Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Lan Yexing's heart had softened to the point of losing all capacity for thought and discernment, or perhaps, he simply saw no need for deliberate rationality in the presence of his beloved.

So he continued to hold the young man, lowered his head to kiss his golden hair, his eyes curving as he gently murmured, "Alright."

The boy's voice and actions were so deeply cherished and tender that Qiao You's breath hitched for a moment. He felt as if countless insects were gnawing at his heart, an uncontrollable surge of love and a dark, possessive desire, like a boiling cauldron, coursing through his entire being. These two intensely potent emotions devoured and tore at each other, leaving Qiao You feeling as though even his bones and skull throbbed with a fierce, pulsating ache—a profoundly exhilarating pain that he savored to the utmost…

He yearned to treat him with gentle care, yet also to utterly possess him, to inflict pain, to tear him apart, to make him speak, weep, and smile for him alone…

Two equally fierce emotions made his eyes as terrifying as a beast's. He closed his eyes in the boy's embrace, his voice low, hoarse, and tightly reined in, "Mm."

Just then, a soft sound came from the doorway. Yang Qing returned with a blood test kit. Lan Yexing quickly released Qiao You, making space for Yang Qing to draw his blood.

Yang Qing, trembling, approached to draw the blood under the golden-haired young man's cold and distant smile, then immediately rushed to the department for testing.

The final result, as expected, was a wound infection. Yang Qing, with trepidation, set up an IV drip for the young man, then informed Lan Yexing that he would be on duty in the emergency room downstairs and could be called at any time, before finally leaving the office.

After Yang Qing left, Lan Yexing gently pressed the young man onto the bed and covered him with a quilt. He then sat by the bed, watching the IV drip. His eyes curved as he looked at him: "You can close your eyes and rest for a bit. I'll wake you when the infusion is done."

Qiao You possessively reached for Lan Yexing's hand and held it tightly, smiling as he looked directly into his eyes, "You come up too."

Lan Yexing smiled helplessly: "I told you I'd watch the IV drip for you. I'll sleep with you after your infusion is finished." He then coughed lightly, his face a little flushed, "I'll even hug you."

Then, he extended his other clean hand, gently placing his palm over Qiao You's eyebrows and eyes: "Why don't you close your eyes and rest for a bit first, okay?"

Perhaps it was the boy's pleasant and reassuring scent, or the softness of his palm, or perhaps this body was simply too accustomed to obeying the boy's voice. In this confined, safe space, with only the boy present, Qiao You genuinely felt a wave of drowsiness slowly wash over him.

So he followed his body's instinct, obediently closing his eyes under the boy's palm, and chuckled softly, his voice low and alluring, "Did Xiao Xing cast some strange magic on me?" How could he feel sleepy the moment Xiao Xing told him to sleep?

Lan Yexing, who almost immediately understood what he was thinking, twitched his mouth helplessly: "You're tired because you were doing dangerous things all night, and now you're injured and sick."

After a pause, Lan Yexing lowered his voice and complained softly, "You even deliberately lied to me about having a club meeting."

Qiao You smiled with his eyes closed, "It was my fault."

Lan Yexing moved the hand that had been covering his eyebrows and eyes to his forehead, feeling the burning temperature. His heart softened even more. He mumbled, "Forget it, I can't blame the current you. You don't remember anything." In terms of mental age, the current Qiao You was still just a high school graduate.

Qiao You: "What if I told you I could deduce what happened?"

The person who understood him best in this world was himself. Naturally, he could piece together the full picture of the event from all the clues left behind.

Lan Yexing's breathing hitched, and he said hoarsely, "Then will you tell me?"

Qiao You closed his eyes, letting the reassuring drowsiness spread through his body. The hand with the IV drip ambiguously caressed Lan Yexing's soft fingers, which were firmly held in his palm. He smiled and said, "Yes."

He fully understood that his pre-amnesia self had concealed things from Lan Yexing to protect him and keep him out of his hatred—oh, and most likely, he didn't want Lan Yexing to witness him killing people.

But now, Lan Yexing was already involved, so knowing some information would be safer.

So, before Lan Yexing could speak, Qiao You calmly narrated, "My phone has traces of me contacting a person named Lin Qian. My pre-amnesia self ordered him to find a way to bring Prince Leon to me."

In fact, the traces on his phone showed that his pre-amnesia self knew that Lin Qian had contacted and harassed Lan Yexing. At that time, he must have been very angry, threatening the other party that if he wanted to live, he'd better stay away from Lan Yexing—he could tell from the tone of his messages that he had seriously considered using his mental power to severely punish the other party.

However, the other party was still useful, so he lured and coerced him, suggesting that if he wanted to live, he should obey his orders and bring Prince Leon to him as a sign of loyalty.

That fool, hearing he could live, immediately betrayed Prince Leon.

In fact, Lin Qian's way of accomplishing this was simple: he merely told Prince Leon that Qiao You would be at the abandoned art studio tonight. Even knowing it was likely a trap, Prince Leon went—at the end of his rope, he wasn't trying to escape, but rather obsessively and madly trying one last time to kill Qiao You.

At this point, even with his eyes closed, hiding all emotions, Qiao You's face still couldn't help but exude a chilling and terrifying coldness. His voice, however, seemed calm and indifferent, "And my pre-amnesia self did such a thing to lure someone to me using Prince Leon."

Then, kill him with his own hands.

His pre-amnesia self most likely wouldn't fully reveal to Lan Yexing that he was a complete monster.

No one knew—not even his grandfather—that after being stimulated by that fire years ago, he lost the ability to forget. Even though he was only three years old when the fire happened, he never forgot every detail of that fire.

For him, every day he grew up, his parents' faces, the clothes his parents wore before the fire, every neurotic word they said to him, all the details of the fire itself—everything was as clear as if it happened yesterday.

Among them, naturally, was the face of his enemy who appeared in the fire...

...

Countless terrifyingly cold and calm resentments flowed through his limbs. Qiao You's expression remained unchanged, and the strength with which he held Lan Yexing's hand did not change at all—he didn't even hurt him.

Lan Yexing looked at the young man still lying on the bed with his eyes closed, seemingly calm, but his face showed an expression of extreme heartache. He leaned over and hugged him, resting his upper body on his knees, quietly, obediently, and gently holding the fingers of the hand that was receiving the IV drip.

Qiao You continued calmly and indifferently, as if nothing had happened, "However, that fool Lin Qian was too clever for his own good and indecisive. He seemed to have changed his mind midway and sold Prince Leon out to the royal family."

After Prince Leon secretly arrived at the abandoned art studio that Lin Qian was very familiar with, Lin Qian ambushed and knocked him out, tying him up. While waiting for Qiao You to arrive, "Song Wen," one of the many clones of the royal family, used a special mental power to bewitch Lin Qian.

That "Song Wen" indeed couldn't directly locate Lin Qian, but he used his mental power to let Lin Qian know something special: the princess of the royal family was threatening suicide, refusing to provide blood to betray her brother. This meant that the royal family was actually in great difficulty trying to find Prince Leon.

"Song Wen" used that incident to tempt and lure Lin Qian to think in one direction: as long as he handed Prince Leon over to the royal family now, the royal family, with its unfathomable connections and power, would be able to protect him securely.

Lin Qian almost unhesitatingly abandoned Qiao You's path and instead sent Prince Leon's location to the royal family. The clones sent by the royal family arrived there before Qiao You...

Qiao You's voice held an extreme calmness and indifferent coldness, "So, when my pre-amnesia self arrived there at the agreed time, Prince Leon appeared to be dead."

And that fool Lin Qian was naturally discarded after serving his purpose.

When he arrived, the alpha with the "Severance" ability was torturing Lin Qian, who was also tied to a chair.

His pre-amnesia self must have immediately recognized that the "Severance" psychic "Song Wen" was not the original. When he used the "Extract" mental power to force information from that clone, another "Song Wen," a "Time Stasis and Reversal" psychic who had been keeping watch outside and sensed something was wrong, ambushed him from behind.

This mental power would cause unconsciousness for at least one minute.

And these two experimental subjects, like robots, seemed to have no rationality, only killing.

They lunged at him as he was about to faint, so he, like a terrifying demon crawling out of hell, calmly used the power of "Extract" to kill them with his own hands.

One minute later, he awoke from the "Time Stasis and Reversal" mental power. In the bloody, hellish empty room, he didn't know if Prince Leon was truly dead, and it didn't matter to him.

At that moment, Lin Qian, who had been tortured by "Song Wen" and was now dying, was in a final burst of energy, hysterically and weakly muttering about how he regretted breaking the agreement, how he was deceived by the royal family, and how terrifying the alpha who tortured him and Prince Leon was.

Having lost his memory, he then sat on his knees behind the paint cabinet, and with extreme indifference, learned from Lin Qian how Lin Qian changed his mind and betrayed Prince Leon to the royal family, along with many other details. He calmly and indifferently pieced together the full picture of what his pre-amnesia self had encountered in his mind.

Until that omega died, his indifferent expression hadn't changed in the slightest.

Then, he examined all the information and details on himself and in that room. After that, he stayed in that utterly disgusting room, while caressing the shocking, bloody "Lan Yexing" imprint left by his pre-amnesia self on his palm, he calmly and indifferently continued to wait for a possibility:

That is: After those two irrational clone alphas finished torturing Prince Leon and Lin Qian, would the royal family send a more important person to clean up the mess?

He judged that, according to the royal family's past conduct, a more important person, more trusted by the king, would surely come to kill these two alphas, destroy the evidence, and incidentally disguise the murder scene as the king wished.

And he was gambling whether the person who came would be the original Song Wen.

Perhaps his wound was already infected then, and he drowsily closed his eyes, feigning sleep, waiting for the possibility that one of his enemies, clearly etched in his mind, would come before him.

He had been waiting since childhood, still waiting when he attended public school. He believed that his pre-amnesia self was also waiting for that moment, waiting here.

However, he first waited for Lan Yexing...

It was as if he willingly stayed in a cold and terrifying hell, planning a bloody and dirty deed. He waited for the moment of slaughter to arrive, but instead, a clean, warm, and bright star arrived first.

And now, he was still ready for slaughter at any moment, but that star remained by his side, within reach...

Even if his hands would inevitably be stained with blood in the future, he longed to scoop this star into his palm, preventing its light from shining on anyone but him. He longed to swallow it, forever hiding it in the deepest part of his heart, illuminating and warming only him. Even if he died, he would possess this star alone in the dark earth, in a cold coffin, binding it to himself with his soul for all eternity, even if his body turned to dust...

However, it's probably best not to tell him these twisted and terrifying thoughts...

He believed that his pre-amnesia self would also never reveal such thoughts to the boy in the slightest.

It would definitely scare him.

But, doing something slightly excessive, yet not letting him notice, something that could satisfy his possessiveness, should be fine, right?

So, the golden-haired young man, who was almost falling asleep while being soothed by Lan Yexing as he spoke, closed his eyes and smiled, his voice low and captivating, "Honey, is there a reward for telling you all this?"

Lan Yexing quietly digested the information, and upon hearing this, a helpless yet soft smile appeared on his face. One hand remained firmly clasped with the young man's, while the other gently caressed the young man's handsome face. He softly asked, "What do you want?"

Qiao You slowly opened his eyes and smiled at him, "Give me your phone. One minute."

Lan Yexing: "I refuse."

Qiao You's smile deepened, "Xiao Xing's phone wouldn't have any secrets I can't see, would it?"

Lan Yexing chuckled, shaking his head. He looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and said, "Because my phone probably already has a monitoring and listening plugin you installed. There's no need to install a second one."

Qiao You, whose intentions were accurately guessed, blinked innocently, as if he wasn't the one who had just harbored such a mischievous thought.

Lan Yexing then looked at the IV drip. After standing up, he casually and skillfully slowed down the infusion rate. Then he leaned over the young man on the bed and pressed a clean, soft kiss on the young man's cool, thin lips. His nose touched the young man's nose, and when he blinked, his thick eyelashes brushed against the young man's face, tickling him. He softly said, "Is this reward acceptable?"

In the shadows, Qiao You's green eyes rolled with dangerous, intense red light. The muscles in his arms, resting quietly at his sides, tensed dangerously, yet he desperately restrained himself from immediately pulling the boy into his embrace and pressing him beneath him. He merely smiled, fixing his substantial gaze firmly into the boy's light-colored eyes, and said hoarsely, "Of course it is."

Lan Yexing moved back slightly, reaching out to gently cover the young man's eyebrows and eyes: "Sleep, senior. I'll watch over you right here."

As if bewitched, Qiao You, after his amnesia, listened to this extremely fresh address and took one last look at Lan Yexing, then obediently closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Lan Yexing sat back in his chair, watching him intently, his expression incredibly gentle.

Only when Qiao You was truly asleep did Lan Yexing take out his phone to check the public opinion regarding tonight's events.

As expected, this incident caused a huge uproar.

However, the royal family's disclosed version of events was: Prince Leon, ashamed of his wrongdoings—instigating friends to steal others' identities and committing arson in the Xingdu University district—used his "air control" mental power to self-destruct in an abandoned art studio at Xingdu University's School of Fine Arts.

The King revealed that Prince Leon had contacted him before his death, saying he hoped to atone for his wrongdoings with his death, and wished to gain public forgiveness and dispel public doubts about the royal family.

After arriving in this world, Lan Yexing saw the King's appearance on live broadcast for the first time:

He wore the most solemn, luxurious, and dignified ceremonial robes, a crown on his head, and a heavy scepter in his hand. His hair was completely white, his face full of wrinkles, and his red eyes were utterly murky.

The King, like any ordinary father who had lost his son, wept sorrowfully to the camera, saying, "Before his death, Prince Leon cried mournfully to me on the phone, saying he had truly made a mistake, that he had trampled on justice and fairness, and was terribly wrong. He begged me to forgive him, saying he was sorry to the victims, to every citizen, and that he had brought shame to the royal family."

"But, until the last moment of that child's life, I, like you, did not forgive him, because I, like you, will always stand firmly on the side of justice. I will use everything I have to defend the rule of law and justice."

......

These words made the protesters gathered in front of the palace tear up. In addition, the police, after preliminary investigations overnight, immediately released initial results: the building was indeed destroyed by "air control" mental power, and Prince Leon's body, along with the building, had been blown to smithereens.

Furthermore, the King stated that to show sincerity in atonement, Prince Leon's last friend, Lin Qian, who had helped him with his wrongdoings, and the servants who had accompanied Prince Leon in the palace, had also committed suicide with him.

Preliminary tests in the building indeed detected bone fragments of Prince Leon and several other individuals. The bone test results for Prince Leon and Lin Qian were clear, allowing for identification. The remains of the other individuals were too severely destroyed and thoroughly mixed with building debris, making it only barely possible to detect them as human remains, but this was sufficient to corroborate the King's statements.

At this point, the old man was almost sobbing uncontrollably: "Now Prince Leon is dead, and he is indeed still guilty, but please forgive me, simply as a father grieving and weeping for him."

As the live broadcast reached this point, the bullet comments were frantically scrolling with adoration and support for the King.

The crisis of trust that the public had developed towards the royal family due to Prince Leon was now completely resolved.

Lan Yexing watched all this, but felt a cold shiver down his spine and a desire to vomit: he finally understood why the last clone's mental power was the same as Prince Leon's "air control"... because it was to fake Prince Leon's suicide scene...

The King was using his son's life for the royal family's crisis public relations...

Lan Yexing watched this scene with a cold expression. After a long moment, he deftly turned off his phone: he still hated Prince Leon for repeatedly trying to harm Qiao You, but at this moment, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

At this moment, the first bottle of medicine was finally infused. Lan Yexing came back to his senses. He took a deep breath, suppressing those emotions deep in his heart, then got up and gently changed Qiao You's IV drip.

After changing it, he leaned over again and kissed the forehead of the sleeping young man. A determined protectiveness slowly emerged on his face: the truth about Qiao You was still unclear, but he would absolutely not let anyone harm him.

Thinking this, he sat back down and watched the second bottle of medicine slowly flow into the young man's veins.

......

After the IV drip was finished late at night, Lan Yexing removed the needle for the other party and touched his forehead to confirm that the fever had subsided. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. After rubbing his throbbing brow from staying up late, he simply lay down by the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

But the next day, his nose was filled with the dizzying, pleasant scent of lime.

Lan Yexing clearly felt himself lying on his side on the bed, his entire body firmly locked in someone's embrace, almost unable to move. Muscular arms were wrapped around him from behind, possessively resting on his waist. Behind him was a broad, powerful chest and incredibly firm abdominal muscles. His chest rose and fell, and the young man's heartbeat transferred through his clothes to his body. Even one of his hands was firmly held by another large hand.

The young man's breath ambiguously brushed against his neck, and his cool golden hair scattered on his ear tips and the back of his neck, tickling him.

His uniform jacket and cashmere vest had been removed, leaving only a white shirt, making the sensation on his back exceptionally clear.

Lan Yexing could finally no longer sleep. He groggily opened his eyes.

The golden-haired young man behind him, who had finally gotten his wish to sleep with him, immediately sensed that he was awake. He didn't open his eyes, but his voice was exceptionally hoarse and dangerous: "Good boy, honey, sleep with me for one more minute."

Lan Yexing twitched his mouth, painstakingly pulling out one hand and, in an extremely twisted posture, placing his palm on the young man's forehead: Excellent, the fever had completely subsided.

He blushed, sighed helplessly, and was about to grant the young man's wish to sleep for another minute. The next moment, however, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, sensing something, and his face immediately flushed crimson.

He finally woke up completely, pushed the other party away forcefully, and then scrambled to his feet, standing barefoot on the ground, staring at him with wide eyes: "You, you—"

Qiao You then slowly opened his beautiful green eyes, elegantly and unhurriedly sitting up halfway. Through the gaps in his shirt, powerful, beautifully sculpted, and dangerous muscles were revealed.

He casually propped his chin on one hand, looking at the boy on the floor with composure, his substantial gaze sweeping over the boy's messy black hair, beautiful light-colored eyes, and then inch by inch over the boy's slender, fair neck and the large expanse of fair skin inside his collar, where he had personally unbuttoned a few buttons last night. He smiled and said, "What about me?"

Lan Yexing glared at him, blushing, the redness spreading all the way to his neck. He "you-ed" for a long time before finally averting his gaze and managing to stammer out: "Don't... be a hooligan... at least not in someone else's office."

The middle three words were almost inaudible.

Qiao You stared at the boy's flushed earlobes, his smile deepening. He raised an eyebrow, his voice inexplicably hoarse and dangerous: "So, tell me, where can I?"

Realizing he was bullying the other party, Qiao You uncharacteristically reflected on himself—although he wasn't sure how his pre-amnesia self interacted with the boy, he knew his bad habits would increase with age, meaning his pre-amnesia self was definitely worse than his current self.

Subtly wanting to leave a better impression on the boy than his pre-amnesia self, he was about to suppress the endless stream of bad thoughts and apologize like a true gentleman for the perfectly natural physiological phenomenon that arose when facing the person he liked first thing in the morning—

But then he saw Lan Yexing, who had been thinking for a long time, look at him with a flushed face. His light-colored pupils were clean and moist, and the more obedient and stubborn his expression, the more alluring he became, making one's heart itch.

Qiao You stared at the boy's soft lips opening and closing, hearing him stammer: "At-at least at home..."

Qiao You's eyes suddenly deepened. He smiled and said, "Are you saying that after confirming our relationship, we're already living together? And now you're allowing me to..."

Lan Yexing's knuckles were red: "We're not living together! And I didn't!"

After a pause, he explained: "Your house was burned down, so I kindly took you in!"

Qiao You, in tacit understanding with his pre-amnesia self, naturally concealed the fact that he owned countless other properties. He smiled, meaningfully saying "Oh," and continued mischievously: "Then we're sleeping in the same room?"

Lan Yexing: "No—"

Qiao You: "Then, can we?"

Lan Yexing: "..."