Lian Yu felt something from Cen Zhen’s words. He couldn’t help but smile. He put one hand on the back of Cen Zhen’s chair and leaned closer, “Do you feel sorry for me?”
Without waiting for Cen Zhen to answer, Lian Yu continued: “No need, it’s all in the past… Besides, I had a lot of fun in my second life.”
Cen Zhen felt the credibility of this sentence was zero, but Lian Yu always pretended to be peaceful in front of him. Aside from the desire to show off, which could be regarded as a personal characteristic, all the irritability, paranoia, sinisterness, and neurosis that ordinary people could not bear were suppressed deep inside, not wanting to be discovered by those close to him. As the highest priority to be concealed, Cen Zhen naturally would not deliberately expose him.
Lian Yu’s left hand climbed onto Cen Zhen’s shoulder, lowered to his waist, and immediately sank the majority of his body into the chair, clinging to Cen Zhen’s body, “Of course, I’m feeling the happiest now. As long as you’re here, I’ll only become happier.”
“……” Cen Zhen was as unyielding as ever, just like his calm blue eyes. Lian Yu’s intention was as clear as the sky, so he leaned slightly to the side, allowing Lian Yu to hook his neck and sink into his arms.
The Sentinel was just like a long-fur cat of noble pedigree and laziness. He exerted force on his waist and abdomen, folded his long legs, and nestled in this comfortable ‘chair’. But this time, Lian Yu was not satisfied with Cen Zhen’s silence. He had just been kissed by the Guide and now was the time to be spoiled. “A-na, shouldn’t you be making promises to me or something?”
Cen Zhen closed the terminal. In fact, he was not worried that Yao Jin and Pan would be injured. Hundreds of chapters of novels taught him a profound truth: the male protagonists are two indestructible cockroaches. They will survive a cliff fall and escape abduction with a hundred percent certainty. Even if they only have one breath left, there will be a miracle ready to happen at any time. “What promise do you want me to make?”
“Promise me you will always be here.” Lian Yu unbuttoned the top two buttons of Cen Zhen’s shirt. There was no trace of scar on the smooth skin underneath. He pressed his fingertips against the warm skin and traced the clavicle. Then he set his eyes on Adam’s apple wrapped in a black neck guard. It was an extremely fragile and sexy part of men, which rose and fell slightly as Cen Zhen spoke. “Do you know what this is called in my world?”
Lian Yu’s mind was full of indescribable things. The lion kept changing various angles on the carpet, persevering in pushing aside the thick tail of the snow leopard and sniffing its fluffy butt. It was not until Cen Zhen looked down at him and uttered a low “hmm” from his throat that he reacted after half of his body was numb. Lian Yu collected his mind recalled Cen Zhen’s previous questions, and shook his head lazily, “I don’t know.”
“It’s called a flag.”
“What do you mean?”
“For example, before leaving, if I promised you that I would be back, then there is a 90% chance that I will not be back on that trip, so this promise is a flag. You asked me to promise you that I will always be here, then it is very likely…”
“……”
Lian Yu suddenly frowned, raised his hand, pushed Cen Zhen to the back of the chair, stood up from him cleanly, and jumped out of the window without looking back. Cen Zhen opened his collar and stared at the flying corners of Lian Yu’s clothes as he disappeared. He looked down and found that the lion bared its teeth at him and vanished.
The snow leopard originally was unbearing the harassment and kicking with its four claws to the sky, but now the rebellious lion suddenly left. It stood up from the carpet, shook its ears, and looked at its owner innocently.
“……”
Cen Zhen walked to the window in two-three steps, stuck his head out, and looked down. The snow leopard also popped its head out from his chest. There was no one on the wall of the building, and there was no figure like Lian Yu among the scattered pedestrians on the ground. The Sentinel moved too fast.
He felt a sense of heaviness and regretted his gaffe. Cen Zhen knew clearly that he was not good at saying things out loud and was used to silence. He didn’t know whether it was the implicitness flowing in his race or the influence of the environment where he grew up and the people who raised him. He subconsciously avoided those straightforward and passionate words and it was difficult to say them out.
Does he like Lian Yu? Of course, he likes him, it was just a matter of degree. No one could refuse a person whose eyes were always focused and eager, someone who was reborn to the world just for him. Not to mention that he also came just for him.
They could not refuse the attraction growing stronger towards each other that day by day and gradually surrendered to one another.
But when Lian Yu asked him if he had anything to say just now, Cen Zhen could clearly analyze his inner thoughts rationally, tell him every bit of heartbeat and change out loud, and say some love words to make Lian Yu happy. However, he insisted on choosing to seal it all with a kiss.
Once upon a time, he could still treat this union with a balanced attitude, and could frankly talk about the bond and destiny between them. He thought he knew them deeply enough, but as time went by when he unknowingly began to rely on Lian Yu and began to invest deeper feelings, many words could no longer be said.
Lian Yu wanted him to say: I promise to be with you forever. More for the vibe, something that would give him butterflies, intimate and cozy love words, rather than to pressure responsibility or force a vow. Cen Zhen didn’t think about the profound truth that things are impermanent and no one can guarantee forever, or the theory that words are not as good as actions. He could continue to say what Lian Yu wanted.
He just…
He was just shy.
His expressionlessness and coldness are just from habits, but there is no need for them now. In that deserted cold snowy area, no one needs Cen Zhen to show his emotions. Underneath the surface, isn’t there a heart that beats for the people he cares about?
Cen Zhen pinched the window with both hands. Because of the force, his fingertips were slightly deformed. After confirming that Lian Yu was nowhere to be found, he pursed his lips and let out a sigh. A gust of wind brushed across his forehead, blowing the loose hair near his temples, and the green lake also had ripples. Cen Zhen felt a little itchy on his chest. He looked down and found that the snow leopard was standing on the windowsill with its feet, rubbing his chest at this time, and then howled to the right outside the window.
“……” Cen Zhen looked over immediately and saw Lian Yu standing straight against the outer wall of the building with his hands around his chest. He was not wearing shoes and his bare feet were stepping on a bulge of less than five centimeters. His gray-green eyes deliberately looked into the distance. The wind from the high building rolled up the corners of his clothes, and the rustling sound seemed to take him to the distance. Another strand of wind suddenly blew away his long hair, which was casually tied, and the light golden hair immediately splashed like a painting with the clean sky as paper.
“Hmph.” Lian Yu secretly spit out the hair blown into his mouth by the annoying wind, turned around swiftly, and jumped into the room from the window with his long legs.
As a pair of bare feet landed silently, the thick paw pads of the golden lion also stepped on the floor, arrogantly shaking its mane, and the snow leopard disappeared from Cen Zhen’s arms. The next second, it approached the lion’s head and looked at it tentatively.
Cen Zhen closed the window and locked it. Looking back, he saw Lian Yu crawling into the bed, lying on his side facing the wall, acting like ‘I can’t be easily coaxed today.’
“… Lian Yu.”
“Don’t talk to me.”
“……”
Cen Zhen lowered his head and saw the golden lion licking the back of the snow leopard’s ears repeatedly. He called Lian Yu’s name again and slowly approached the bed, “I shouldn’t have said that just now.”
Lian Yu didn’t move, as if he were very mad, but the lion shook its tail. So easy to coax. Who would have thought that the notorious Dark Sentinel would quarrel with his lover and need someone to coax him like this? Cen Zhen smiled and knelt on one knee on the bed. He leaned over and said with a smile, “I was wrong. Please forgive me this time.”
The male lion roared and got behind the snow leopard’s tail and used his nose to push its butt. Lian Yu on the bed shrank inward and said impatiently, “Go away, let me be alone for a while.”
The snow leopard was implicated by its owner and reluctantly stopped struggling, letting the lion get close to its bell and suck it to his heart’s content.
Cen Zhen couldn’t stop laughing. The pleasant male voice lingered in his ears. Lian Yu tried hard to hold back the urge, but finally couldn’t help looking back at the person who had never laughed like this before. He sighed that his laugh was so damn good. This damn Guide was sent by the novel author to defeat him.
Who can control themselves after seeing this? Who can resist it?
*
The disappearance of Yao Jin and Pan was reported to the top management by the academic dean 12 hours later. Zhou Qingchang told Cen Zhen that the union would send someone to investigate immediately. Given his relationship with Pan, he would most likely be called in for questioning.
The management of students in the Tower and the White Tower is very liberal. Generally speaking, if a student wants to go out for a three-month trip, no one in the Tower will chase after them, but there will definitely be punishment when they come back.
Take Lian Yu as an example, who has never attended a day of class, if he hadn’t ‘bribed’ the academic dean, the length of the texts he had to hand copy could probably have been long enough to go around the entire Special Star. This means, there would never be a situation where a teacher forces a student to attend classes.
The reason why Yao Jin and Pan’s departure from the Towers this time caused alarm was because the Towers lost the location of their terminal, which meant that they had taken off the terminal. No one would take their terminal off unless they were forced to or were in exceptional circumstances.
Lian Yu always made a false location when he went out to do things. He didn’t dare to block the signal, because once the Tower lost its location, the top management would pay great attention to it and immediately send people to investigate and protect the safety of the students.
Cen Zhen thanked Zhou Qingchang for letting him know and that he would cooperate with the union’s investigation. He closed the terminal and turned the page of the relevant chapter of the novel with his fingertips. Lian Yu was not in the dormitory. After hearing that Yao Jin and Pan’s location disappeared, he immediately went out with great interest, because in the original text, even if Yao Jin was kidnapped by the Jiao Princess, his location always existed, which also allowed Pan to know where Yao Jin was as soon as he disappeared.
However, changes have occurred in reality. The disappearance of the location means that someone doesn’t want people to know where Yao Jin and Pan are. They either don’t have the ability to modify the location like Lian Yu, so they are subject to this last resort that attracts the union’s attention, or… they have enough confidence and are not afraid of the union’s search.
Whichever way it is, Lian Yu is very intrigued. Someone took away two living people under his nose, he must find out who.
Original Author’s Note:
Brother Zhen: I remember Wei Zhe, who also came from Earth in the novel next door, also talked about the flag with his native partner Bei Yuan. Why was it all light-hearted and joyful over there, but mine straight up got angry?
Catfish: The crew next door has a different worldview from us, okay? Their ‘permanent mark’ is buying Coke-cola, what about us?? Ah?? Ah?!!
Translator’s Note:
So sorry I forgot that I changed my Ko-fi handle, it is now updated and you can access my Kofi now.
