The scent of blood and warmth enveloped Lin Zhizhi at the same time.
It was real.
Not a dream.
Only after a delay did Lin Zhizhi lift his arms and return the embrace.
His palms pressed against Xie Yi’s back.
Feeling that familiar touch, his eyes instantly grew warm.
He pressed his forehead to Xie Yi’s chest.
That familiar scent filled his senses.
They had not even been apart for very long.
But to Lin Zhizhi, it felt like a lifetime.
Before Xie Yi came, he had convinced himself everything was fine.
He could eat, drink, and distract himself.
But now that Xie Yi was here—
he suddenly felt unbearably wronged.
It was as if countless bitter bubbles were surging upward inside him.
Xie Yi let out a soft sigh.
He originally had countless things he wanted to say to Lin Zhizhi.
But feeling the warmth in his arms, he found himself unable to say any of them.
He could only gently rub his back.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Just like back then—
when Lin Zhizhi fell into the hidden chamber, and Xie Yi tore through darkness to reach him.
At once, Lin Zhizhi’s drifting heart finally settled.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked anxiously at the blood covering Xie Yi.
“How did you get here? The blood on you… are you injured?”
Xie Yi held his hand.
“I’m fine. These are only external wounds.”
Seeing Lin Zhizhi didn’t believe him, he had no choice but to explain how he traveled from the book world to the Transmigration Bureau and threatened 03 and the Main System.
Though he described it lightly, Lin Zhizhi knew just how difficult such a journey must have been.
Xie Yi merely smiled and brushed Lin Zhizhi’s hair behind his ear.
“I found you, Zhizhi.”
“It’s not too late… is it?”
Lin Zhizhi felt as if something blocked his throat.
But in that instant, the hollow emptiness in his heart was filled by Xie Yi’s words.
He lifted his head, wrapped his arms around Xie Yi’s neck, and gently pressed his lips to his.
Xie Yi’s gaze instantly darkened.
If that accident hadn’t happened, that night would have been their wedding night.
He pressed a hand to Lin Zhiji’s head and deepened the kiss.
Suppressing the storm of emotions in his heart, he kissed him slowly and thoroughly, gentle as though he were kissing fragile glass.
Instead, Lin Zhiji—usually the delicate one—was far more eager than usual.
How could Xie Yi possibly hold back? His movements gradually became deeper and heavier.
…
When it was over, Xie Yi carried Lin Zhiji to wash up before bringing him back.
Lin Zhiji had his arms around Xie Yi’s neck, his head resting weakly on his shoulder. His black hair spilled down, his fair back faintly visible, revealing a beauty that could not be concealed.
The corners of Lin Zhiji’s eyes were red, tears rolling down and landing on Xie Yi’s shoulder.
Xie Yi’s body paused slightly as he asked in a low voice, “Did I hurt you?”
Lin Zhiji slowly shook his head. “Xie Yi…”
Xie Yi replied, “I’m here.”
Lin Zhiji’s words were vague and slurred, his warm breath brushing against Xie Yi’s ear. “Xie Yi…”
“I’m here.” Xie Yi showed not the slightest impatience, gently laying him down and tucking him into the blankets.
Lin Zhiji stared at his profile, tears threatening to fall again.
This was wonderful.
Even though he had left without a word, Xie Yi had never given up on him and had gone through so much hardship to find him.
He softly called Xie Yi’s name several more times.
Xie Yi only thought Lin Zhiji was being clingy and spoiled him with a few comforting words. Just as he was about to leave to clean himself up, Lin Zhiji hooked an arm around him.
“I’m sorry…”
Lin Zhiji hugged him and murmured.
Xie Yi stopped.
At first, he truly had been resentful.
He had held his heart full of anticipation, only to find an empty palace.
But later, after learning from 03 about an entirely different version of what had happened, all that resentment turned into heartache.
He rubbed the corner of Lin Zhiji’s eye. “You didn’t wrong me. I’m the one who failed you…”
Lin Zhiji blinked, then smiled. “Then neither of us says that anymore.”
He hugged Xie Yi again and lightly kissed the corner of his lips.
“I love you.”
—
Lin Zhiji originally thought that now Xie Yi had found him, they would soon go back.
But to his surprise, Xie Yi stayed here for several days without mentioning returning even once.
When he finally asked, Xie Yi smiled.
“There’s no rush. I haven’t seen the place where you grew up yet.”
Over the past few days, Xie Yi had followed Lin Zhiji around and experienced firsthand the convenience of modern technology.
Even though Lin Zhiji had previously described some of it to him, Xie Yi was still astonished.
Lin Zhiji rented a car and first took him to his grandmother’s house.
Lin Zhiji had grown up there as a child, but after his grandmother passed away, he rarely came back.
Fortunately, change in the countryside came much slower than in the city.
Lin Zhiji could still see traces of the past.
Holding Xie Yi’s hand, he pointed out the mountain he had climbed as a child, the fruit trees he used to pick from, the river where he had caught loaches in the mud, until finally they arrived at the small courtyard that held his memories.
The courtyard gate was locked with a large padlock. It looked like no one had come for a very long time; the lock had already rusted.
Inside, weeds had overgrown the yard, and the house was covered in signs of decay.
Xie Yi held him and jumped into the courtyard. With a light push, the door opened.
Inside was even messier, looking as though the place had been looted.
Before his grandmother passed away, his mother had called him back from school, and he had only made it in time to see her one last time.
Everything had been chaotic then. His grandmother held his hand, tears streaming from her cloudy, aged eyes. She seemed to want to tell him something, but in the end, she never managed to say it.
After he numbly made it through the funeral, he was sent back to school.
His mother and uncle both worked out of town. After handling the funeral, they hurriedly left as well, clearly not caring much about the old house. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have only locked the courtyard gate while leaving the house itself unlocked.
With the house in such disorder, Lin Zhiji had no idea whether it was because they had left in too much of a hurry—or because someone later came in and stole things.
His mood turned heavy.
Meanwhile, Xie Yi had already started cleaning up the trash scattered across the floor.
Lin Zhiji stopped dwelling on it, rolled up his sleeves, and cleaned together with him.
After they finished, the house looked much brighter and finally resembled the one in Lin Zhiji’s memories.
He pointed around the house and told Xie Yi stories from his childhood.
As he spoke, Xie Yi could almost picture a small child playing all alone.
Lin Zhiji had thought he had forgotten it all, but as he told the stories, he realized he remembered everything so clearly.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
Pointing at a short cabinet, he said, “When I was little, I saw on TV that people hollowed out bricks to hide treasure. So I dug one out here too. Grandma caught me and nearly beat me to death…”
Remembering the chaos of that day, Lin Zhiji couldn’t help laughing.
He had always thought he had been a well-behaved child from start to finish. Turns out he had his mischievous moments too.
Xie Yi raised a brow and moved the short cabinet aside.
Before Lin Zhiji could stop him, he saw it—
The protruding brick behind the cabinet.
He froze.
“It’s still here…”
Back then, his grandmother had clearly patched that wall back up.
Lin Zhiji walked over and pulled out the loose brick, revealing a small iron box inside.
It looked familiar.
It was a small mooncake tin.
Back then, Lin Zhiji had used this tin to store his “treasures.” Later, when he left in a rush with his parents, he must have left it behind at his grandmother’s house.
He never expected to see it here again.
Xie Yi glanced at him. “Aren’t you going to open it?”
Lin Zhiji swallowed.
Squatting down, he carefully pulled the small tin out.
It was covered in rust and carried the smell of iron and damp earth.
Lin Zhiji carefully pried it open.
Inside were all his childhood “treasures.”
And besides them—
There was a letter.
The paper had yellowed with age.
He carefully unfolded it, revealing crooked lines of handwriting.
He knew.
This was his grandmother’s writing.
His grandmother had only attended elementary school and barely knew a handful of common characters. He had no idea how she managed to write such a long letter.
As Lin Zhiji stared at the letter, tears flooded out.
He had always thought he was someone constantly abandoned.
Abandoned to his grandmother’s house as a child.
Then abandoned to boarding school when he got older.
In the end, even his life had been discarded…
It seemed as if he had always been optional—never truly chosen by anyone.
Even back then, he hadn’t dared ask Xie Yi whether he would choose the throne or choose him.
Because he was afraid.
Or perhaps, rather than waiting to be abandoned, it was better to abandon the other person first.
Yet this surprise, appearing so many years later, told him otherwise.
That wasn’t true.
There had once been someone who chose him without hesitation.
Xie Yi wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes.
Leaning against Xie Yi’s shoulder, Lin Zhiji suddenly felt as though the chains wrapped tightly around his heart had loosened.
He carefully put away the letter before the two of them returned.
Over the next few days, Lin Zhiji also took Xie Yi to see his school and the home he had lived in within the city.
He even worked up the courage to knock on the door.
Only to discover the residents had long since changed. His parents had moved away at some point.
If this had happened before, Lin Zhiji might have felt sad and hurt.
But now, it felt as though he had truly let it all go.
He tugged lightly on Xie Yi’s arm and joked, half-serious, “I only have you now.”
But Xie Yi’s expression turned solemn.
Interlocking their fingers, he said, “From now on, I will be both your family and your lover.”
Lin Zhiji lifted his head.
His smile held not a trace of gloom.
“Mm.”
The two strolled slowly down the street.
Both were strikingly handsome, both had long hair, and they were walking hand in hand—hard not to notice.
Quite a few people secretly pulled out their phones to take pictures.
But Xie Yi merely swept them with a cold glance, and no one dared continue.
As they walked, Lin Zhiji suddenly realized they had arrived in front of an extremely familiar café.
He remembered it.
Not long ago, this was where he had run into his younger brother. Back then, the boy seemed to be wearing the café’s uniform.
Lin Zhiji hesitated, but eventually walked inside.
The café was nearly empty. A server quickly came forward, his gaze flicking in surprise to their clasped hands before he regained composure.
“What would you two like to drink?”
Lin Zhiji quickly scanned the café, but didn’t see the person he was looking for.
A little disappointed, he initially wanted to leave.
But then he remembered they had tried all sorts of things these past few days, except coffee.
So he stayed.
He and Xie Yi sat by the window and ordered two cups of coffee.
This was Xie Yi’s first time trying such a drink.
The aroma was rich and fragrant, but the bitterness upon tasting it made him frown slightly.
Lin Zhiji couldn’t help laughing.
Xie Yi raised a brow.
“Before, when it came to bitter medicine, you resisted every possible way. Now you don’t mind bitterness?”
Lin Zhiji retorted, “How is that the same?”
Xie Yi was about to reply when his gaze shifted.
He looked coldly toward a few servers whispering together nearby.
His stare startled them, but after some pushing and shoving among themselves, one server finally approached.
He wasn’t looking at Xie Yi.
Instead, he spoke to Lin Zhiji.
“Sir, we mean no harm. It’s just… you look a lot like one of our coworkers, so we were curious.”
Lin Zhiji froze slightly.
“Your coworker… what’s his name?”
The server replied, “Lin Zhimu. Do you know him?”
Lin Zhiji vaguely remembered.
Back then, when his parents ran after that boy, they had called his name.
It seemed…
It really was Lin Zhimu.
He pressed his lips together. “He doesn’t seem to be working today?”
The server replied, “Oh, he took the day off.”
Lin Zhiji frowned slightly. “Took the day off?”
The server nodded. “Yeah, he went grave-sweeping with his parents.”
“Grave-sweeping?” Lin Zhiji repeated in confusion. He remembered that today wasn’t Qingming Festival.
This server didn’t know much, but another server at the counter chimed in.
“I overheard him talking to his parents on the phone. I think today is the death anniversary of someone important to him…”
Lin Zhiji suddenly froze.
Xie Yi noticed something was wrong immediately. After dismissing the servers with a few words, he took Lin Zhiji’s hand.
“What’s wrong?”
The warmth of his palm brought Lin Zhiji back to himself.
But instead of answering, he stood up, paid the bill, and led Xie Yi outside.
They hailed a car and headed toward the cemetery in the western suburbs.
Xie Yi had already guessed something, but said nothing, only tightening his hold on Lin Zhiji’s hand.
Lin Zhiji’s thoughts were in complete disarray. He forced a faint smile at Xie Yi before sinking back into silence.
The western suburb cemetery wasn’t large.
And since it wasn’t Qingming or any other major memorial day, there were even fewer visitors.
It didn’t take long for Lin Zhiji to spot Lin Zhimu.
Instinctively, he hid behind a tree.
Lin Zhimu wore a black hoodie, one hand tucked into his pocket, his expression somewhat listless.
Behind him followed a middle-aged couple.
Their parents.
The last time they met had been so rushed that Lin Zhiji hadn’t really looked at them closely.
Only now did he realize they had aged far more than he had imagined.
His mother looked thinner now, her black coat hanging loosely off her frame.
Lin Zhiji’s emotions became complicated.
Xie Yi noticed his distress at once and slipped Lin Zhiji’s cold hand into his pocket.
Lin Zhiji lifted his head and met Xie Yi’s reassuring gaze.
Only after all three had left did they step out from their hiding place.
“I’m okay,” Lin Zhiji said softly.
Xie Yi gently stroked his hair.
Lin Zhiji had never cut his hair short. His smooth black hair was tied back, falling down his back like silk, and Xie Yi’s hand moved gently from the crown of his head all the way to the ends.
Utterly gentle.
Utterly precious.
The complicated emotions in Lin Zhiji’s heart instantly faded.
He sniffed and repeated, “I’m really okay.”
But Xie Yi asked, “Do you want to go take a look?”
Lin Zhiji stared at him in shock.
Of course he knew what Xie Yi meant.
Go look at… his own grave?
Xie Yi didn’t urge him.
Lin Zhiji only hesitated for a moment before nodding. Together, they walked up the steps beside the cemetery.
They followed the rows of gravestones until they soon found one with fresh flowers and fruit placed before it.
Lin Zhiji walked toward it step by step.
Then he saw the photo on the gravestone.
It was him.
Him as a high school student.
He had thought seeing all this would be unbearable.
But unexpectedly, he felt calm.
He looked at the flowers still covered with dew, then at the gravestone, polished spotless.
Judging by Lin Zhimu’s age, it had been at least seventeen or eighteen years since his death.
From the looks of it, they had come to visit every single year.
Lin Zhiji had always thought that after he died, once his parents had his younger brother, they would quickly forget him.
He thought he could accept all this calmly.
But at this moment, he realized he couldn’t.
Suddenly, anger and pain surged from the depths of his heart.
He couldn’t help thinking—
If they abandoned him while he was alive, then why remember him after he was dead?
Before, he could still comfort himself with the excuse of plot inevitability.
He told himself they had no choice either, that they were merely characters being swept along by fate.
But now he realized—
They had remembered him all along.
Only when Xie Yi pulled him tightly into his arms did Lin Zhiji realize his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles hurt.
His eyes burned with pain.
Yet not a single tear fell.
Xie Yi spoke softly.
“You don’t have to forgive them. You only need to know this—”
“You were never unloved.”
Lin Zhiji stared blankly at him.
Xie Yi’s eyes were usually cold and hard, especially that left eye clouded with gray.
But at this moment, his gaze overflowed with gentleness and acceptance, as though he understood every word Lin Zhiji had never managed to say.
And in that instant, Lin Zhiji understood too.
It wasn’t that Xie Yi didn’t want to go back.
He had simply seen that Lin Zhiji still carried unresolved pain.
He knew that once they returned, Lin Zhiji might never get another chance to resolve it.
It would become a lifelong regret buried in his heart.
So Xie Yi said nothing.
He didn’t urge him.
He simply stayed here and accompanied him, helping him unravel the knot in his heart bit by bit.
Suddenly, warmth swelled inside Lin Zhiji’s chest, full and soft.
The last trace of bitterness in his heart finally dissolved.
He took Xie Yi’s hand on his own initiative.
“Let’s… go home.”
Xie Yi froze for a moment.
Then he smiled.
“Let’s go home.”
—
Author’s Note:
The main story ends here~
What comes next are sweet extras.