Chapter 046 Return to Yaoxing 04

Chapter 046: Return to Yaoxing 04

"Hahahaha."

Zhou Younan didn't argue, only avoiding Wei Qing's gaze guiltily. He didn't love Wei Qing; he simply didn't want him to discover the capsule's secret.

Kissing Wei Qing was merely a tactic to divert his attention.

Zhou Younan had a clear understanding of himself. He wasn’t particularly handsome, and his pheromones were unremarkable. Yet, for some reason, this kiss-distraction tactic proved remarkably effective on Wei Qing.

Zhou Younan suspected it was the potent effect of the capsule. Once the drug wore off, the kissing trick probably wouldn’t work on Wei Qing anymore.

But it didn’t matter. Even if it stopped working, it was fine.

Zhou Younan took Luo Luo’s small hand, his gaze firm. Love wasn’t necessary—he still had Luo Luo, and he still had family.

To Zhou Younan, family was far more important than a lover.

After the sports meet, the four of them left the school together.

The extra person was Luo Luo’s homeroom teacher, Fan Ke, who had volunteered to be their guide and take them to the city’s best restaurant.

Zhou Younan had assumed the teacher was naturally outgoing, but in reality, Fan Ke was a man of few words, speaking only when necessary.

After spending an evening together, Zhou Younan could tell that Fan Ke cared deeply for Luo Luo—to a degree that Zhou Younan found almost excessive.

Fan Ke utterly doted on Luo Luo, buying him whatever he wanted, letting him eat whatever he craved, and taking him wherever he wished to go. It was complete indulgence.

Zhou Younan began to feel suspicious.

Before parting ways, Fan Ke suggested exchanging contact information.

Zhou Younan agreed, smiling as he asked, "Teacher Fan, are you from Yaoxing?"

"No, I just drifted here," Fan Ke replied with a wry smile, pushing up his black-framed glasses before falling silent.

Zhou Younan didn’t press further. He was afraid—afraid that prying too much would lead to a story he didn’t want to hear.

He took Luo Luo’s hand, eager to leave.

But Fan Ke stopped them. Standing beneath a purple glowing sign, his hair, bathed in the light, turned the same shade as Luo Luo’s.

Zhou Younan was startled. With horror, he realized that if Teacher Fan’s hair was also purple, he looked exactly like a grown-up Luo Luo.

Fan Ke raised his wrist and shook it slightly. Though he was speaking to Zhou Younan, his gaze remained fixed on Luo Luo beside him.

"Young Master Zhou," he said, "I’ve sent you a photo. Please take a look when you have time."

With that, Teacher Fan walked away alone.

Zhou Younan glanced down at his personal terminal, hesitating for a long moment before ultimately deciding not to open it.

His gut feeling told him that viewing the photo would lead to something bad.

"What photo did Teacher Fan send you?" Luo Luo asked curiously. "Can I see?"

With Luo Luo pestering him, Zhou Younan had no choice but to open it.

"Let big brother look first."

The photo showed a young Fan Ke, around ten years old, wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and a straw hat. Behind him stood two middle-aged men, both with purple hair, holding old-model firearms.

At first glance, there was nothing unusual—but Zhou Younan immediately noticed one man’s hand.

Six fingers. Just like Luo Luo.

His premonition came true. Luo Luo and Fan Ke were likely related. Luo Luo might soon have his real family.

In an instant, Zhou Younan was overwhelmed with dread.

Then, Fan Ke sent another message:

"Young Master Zhou, Luo Luo is very likely my biological younger brother. I’d like to conduct a kinship test with him. I hope you’ll agree."

Boom—

Zhou Younan’s world collapsed.

For a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

"Younan." Noticing Zhou Younan’s eyes turning red, Wei Qing stepped closer and saw the photo and message from Fan Ke.

His thin eyebrows knitted. "Zhou Younan, I think—"

Zhou Younan ignored him, pulling Luo Luo aside and crouching down to face him.

"Luo Luo," Zhou Younan said, squeezing the boy’s shoulders, his voice trembling slightly, "is Teacher Fan good to you?"

"Yeah," Luo Luo replied with a smile. "Teacher Fan said he ended up in Yaoxing too, so he understands how I feel. That’s why he’s so kind to me."

"Do you like Teacher Fan?"

"I do." Luo Luo nodded firmly, then hesitated before adding, "Everyone in class loves Mr. Fan. He’s really nice—he doesn’t think my six fingers are weird. He even praised me for being the fastest in class to figure out 6 plus 5 equals 11."

"Is that so?" Zhou Younan tried to swallow, but his throat clenched as if a knife were lodged there, making the simple act agonizing.

Forcing himself to stay calm, he pasted on a smile.

Gently stroking Luo Luo’s cheek, he asked, "Do you like big brother?"

"Of course I do!" Luo Luo raised his voice, as if surprised his brother would even ask.

"Then, if you had to choose, who do you like more—big brother or Teacher Fan?" Zhou Younan’s words tumbled out in a rush, betraying his desperation.

"I like big brother more." Sensing something was wrong, Luo Luo grabbed Zhou Younan’s hand. "Brother, what’s the matter?"

Luo Luo still liked him now. Getting the answer he wanted, Zhou Younan relaxed a fraction and took Luo Luo’s small hand.

"Since you like big brother, then listen to big brother—don’t go to school anymore, and don’t talk to—"

Wei Qing suddenly stepped between them, cutting Zhou Younan off and separating the two.

"What are you doing? I wasn’t finished!" Zhou Younan snapped.

He’d been about to tell Luo Luo to stop interacting with that annoying Fan Ke!

"Enough," Wei Qing said firmly.

Why wouldn’t he let him finish? If Luo Luo ignored Fan Ke, even if they were real brothers, they wouldn’t form a bond. That way, their family bond wouldn’t surpass their pretend sibling relationship.

Zhou Younan and Zhou Luo could depend on each other forever.

Zhou Younan couldn’t accept Luo Luo having a biological brother, couldn’t accept Luo Luo gradually drifting away from him, and even more so, couldn’t accept losing Luo Luo.

Luo Luo was his anchor and purpose in this world.

How could he possibly lose him!

Zhou Younan tried to push past Wei Qing to reach Luo Luo.

"You’re not calm right now," Wei Qing stopped him.

"I am calm! I've never been calmer!" Zhou Younan wanted to charge forward, but Wei Qing hoisted him up and plopped him back down.

"What are you doing? Who gave you the right to interfere in matters between us brothers?" Furious, Zhou Younan even kicked Wei Qing.

Wei Qing hissed in pain, bending over to rub the spot where he’d been kicked, then roared, "Because I’m your husband."

The shout snapped Zhou Younan back to his senses.

Seeing Wei Qing’s reaction, he realized something serious.

He'd just delivered a solid kick to Wei Qing.

Meeting Wei Qing’s gaze, Zhou Younan guiltily looked away. But when he saw Luo Luo standing behind Wei Qing, his resolve steeled again.

He met Wei Qing’s eyes fearlessly. "Even if you’re my husband, you have no right to interfere in matters between me and Luo Luo."

"Zhou. You. Nan."

Wei Qing bit out each syllable of his name, each word laced with suppressed anger.

"Nan Nan." A clear male voice spoke up, drawing the attention of all three.

Zhou Mo, with his shock of blue hair, walked over.

He glanced at the three of them and shrugged. "Bad timing on my part?"

"Brother." Zhou Younan turned his head away, quickly wiping the tears from his face.

"Marshal, hello. I’m Zhou Mo, the eldest son of the Zhou family." Zhou Mo made his introduction to Wei Qing smoothly.

Wei Qing acknowledged him with a curt nod. "The principal mentioned you. He said you asked him to take extra care of Luo Luo at school."

Hearing this, Zhou Younan was surprised and thanked Zhou Mo. "Brother, thank you."

"It’s nothing." Zhou Mo stepped closer and tousled Luo Luo’s hair. "You must be Zhou Luo, right?"

"Yeah." Luo Luo nodded.

"I’m your brother’s brother, so you can call me brother too." Zhou Mo smiled and pointed toward a street corner. "There’s an ice cream shop over there. Want some? Let's grab ice cream while these two work things out, okay?"

Zhou Luo blinked his big eyes, looking at Zhou Younan, then Wei Qing, and finally at Zhou Mo. He took Zhou Mo’s hand obediently. "I want ice cream."

Watching Luo Luo about to leave with Zhou Mo, Zhou Younan tried to bypass Wei Qing to stop them, but Wei Qing held him back. "Zhou Younan, I need to talk to you."

"I don’t want to listen. I raised Luo Luo since he was a baby. It's my right to make decisions for him." Zhou Younan tried to shake off Wei Qing’s grip, his resolve firm.

"I'm not saying you should let go. I just don’t want you making rash decisions for him. You need to really consider this. This is important—for you and for Luo Luo."

Wei Qing released Zhou Younan’s hand but blocked his path to the ice cream shop.

"My family's gone from this world too. I understand loneliness. If Luo Luo finds out he has a relative, it'll make him happy."

"He doesn’t need any other relatives. I’m his family!" Zhou Younan gritted his teeth. "It’s not like I don’t understand that loneliness. Exactly because I know that feeling of having no one to rely on, I took him in."

At five years old, marooned on a trash planet with no memories, Zhou Younan had faced the harsh realities of survival before ever experiencing the beauty of the world. He'd taken beatings, been soaked by rain, frozen stiff, gone hungry and thirsty—bearing all that pain alone.

"I don’t want him to suffer like I did, growing up alone, facing hardships completely alone."

Tears overflowed from Zhou Younan’s eyes as he spoke. "I don’t want to be alone again. That feeling is unbearable. No hope, the whole world gray, screaming until your throat's raw with no one listening. No one... No one cares about me..."

His voice broke, words becoming incoherent as tears rolled down his face like scattered pearls.

Seeing Zhou Younan sobbing uncontrollably, Wei Qing’s heart twisted painfully, as if gripped by an invisible force. For a moment, his own eyes moistened.

Wei Qing reached out and gently drew Zhou Younan into his embrace. "Zhou Younan, you have me. I swear you'll never be alone again."

Zhou Younan hiccuped, mumbling incoherently, "I’m a worthless, cowardly, homeless Omega."

"Fan Ke is a teacher. He teaches kids, he’s educated, knowledgeable, has a job. He’s superior to me."

"I... I can’t compare to him. Luo Luo will look down on me... He’ll leave me..."

His sobs grew more violent, his last words nearly lost between ragged breaths.

"Shh—Zhou Younan, you’re incredible." Wei Qing gently rubbed soothing circles on his back, not bothering to repeat, "You’re incredible."

Gradually, under Wei Qing’s reassurance, Zhou Younan calmed down, his sobs fading.

Wei Qing pulled back slightly, cupping Zhou Younan’s face to wipe away his tears with his thumbs.

His pale green eyes bore into Zhou Younan’s with certainty. "You’re kind, you’re brave, you’re strong. I care about you so much. Luo Luo just said he likes you too. You need to have confidence in yourself."

"I don’t," Zhou Younan lowered his eyes. "Confidence requires capability. I don’t have any."

Wei Qing leaned his forehead against Zhou Younan’s, forcing him to meet his gaze.

"If you want to go to school, we’ll go to school."

"If you want a job, you can work."

"Zhou Younan, I’ll be your anti-gravity engine. I’ll help you soar freely."

Through Wei Qing’s pale green eyes, Zhou Younan remembered the scene he’d seen when jumping from the aircraft earlier—the rosy horizon, the fresh air, the wind brushing past his fingertips.

Pure freedom, something to crave.

For the first time, someone had told Zhou Younan they'd have his back, letting him do whatever he wanted.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He shouldn't be falling for Wei Qing, but his heart had a mind of its own.

"Wei Qing."