Chapter 88

Chapter 88

The night outside was cold, but the room was hot and warm. A layer of misty white fog clung to the glass windows, inside which the overlapping silhouettes of two figures could be vaguely discerned.

The two were lying side by side, face to face, in silence.

Xie Zhigui had his eyes closed, resting on Ming Fei Yu's arm, his breathing uneven, skin flushed, not yet asleep. He was simply unwilling to open his eyes to see him, pretending not to detect the sweet odor in the air.

Meanwhile, Ming Fei Yu patiently smoothed the sweat-dampened hair from Xie Zhigui's forehead behind his ears for comfort, then traced his palm slowly down his facial contours - from his damp eyes, over the bridge of his nose, to his slightly swollen lips, and further down to his gently moving throat.

"Stop moving!" Xie Zhigui suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed Ming Fei Yu's hand, his gaze containing a warning and a touch of embarrassment.

Touching and touching, haven't you had enough?!

Ming Fei Yu was nonchalant, deliberately scratching his tender neck with his fingertip, teasing him like a kitten, "What would happen if I continue?"

"Scratch me? Scold me? Or kick me?"

"…" Xie Zhigui kicked him under the covers and glared at him in irritation.

The kick was light and playful, Ming Fei Yu just smiled, letting him vent, knowing after his tantrum, he would comply.

Xie Zhigui was at a loss; even the sharpest claws couldn't scratch this.

"Really, stop messing around, I need to talk to you about something."

"You speak, I'm listening."

Ming Fei Yu inched closer, his hand gliding under the covers to deftly encircle his waist, drawing him deeper into his embrace.

On such a chilly, drawn-out night, only by holding each other can one sleep soundly.

This time, Xie Zhigui did not struggle, instead, he lifted his eyes, tinged red at the corners, watery and shimmering, as if he had much to say but held back. Ming Fei Yu sensed something.

"Is there something you need my help with?"

"Yes," Xie Zhigui hesitated, then said, "I want to stay here and go with you after I complete my studies."

He immediately observed Ming Fei Yu's expression nervously after speaking, but Ming Fei Yu appeared neither angry nor displeased. After gazing into his eyes for a moment, he simply responded with a faint "Okay."

Eh?

He had rehearsed so many things in his heart to say, and yet agreement came so easily?

Xie Zhigui wondered if he was hearing things.

Ming Fei Yu gently patted him, bringing him back from his astonishment, "You can stay here, but I will stay too, to be with you."

Xie Zhigui asked him, "Don't you despise human society?"

"I do."

Ming Fei Yu paused, noting the tense expression on Xie Zhigui's face, smoothed his furrowed brows for him, and sighed softly, "I don't want you to stay here, learning the hypocrisy and fickleness of humans. But then I realize that compared to us, you are still very young. Once you come back with me, I might never let you out again. I'm afraid you won't be able to accept the simple, repetitive life of our clan."

Xie Zhigui: "So..."

Ming Fei Yu: "So you can finish all that you want to do here, and then leave with me without regrets."

Xie Zhigui was astonished, "You, since when have you become so generous?"

Ming Fei Yu pinched the nose of this little ingrate, "I don't want you to resent me for taking away your freedom in the future."

Xie Zhigui could never have anticipated the response that came from Ming Fei Yu's lips.

A monster, known not for its sentiment, was actually considering a human's feelings.

A cool breeze suddenly wafted through the sultry room, accompanied by Ming Fei Yu's voice, gentle as a mountain stream, soothing Xie Zhigui's heart full of unease and panic.

Yet it also brought new dilemmas.

Gazing into Ming Fei Yu's eyes, brimming with emotion, Xie Zhigui felt a twinge of guilt and self-doubt, wishing he could bury himself under the covers.

He suddenly longed to tell Ming Fei Yu that he wasn't a child anymore, with no dreams that needed desperately to come true, and there was no need for such thorough consideration on his behalf.

Moreover, he had no intention of returning to that tribe.

But he lacked the courage to voice it.

At this moment, he was a coward, afraid of losing the warm embrace he was in, afraid of the disappointed looks, afraid of facing Ming Fei Yu's rebuke and anger.

Ming Fei Yu, don't worry about me, don't fall for me... otherwise, you will surely regret it.

He was just a little mouse hiding in a dark corner, accustomed to loneliness and desolation. One day, sunlight he had never seen before suddenly shone into his burrow, causing panic and recoil—not from fear of the sunlight's fervor, but from worry that, once accustomed to its warmth, he couldn't endure the cold and solitude should it disappear.

Xie Zhigui managed to squeeze a few words from his throat, "A-Yu, I..."

"A-Gui, you'll come to like me, won't you?"

Ming Fei Yu lifted his face, looking intently into his quivering pupils. Sensing his fear, Ming Fei Yu's palm pressed even more firmly against his cheek, as if determined to imprint his own image into the depths of Xie Zhigui's eyes, unforgettable for eternity.

After a gaze that said it all, Xie Zhigui was defeated, utterly and completely, unable to resist this sincere and fervent gaze.

"Tell me, will you?"

"I will—"

Maybe.

He tucked the last syllable, uncertain, deep within his heart, into a corner no one knew.

Ming Fei Yu pressed further: "Would you deceive me?"

Xie Zhigui choked on his words, his hesitation causing the light in Ming Fei Yu's eyes to dim.

"I won't... deceive you."

Xie Zhigui didn't know how much effort it took to utter those scalding words.

If lying meant hellfire, he might spend this life, and the next, tormented in its flames.

...I'm sorry.

He silently apologized in his heart, not daring to meet Ming Fei Yu's gaze.

The next second, he was engulfed in a familiar and trusting embrace, like star-crossed lovers in a desperate farewell before death.

He closed his eyes in anguish, nearly suffocating.

Ming Fei Yu, clearly struggling to contain his excitement, bit his ear in a plea that was half entreaty, half threat: "A-Gui, I will believe whatever you say, so you can't lie to me, it would hurt me."

He pressed on with all his trust and tenderness, betting on Xie Zhigui's heart being true, his blood warm, that he wouldn't deceive or exploit him.

If he lost, he'd be left with nothing.

Perhaps he could no longer suppress the monster within, unable to remain a gentle lover.

Fortunately, after a few seconds of silence, the person in his arms also reached out to hold him tight, offering consolation to his restlessness, "...Okay."

————

After a few days of sweet annoyance, Xie Zhigui answered a phone call and suddenly informed Ming Fei Yu that he was going to attend a summer camp for about a month and couldn't bring any family members.

Ming Fei Yu's expression fell immediately, clearly writing "reluctance" all over his face.

"Where to?"

"Changbai Mountain."

Ming Fei Yu, looking at Xie Zhigui's slender frame, appeared even more concerned, "So far, so cold, are you going to that forsaken place to become an immortal by yourself?"

Xie Zhigui said helplessly: "There will be teachers leading the trip, and I won't be staying in the wilds. The hotel isn't cold. It's just for a month, it'll pass quickly."

Ming Fei Yu pursed his lips and remained silent, his face somber as he watched him.

He was beginning to regret his insistence on experiencing the full spectrum of college life.

It's up to you to agree or not.

Xie Zhigui shrugged his shoulders, went inside, and dragged out Xie Qingyuan's oversized suitcase.

His voice traveled from the room to the ears of Ming Feiyu, who sat in the living room, agitated and restless, "Ayu, come and help me pack up."

"No help!"

"Help or don't - it's your choice."

“……”

A minute later, Ming Feiyu, fists clenched, trudged into the room with heavy, dissatisfied steps.

On the day of departure, Xie Zhigui only let Ming Feiyu escort him to the ground floor, repeatedly cautioning him, "Don't come after me. I will be very busy during that time and cannot afford to be distracted."

Ming Feiyu responded absentmindedly with a "Hmm."

When Xie Zhigui went to take the luggage that Ming Feiyu was holding, he found it was grasped tightly, immovable. Looking up, he saw a frown of gloom knitted between Ming Feiyu's brows.

Xie Zhigui shook his head, released the handle of the suitcase, and wrapped his arms around Ming Feiyu. Rising on his tiptoes, he tilted his neck to intentionally expose the mark he had left, and met Ming Feiyu's gaze, softly coaxing, "I will come back, trust me," before leaning in to initiate a kiss.

Ming Feiyu held him tightly in return, deepening their kiss.

They would be apart for a month, unable to see, touch, or smell each other, so the intensity of their movements was involuntary, an attempt to retain more of each other's scent.

Xie Zhigui had planned only a brief kiss, but ended up being held and grinded against for nearly ten minutes before he could pull back. Gasping for air, he winced as his mouth ached, wiping away a trace of blood from his lip with his thumb, the crimson stark and vivid.

He was relieved that it was early and there weren't many people around; otherwise, the scandal of him and another man kissing in the street would spread throughout the neighborhood in no time.

Ming Feiyu must really be canine at heart, biting that fiercely.

Looking at Ming Feiyu again, the other man contentedly licked the blood from his lips, seemingly unbothered.

Now he was the one who felt displeased.

"Alright, it's just a month, let go!"

Ming Feiyu was reluctant, but Xie Zhigui forcefully snatched away, turned around without another word, seemingly out of spite, and walked away.

"Come back early, I'll be waiting at home for you," Ming Feiyu called out after him, as if to entreat him to stay.

Xie Zhigui paused for a moment, then, gripping the luggage handle firmly, continued to walk towards the dawn's early light to the rhythm of the rolling suitcase wheels.

As his figure receded into the distance, with the morning light granting brightness to the world, Ming Feiyu still stood in the shadows, his expression inscrutable, murmuring almost as a warning—

"You must come back, don't force my hand."