corners.
The leader was a man with a scar on his face. He had a fierce look in his eyes, a toothpick between his teeth, and said in broken Korean, "Miss Lee Ji-eun, our boss would like to invite you for a cup of tea."
IU's heart tightened, and she subconsciously took a step back: "Who are you? I don't know your boss."
“You’ll meet him soon enough.” Scarface sneered and winked at his men behind him.
Two burly men immediately stepped forward and grabbed IU's arms, one on each side!
"Let me go! Help!" IU screamed in terror, but her voice sounded so weak in the empty parking lot.
Just as she was about to be forcibly dragged away, a cold voice, like a judgment from hell, rang out in the parking lot.
"Let her go."
Scarface and the others looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt getting out of an inconspicuous car and slowly walking towards them. He pulled the hood up over his head, covering most of his face, revealing only a sharply defined chin.
"Kid, don't meddle in other people's business, or else..." Before the scarred man could finish speaking, he felt a blur before his eyes!
The man was just a dozen meters away, but the next second, he was right in front of him!
"boom!"
A dull thud!
Scarface didn't even see how the other person made their move before he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a concrete pillar and losing consciousness on the spot!
The remaining burly men were stunned!
Before they could react, that ghostly figure had already rushed into their midst.
What happened next was something IU will never forget.
She only saw that the man, using a fighting technique she had only seen in movies—sharp, efficient, and even with a touch of artistic beauty—take down several much taller and stronger men in just a dozen seconds.
There were no superfluous movements; every strike was aimed directly at vital points. It could be an elbow to the throat, a knee to the ribs, or a karate chop to the neck. The entire process was clean, efficient, and completely silent.
When the last burly man collapsed to the ground in agony, the only sound in the entire parking lot was heavy breathing.
The man slowly straightened up, pulled down his hat, and revealed the face that IU had been dreaming of.
It's Xu Mo.
He walked up to IU, looked at her eyes which were filled with tears from fright, and frowned slightly.
"Are you alright?" His voice softened unconsciously.
IU could no longer hold back and threw herself into his arms, bursting into tears. She buried her face in his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat, as if only in this way could she dispel the fear in her heart.
Xu Mo's body stiffened slightly; he rarely had such close contact with anyone. He awkwardly raised his hand and gently patted her back, as if comforting a wounded little animal.
"It's alright, I'm here."
His voice seemed to possess a kind of soothing magic. IU's crying gradually stopped, though her body was still trembling slightly.
Xu Mo took out a disposable cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number.
"It's me. There are a few flies in the underground parking garage of the XX Building on Huaihai Road. Clean them up."
After saying that, he hung up the phone, then took off his coat and draped it over IU again, covering her somewhat disheveled body.
"I'll take you back to your hotel."
He didn't ask what had happened, nor who had sent these people. Because he knew that the blame could only be placed on Park Jung-tae.
He never expected that Park Jung-tae would be so foolish as to target this girl as a means of revenge against him.
He touched Xu Mo's sore spot.
Back in her hotel room, IU was still shaken. Xu Mo poured her a glass of hot water and sat quietly on the sofa opposite her.
"Thank you..." IU said softly, holding her water glass. "If it weren't for you, I really don't know what would have happened..."
“They’re after me,” Xu Mo said calmly. “I’m sorry to have dragged you into this.”
"No...it's none of your business." IU quickly shook her head.
She looked at Xu Mo and mustered her courage to ask, "Are those people... from 'Nightingale'?"
Xu Mo nodded.
"Then...why were you there?"
“I guessed they might target you.” Xu-Mo’s answer was direct. “Park Jung-tae is a petty and vindictive person. If he can’t get the better of me, he’ll target the people around me. And you are the only person he has ever met or had contact with in Korea.”
IU's heart skipped a beat.
So, it wasn't a chance encounter; he... came specifically to protect me?
This thought, like a pebble thrown into a lake, stirred up ripples in her heart.
"Who...who exactly are you?" She looked into his eyes and asked the question that had been bothering her all along, "What is your relationship with 'Nightingale'?"
Xu Mo was silent.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice carrying a hint of world-weariness beyond his years.
"I was once...one of them too."
Seeing IU's shocked expression, he continued, "I was their sharpest knife, their most profitable tool. Until three years ago, I chose to leave. And the price of leaving was these hands of mine, and my entire family."
His tone was calm, as if he were telling someone else's story.
But IU could sense the intense hatred and deep-seated pain emanating from her calm tone.
She finally understood why his eyes were always so deep and why he always carried an aura of loneliness that kept strangers at bay.
She reached out and gently placed her hand over Xu Mo's hand, which was resting on the sofa.
Her hands were small and warm.
“It’s all in the past.” She looked at him, her eyes filled with heartache and determination. “From now on, I won’t let you be alone anymore.”
Xu Mo's body trembled slightly.
He looked at the girl in front of him. In her clear eyes, there was no sympathy, no pity, only the purest warmth that wanted to be close to him.
This warmth, like a ray of light, shone into his long-frozen, dark world.
He turned around and gently took her hand in his.
When Xu Mo took IU's warm and delicate hand in his, time seemed to stand still. Outside the window was the bustling night view of Shanghai, with its traffic and flashing neon lights; inside was a quiet hotel suite, with soft lighting and an atmosphere filled with a sense of relief after surviving a disaster and a quietly budding affection.
IU's cheeks flushed bright red, like a ripe apple. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even tighter. His palm was large and strong, with distinct knuckles, and the warmth of his hand penetrated her skin, reaching deep into her heart, making her heart, which had been cold with fear, burn hot again.
"You..." She lowered her head, not daring to look at him, her voice barely a whisper, "Does your hand... still hurt?"
She was referring to the serious injury three years ago that nearly ruined his career.
Xu Mo felt the soft touch of her palm, and the coldness in his heart melted away little by little. He shook his head, his voice unconsciously softening: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Yes, it doesn't hurt anymore. Because all the pain seemed to be healed the moment I held her hand.
The two sat quietly, without speaking, yet their feelings were subtly conveyed in the silence. For Xu Mo, this was the first time since his rebirth that he had felt so peaceful and relaxed. As for IU, she felt like an explorer cautiously entering a long-forgotten castle. Although it was filled with unknowns and dangers, the unique mystery and deep affection within made her determined to go in.
"Boom boom boom——"
A series of urgent knocks broke the warm tranquility of the room.
"Ji-eun! Ji-eun, are you alright?!" came the anxious voice of IU's manager, known as "Uncle Hante," from outside the door.
IU seemed to snap out of a daze and hurriedly tried to pull her hand away. Xu Mo, however, released her first, stood up, and resumed his calm and composed expression.
IU ran over and opened the door, and Uncle Hante immediately rushed in, followed by several security guards.
"Ji-eun! You scared me to death! I heard from the restaurant staff that you left early, and you didn't answer my calls!" Uncle Han looked IU up and down, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was safe and sound. But then, his gaze fell on the strange man in the room, and his eyes instantly became wary.
"And who is this...?" Uncle Han's gaze swept over Xu Mo, filled with scrutiny and displeasure.
“Uncle, this is… my friend, Mr. Xu Mo,” IU quickly introduced. “He just… saved me.”
"Saved you?" Uncle Han's brows furrowed even more. He had just learned from his men what had happened in the parking lot. Although he didn't know the specific details, he knew that IU was in big trouble. And this suddenly appearing "friend" was highly suspicious.
Xu Mo ignored Uncle Han's scrutinizing gaze, simply nodded and said, "Since your manager is here, I'll be leaving now. You should get some rest."
After saying that, he was ready to leave.
"Wait a minute!" Uncle Han stepped in front of him.
As a seasoned agent with years of experience in the entertainment industry, Uncle Han's intuition told him that the man before him was definitely involved in tonight's attack. In fact, he might be the source of the trouble.
“Mr. Xu Mo, is that so?” Uncle Han’s tone became polite, but his eyes were sharp. “Thank you very much for your help to my Zhi’en tonight. However, I would like to know, why did those people attack Zhi’en? And why did you happen to be there?”
IU's heart tightened, and she quickly tried to explain, "Uncle, it's not what you think! Xu Mo is..."
"Ji-eun, don't speak." Uncle Han interrupted her, his gaze still fixed on Xu Mo. He had to be responsible for the safety of his artist and could not allow any potential danger to approach IU.
Xu Mo looked at the manager in front of him who was so eager to protect his master, and instead of being angry, he found it rather amusing.
"Mr. Han, are you interrogating me?" he asked calmly.
“I’m just doing my job as an agent,” Uncle Han said firmly. “Ji-eun is a public figure, and her life cannot be subject to any uncontrollable factors. And you, Mr. Xu, in my opinion, are a huge ‘uncontrollable’ factor.”
He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "I don't care who you are, or how you met my Zhi'en. I hope that starting tonight, you will never appear in her life again. Her life and someone like you who lives in the shadows should not have any intersection. This is for her sake, and it's for yours too."
These words were extremely impolite, almost an invitation to leave.
IU's face turned pale instantly, and her eyes reddened with anxiety: "Uncle! How could you say that! Xu Mo is my savior!"
"Precisely because he's your 'savior,' I need to find out even more clearly who wants this 'life'!" Uncle Han's voice rose eight octaves. "Ji'en, you're too naive! You have no idea what you're facing!"
The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.
Xu Mo watched this scene without any change in expression. He was neither angry at Uncle Han's words nor moved by IU's defense.
He simply raised his hand slowly, pulled the hoodie back up, and covered half of his face.
Then, he walked past Uncle Hunter, who was blocking his way, and headed straight for the door. In the instant he brushed past Uncle Hunter, he whispered something only the two of them could hear:
"You have a good eye for people. I am indeed a problem."
"but……"
He stopped at the doorway, turned half his face, and a chilling glint flashed in his eyes hidden in the shadows.
"You'd better pray that your artist never encounters any more 'trouble' that she can't handle. Because at that point, the only thing that can save her is probably me, the 'trouble' itself."
After saying that, he didn't linger. He opened the door and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"boom."
The door was gently closed.
In the room, only Uncle Hante, who was stunned, and IU, whose eyes were filled with tears and who was stubbornly biting her lip.
"Uncle...you've gone too far..." IU's voice was trembling with tears.
Uncle Han felt a pang of pain in his heart as he looked at his artist's aggrieved and heartbroken expression. He sighed deeply, walked over, and softened his tone: "Jie-eun, I'm doing this for your own good. That man... is too dangerous. We can't afford to offend him, and we can't avoid him either. Forget about him, just treat it as a dream."
"A dream?" IU looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She looked at the sofa where Xu Mo had just sat, as if she could still feel his lingering warmth. She opened her palm, as if she could still feel the strength of his grip.
That's not a dream.
That was the first time in her life that she had ever felt the most genuine and intense heartbeat.
She sniffed, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and her eyes shone with an unprecedented determination.
"No." (End of Chapter)