Jun-Yu completely ignored Jun-Kai's words. Instead, he turned to Mei-Xue and spoke softly.
Jun-Yu: "Mom... can I ask you for one favor? Please take care of Shu-Yang for a few days. In this world, he has no one except me... and from today onward, I have no one except myself."
The moment those words left his lips, Mei-Xue realized how deeply Jun-Kai's actions had wounded their son's heart. What had begun as disappointment had now grown into a storm of resentment.
Tears welled up in Mei-Xue's eyes as she turned toward her husband.
Mei-Xue: "Will you still refuse to understand your own son? No matter how many mistakes Jun-Yu has made, your mistake today is far greater. Children make mistakes. They stumble and fall, and it's a father's duty to help them back on their feet. But what did you do? Instead of correcting his mistakes, you poisoned his heart. Instead of pulling him out of the pit, you pushed him even deeper into it."
She then looked at Jun-Yu with guilt.
Mei-Xue: "Jun-Yu... please forgive me. I didn't realize what your father intended to do. Look... I went shopping for you. I bought so many things because I wanted to make you happy."
Jun-Yu immediately understood what had happened.
While Mei-Xue had been away shopping, Jun-Kai had taken the opportunity to destroy his laboratory.
Realizing the gravity of his actions, Jun-Kai stood there in silence.
The despair in Jun-Yu's eyes gradually faded, replaced by an empty numbness. The tears had dried, leaving behind a lifeless gaze as he silently looked back and forth between his father and the shattered remains of his laboratory.
At that moment, he hated his father more than ever.
Yet the values and discipline he had been raised with kept him from exploding in anger.
The inferno burning inside his heart was beyond words.
Suddenly, Jun-Kai shouted,
Jun-Kai: "Stop! Where do you think you're going? Security! Detain Jun-Yu!"
Even though Jun-Kai still couldn't fully understand the depth of his son's heartbreak, he had realized one thing—
Jun-Yu was about to leave home.
The moment the order was given, the twelve bodyguards surrounded Jun-Yu once again.
Jun-Kai: "I know how stubborn you are. And Shu-Yang is the one who taught you that stubbornness. Since you refuse to listen to me, then so be it. Until now, six of these guards have been protecting you openly, while the other six watched over you in secret. But from today onward, they'll keep you under guard according to my orders."
As soon as Jun-Kai finished speaking, Jun-Yu curled his lips into a strange, almost unsettling smile.
It was a smile Jun-Kai couldn't understand.
Slowly, Jun-Yu bent down and picked up a sharp shard of broken glass from one of the shattered beakers.
He pressed it against his own neck.
Jun-Yu: "Mr. Jun-Kai... I've always known that six of your guards protected me while the other six secretly watched my every move. But today... I'm setting myself free. You can dismiss all twelve of them."
The instant Jun-Yu held the glass to his throat, Jun-Kai's expression changed completely.
Only then did he realize how deep Jun-Yu's despair truly was.
Mei-Xue immediately collapsed to her knees in front of Jun-Kai, clutching his legs as tears streamed down her face.
Mei-Xue: "Please... stop this. Because of you, I already lost our daughter. I can't lose my son too. He's not thinking clearly right now. Please... let him go. Jun-Kai, he'll really hurt himself. Please... let him leave."
Jun-Kai's calm composure finally shattered.
Jun-Kai: "You can't do this! Your life doesn't belong to you alone! You're the only heir of the Jun family! Throw that glass away! Jun-Yu... listen to me!"
When emotions spiral out of control, even reason loses its power.
The destruction of his laboratory had shattered every emotional restraint Jun-Yu possessed.
His mind echoed with a single thought.
"I'm not an heir... I'm nothing more than a prisoner. My dreams have never meant anything to Dad. He'll never understand my feelings. Today, instead of destroying my laboratory... he might as well have killed me. That laboratory was my life. How can I make him understand how much this hurts? Even now, he wants to trap me with wealth and inheritance. But I don't want an inheritance that cages me... and I don't want a life lived in chains."
Lifting his eyes, Jun-Yu spoke in a calm yet broken voice.
Jun-Yu: "Inheritance? Wealth? Can money buy someone's dreams, Mr. Jun-Kai?"
His grip on the broken glass tightened.
Jun-Yu: "Today, you didn't just destroy my laboratory... you destroyed my life. A person who can't even protect his own dream has no right to inherit a family's legacy. If I couldn't protect my dream, how could I ever protect your empire?"
He took another step toward the door.
Jun-Yu: "From this moment on... I'm simply Jun-Yu. Not the Prince of the Jun family."
His cold eyes met his father's.
Jun-Yu: "Move aside and let me leave."
After a brief pause, he added,
Jun-Yu: "And one more thing... after I walk out of here, don't send your lapdogs to look for me. Otherwise... the consequences won't be good."
The bodyguards behind him hesitated.
For the first time, they were genuinely afraid to approach him.
Jun-Kai stood frozen.
He had never imagined that his own actions would break his son this completely.
Above everything else, a father treasured his child's life.
At that moment, Jun-Kai's resolve completely crumbled.
Just as the guards cautiously moved forward, Jun-Kai noticed blood slowly trickling down Jun-Yu's neck where the glass had cut into his skin.
His face turned pale.
He immediately shouted,
Jun-Kai: "No! Don't move any closer! He's not thinking rationally anymore! Let him go! I'll let you leave... just stop this. Throw the glass away!"
But Jun-Yu showed no sign of stopping.
Then...
His eyes fell upon Mei-Xue.
She was still kneeling on the floor with tears streaming down her face, silently shaking her head as she begged him not to take another step.
Her trembling voice echoed through the room.
Mei-Xue: "Please, my son... don't leave your mother's arms empty. If someone has to die, let it be me instead. Jun-Yu... come back. Please don't do something so reckless."
The moment Jun-Yu looked at Mei-Xue, the last of his emotional strength crumbled.
If not for her desperate plea, his anger, grief, and resentment might have driven him to do something irreversible.
Hearing his mother's tearful words, Jun-Yu slowly lowered the shard of glass. He let it fall from his hand, then stormed out of the laboratory without another word, his eyes still burning with anger.
The instant Jun-Yu disappeared through the doorway, Jun-Kai collapsed onto the floor in tears.
Only now did he fully realize the weight of what he had done.
His own actions hadn't merely destroyed Jun-Yu's laboratory...
They had shattered his son's will to live.
One terrifying thought echoed over and over in his mind.
"Will Jun-Yu ever stand before me again? Will he ever call me 'Dad' one more time?"
He wasn't calling him Dad anymore.
Now...
He addressed him only as "Mr. Jun-Kai."
The sound of Jun-Yu's footsteps gradually faded into the distance, disappearing down the corridor.
Left behind inside the secret laboratory were broken machines, shattered dreams... and a father whose heart had completely fallen apart.
Overwhelmed with guilt, Jun-Kai turned to the bodyguards and shouted,
Jun-Kai: "Why are you all just standing there staring at me?! Go after him! Hurry! Clear every road along his route immediately. He could get into an accident!"
★★★
Jun-Yu drove out of the apartment complex and onto the crowded highway.
Today, his driving was completely different.
His Ferrari Portofino M shot down the road at a terrifying speed, far beyond the limit.
Jun-Yu had completely lost control—not of the car, but of himself.
He no longer feared death.
If an accident happened, so be it.
It no longer mattered to him.
"What's the point of living like this? One day, everyone has to die anyway. But for however long I have left, I want to live freely. What has life really given me despite all these luxurious cars and mansions? Nothing but a gilded cage. If this is what living means... then death would be far more peaceful."
With those thoughts racing through his mind, Jun-Yu pressed the accelerator even harder.
Meanwhile, Jun-Kai used his direct access to the city's Traffic Control Center.
With a single phone call, emergency traffic orders were issued.
Within five minutes, the entire route ahead of Jun-Yu was cleared.
Traffic signals were overridden, intersections were blocked, and every vehicle was brought to a halt.
The road ahead became completely empty.
Jun-Yu didn't notice any of it.
The only thing he could see was the image of his destroyed laboratory replaying over and over in his mind.
A few moments later, he noticed several vehicles pursuing him.
One glance in the rearview mirror was enough.
He immediately recognized them as his father's security convoy.
Jun-Yu understood at once that Jun-Kai had used his influence to track him.
Without hesitation, he suddenly turned onto a narrow, deserted side road.
The guards reacted too late.
Their vehicles became tangled in traffic at the intersection, preventing them from following him immediately.
Taking advantage of the delay, Jun-Yu drove deep into a quiet alley on the outskirts of the city before finally bringing the Ferrari to a stop.
He knew the car's GPS would soon lead Jun-Kai's men straight to him.
Gently, he ran his hand across the steering wheel of the Ferrari he loved so much.
Then...
He left the keys inside the car, stepped out, and looked at the luxurious open-top Ferrari Portofino M one last time.
Without another glance, he turned around and walked away.
A short while later, the security team finally arrived at the alley.
The Ferrari was still there.
But Jun-Yu was gone.
The guards immediately realized that he had outsmarted them and disappeared without leaving a trace.
★★★
Shi-Han arrived at the entrance of Verne Club.
The moment she reached the club, she hurried inside, anxiously searching for Xiao-Tong.
Xiao-Tong was no longer the cheerful girl she used to be.
The pain of heartbreak had completely drained the life from her. A deep sadness lingered on her face.
She was sitting quietly in Shi-Han's room at the club.
Standing beside her, Shi-Han asked gently,
Shi-Han: "Xiao-Tong... are you alright? What happened? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Xiao-Tong lowered her head and spoke in a broken voice.
Xiao-Tong: "If love can bring so much happiness... why does heartbreak hurt even more?"
The moment she heard those words, Shi-Han immediately remembered Kai-Wen's behavior that day.
She could already guess what had happened, but she wanted to hear it from Xiao-Tong herself.
Shi-Han: "Kai-Wen... what happened between you two?"
The instant Kai-Wen's name left Shi-Han's lips, Xiao-Tong completely broke down.
She threw herself into Shi-Han's arms and burst into tears.
Xiao-Tong: "He betrayed me... Shi-Han, tell me... where did my love fall short? Why did Kai-Wen do this to me? He never truly loved me, did he? Then why... why does love break a person from the inside? Was it really a crime that I loved someone? Tell me, Shi-Han... is love a crime?"
Shi-Han gently wrapped her arms around Xiao-Tong and comforted her.
Shi-Han: "Love isn't a crime. But loving the wrong person is like drinking poison. The man you loved was never worthy of your heart. Forget him. One day you'll meet someone far better than him. Start over. Don't lose yourself. I'm here with you."
Xiao-Tong smiled bitterly through her tears.
Xiao-Tong: "Can shattered glass ever be made whole again? Can a broken heart truly be repaired, Shi-Han? No... I don't want to be broken anymore. I just want everything to end. I've never known the warmth of a real family, and nothing in my life has ever changed. I trusted someone, and he betrayed me. I don't want to build a family anymore. You know... that day I wanted to die... but somehow Ji-Xuan arrived and stopped me."