The blinding daylight once again blurred into the circular hanging lamp of the basement.
Liang Ye stared at himself in the mirror, wanting to turn his head away, but Wang Dian held his chin up and drew him close. A gloomy, cold voice sounded next to his ear, “Liang Ziyu, you agreed quite readily.”
“……Ha.” Liang Ye grinned, “Zhen just wanted to come quickly……to spend New Year’s Eve with you……”
The arm around his waist suddenly tightened. Wang Dian embraced him from behind, his cool nose tip brushing against skin, and then he bit down hard on Liang Ye’s shoulder.
‘Don’t die, you belong to Zhen, don’t die, do you hear me?’
‘I hear you……it’s not that easy to die, I still want……to spend a proper New Year’s Eve with you.’
That was what Wang Dian had said with a smile before he died.
Liang Ye had cried terribly at that time, and it was the first time Wang Dian had seen him cry. It turned out that whether someone was cold-hearted or eccentric, when they sobbed in grief, their face would become distorted, making others feel sad along with them.
Wang Dian remembered that he had been smiling then. He had truly been happy at that moment, seeing Liang Ye crying for him like that, so his journey hadn’t been in vain.
The Liang Ye in the mirror also had crimson-tinged eyes, with a struggling expression similar to that time, both stirring up an indescribable sense of satisfaction within him.
It seemed he really wasn’t a good person.
Wang Dian curved his lips, gripped the back of Liang Ye’s neck and pressed him against the mirror, sighing softly in his ear. “You shouldn’t have come. You should have remained as your emperor, walked your path, and then ascended to immortality.”
Liang Ye’s forehead pressed against the cold mirror, staring at his own eyes in the reflection, revealing a crazed, twisted smile, “Zhen only wants you, nothing else matters.”
“Stubborn fool.” Wang Dian bit his ear, “Didn’t your master scold you like this?”
“……Shut up.” Liang Ye was annoyed at him for mentioning Yue Jingming at such a time, feeling the mirror grow colder, followed by a strange sense of shame. “Wang Dian……you’re clearly very happy.”
“You came to find me, of course I’m happy.” Wang Dian pinned his hand against the mirror, watching as a faint mist of heat formed around their interlaced fingers, but his voice was cold enough to form icicles, “But you’ve made everything I did worthless. How will you compensate me?”
Liang Ye found it incredible that Wang Dian could be as shameless as himself, yet he couldn’t control his excitement to the point of trembling, “Isn’t Zhen coming to find you enough?”
“Not enough.” Wang Dian’s expression was cold, yet the desire in his eyes was unusually real when reflected in the mirror. He coaxed greedily and maliciously, “Give all of Liang Ye to me, without the burden of past lives or future lives, belonging only to me forever, alright?”
Liang Ye tried hard to gather his consciousness, but uncontrollably drifted towards the extreme pleasure spreading through the chaos, yet instinctively remained wary, “……What?”
Wang Dian’s warm palm covered his chest, craftily repeating only the last sentence, “Alright?”
“……Alright.” Liang Ye’s jaw tightened, cursing irritably, “Hurry up!”
Wang Dian tilted his head to kiss his neck, “Alright.”
…………
The mirror in the basement was indeed colder than the floor.
Liang Ye leaned against the mirror, sweat not yet dried, reaching for the cigarette between Wang Dian’s fingers, asking in a hoarse voice. “What flavor?”
Wang Dian tilted his head and blew smoke in his face. Liang Ye had just gotten hold of it when the next moment his hair was grabbed and two mouthfuls of smoke were passed to him, causing him to cough unexpectedly. The cigarette was snatched back and stubbed out on the floor.
Wang Dian said coldly, “I’ve quit now.”
Liang Ye clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, played with the chain on his ankle with interest. The dense bite marks on his neck extended all the way to his tailbone, his arched back covered in blue and purple marks, presenting a shocking, distressing sight.
Wang Dian licked his itching canine teeth, curled his finger around the chain and wrapped it around Liang Ye’s neck, “Beautiful.”
Liang Ye uncomfortably turned his neck, and Wang Dian narrowed his eyes, removing the chain again, deciding this view was more pleasing to the eye.
“Has your anger subsided?” Liang Ye leaned lazily against the mirror, not at all concerned about the mess on it, wearing wrinkled western pants loosely, looking quite unsightly.
Wang Dian gave a cold snort. “No regrets?”
Liang Ye tilted his head to look at the glaring lampshade, squinting his eyes, “Master said I have an extraordinary fate, but I’m destined to not keep people by my side. I never believed in such things.”
Wang Dian wanted to reach for a cigarette but resisted, fixing his gaze on Liang Ye’s smooth neck, remaining silent.
“Becoming an immortal or a saint seemed too ethereal to me. From the beginning, I only wanted to survive, but later, besides surviving, I couldn’t gain anything else.” Liang Ye turned his head and smiled at him, “If I hadn’t met you, I would have been like you, unable to even survive in the end.”
“……It’s the first time I’ve seen someone reflect on themselves while subtly mocking others.” Wang Dian didn’t like his smile and looked away.
Liang Ye pushed his sweaty hair back and looked at the lampshade again, which stung his eyes. His eyelashes trembled twice before lowering, “My bone is already gone, and you love me so much.”
He paused for a long time, frowning, looking at the grain of the wooden floor, and said softly, “Don’t leave me again.”
Wang Dian’s breath caught, his heart feeling as if countless tiny needles were recklessly stabbing it, “When the hell did I say I was leaving you?”
Liang Ye stared at him expressionlessly, “If you dare to think of anyone else, Zhen will kill you.”
Wang Dian belatedly realized and laughed, “Dream on. What makes you think I sacrificed myself for you? Because you’re shameless?”
Liang Ye revealed a sinister smile, “You’d better not do anything stupid.”
“I’m smarter than an idiot like you.” Wang Dian sneered, wanting to mention his bone removal but couldn’t bring himself to say it, and in his frustration, he pulled him over and kissed him fiercely twice to vent his anger.
Liang Ye grabbed his hand and placed it on his stomach.
“Stomach ache?” Wang Dian couldn’t help but stroke his abdomen.
“Hungry,” Liang Ye said righteously, “You’ve tormented Zhen for so long, it might be daybreak already.”
Wang Dian glanced at his watch, “Three in the morning, not dawn yet. I’ll get you something to eat.”
Liang Ye grabbed his wrist, shocked. “You’re serious?”
“Am I joking?” Wang Dian smiled without it reaching his eyes, looking at him, “If you can’t live without me, then you’ll have to endure whatever I do.”
“Then help me charge my phone. No, bring the computer down, and don’t forget the network cable.” Liang Ye’s shoulders slumped, and he seemed to be considering moving the bed and furniture downstairs, making Wang Dian’s eyebrows twitch.
“I’ll f*cking network cable you.” Wang Dian kicked the Liang Ye in the mirror in anger, then scooped him up onto his shoulder, pulling off the chain and throwing it aside, “Shower.”
Liang Ye didn’t struggle while being carried, reaching to pat his buttocks, “How did you unlock it?”
“A slip knot, one pull and it opens.” Wang Dian said grimly. “Move your paws again and I’ll chop them off.”
“It’s hurting my stomach,” Liang Ye said fearlessly, even making demands, lazily, “You’re not nearly as considerate as Zhen. When Zhen carries you, it’s sideways, and you can nestle comfortably in Zhen’s arms like a little bird.”
“……” Wang Dian’s mouth twitched, feeling that he might have some misconception about his own build.
By the time the two finished showering, the sky outside was already getting light. Liang Ye was half-asleep on the sofa, his head drooping on Wang Dian’s thigh. Wang Dian was using a hair dryer irritably to dry his hair, “We’ll cut it later.”
Liang Ye yawned, eyes closed. “You just complimented Zhen’s hair as beautiful.”
“Don’t take what’s said in bed seriously.” Wang Dian tugged at his hair, and taking advantage of him not seeing, lowered his head to bite a few strands into his mouth, then expressionlessly spat them out. He bent down to kiss the thin skin behind his ear, satisfied to hear him moan a couple of times, his ear turning bright red.
Liang Ye rubbed his itchy ear vigorously, turned over to lie face up on Wang Dian’s thigh, raised his hand to hook his neck and exchanged a lemon-flavored kiss with him, arrogantly saying, “Zhen has told you everything, don’t be angry anymore.”
Wang Dian grinned fiercely. “Why didn’t your master beat some sense into you, you fool.”
“Heh, he almost beat me to death.” Liang Ye’s face turned slightly green at the memory.
Wang Dian recalled Yue Jingming’s anger…..Wang Dian refused to recall, “Serves you right.”
After that, the two fell into a rare silence.
Wang Dian lowered his eyes and touched his face, “Really no regrets?”
Liang Ye yawned, turned his head to rub his cheek against his palm, lazily. “Ah, I regret it so much. I went through so much trouble to find you, but you not only don’t let Zhen live in a palace, don’t let Zhen play with phones, don’t let Zhen smoke, but also want to lock Zhen with that pile of rotten bones and torment Zhen mercilessly. Zhen has changed his mind and wants to run away from home.”
He propped himself up on his arm to rise, but Wang Dian pressed a palm on his forehead and pushed him back down.
“It’s too late for regrets.” Wang Dian glared at him fiercely, “You belong to me in this life, and it’s better without a next life, so I don’t have to worry about any cat or dog trying to get close to you.”
Liang Ye laughed so hard his body trembled, stretched out his arms to embrace his waist, and buried his face against his stomach, “You won’t have one either.”
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t remember you, so it’s better not to have one.” Wang Dian leaned back on the sofa contentedly, narrowing his eyes as he stroked his hair, “One lifetime is enough, be satisfied.”
Liang Ye was both tired and drowsy, feeling very comfortable as Wang Dian stroked his head, about to fall asleep when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He murmured hazily. “On the snowy mountain….why were you so certain you could go back and find me? That piece of your……”
Before he could finish, he had fallen fast asleep.
Wang Dian lowered his eyes, casually entwined Liang Ye’s hair around his fingers, then carefully traced Liang Ye’s eyebrows, eyes, and bridge of his nose, pulled open his loose bathrobe, and placed his hand on his chest, feeling the strong, powerful beating of his heart.
Liang Ye frowned, wanting to turn over, but was held down by him and couldn’t succeed. He haphazardly grabbed his hand, then smoothed his brows and fell back asleep.
Wang Dian looked at the small red birthmark that appeared again on his chest, a faint smile appearing on his face, then bent down to kiss it.
Everything… was exactly the same now.
Liang Ye was his forever.
