It was already very late, and Lu Qiao was starving. Seeing him like this, Yan Qiu said, “Let’s eat out today. We’ll go back after we’ve eaten.”
He then gave the driver the name of a restaurant, and the aircraft changed its course.
Half an hour later, they arrived at a Starlight Restaurant.
Starlight Restaurants were generally situated inside a transparent glass sphere, where one could see the brilliant starry sky without obstruction. The scenery was beautiful, and the cost was usually quite expensive.
Lu Qiao had not expected Yan Qiu to bring him to a restaurant of this caliber, and he felt somewhat restless.
After the aircraft entered the glass sphere, it flew directly toward the top floor on the left side and landed on an open-air balcony.
“This half of the building doesn’t have human service, so the privacy is better.” Yan Qiu told the driver to eat wherever he wanted downstairs, then took Lu Qiao’s hand and led him inside.
Lu Qiao looked around, both curious and restrained. “I used to think that if I ever got a girlfriend, I’d definitely bring her to a place like this at least once…”
Although one visit would probably cost him three months’ salary, it was romantic here.
Upon hearing this, Yan Qiu cast him a sidelong glance.
Lu Qiao turned his head and met his gaze. For some reason, he instinctively shrank his neck.
After thinking for a moment, he tugged at Yan Qiu’s hand and said, “But once I can save up enough money, I’ll definitely bring you here first.”
After all, he had been freeloading on Yan Qiu for food and drinks these past few days. That wouldn’t do. He had to treat him to something in return, too. Right now, he needed money for his treatment and couldn’t save anything, but once he could, he would definitely repay Yan Qiu first.
The man led him to a seat by the window and said casually, “What if you already have a girlfriend by then?”
Lu Qiao blinked. “Then I’ll invite you first anyway!”
The man propped his chin up with one hand and raised an eyebrow. “What if your girlfriend gets unhappy?”
Lu Qiao: “…”
What was wrong with this man? Was he picking a fight with his nonexistent girlfriend?
Lu Qiao emphasized, “There won’t be anyone else. I’ll only invite you!”
After thinking about it, he said, “Actually, I was just saying it. I probably won’t have a girlfriend anyway.”
Yan Qiu tapped the dining table, and a menu popped up.
With one sweep of his eyes, he hid the prices on the menu and asked casually, “Why?”
“I don’t know either. I just feel…” Lu Qiao looked at the man across from him and unconsciously murmured, “I probably wouldn’t be able to fall for someone else very easily…”
Yan Qiu’s fingertips paused slightly, and he raised his eyes toward Lu Qiao.
Lu Qiao immediately looked away, inexplicably flustered.
Yan Qiu studied him thoughtfully, then the corners of his lips lifted slightly, revealing a hint of a smile.
He asked, “Want steak?”
“Yeah!”
“Fish?”
“Yeah!”
“Noodles?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”
Yan Qiu efficiently placed the order, then finally asked, “Want some alcohol?”
Lu Qiao nodded obediently. “Sure!”
Yan Qiu closed the menu and asked, “You can drink alcohol now?”
“I’ve stayed in the training center for so long these past two years. The curator trained me up.” Lu Qiao answered bashfully.
Yan Qiu smiled and asked, “How much can you drink?”
Lu Qiao answered brightly, “One can of beer!”
Yan Qiu: “…”
He recalled the alcohol content of the fruit wine he had just ordered and thought for a moment.
Suddenly, Lu Qiao heard a commotion coming from the window nearby. Curious, he got up to take a look, only to discover that there was a beach behind their floor.
The beach was dotted with starlight, while artificial waves rolled in one after another.
A circle of heart-shaped candles had been arranged on the beach, with a group of people surrounding them. In the middle of the candles, a man was kneeling on one knee, proposing to a woman.
Lu Qiao smiled. “The girl is even wearing a pair of wings on her back. So cute.”
Yan Qiu stood beside him. He withdrew his gaze and let it fall on the person before him, saying softly, “Yours are cute too.”
Lu Qiao paused and turned his head to look at him. Yan Qiu also lowered his eyes to look at him, raising a hand to gently rub the shoulder blade on his back. His voice was soft and unhurried.
“No. Your wings are beautiful.”
Lu Qiao trembled slightly, sensitive to the touch.
Down below, the onlookers began screaming and cheering. The man stood up and pulled the woman into his arms. It seemed that the proposal had succeeded.
Yan Qiu leaned close to Lu Qiao’s ear and softly asked, “Do you like this kind of proposal?”
His warm breath brushed over him. Lu Qiao’s Adam’s apple rolled, and he instinctively answered, “I like it…”
After coming back to his senses, he shuddered and looked at Yan Qiu in confusion.
Yan Qiu smiled and said nothing more. He simply turned and walked away, leaving Lu Qiao with no choice but to follow him back.
During the meal, the two chatted for a while.
Yan Qiu asked Lu Qiao to try opening his wings more often, but only when Yan Qiu was present. Lu Qiao naturally had no objection to this.
Yan Qiu then said, “Your training center is off tomorrow. Don’t go there. Come to the military with me.”
Lu Qiao’s eyes lit up—during the previous two teleportations, he had appeared at the military headquarters, but he had never had a proper chance to look around.
But in the next moment, his spirits fell. “Forget it…”
Yan Qiu asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lu Qiao remembered how he had previously coolly tossed Chris a line about “I’ll get into the military on my own” or something like that. He didn’t want to slap himself in the face so quickly.
“…” Yan Qiu glanced at him and said, “The military’s recruitment for this year has already begun. No matter what, you have to make a trip there yourself. Come with me tomorrow and complete the procedures.”
Because registration still required an on-site photograph and blood draw, this trip was unavoidable.
Since Yan Qiu had given him an easy way out, Lu Qiao happily accepted it.
But recruitment this year…
As Lu Qiao ate, he thought about it. Although his wings had improved, he still probably wouldn’t be able to make this year’s recruitment.
An hour and a half later, they finished their meal and set off for home.
Lu Qiao was stuffed into the back seat. Once Yan Qiu got in, he grabbed Yan Qiu’s hand and shook it back and forth happily.
“Tomorrow! To the military! Tomorrow! To the military!”
The driver in the front hesitantly asked, “Mr. Lu, is this…”
Lu Qiao grinned. “I’m just tipsy, just tipsy! It’s fine!”
After saying that, he hugged Yan Qiu’s arm and leaned against his shoulder, saying softly, “Yan Qiu, you’re really good to me.”
The man pinched his cheek and sighed. “I should have chosen to give you fruit juice.”
“No need!” Lu Qiao mumbled. “You already reminded me, didn’t you? I just… wanted to drink it myself!”
When the alcohol had first arrived, Yan Qiu had warned Lu Qiao about its alcohol content.
But Lu Qiao felt that alcohol tolerance was something that could be trained. Besides, although this wine had a high alcohol content, there wasn’t much of it. How could it compare with 500 milliliters of beer?
Thus, he had gulped it all down.
Seeing this, Yan Qiu shook his head and said no more, merely ruffling Lu Qiao’s hair.
Lu Qiao felt that he was only a little dizzy. Aside from walking unsteadily and losing control of his words, there was nothing seriously wrong. Nothing seriously wrong.
After returning to the Yan residence and entering the room, Yan Qiu looked at the person standing there with both hands clinging to his shoulders, his head pressed against Yan Qiu’s chest, swaying even while standing still. His expression was helpless.
The aftereffects of the alcohol on Lu Qiao had exceeded his expectations.
He reached out with both hands and supported Lu Qiao by the waist, reminding him, “Stand properly.”
Hearing this, Lu Qiao suddenly raised his head. His chin rested against Yan Qiu, and his dark, sparkling eyes were hazy with light. He complained, “Let me lean on you a little longer…”
That soft, delicate voice seemed to itch directly into his heart. Yan Qiu looked at the person hugging him like a koala, and his eyes darkened.
He tightened his arms, looked away, and said in a low voice, “Hurry up and take a shower, then get some rest.”
The supposedly tipsy person became even more troublesome once he entered the bathroom. He had barely stood beneath the shower for a moment before reaching out to support himself against the wall. After supporting himself for a little while, he simply squatted straight down.
Yan Qiu wrapped one arm around Lu Qiao’s waist, took down the showerhead, and sprayed the water over Lu Qiao. Lu Qiao leaned against Yan Qiu, enjoying the service.
“Yan Qiu…” He tilted his head back and called out in a hoarse voice.
The man’s voice came from above, equally hoarse. “Hm?”
Lu Qiao slowly said, “Your body has gotten better. Your muscles have gotten so much bigger. I’m jealous of you. I hate showering with you.”
Yan Qiu laughed. “After you enter the military, your activity level will increase several times compared with when you were in school.”
“Will my muscles get bigger too?” Lu Qiao’s voice was soft and limp.
“They will.” Yan Qiu turned Lu Qiao around and sprayed his back. “But you look good like this too.”
The bathroom was somewhat hot, with steam filling the air. Lu Qiao breathed with his mouth open, and when he lowered his eyes, he could see Yan Qiu’s chocolate-colored abdominal muscles.
His physique was really too good. Broad shoulders, yet a lean waist—a perfect inverted-triangle build.
The War God race naturally had excellent genes, and Yan Qiu had never slackened in his training since childhood, which was why he had forged such a body.
Lu Qiao did not know how to describe it. He gently stroked Yan Qiu’s shoulder and swallowed.
His gaze continued downward. When it landed on that certain thing that seemed capable of continuing for two or three hours, he silently covered the area between his legs.
He heard the man’s quiet laughter and kicked him.
After the shower, Yan Qiu dried Lu Qiao’s body and then dried his hair as well.
Done, Lu Qiao stood up and pushed Yan Qiu down onto the edge of the bed. “I’ll dry your hair too.”
Yan Qiu smiled and sat down. “Okay.”
Lu Qiao, dizzy and muddle-headed, turned on the hair dryer, ran his fingers through Yan Qiu’s hair, and blasted it wildly.
Lu Qiao truly felt that the bonds between people were a very wondrous thing.
When he was fourteen, when he first saw the legendary Yan Qiu, he could never have imagined that ten years later, that aloof and noble young man standing in the distance would still be sitting before him.
Ten years.
How long a period of time, and yet it had passed in the blink of an eye.
Yan Qiu had become even taller, but many scars had been added to his body.
And he had grown a pair of wings, yet struggled with illness.
Amid the buzzing of the hair dryer, Yan Qiu heard Lu Qiao say something, but he could not make it out clearly.
He caught Lu Qiao’s wrist and turned his head to ask, “What did you say?”
The sound of the hair dryer stopped.
He felt the person behind him lean against his back and heard his hoarse voice.
“I said… ten years from now, I still want to… want to…”
Yan Qiu froze, his body tensing slightly. “…Want to what?”
“It’s just…” Lu Qiao did not know how to say it either. He racked his brains for a long time. Under the influence of the alcohol, he felt as though all the nerves in his brain had become tangled. In the end, he blurted out, “Ten years from now, I still want to… dry your hair!”
Yan Qiu: “…”
Lu Qiao continued, “Ten years from now, I still want to be your rival, I want to see you, I want to fight you, and I want to dry your hair!”
Yan Qiu: “…………”
He closed his eyes and rubbed the corners of his eyes.
The next second, two arms reached out from behind him and gently wrapped around his waist.
Yan Qiu paused and opened his eyes.
Lu Qiao’s soft voice came from behind him.
“I hope my genetic disorder gets better soon. I want to go to the battlefield with you. That way… you won’t have so many injuries on your body.”
Under the dizziness brought on by the alcohol, Lu Qiao still had not figured out what exactly he had wanted to say when he heard Yan Qiu’s words at the hospital earlier.
Perhaps many feelings simply could not be clearly expressed through words. However, his wishes were clear and intense. Since he could not say anything particularly beautiful, he could only choose to convey these most straightforward wishes to Yan Qiu.
Upon hearing this, Yan Qiu lowered his eyes. His voice was deep and mellow, carrying a hint of gentleness.
“I don’t want you to get hurt either.”
Lu Qiao: “Getting injured is unavoidable on the battlefield.”
Yan Qiu: “Same for me. As long as I go to the battlefield, getting injured is unavoidable.”
Lu Qiao: “Then can’t we share the burden a little? Neither of us gets hurt too much. Split it evenly. Otherwise, whoever it happens to will be unhappy.”
Yan Qiu smiled. “Okay.”
Silence fell between them.
After a while, Lu Qiao softly asked, “How did you find out that I was sick two years ago?”
Yan Qiu paused and said, “I would occasionally ask Ji Zhuyun about how you were doing.”
Although Ji Zhuyun and Yan Qiu had graduated in the same class and entered the military together, Yan Qiu had immediately departed for the border, while Ji Zhuyun remained within the Empire. He could occasionally leave the military camp to see his friends.
In his hazy state, Lu Qiao vaguely remembered that after Yan Qiu left, Ji Zhuyun’s visits to see him had indeed increased. But after he was discharged from the hospital and entered the training center, Ji Zhuyun had also departed for the border.
These past few days, he should have returned together with Yan Qiu and the others, right?
Lu Qiao had not contacted him yet, so he did not know.
Yan Qiu did not hear Lu Qiao respond. He turned his head to look at him and saw the person behind him grinning foolishly.
Yan Qiu smiled along with him. “What are you smiling about?”
Lu Qiao said happily, “So you’ve been keeping an eye on me all this time. Before I got sick and after I got sick—you were always paying attention to me. Back then, I really wanted to know how you were doing in the military too, but every time I could only hear about you from Ji Zhuyun. Ah, why couldn’t we contact the border through external signals? Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to resist calling you!”
As he spoke, he released his arms and leaned backward. He had originally been kneeling, but now he plopped down onto the bed.
Yan Qiu caught his hand and steadied him. “You’re drunk.”
“I’m not. I’m just tipsy, tipsy!” Lu Qiao insisted.
Yan Qiu teasingly asked, “Then tomorrow, will you still remember what we’re talking about right now?”
Lu Qiao immediately fell into deep thought.
There was amusement in Yan Qiu’s eyes. He looked at the person before him for a while. His gaze swept over the other’s lips, the bridge of his nose, his brow bones, and the slightly flushed corners of his eyes. Finally, he gently pinched a strand of his hair and murmured, “…Actually, back then, even without seeing you, I never quite figured it out either.”
“Didn’t figure out what?” Lu Qiao tilted his head and asked in confusion.
Yan Qiu did not continue.
He glanced at the time and said, “It’s already very late. Go to sleep.”
Lu Qiao also felt sleepy. He yawned, remained dazed for a moment, then simply tidied himself up before lying down on the bed with Yan Qiu and pulling the covers over them.
After lying there for a while, Lu Qiao turned over to face Yan Qiu. He did not know what he was thinking. Even though he was already drowsy, he stubbornly asked, “What you hadn’t figured out… have you figured it out now…?”
Yan Qiu looked at him.
Lu Qiao’s eyes were already completely closed. Most likely, the moment he finished asking the question, he had already fallen asleep.
Yan Qiu smiled silently. He leaned over and gently rubbed his nose against Lu Qiao’s, whispering, “I’ve figured it out. The first moment I saw you after we reunited, I figured it out.”
Two years ago, he had hurried back and seen this person with his eyes tightly closed, pale and frail. At that moment, there had been no room in his heart to think about anything else.
For five years, the war had continued without pause. Aside from using the little time he had to keep track of this person’s growth, he had also continuously pondered and considered the matter.
It was only because he had discovered his feelings when he left five years ago. The moment he came to that realization, he was faced with a period during which he would no longer be able to see this person.
Yan Qiu was not someone who made decisions about important matters lightly. He was even more cautious when it came to this person.
Therefore, separated by a great distance and with communication being extremely inconvenient, he chose to focus on the present.
When he was at the border, when he was facing the flames of war, he would only think about the things a soldier ought to think about, and only do the things a soldier ought to do.
If he had been given time, then when he and this person met again, he would certainly have chosen to spend some time together, weigh everything carefully, and then make a decision.
—Yet after their reunion, when he once again met those bright, sparkling black eyes, when he held him in his arms and heard him speak his first words in that familiar voice, all those considerations vanished like smoke.
The person sleeping beside him now had ultimately made him cast aside his reason. In an instant, he had become certain of everything.
There was no need for more time.
No need for further deliberation.
What he wanted had long since been perfectly clear.