MOGHA Chapter 80

Gong Yue squeezed Ye Shanshan’s fingers, “We’ll talk about it when we get back.”

The old house was not a safe place, and even though they purposely chose to sit on the terrace, they couldn’t guarantee that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

For the rest of the evening, until dinner was over, both of them acted as if everything was normal and didn’t bring up the topic again. On the way home, the atmosphere was silent. Especially Gong Yue, whose expression didn’t change, but it felt like he was trapped in a whirlpool of sadness that he couldn’t escape from.

Ye Shanshan glanced at the driver and, after some thought, held Gong Yue’s hand in his own, then turned his head and gave Gong Yue his favorite smile.

Gong Yue touched the dimple at the corner of Ye Shanshan’s mouth and ruffled his soft hair. “Shanshan.”

“Hmm, I’m here.”

Gong Yue responded with a soft “Hmm,” then let Ye Shanshan lie on his lap, gently touching his earlobe, chin, and hair tips with his fingers, as if confirming his reality.

Ye Shanshan stayed still, waiting for Gong Yue to finish. Then he looked up at Gong Yue and seriously wrote “I love you” in Gong Yue’s palm with his fingertip, before smiling again.

He was clumsily trying to make him happy.

Realizing this, Gong Yue closed his fingers around Ye Shanshan’s hand, wrapped it in his palm, and then brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly and solemnly.

Back home, the warmth inside blocked out the deep winter cold. They took a bath together; the bathtub was large, the water warm and clear, and there was enough space for two grown men.

Ye Shanshan resisted the urge to bite his nails. “Ge,” he called out but didn’t know how to continue.

Gong Yue held him in his arms, his voice low. After thinking for half a minute, he finally spoke,

“If our suspicions are correct, then every year when I go to Misthos Island, Mother takes my blood samples under the pretense of screening for hereditary diseases. It’s very likely she’s checking for any risks or side effects from that medicine, or that they have already appeared, and she’s looking for a cure.”

“That makes sense,” Ye Shanshan recalled the information he had gathered before. “If your vital signs were very weak and almost at the brink of death when you were in Mother’s womb, and then you regained vitality after using that medicine, such a miraculous drug likely altered your genetic makeup.”

The warm steam turned Ye Shanshan’s skin a faint red. He looked at Gong Yue,

“Easter’s father once said that obtaining the foundational genetic map you carry could resurrect the God-making plan. It can be inferred that your genetic map is indeed special. After going to the island, Mother likely found a critical point in your altered genetic map, which allowed the God-making plan to take shape.”

So, was he born because of Gong Yue?

Bringing his thoughts back, Ye Shanshan’s pale toes nudged Gong Yue’s in the water. “Later, when Mother destroyed Misthos Island and the entire base, it was probably partly because of this.”

“Yes,” Gong Yue nodded, remembering his once-a-year meetings with his mother. He could feel that she loved him very much. The most likely reason she chose such a drastic and final method was that the people involved in the plan discovered his foundational genetic map. They were not satisfied with the status quo and wanted to exploit him further.

She did it to protect him.

Closing his eyes, Gong Yue felt the wound in his heart being reopened by a sharp blade. He had already forgotten what happened after the plane crash on the day he went to Misthos Island, as well as the sea of fire and deafening explosions described by Ye Shanshan.

He couldn’t imagine the pain or the immense courage required to consign himself to the flames.

Ye Shanshan, worriedly watching Gong Yue, got up and grabbed a towel to dry both of them off, then wrapped them in robes and let Gong Yue lie on the bed.

This was the first time he had seen Gong Yue so openly express his vulnerability and pain. He felt sad as well but didn’t know how to comfort him—he had never learned. After thinking for a while, Ye Shanshan sat on the bed and cradled Gong Yue, letting his head rest on his chest, and began to sing softly.

He sang the only lullaby that Gong Youli used to sing, its melody gentle and slow. Ye Shanshan sang it over and over, gently patting Gong Yue’s back, imitating Gong Youli.

After more than twenty minutes, Gong Yue suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with an almost imperceptible sob, “Shanshan.”

“Hmm?” Ye Shanshan stopped singing.

With that response, Gong Yue said nothing more, only hugging Ye Shanshan tightly as if drawing strength from him.

We will live well.

The days flew by. Gong Yue was very busy these days and hadn’t closed his eyes before midnight. Ye Shanshan also noticed that sometimes, just before dawn, Gong Yue would get up to join remote meetings across time zones, then return to hold him and rest his eyes, managing to sleep only three or four hours a day.

Feeling distressed, Ye Shanshan had the kitchen prepare many supplements and took on part of the workload himself, allowing Gong Yue to get a bit more sleep.

——Constantly worrying about his boyfriend dying from overwork was incredibly stressful.

During this period, he left his hard-working boyfriend behind and went shopping with Gong Yan and Gong Yu, ending up buying eight ties for Gong Yue, adding to the collection in the wardrobe.

※※※

On December 31st, Gong Yue’s birthday, they went to the house where Gong Youli lived before she got married.

The place was very remote, with low buildings covered in colorful graffiti. Occasionally, there were marks of old chewing gum, and at the street corners, they would see drunks collapsed on the ground. The small building was old, with narrow staircases leading up to the fifth floor where five rooms were lined up. Gong Youli used to live in the innermost one, though Gong Yue’s father later bought the entire floor.

The bodyguards accompanying them stood guard at the door and next door as Gong Yue took out the key to unlock the door.

The room was small, a one-bedroom apartment with a very narrow kitchen and bathroom. From the doorway, you could see the bedroom. The furniture was old but neatly arranged, indicating regular cleaning.

Ye Shanshan placed a bouquet of flowers into a ceramic vase, adding a touch of life to the room.

The sky had already darkened, and the weather forecast mentioned snow. Ye Shanshan closed all the windows before entering the bedroom.

This was Gong Youli’s room, which she rented after leaving the orphanage. Gong Yue was sitting on a slightly rusty chair, reading a book filled with Gong Youli’s notes. Compared to her handwriting in the family’s books, these notes were much more immature.

Ye Shanshan also grabbed a book from the shelf, sat next to Gong Yue, and tried to read. But he was so inefficient that he didn’t finish a single page in half an hour. Eventually, he couldn’t resist propping the book up and peeking at Gong Yue.

——Sure enough, Gong Yue looked better!

Seeing no reaction from him, Ye Shanshan looked a few more times. When Gong Yue finally glanced over, he quickly used the book to cover his face, feeling inexplicably shy.

“Shanshan.”

Ye Shanshan pretended to be dead and stayed silent.

Looking at the hair peeking out from behind the book, a bit of laughter finally reached Gong Yue’s eyes, which had been somber for days. “Shanshan, today is my birthday.”

“I know.” Ye Shanshan kept half of his face hidden behind the book, his eyes shining like stars but his voice small. “I have a gift for you.”

“What gift?”

After a long delay, Ye Shanshan took out a box about the length of a forearm from his backpack and handed it to Gong Yue. Still feeling uneasy, he sat on Gong Yue’s lap, ready to open it together. “You’ll definitely like this gift.”

Gong Yue untied the ribbon, opened the outer paper box to reveal a plastic box, and then opened the plastic box to find a metal box. Without losing patience, he opened the metal box, revealing yet another metal box inside.

Ye Shanshan was more nervous than Gong Yue. When Gong Yue opened the final layer, he held his breath.

The lid was set aside, revealing a small white lifelike cat figurine. Ye Shanshan turned around, straddling Gong Yue, and hugged him,

“It’s your birthday. I originally wanted to give you a miniature version of myself, but then I thought if I weren’t around and you kissed the miniature me, I’d get jealous and upset. So I made a little cat instead.”

Looking at the lifelike little cat in Gong Yue’s hands, Ye Shanshan proudly said, “I had it made by the Bio-Mechanical Research Institute. It can even walk by itself, and it’s very well-behaved! Quick, quick, try poking its little mouth!”

Following his instructions, Gong Yue poked the little mouth, and Ye Shanshan’s voice came out, “Gong Yue, I love you.”

“Now poke its front paw.”

Gong Yue pinched the front paw, and again it was Ye Shanshan’s voice, “You are the most handsome man I’ve ever seen!”

“……”

“If you’re at work and suddenly miss me, you can take this little cat out and talk to me. I recorded a lot of messages in it, so you can listen for a long time.”

With that, Ye Shanshan seriously made a heart gesture toward Gong Yue and beamed, “Gong Yue, happy birthday.”

From the moment he heard “I love you,” Gong Yue felt as if he were soaking in warm water, his whole body warming up.

Gong Yue lifted Ye Shanshan’s chin with his index finger, leaned down, and kissed him gently, softly, without a trace of passion—just pure, warm contact.

It wasn’t until the clock in the room chimed past midnight that Gong Yue let go, wiping the moisture from Ye Shanshan’s lips with a gentle tone, “Shanshan, happy birthday.”

When they went to bed, they lay together on a narrow single iron bed, which creaked with every movement. Ye Shanshan clung tightly to Gong Yue to avoid falling off if they turned over.

Keeping close, Ye Shanshan traced the surface of the blanket with his fingers and continued their earlier conversation,

“When Mom brought the meeting forward that time, all the researchers on the island were present, and the usual attendees were also there. So, that explosion likely took out the core members of the project along with Misthos Island.”

Ye Shanshan recalled carefully, “After we arrived in City B, I looked up the identities of those people based on my memory. Among them were government officials, wealthy individuals, and some unidentified but presumably powerful people. During that period, they all ‘died’ for various reasons.”

“So, Mr. S, who used Easter’s father, could be one of several possibilities. He might have been a peripheral member of the God Creation Project but knew about the basic genetic map and suspected you for some reason. How did he figure it out? It doesn’t make sense.

“He might also be someone who wasn’t involved in the project but learned about it through some channel. However, their influence should not be too strong, or they wouldn’t have used such roundabout methods.”

Gong Yue nodded, “Yes, and the reason for Mom’s mentor Durant faking his death is also highly suspicious.” However, finding someone who has deliberately concealed their identity is very challenging.

Ye Shanshan kissed Gong Yue on the chin, without mentioning Gong Yue’s memory loss,

“Maybe he’ll show up in front of us himself.” He reached out and patted Gong Yue’s back. “Alright, go to sleep. Tomorrow is another busy day, and we have a party in the evening.”

After Gong Yue fell asleep, Ye Shanshan stopped patting, staring at his outline in the dark for a long time before closing his eyes.

I will protect you too.

※※※

After attending the New Year’s party and staying in Manhattan for a while, Ye Shanshan and Gong Yue returned to City B in late January.

At home, Ye Shanshan wore a loose black knit sweater with a wide collar. He placed the little robotic cat on his shoulder, proudly showing it off to everyone at home three times a day.

When Gong Yue came downstairs after changing clothes, he saw Ye Shanshan placing the little cat on the carpet, squatting down himself.

The cat walked forward at an even pace, and Ye Shanshan moved along with it slowly, muttering calculations to himself to figure out how slowly he needed to walk to match the cat’s pace.

Hearing footsteps, Ye Shanshan looked up at Gong Yue and waved his paw,

“Ge, I’ve thought about it for almost a month and finally came up with a mighty and imposing name for the little cat: Caesar!”

Gong Yue paused, glanced at the palm-sized cat, then looked back at Ye Shanshan’s face, and seriously praised, “It sounds great.”

“I think so too!” Ye Shanshan nodded proudly, very pleased with the name. Seeing Gong Yue changing his shoes, he crouched at the door with the little cat, looking at Gong Yue eagerly, then sighed,

“Caesar, Ge Yue is going out to earn pocket money for us.”

Seeing the pitiful expression on Ye Shanshan’s face, Gong Yue walked over in two steps, knelt on one knee on the carpet, and leaned in to kiss his lips,

“Shanshan, stay home with Caesar and be good.”

Although it felt like he was being treated like a child, Ye Shanshan couldn’t control his heartbeat, which immediately started racing.

—So unfair!

¹TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”

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  TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”