How sweet can the sweetest thing lovers can do for each other possibly be?
Before this, Lu Qiao had never been able to imagine it.
Yan Qiu had already given him so much sweetness. For example, the silent companionship they had shared across countless light-years over the past five years; the care and protection Yan Qiu had given him after they became bonded; his confession; and the sea of flowers he had given him.
Yet apparently, Yan Qiu could give him even more. So, so much more.
The planet slowly rotated, and the starry sky continuously changed, becoming more and more brilliant.
The waves rolled endlessly, their rhythmic crashing carrying from afar. Inside the glass house, another series of sounds gradually fell into harmony with them.
The waves gently washed over the beach, or perhaps in the next moment would crash heavily against it. The sounds rose and fell one after another.
The first time they finally stopped, two hours had already passed.
The two of them were still lying on the sofa. Lu Qiao was curled up tiredly in the man’s arms, while the man was still kissing his cheek, murmuring, “I love you.”
Although Lu Qiao was exhausted, he still laughed and said, “Stop saying it. You’ve been saying it over and over.”
Yan Qiu laughed too.
Only now did Lu Qiao have the energy to think about other things. He asked softly, “Oh, right. There aren’t any other people here, are there?”
“No. Otherwise, I would’ve carried you into the bedroom long ago,” Yan Qiu said with a smile. “Don’t worry. There are only the two of us here. The pilot has already gone to rest on another island.”
That was good.
Lu Qiao let out a comfortable sigh of relief.
“Does it hurt?” Yan Qiu asked, gently touching him.
Lu Qiao’s face reddened. He answered awkwardly, “It’s okay. It hurts a little, but it’s nothing serious. It should feel better after a while.”
Yan Qiu looked at him and suddenly said, “I want to do it again.”
“…” Lu Qiao blushed. “B-but I only brought one…”
Before coming here, he had only been thinking about trying it once. He had never considered that they might do it several times. And since he had secretly brought it along without wanting Yan Qiu to find out, he had only brought one.
Thinking about it, he could not help being amazed. “You really never thought about this at all? You didn’t bring even one?” This guy was obviously so horny!!
Yan Qiu only said, “I thought you weren’t ready yet.”
Because he thought Lu Qiao wasn’t ready, he had firmly refused to touch him?
Lu Qiao’s heart felt sweet.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let me rest for a while. We can talk about it after I’ve rested.”
Yan Qiu sighed. “I was joking. We didn’t bring any extra, so we won’t do it again.”
Lu Qiao said very softly, “Actually, it’s okay.”
Yan Qiu paused.
Lu Qiao cleared his throat lightly and said awkwardly, “Anyway, we’re both healthy… I-I don’t mind.”
The arm around him suddenly tightened. The man seemed to be restraining himself as he called out hoarsely, “Qiaoqiao.”
Lu Qiao closed his eyes and said shyly, “It’s okay. Really, it’s okay. I love you.”
…After Lu Qiao gave him those words, they ultimately did not finish until two in the morning.
They went all the way from the living room sofa to the bedroom bed. Not long after they were finished, Lu Qiao fell asleep.
Yan Qiu held him the entire time. The two of them nestled against each other as he gently kissed Lu Qiao’s crown, forehead, nose, and lips. But the sleeping man was simply too exhausted to react at all.
Yan Qiu smiled and whispered, “Sorry. I went too far.”
Lu Qiao had a dream.
No. He already knew this wasn’t a dream. It was his consciousness at work.
Lu Qiao’s consciousness separated from his body—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it extended outward from his body—and drifted hazily outside the house. He stared blankly at the full moon in the night sky, listening to the sound of waves crashing against the beach.
He wandered aimlessly along the beach in a daze, always feeling as though something in the sky was drawing him toward it.
What could it be…?
Lu Qiao stared fixedly at the night sky. At one particular moment, he suddenly shot upward, soaring straight into the heavens!
He rode the evening wind upward, rushing into the clouds and breaking through the atmosphere. He arrived in outer space, yet continued moving forward, farther and farther…
He did not know what he was searching for, but the intuition in his heart was incredibly strong. Something was attracting him, and so he headed toward it without hesitation.
He did not know how much time had passed when a gigantic crystal suddenly appeared in his field of vision!
Lu Qiao plunged straight into the crystal, and the scenery before his eyes abruptly changed.
It was still darkness as the backdrop, still filled with countless stars. But among those stars floated gears of all sizes, slowly turning one after another, like the most precise machinery—
A galaxy and gears.
Lu Qiao suddenly jolted awake, his ears buzzing.
For a moment, he could not quite process what was happening. He was dazed.
…Had he dreamed again? What had he dreamed about…?
Only then did he slowly realize that he and Yan Qiu were in the seaside house, and beside his ears was the sound of Yan Qiu speaking in a lowered voice.
Lu Qiao moved slightly. Yan Qiu noticed that he had woken up, reached over to rub his head, and asked softly, “Did I wake you?”
Lu Qiao shook his head and gestured for him to finish his call first.
Yan Qiu continued speaking to the other person, his brows tightly furrowed.
“Where are the Second Prince and Ji Zhuyun now?”
Lu Qiao pricked up his ears.
He did not know what the other person said, but Yan Qiu glanced at Lu Qiao and said, “Okay, I understand… I’ll get there as soon as possible.”
Yan Qiu hung up, and Lu Qiao sat up a little as well.
His body still ached terribly. Fortunately, he had already taken a shower, so there was nothing particularly uncomfortable afterward.
Yan Qiu lifted him slightly and placed a cushion behind his back, being exceptionally considerate.
Lu Qiao gave him a sidelong glance. This guy had really gone too far when he lost control!
Yan Qiu hesitated before asking, “Does it still hurt a lot?”
From the two things Yan Qiu had just said to the person on the phone, Lu Qiao could guess that something must have happened.
Yan Qiu had promised the other person that he would “get there as soon as possible.” He had probably taken into consideration that the two of them still could not separate right now, and Lu Qiao… had been thoroughly worn out by him and was not in a condition to travel easily.
But Lu Qiao would never let Yan Qiu delay things because of him. He said, “I’m fine. I just didn’t get enough sleep. What happened on your end?”
Yan Qiu did not hide it from him.
“They caught Cheng Yi.”
Lu Qiao froze, shocked. “Cheng Yi?!”
When he had heard Yan Qiu mention the Second Prince and Ji Zhuyun earlier, he had thought something had happened to the two of them!
Yet this should clearly have been good news, but Yan Qiu’s expression was not good.
“Yes. But Cheng Yi is already dead.”
“W-what?” Lu Qiao was stunned. “Was he accidentally killed by the people you sent?”
“No.” Yan Qiu paused, then said apologetically, “Qiaoqiao, I may need you to take a look.”
As soon as Lu Qiao heard that, he said, “Then let’s hurry up and get dressed and go.”
As he spoke, he tried to throw off the blanket and get out of bed.
Yan Qiu grabbed him at once, frowning as he looked him over.
Lu Qiao knew the man was regretting having worn him out so badly earlier. He laughed and said, “I’m really fine. Seriously… Just hold back a little next time!”
“Sorry.” Yan Qiu sighed.
“I know you love me. Okay, really, it’s fine. I’m going to be a soldier, after all. What does a little fatigue matter?” Lu Qiao reassured him.
Yan Qiu pulled Lu Qiao into his arms and gave him another gentle kiss. Then he got out of bed and helped Lu Qiao get dressed.
Half an hour later, Yan Qiu summoned the pilot, who had been resting on another island. The two of them boarded the aircraft and set off.
Lu Qiao’s body was still somewhat affected, and his posture while walking was particularly strange.
Yan Qiu’s brows remained furrowed the entire time. Once they were aboard the aircraft, he even pulled Lu Qiao onto his lap, afraid that Lu Qiao would be uncomfortable sitting on his own and continue to suffer.
Lu Qiao really was fine, though. He felt Yan Qiu was overreacting a little, but he was too tired to bother arguing over something like this. Since he was still fatigued anyway, he simply let the man hold him… Besides, Yan Qiu had pulled down the partition, so the pilot in front could not see them!
On the way, Yan Qiu explained the entire situation.
The call had come from the captain of the team he had sent to track Cheng Yi. They had discovered Cheng Yi at the border of the Galactic Empire.
“The border?” Lu Qiao was somewhat wary of the word.
Yan Qiu nodded. He glanced at him and said, “I never told you this before, but just before you went back to your hometown, I received word that my subordinates had already followed Cheng Yi into the Empire. After that, I had people keep an eye on his mother’s movements, but we never discovered anything unusual. At least, he never made contact with his mother.”
Lu Qiao had not expected this. He also found it strange.
“He risked sneaking into the Empire for what purpose? And if he deliberately infiltrated the Empire, why did he go to the border now? Did he accomplish whatever he wanted and decide to leave?”
“I don’t know. His movements have been very strange.” Yan Qiu thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes. “But the location where my team ran into Cheng Yi just now is only five light-years from the C1 Star Region Administration Bureau.”
Lu Qiao was stunned. “You mean…”
“I don’t know whether it’s a coincidence. It’s just one of the clues that caught my attention,” Yan Qiu said slowly. “After my subordinates encountered him, they exchanged fire with him. Cheng Yi died during the confrontation, but he wasn’t killed by my people. There were also no signs of any toxins in his body.”
Lu Qiao was completely confused.
“What happened? Then how did he die?”
It couldn’t have been some kind of sudden death from an illness, could it?
But the next moment, he realized.
Yan Qiu had said that he needed Lu Qiao to go and take a look.
Lu Qiao’s expression tightened.
“You think it has something to do with his consciousness?”
Yan Qiu said, “It’s only a suspicion. He used all kinds of methods to evade us for so long, and then suddenly died in such a bizarre way. I think something is off. But no matter what, we’ll only know after we see the scene ourselves.”
Lu Qiao nodded, then remembered something and asked, “By the way, what does this have to do with Luo Yu and Ji Zhuyun? I heard you mention the two of them just now.”
“They stayed at the C1 Star Region Administration Bureau until six before leaving. On their way back, they stopped on the same planet where Cheng Yi appeared. When the incident happened…” Yan Qiu’s expression became even stranger. “Luo Yu and Ji Zhuyun ran into them.”
“…Ran into them?”
That was way too much of a coincidence, wasn’t it?
Lu Qiao vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he could not put his finger on it. There were too many questions tangled together now. He felt as though something was wrapped tightly in layer upon layer of tangled yarn. Only by sorting out all those threads would he be able to see the truth hidden inside.
After thinking for a moment, he finally asked only one thing.
“They weren’t injured, were they?”
“They suffered some minor injuries. Half an hour ago, they were already picked up by a medical starship sent by the C1 Star Region Administration Bureau to treat their injuries.” As Yan Qiu spoke, he thought for a moment, then raised the partition and said to the pilot, “Increase speed.”
The pilot immediately replied, “Yes!”
Lu Qiao exchanged a look with the man. Clearly, both of them felt that this matter was absolutely not going to end so simply.
Yan Qiu pulled Lu Qiao into his arms and said, “We still have some distance to go. Get some more rest.”