The bedroom was silent for two seconds.
As soon as Lu Qiao finished speaking, he remembered that their clothes were still in the bathroom, while the wardrobe was also some distance from the bed. Since the two of them were locked together, if he did not move, Yan Qiu could not move either. Thus, he awkwardly tried to prop himself up.
The weight of the wings had originally been part of his body weight. Although they were now carried on his back, they weighed only about ten kilograms, so that itself was not much of a problem. The real issue was that each wing was a meter long, and when they hung limply at his sides, they seriously hindered movement.
Lu Qiao felt like he was practically a useless bird.
He had only just managed to lift himself slightly when Yan Qiu pressed him back down.
Lu Qiao turned his head and looked at him in confusion.
The man said calmly, “I’ll have the butler come over. The wounds on your wings need to be treated too.”
After saying that, he pushed himself up and moved to the side, doing his best not to press on Lu Qiao’s wings. He then pulled the blanket over the important parts of both himself and Lu Qiao before tapping the wall.
The household system’s holographic screen popped up. Yan Qiu gave the butler a few simple instructions.
Lu Qiao rested his chin on his hand and kept his head tilted as he watched him. Once the communication ended and the holographic screen disappeared, Lu Qiao spoke.
“Thanks for just now.”
After saying that, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.
Yan Qiu was such a cold and aloof person, yet he had unexpectedly been so gentle when comforting someone.
Now that he thought back to what Yan Qiu had done earlier, Lu Qiao felt his chest grow warm.
Yan Qiu’s expression was still gentle. He twirled Lu Qiao’s damp hair between his fingers and said, “I’ll dry it for you again later.”
Lu Qiao glanced at the man again, nodded, and obediently whispered, “Okay.”
“How do you feel now? Does it still hurt?” Yan Qiu asked.
Lu Qiao shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”
After the wounds stopped appearing, the two wings became completely motionless, hanging behind Lu Qiao’s back like dead objects. If they were not still warm to the touch, one might even mistake them for mere decorations.
Yan Qiu carefully scanned Lu Qiao’s wings, his brows slightly furrowing.
“Can’t you feel your wings at all?”
“No…” Lu Qiao’s voice was dejected. “Every time they forcibly grow out, it hurts. After the pain passes, I can’t feel anything else. I can’t feel them even when I touch them.”
Whether his genetic disorder was improving would certainly show up on medical examination reports, but it was impossible for a patient to go to the hospital every day for tests. The most direct way to observe it was to see whether the actual symptoms had eased.
Lu Qiao’s wings had always remained in this lifeless state. He also could not bring himself to go to the hospital, and it had already been half a year since his last examination.
Hearing this, Yan Qiu tried touching the soft wing.
The tip of the wing trembled.
Yan Qiu: “……”
Yan Qiu: “You really can’t feel it?”
“No. Whether someone else touches them or I touch them myself, I can’t feel anything. They won’t even move.”
Yan Qiu continued touching them twice.
The tips of the wings kept trembling and trembling…
With his chin resting on his hand, Lu Qiao did not turn around. He simply complained to himself, “I’d be better off without these wings. They’re completely useless. I might as well just cut them off!”
If the wings were cut off, they would no longer lose control.
Even if his genetic disorder could not be cured, the most unstable external factor on his body would be gone. Apart from what was written on his genetic test report, there would actually be no difference between him and an ordinary person!
However, even so, the military would never accept a patient with a genetic disorder…
Besides, there probably were not many ordinary people capable of cutting off part of their own body…
Lu Qiao became dejected again.
Yan Qiu silently glanced at him without answering. He merely placed his hand at the base of Lu Qiao’s wing and then—
Ran his hand firmly all the way down along the wing!
Lu Qiao was still complaining gloomily when suddenly—
“Ah!”
He let out a soft cry, his whole body shuddering as though an electric current had passed through him. The feathers of his wings quietly fluffed up.
He quickly twisted his head around and locked eyes with Yan Qiu.
Lu Qiao: “What were you doing just now?”
Yan Qiu: “Touching your wing.”
Lu Qiao: “???”
Yan Qiu lowered his eyes and once again placed his hand at the base of Lu Qiao’s wing.
Then—
His strong five fingers and warm palm moved downward, stroking over Lu Qiao’s feathers and the bones of his wing, from beginning to end, in one continuous motion!
In that brief moment, an electric current seemed to shoot through Lu Qiao’s spine. His waist went weak, and his wing very clearly jerked.
Yan Qiu remained completely calm.
“—That’s it.”
Lu Qiao lay limply on the bed, staring at him in shock.
“So… my wing just moved?!”
It really had moved.
Before the butler came upstairs, Lu Qiao had already made Yan Qiu try several times.
His wing really moved!
Whenever Yan Qiu touched it, the wing trembled. When Yan Qiu stroked all the way down, Lu Qiao could even feel a tingling sensation coming from the wing.
It felt unbelievably good!
Lu Qiao was so excited he almost cried. He grabbed Yan Qiu’s hand and pressed it against his wing, pulling the man over with him as he urged, “Hurry, touch it again. Touch me again!”
Yan Qiu: “……”
His body tensed slightly, and his gaze at Lu Qiao became very deep.
Just then, the butler knocked on the door.
After receiving permission to enter, he opened the door and saw…
On the spacious bed, two naked men were there. The slimmer young man was lying on the bed, while their Yan family’s young master was braced above the young man’s body.
The young man’s voice sounded half-pleasured, half-tearful as he murmured, “So good…”
The butler was struck as though by lightning.
Why had the young master let him come in?!
Was this really the time for him to come in?
No!
How could the young master be so careless?!
Just as he panicked and was about to retreat and close the door, Yan Qiu immediately turned around.
“Come in… Nothing is happening here.”
Lu Qiao turned around and saw the butler. He excitedly said, “Uncle, hurry over! Come touch my wings!”
Butler: “……”
So he had misunderstood?
The butler awkwardly directed an questioning look toward Yan Qiu.
Yan Qiu sighed helplessly. “Come over.”
At this moment, Lu Qiao wished he could find anyone at all and have them touch his wings, just so he could know he was not dreaming!
Two years.
It had been two years since his wings had first grown.
His wings had finally stopped being like dead objects!
They could tremble, and he could feel a tingling sensation!
The butler walked to the bedside, swallowed nervously, and did not dare overdo it. He cautiously extended one finger and poked Lu Qiao’s wing.
Silence.
Lu Qiao’s wing did not move at all.
Lu Qiao froze, and his heart sank.
“Touch it again. Use your whole hand.”
Under Yan Qiu’s gaze, the butler steeled himself and stroked the wing with his hand.
But Lu Qiao’s wing still did not move, nor did he feel anything.
Lu Qiao was stunned.
He looked at Yan Qiu, a trace of panic in his eyes.
Yan Qiu frowned and quietly reassured him, “It’s all right. Don’t worry.”
Then he once again tried placing his hand over Lu Qiao’s wing.
The next second, Lu Qiao’s wing began trembling.
The tension disappeared, and confusion emerged.
Lu Qiao looked bewildered.
What was going on?
The butler touched his wing and he felt nothing, but Yan Qiu could make it react.
It was almost as if his wings only responded to Yan Qiu.
Although the butler did not know what was going on, that did not stop him from being good at grasping the important point from the situation.
Lu Qiao’s wings hung there limply, clearly indicating that there was something wrong with them.
And when the young master touched them, they trembled; when he touched them, they did not.
Everything was obvious.
A glint flashed through the butler’s eyes. He immediately said, “Although only the young master touching them has produced a reaction so far, a reaction is a good thing. Young master, touch them more. Perhaps your wings will recover after a few days!”
Lu Qiao’s eyes lit up.
He felt that Uncle Butler’s analysis was extremely precise and immediately demanded, “Right! Yan Qiu, keep touching me!”
“……”
Yan Qiu silently looked at the butler.
The latter gave him a thumbs-up and winked his right eye, as though he had winked out a tiny little star.
After a pause, Yan Qiu raised the corners of his lips and smiled.
He helplessly said to Lu Qiao, “Got it. Don’t rush.”
The butler brought over medical spray. When sprayed on the tiny wounds on Lu Qiao’s wings caused by their excessive growth, the wounds would heal within five minutes.
The two men’s clothes were still in the bathroom. After retrieving them, the butler deliberately walked several steps away and faced the wall. Only after hearing the sounds and judging that the two had finished getting dressed did he turn around.
He felt that he was truly very professional.
Yan Qiu picked up the hair dryer and began drying Lu Qiao’s hair.
“What do you want to eat today?”
The warm air from the hair dryer made Lu Qiao feel pleasantly lazy—and more importantly, he was in an exceptionally good mood now.
“Anything is fine. I’ll eat whatever you eat.”
Yan Qiu chuckled softly.
“Okay.”
After the butler went back downstairs, Lu Qiao lay there enjoying Yan Qiu’s service, becoming drowsy.
Suddenly, he heard the man ask,
“So, what exactly happened today? Are you still unwilling to tell me?”
Lu Qiao’s eyes flew open, and he instantly became wide awake.
The hair dryer hummed.
Lu Qiao fell silent.
A few seconds later, his hair was completely dry. Yan Qiu turned off the hair dryer, and the room became quiet as well.
Lu Qiao turned around to look at him.
Yan Qiu’s own hair was still wet, but he did not dry it. He simply looked at Lu Qiao, waiting for his answer.
…Was he being a little too forceful?
Lu Qiao shrank his neck slightly.
Of course, he did not dislike Yan Qiu’s assertiveness. In fact, even Lu Qiao himself felt that the way he had behaved in the shower earlier had been rather awkward.
After a moment of silence, Lu Qiao finally spoke slowly.
“…Two people mocked me today.”
Yan Qiu asked, “Who?”
“Two kids. They’re four years younger than me. Come to think of it, they’re your junior schoolmates too. They’re both from the Royal Academy.”
Once Lu Qiao opened the floodgates, his speech became faster. He complained angrily, “They really admire you too. They’re your fans! Ever since they came to the training center where I work six months ago, they’ve been looking down on me. They’re always bringing up my genetic disorder, making fun of the fact that I can’t join the military. And today they even—”
He suddenly stopped.
“Even what?” Yan Qiu narrowed his eyes.
Lu Qiao glanced at him and stammered, “They—they said I shouldn’t think that joining the military means I could be compared with you. They said I still had a long way to go before I could regard you as my rival…”
After Lu Qiao finished speaking, his heart began pounding wildly.
He looked at Yan Qiu, with hesitation, nervousness, and the faintest trace of anticipation in his eyes—feelings he himself had not even realized were there.
Once Lu Qiao’s voice fell silent, Yan Qiu reached out and gently caressed his cheek.
Looking directly at him, he said each word clearly:
“Lu Qiao, I have always regarded you as my rival. And just like two years ago, I am still waiting for you to enter the military and come to my side.”
Lu Qiao’s eyes widened slightly.
He could hear the sound of his own heartbeat beside his ears.
And in his eyes, it was as though fireworks were blooming.