Chapter 109: The End

Chapter 109: The End

Luo Yunchen was momentarily stunned, his mind went blank, before he slowly grasped the meaning of Su Zheng's words. He then confirmed hesitantly in a soft voice, "Brother said you don't want to leave me?"

Su Zheng braced his hands on Luo Yunchen's shoulders and rolled over forcefully. Luo Yunchen made no resistance whatsoever and passively ended up beneath Su Zheng.

Luo Yunchen's gaze never left Su Zheng, his eyes focused, filled with anticipation and longing, waiting for Su Zheng's answer.

Su Zheng gazed back at Luo Yunchen with tender affection.

"You know what?" Su Zheng unfastened Luo Yunchen's robe with one hand, parted the front of his garment, and tapped his chest with a finger, and said slowly, "During that time after my fake death when I left the palace, I always felt ravenous. I had this hollow feeling in my chest, and no matter how much I ate, I couldn't fill that void. Until..."

Su Zheng pressed his palm against Luo Yunchen's chest, feeling the scorching heat of his skin beneath: "Until you appeared, and suddenly this place felt settled and at ease."

Luo Yunchen's eyes widened slightly as he stared at Su Zheng, as if struggling to process the meaning of his words.

Su Zheng gave a soft laugh and went on, "I gave you a choice. Your choice is my choice. If you want me to never leave you, then I want you to be loyal only to me and belong only to me."

Luo Yunchen felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw that Su Zheng was holding a long, thin object in his hand, which he was piercing into his skin bit by bit.

That pain meant nothing to Luo Yunchen, but it felt like it was piercing his heart, making it impossible to ignore.

Was his brother really just torturing him with those words?

Before Luo Yunchen could make sense of his turbulent emotions, he saw Su Zheng suddenly stood up and raised the object in his hand, aiming it at his own chest.

Startled, Luo Yunchen instinctively reached out and grabbed Su Zheng's wrist. After a moment, he gave a bitter laugh and said, "If brother is angry and wants to torment me however you like, I'll accept it. Even if I die at your hands, I'm willing. But brother, please don't hurt yourself, okay?"

Su Zheng looked at Luo Yunchen silently for a long while before shaking his head. With his free hand, he took Luo Yunchen's other hand and guided Luo Yunchen's fingers over his chest, saying, "These two symbols mean Su Zheng—representing that you, Luo Yunchen, belong to Su Zheng for life."

Then he guided Luo Yunchen's fingers to his own chest and said, "Here, I'm going to tattoo 'Luo Yunchen' to show that I, Su Zheng, belong to no one but Luo Yunchen for the rest of my life."

Luo Yunchen's expression was a mix of shock and struggle. The promise he had dreamed of and longed for was now almost within reach, yet it filled him with hesitation, unsure whether to believe something so easily won.

Su Zheng smiled and said gently, "I know you don't want to believe me, you just don't dare to. It's okay—if you don't want to believe, then don't. Even if it were a lie, I would never expose it for the rest of my life."

With that, Su Zheng continued to pierce the object into his own chest.

Luo Yunchen didn't use force to stop him, but he didn't let go either, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on every movement Su Zheng made.

Only when three complete characters appeared on Su Zheng's chest did Luo Yunchen reach out and gently traced them.

Raising his eyes to meet Su Zheng's, Luo Yunchen's eyes were slightly moist, and his voice was hoarse: "Brother, you're mine forever."

Su Zheng raised his clasped hands before Luo Yunchen's eyes and said earnestly, "If imprisoning me can give you some peace, I am willing to be chained to you."

Luo Yunchen gazed into Su Zheng's eyes, which held no hint of a joke. Suddenly, he turned over and pinned Su Zheng beneath him again. With one hand, he grabbed the chain at the head of the bed, while the other gently stroked Su Zheng's wrist. His voice was low and trembling: "Brother, are you really willing to be locked up here by me?"

Su Zheng nodded, reached up, and gently brushed his thumb across Luo Yunchen's brows, wiping away the hot tears at the corner of his eye. He said softly, "Don't be afraid anymore. From now on, don't be afraid. Promise me, whatever's in your heart, tell me. When you're happy, tell me; when you're unhappy, tell me too. Anxiety, worry, frustration, doubt, fear, hope—whatever it is, open up and tell me, okay? If you want to ask something, ask; if you want something, take it. If you don't dare to believe, ask a second time, a third time… No matter how many times, I will answer you one by one, until you are willing to believe. Alright?"

With two soft clicks, Luo Yunchen lowered his head and kissed Su Zheng's wrist where the chain bound it. Then he slowly embraced him tightly, burying his face in Su Zheng's neck, letting his emotions surge and then gradually calm down.

He understood his brother's meaning. If he could be with his brother forever, he was willing to try to change.

Su Zheng gently stroked Luo Yunchen's back, soothing his emotions. The soft clinking sounds were light and pleasant, far from annoying.

Luo Yunchen shifted, nuzzling Su Zheng's neck, then gently bit his earlobe, his voice low with desire: "Brother, I want you..."

Warmth spread and filled the room...

As if some kind of mutual understanding made them even more in sync and fulfilled...

What love should look like, neither of them knew.

It was only because it was you that he wanted to hold on forever, never letting go.

It was only because it was you that he was willing to spoil and indulge without any principles.

Su Zheng woke up feeling hungry. As soon as he stirred, Luo Yunchen also woke.

***

Luo Yunchen tightened his arms around Su Zheng, not opening his eyes, nuzzling against him and murmuring, "Brother..."

Su Zheng pinched Luo Yunchen's cheek. His voice was slightly hoarse, his tone languid: "I'm hungry."

Luo Yunchen opened his eyes and looked at Su Zheng, letting out a low laugh: "It's my fault—I haven't fed you properly..."

Su Zheng pinched Luo Yunchen's waist instead and said gloomily, "Are you trying to drain me dry or starve me to death?"

Luo Yunchen stole a lingering, deep kiss, then got up with a smile to fetch food for Su Zheng.

While eating, Su Zheng remembered that the Shadow Guards still called him His Majesty, so he asked Luo Yunchen, "How many people have seen that fake corpse?"

"Besides Xu Mo and a few old ministers, no one else has seen it. I sealed it in an ice coffin, so no one will find out."

Su Zheng nodded, then asked curiously, "Since no one could detect the flaw, how did you figure out it wasn't me?"

Luo Yunchen tilted his head as if thinking. "Well, I'm not entirely sure myself. At first, I just felt something was off, an uncomfortable feeling, but my mind was too chaotic to examine it. Later, when I touched that body, the feeling grew stronger, and eventually, I caught a slight difference."

"What difference?"

"The smell. The smell was wrong."

"Smell? Was there some strange odor?" If the system were here, Su Zheng would have asked if their simulated humans were made of rubber that didn't need deodorizing.

Luo Yunchen shook his head. "Not that there was an odor, but rather that there was no odor. Brother's body should have had my scent."

Su Zheng was taken aback, then said helplessly, "By then, I hadn't seen you for ages. How could I still have your scent on me?"

Luo Yunchen chuckled softly. "It's different. And it's not that kind of scent. In any case, no matter how much time passes, only brother's scent intoxicates me and makes me crave it. No one else could ever imitate it."

***