Lin Zhiyu hadn’t intended to cry.
But he couldn’t control it.
Everything from his past life before his death—all the horrors he’d tried to bury—
It all came rushing back.
He’d thought he was the only one who knew about those days when he’d been stripped of his dignity, barely human, and he’d never wanted anyone else to know.
But he hadn’t expected…
Xie Youzhou knew everything.
and…
Xie Youzhou had loved him for two lifetimes.
He couldn’t imagine how Xie Youzhou felt when he found out that he had his limbs chopped off, his eyeballs dug out, and stuffed into a vase, and was tortured every day until he died.
Although he didn’t want anyone to find out about his dark and undignified life, and he didn’t want anyone to find out that the person he was with during that time was someone he cared about…
He could sense how painful it must have been for Xiaoyou as if it were his suffering.
How else could this vengeance stretch over so many years…
The torment of his previous life, the fate of his parents and sister, the life Xie Youzhou endured in solitude…these memories crashed over him, leaving him struggling to breathe.
Why.
Why?
Why can the Ruan family and the male protagonist consume other people’s lives just because they were the protagonists!!!
Xie Youzhou was frantic when he saw Lin Zhiyu crying. He held him tightly, his voice reverting to a youthful vulnerability, his eyes rimmed with red. “Gege, please…please listen to me. Let me explain!”
“I never meant to keep this from you forever. I just…I didn’t know how to tell you…I missed you. I missed you so much. In my past life, I lived until forty, but I had no reason left. Without you, without anyone left to avenge, that world held no meaning at all!”
“I’ve said before that I liked you since we were kids. Yes, but not just in this life…in my past life…”
Xie Youzhou’s voice began to tremble, stifled by his sobs.
“I regret not confessing my feelings sooner. But I regret even more that I couldn’t suffer in your place! Those beasts…I sent them to prison in my last life, but I didn’t get to make them pay, layer by layer. This time, I won’t be so lenient…”
“Never…”
Xie Youzhou buried his face beside Lin Zhiyu’s neck, consumed by a wave of fear now that his truth was exposed. He was terrified…
Terrified his gege would resent him for keeping this secret.
And afraid that the persona he’d built around innocence might be seen as manipulation.
But then he heard a whisper.
Barely audible.
“So…you suffered in your last life, too.”
Lin Zhiyu raised his head, looking into Xie Youzhou’s red-rimmed eyes.
“Gege…gege?”
Xie Youzhou’s fingers trembled, unsure.
“We’ll be together for the rest of our lives…”
A tear slipped from the corner of Lin Zhiyu’s eyes. He raised his hand and gently stroked Xie Youzhou’s face. His misty eyes were still filled with a tenderness that lasted for thousands of years, mixed with the pain of countless emotions.
“From now on, we’ll face everything together…walking each step together, leaving no one behind. Alright?”
“Gege…”
A tear rolled down from Xie Youzhou’s dark blue eyes, splashing to the ground.
He pulled Lin Zhiyu into a tight embrace, pressing his gege to his heart, and kissed him deeply.
This is his gege…
His gege!
The one who feels others’ pain first;
The one who becomes their silent strength;
And who holds a kindness that makes his heartache.
Gege.
His beloved, and his irreplaceable solace.
At this moment, he felt like the luckiest person alive.
Perhaps…
Heaven was truly merciful.
To let him know his gege, to understand him, to love him…
He already had more than the whole world.
And more still.
…
Lin Zhiyu tilted his head back slightly, tears slipping from his closed eyes.
The dim light above flickered softly.
Their first kiss held a hint of salt, but it didn’t matter. The love they shared spanned lifetimes, boundless and deep…
The hot temperature slowly burned the air, the reflections on the wall were ambiguous and lingering, the two of them completely opened themselves up, trying to blend into each other…
Perhaps at this moment, apart from each other, even the lights are no longer suitable to exist.
Everything else faded away.
*
“The morning air is best for exercise. Qiuqiu, come on, get up and go for a walk with Dad.”
Father Lin sipped his porridge, tapping on Lin Zhaoqiu’s door with the bowl in hand.
He looked calm, composed, and collected on the outside.
But inside, he was on the verge of losing it!
If he didn’t do something, he would become restless.
Zhiyu didn’t go home last night, he didn’t go home!
He had agreed to be home before 11 o’clock, but when he called at 11:30, his son, who had always been very well-behaved and sensible, said that he had something urgent to deal with and had to stay out overnight.
He didn’t believe a word!
It was 100% certain that he spent the night at that brat Xie Youzhou’s place.
Mr. Lin was as anxious as an old father whose child was stolen. He only slept for an hour and a half that night. Now, the dark circles under his eyes could make him look like a panda.
Lin Zhaoqiu wanted to sleep in, but her father’s knocking on the door drove her crazy. She jumped up with a messy head and opened the bedroom door with her shoes clattering.
“Dad! What are you doing? It’s only five-fifty!”
Help, she’s sleepy.
And even if she weren’t, she wasn’t in the mood for a morning walk!
“Sleep? How can you sleep? Eat something, and after breakfast, we’re going to find your brother.”
Father Lin led her to the kitchen.
Her face twisted in exasperation. “…So, Dad, you didn’t want to take me for a walk?”
Father Lin: “It’s the same thing.”
Lin Zhaoqiu felt like she was going to ascend to heaven: “Dad…my Ge will be twenty-three next month. My brother is not a child. It’s normal for him to spend the night outside. You have been acting strange since last night. Did you not sleep all night?!”
Normal, what’s normal?
It’s not normal for two grown men to spend the night together!
The more he thought about it, the more it worried him. He quickly finished his porridge and dragged her along.
“Eat up; we’re finding your brother as soon as possible.”
Lin Zhaoqiu: “……”
Oh my God.
Meanwhile, in the cozy little house they shared, morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow on the room.
Lin Zhiyu lay nestled against Xie Youzhou’s chest, still fast asleep. The soft dawn light highlighted his dark hair and the tips of his ears, which held a faint blush, making him look particularly beautiful.
Xie Youzhou was already awake, gazing at his sleeping gege with tenderness overflowing from his eyes, a gentle smile gracing his face.
Happiness overwhelmed him, almost too much to bear.
He finally understood the beauty of life.
He wanted this moment to last forever, and he wished for a long, long life, so that…
So he could spend every day, every second, with his gege.
He even feared the distant shadow of death.
He loved his gege deeply, treasuring every experience they shared.
Suddenly, the quilt rustled.
Lin Zhiyu stirred, his biological clock prompting him to wake up around six.
He opened his eyes dazedly and was slightly stunned when he saw the unfamiliar ceiling. Then the memories of last night came flooding back. Lin Zhiyu subconsciously looked to the side, and when his eyes just met Xie Youzhou’s doting and soft eyes, he quickly retracted them as if they were burning.
His ears turned pink.
Xie Youzhou’s voice, rough with sleep, was soft as he smiled. “Gege, sleep a bit longer. I’ll make breakfast and drive you to work.”
“…Um.”
Lin Zhiyu felt a wave of embarrassment. Though they hadn’t crossed every line, they had done enough to leave his cheeks burning.
Thinking back, he felt…
Yesterday, I was so emotional, and I was so…
That’s too much!
Only a day before, he hadn’t even had his first kiss, and now, here they were.
But he had no regrets.
“What time is it?” he murmured. His voice was a little nasal, a little lazy, and a little sexy.
Xie Youzhou, overcome by his gege’s half-awake adorableness, placed a light kiss on his forehead.
“Five fifty-six. It’s still early, gege; sleep for fifteen more minutes, and I’ll wake you.”
Lin Zhiyu was stunned by the kiss, and then his face turned red.
But he still maintained the dignity of a brother on his face.
“No, I’ll get up too.”
“Gege, relax. Listen, the birds are chirping outside just for you,” Xie Youzhou said, reluctantly rising from the bed. He didn’t want to leave his gege, especially on a chilly morning with the warmth of love so close by.
But he wanted to make breakfast for him, to nourish and warm him for the day ahead so he could only grit his teeth and get up.
He wanted to raise his brother to be cute and healthy!
When Xie Youzhou stood up, his eight solid and well-built abdominal muscles were exposed. The hormones in the room instantly exploded. His two slender and powerful arms were also covered with beautiful muscles. He had long arms, a wasp waist, long legs, and broad shoulders. He was simply a perfect walking ancient Greek sculpture.
But behind this “sculpture,” there were ambiguous traces of green and red.
Lin Zhiyu couldn’t help but think of the ambiguous entanglement of last night. He immediately grabbed the quilt and didn’t move.
He used the corner of the quilt to shield his hot face, and at the same time lifted the quilt to take a quick look at himself.
Lin Zhiyu opened his eyes wide: “!!!”
He saw that on the thin layer of muscle that was as delicate and smooth as jade and had perfect texture, there were small green and red strawberries, especially on the narrow waist, even on the small concave dimple on the side, there was a strawberry.
simply……
It’s was simply too erotic!
Lin Zhiyu’s face turned completely red.
He no longer mentioned getting up, but instead urged Xie Youzhou to walk faster.
Ahhh, he needs to put on clothes and cover it up quickly!
Little did he know that he had several more on his neck.
