Ten Years of Yearning. My Love, Let Me Protect You.

Splash!

A bucket of cold water was thrown at Ben. Due to the cold sensation, the young man jolted up awake and opened his eyes wide, trying to figure out what just happened. He looked around but all he saw was darkness. 

"Ahhhh! Where am I?!" Ben screamed. When he tried to move, he was feeling stiffness all around his body, especially his back where an unbearable pain was gawking at him which made him unable to move. But the most unbearable thing was that his head was spinning and he felt like puking. 

"Heh! This boy's memory is so poor…" The old guard mocked as he grabbed Ben's upside-down body and yanked away the black cloth which covered his head a moment ago. 

The young man didn't even get a moment to adjust to the light when he saw the young guard making his way towards him with a long, thick, vicious-looking rod.

'What?! What the hell is that man doing!? Stay away!' Ben was yelling inside his head but he wasn't aware of this fact and with his eyes wide open, he stared at the man who was approaching him with bewilderment. 

Ben looked like a kid who saw a scary clown! And he was processing what would happen next which was pretty much predictable.

"Your father failed to educate you. Let that rod educate you instead!" The old guard smirked as he saw Ben's face changing. But he was displeased because he didn't see the panic in his eyes. 

"Beat him up!" The old guard told the young guard as he spat on the ground. In the next second...

Bam!

"..."

Bam! Bam!

"..."

The old guard got mad when he saw Ben was trying his best to stay silent. He rubbed his neck where the fearsome scar was. His eyes burned in fury as he walked ahead and snatched the rod from the young guard. "Punk! You should beat prisoners with all your might!" 

BAM!

"AHHHH!" Ben cried out in agony as the rod fell on his back with a lot of force. The young man's whole body jolted out as his mind shook in immense pain. 

Bam! Thud! Thud!

Getting mushed with a rod, not only that, cherry on top, hanging upside down was not something one would deliberately accept, he struggled harder the more he got his body wrecked with the rod.

"Ahhh! Stop! Stop it, you bastard!" Ben was forced to cry like a kid when the old man began to beat him like crazy. But it only fueled the old man's sadism as he beat Ben harder. 

BAM! 

"YOU FUCKER!!! I WILL KILL YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!!! JUST WAIT!!!"

Ben screamed at the top of his lungs while being upside down. His mouth was filled with metallic taste as blood oozed out from his lips. 

"Heh! I will have to have a family in the first place for you to kill na~" The old man grinned. At this moment, the old guy went ahead and tore Ben's shirt away. 

"Are you a masochist? Why aren't you fainting?" He licked his lips as he eyed Ben's face intensely. With his left hand, he grabbed the young man's face and squeezed his chin. For a moment, Ben felt like his jaw would be crushed.

How he desired to spit out his saliva onto the old face which would satisfy him for all the beating he just received, Nah! Just, he would feel better for mocking the other but he wasn't looking further for severe assault so he thinks not!

Even at that moment of pain and humiliation, Ben didn't forget to glare at the old man. When the old guy showed a smile, a cunning yet evil one laced with mockery, he had it enough. It wasn't something his ego and pride would allow to not do anything and finally, he spat on the old face directly. 

"Move your disgusting face away from me!" Ben whispered in his hoarse voice. 

"It seems like… the beating is nothing to you…" While saying this, the old guard gripped the rod with his two hands and proceeded to beat Ben again. 

The young man closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come with gritted teeth. 

Thud!

"Stop!"

"Ahhh!" 

Two men's voices rang out at the same time. The old guard stopped in his tracks and turned around. At the doorstep, Ben's father, William Smith stood motionless. 

The old man's forehead throbbed when he watched his degenerate son wiggling like a worm while being hung upside down. 

"Dad? Dad! Finally, you are here! Save me!" Ben threw away all his pride as a man and bawled out when he saw his father. "This man has gone crazy! He will kill me! Save your family's lamp, Dad!" 

"Shut up! Don't call me Dad. I am not your father!" The thunderous voice of William Smith rang out in the room. He threw a piercing glare at his degenerate of a son which instantly made the young guy mute. 

Then he turned to the old guard and demanded authoritatively, "On what basis are you beating my son!"

The old guard narrowed his eyes and replied in a low voice, "He disturbed the atmosphere of the prison and made a mess. Such a disobedient person deserves a beating!" 

"Oh really?" William Smith asked with a chuckle as he turned around and glanced at another person, "You are the senior officer of this station right?"

"... Yes, sir." The senior officer nodded with a lot of difficulties. At that moment, he felt like being an officer was the greatest misfortune of his life. He was beyond embarrassed by the old guard's unexpected behaviour. 

"This station… needs some investigation." William Smith said with deep meaning as he noticed the senior officer getting surprised earlier. 

After all, many people witnessed that the low-level staff didn't ask permission from the main authority to do something and only God knew how many times it was repeated. 

The young guard was scared when he saw many people at the door. Even though he acted big earlier, all the smugness vanished when he faced the glare of the senior officer. 

The next second, Ben was brought down with the help of other officers. He limped towards William Smith and tried to force out a smile even though he was in too much pain. 

"Thanks… Dad!" Ben whispered as he looked down on the ground. He failed, ashamed to lift his head because he lost control earlier and cried. 

Just remembering that all the people who had come had seen this unsightly face, he wished to dig a hole and vanish in it to hibernate for years!

"Humph! When you are in danger, it's Dad and other times, it's Father? You degenerate!" William Smith lifted his hand at him. Ben closed his eyes obediently and waited for the smack. Looking at this, the old father was helpless and rather than beating him, he retracted his hand. 

In the next moment, he took off his outer jacket of the tailor-made suit and threw it to Ben. 

"Follow me!" William Smith commanded as he began to walk out of the little room. Ben sighed as he wiped his mouth with the back of his palm. Then he wiped the blood on the wall of the room. 

While leaving, Ben wrapped his half-naked self with the jacket and limped out of the room slowly. As soon as he left, a pair of hands came up to help him. 

"You have suffered. Let me help you." Michael whispered as he supported Ben to the front hall of the station. While they were moving slowly, Yan Luhan passed by without minding them. 

They noticed some people had come for Yan Luhan as well. Ben's father was very furious. The old director called the mayor and directly told them what he had seen today. 

Even though William Smith didn't like this willful son much, he would never tolerate it when he saw his own blood and flesh getting tortured like that. 

That night, the senior officer got another two legal notices. William Smith and Yan Luhan's lawyers worked meticulously and freed all the involved people even though they had to pay a large number of fines. 

As they walked out of the station, he reprimanded both Ben and Michael, "You two are students and sometimes, it's fine to be willful but getting to that extent? What will people say about our university if they know of this matter? Also, that girl…"

"It's not her fault! Except her, all were at fault!" Ben hurriedly spoke out defending her even before William Smith could finish. The old man snorted and he didn't mention Ji Yanli anymore. 

"Just come to the mansion! You aren't allowed to leave for a month!" William Smith said calmly but only Ben knew, the old father of his was fuming in anger. 

He didn't object and thus, he was brought away. Michael took a taxi and left for the dormitory. Only Yan Luhan stayed back.