A month later, Lu Qiao and Yan Qiu took advantage of a military holiday to return to Lu Qiao’s hometown, Sanguang Star.
Before they left, Yan Qiu’s mother looked as though she wanted to say something. She glanced at her son, then at Lu Qiao, and hesitantly asked, “You two are really going tomorrow?”
Lu Qiao blinked, confused. “What’s wrong?”
Yan Qiu glanced at his mother and gave her a look. Seeing that Yan Qiu himself didn’t think there was a problem, his mother decided not to say anything more.
And so, the two of them set off.
By the time they arrived, it was already noon.
The Sanguang Star Planetary Administration had been completely reorganized, with an entirely new group of people taking over. Not long after the incident, Old Brian had been sent home to retire.
Little Brian naturally couldn’t continue throwing his weight around alongside his father. He hadn’t studied very hard when he was younger, and now that everyone knew he and his father had offended Yan Qiu, he couldn’t even find a decent job. He was currently just sitting around at home, wasting his days.
The six people whose bodies had been damaged by the genetic mutation had recovered long ago. However, they no longer dared dream about unexpected windfalls and had begun living ordinary, down-to-earth lives.
As for Gavin, he was still in prison.
After Lu Qiao and Yan Qiu arrived home, they first did some simple cleaning around the house, then went to visit Gavin in prison.
Lu Qiao had been worried that Gavin might not want to see him, but fortunately, Gavin’s mental state seemed to have improved somewhat, and in the end, they were able to meet.
In just two or three months, Gavin seemed to have aged several more years. There was hardly any light left in his eyes.
He had agreed to see Lu Qiao, but he seemed to have nothing to say to him. He simply sat there with his eyes lowered.
Lu Qiao couldn’t even describe what he was feeling. After thinking for a moment, he said to Gavin, “Uncle, I’ve already witnessed the most powerful state of consciousness power.”
Gavin raised his eyes to look at him.
In a sense, Cheng Yi had harbored the same idea as Gavin, but once such an idea took root, it became destructive.
Lu Qiao slowly said, “The world you want to create using that power doesn’t exist.”
Gavin tugged at the corner of his lips and said wearily, “How do you know?”
Lu Qiao simply looked at him without speaking.
Two or three seconds later, Gavin seemed to realize something. His body trembled slightly, and for a moment, he looked stunned.
There was still confusion and hesitation mixed into that astonishment, but at least his eyes were no longer as empty and lifeless as before.
Lu Qiao couldn’t tell him anything more.
He only said, “Uncle, look at the world in front of you. I’ll wait for you to come out, okay?”
Gavin stared at him for a long time before saying hoarsely, his eyes slightly red, “I haven’t had a home for a long time.”
“If you’re willing to keep moving forward, then you’ll have one.”
There was no dead end in life.
Of course, the most important thing was being able to find the path one was meant to take.
After leaving the prison, Lu Qiao took Yan Qiu to the cemetery again.
It hadn’t been long since their previous visit, but Yan Qiu had no objections—in fact, it seemed that no matter what Lu Qiao chose to do, Yan Qiu would support him unconditionally.
Lu Qiao bought some flowers as usual. After arriving at the cemetery, he cleaned the tombstones of his grandmother and his parents. Then, he very solemnly pulled Yan Qiu over to his grandmother’s grave and said,
“Grandma, this is Yan Qiu. I didn’t introduce him to you the last time we came. We’ve known each other for a long time, actually, but after he graduated, he went into the military. The two of us didn’t see each other for five years…”
Yan Qiu turned his head and watched him ramble on, his eyes filled with a gentle smile.
Finally, Lu Qiao said with a flushed face, “I-I’m together with him now… Although he’s a guy, I really like him. I’m really happy when I’m with him, so I thought… I-I should probably tell you all about it…”
At those words, Yan Qiu’s gaze shifted slightly.
Lu Qiao said quite a lot in front of his grandmother’s tombstone before pulling Yan Qiu over to his parents’ graves and repeating the whole story.
He even said, “Dad, he’s really amazing. He’s the Empire’s First Marshal now! If you were still around, with your abilities, you might actually have been able to join the First Legion—wait, no. You already retired, didn’t you!”
Lu Qiao felt like an idiot.
Yan Qiu reminded him with a laugh, “If your father had been promoted to a certain rank, perhaps he would still be in the military now. But if that were the case, he definitely wouldn’t be my subordinate.”
Lu Qiao thought about it seriously before saying, “Yeah. My dad had what it took.”
Yan Qiu said calmly, “Mm. I think so too.”
Lu Qiao turned to look at the man and burst out laughing.
This guy was trying to win over his dad!
The two of them stayed at the cemetery for quite a while. When they finally left, Yan Qiu turned toward the three elders’ graves and said,
“I’ll take good care of him.”
His voice was low, and his words carried a solemn promise.
Then he turned around and gave Lu Qiao, who was watching him, a soft smile.
“This is what I wanted to say the last time I came.”
Lu Qiao smiled as well, sighing at how oblivious he had been back then, completely unaware of what Yan Qiu was feeling.
After coming down from the mountain, the two returned home. Lu Qiao ordered some ingredients and took Yan Qiu to the back hill to dig bamboo shoots.
By the time they finished, it was already evening, and Lu Qiao began cooking.
Before starting, he sent Yan Qiu out to the backyard.
The backyard hadn’t been cleaned either and had become quite dirty, with weeds growing everywhere. Lu Qiao was quite shameless about ordering Yan Qiu around.
“Go pull up the weeds, will you? Once you’re done, we can eat.”
Yan Qiu looked at him.
Lu Qiao shrank his neck and urged him, “Go on. Don’t disturb me while I’m cooking. If you come in and bother me even once, you won’t get any dinner tonight!”
Yan Qiu gave him a probing look, but still agreed and obediently took the tools and left the kitchen.
Lu Qiao breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called the delivery person.
“Where’s the cake? Oh, okay. I’m home. Don’t worry, just come over.”
That’s right.
How could he not know what Yan Qiu’s mother had been hesitating to say before they left?
Today was Yan Qiu’s birthday!
How could Lu Qiao possibly forget Yan Qiu’s birthday?
He had deliberately chosen this day to bring Yan Qiu back to his hometown because he wanted to do something big!
Of course, because he wanted to surprise Yan Qiu, Lu Qiao was nervous himself. He was terrified that Yan Qiu might accidentally walk into the kitchen, so he stayed there the entire time. Aside from going out to collect the cake, he never stepped outside the kitchen.
Fortunately, Yan Qiu didn’t come over either.
And so, one person stayed in the kitchen while the other worked in the backyard, keeping apart for a full two hours.
During that time, Lu Qiao kept feeling as though there was some kind of movement outside, but he was too nervous to pay attention.
At six in the evening, before Lu Qiao even had the chance to go to the backyard and call for him, Yan Qiu came inside.
The two looked at each other.
Lu Qiao’s heart was pounding.
Yan Qiu’s gaze, meanwhile, was almost excessively gentle, subtly different from usual.
Lu Qiao had Yan Qiu sit down at the dining table, then brought out the dishes one by one.
Yan Qiu said, “It’s quite a feast tonight.”
“Mm…”
However, there was clearly still an empty place in the middle of the table.
Yan Qiu smiled.
“Qiao Qiao.”
Lu Qiao said quietly, “Close your eyes first!”
Yan Qiu gave him a deep look. He didn’t ask any questions and simply closed his eyes.
Before long, he felt something touch him.
Lightly. Softly.
The corners of Yan Qiu’s lips curved upward as he allowed the other person to enter his consciousness.
It was as though he had entered a dream.
He was brought into the other person’s consciousness domain, and in the darkness, he saw a huge gift box in front of him.
The gift box was wrapped in shimmering silver paper, with a large bow made of dark-blue satin tied around it.
Yan Qiu looked around but didn’t see Lu Qiao.
Yet everywhere his gaze fell, fireworks exploded one after another. The fireworks formed words in the air, all of them saying:
Happy Birthday.
The consciousness world instantly became dazzling and lively, and the smile never left Yan Qiu’s face.
Then, after another firework exploded, it gathered into a sentence:
Open the gift in front of you.
Yan Qiu walked forward.
The gift box was about half his height.
His slender fingers pinched one end of the satin ribbon and gave it a gentle tug.
The ribbon came loose.
He placed both hands on either side of the lid and, with a little force, opened it.
What greeted his eyes was a pair of enormous, overlapping white wings.
The wings wrapped around the person beneath them, and another ribbon had been tied around the outside.
This time, the ribbon was red.
Deep red against pure white.
Pure yet dazzling.
At the same time, it meant that he still needed to continue “opening the gift.”
Yan Qiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his eyes had already darkened.
He pulled the ribbon loose once again.
The two white wings slowly opened.
And there, curled up inside the gift box, was the person he loved most—the cutest person in the entire world—looking at him shyly.
Lu Qiao curled his lips into a smile and, blushing, said,
“Happy birthday! I’m giving you a present!”
Yan Qiu stared at him.
His voice was hoarse.
“You’re giving yourself to me?”
Lu Qiao lowered his eyes and said softly, “Mm. If I give myself to you, then I’m yours. Do you want me?”
Yan Qiu’s lips curved upward.
“You’ve already given yourself to me twice before.”
The first time was when they started dating.
The second time was their first intimate experience.
Lu Qiao whispered, “This time is different.”
He climbed out of the gift box and leaned over its edge, holding out a ring in both hands.
“I secretly saved up some private money to buy this. I can’t afford a bigger diamond yet, so when I make more money later, I’ll make it up to you, okay?”
Yan Qiu lowered his head and looked at the ring in Lu Qiao’s palm.
It was a men’s ring. The diamond wasn’t particularly conspicuous, but the design was extremely delicate.
Yan Qiu grabbed Lu Qiao’s hand and pulled him toward himself.
Lu Qiao cried out in surprise. The gift box toppled over, and he fell onto Yan Qiu.
Yan Qiu held him tightly and murmured into his ear,
“I love everything you give me.”
He paused, his breathing growing hotter.
“I want everything that belongs to you.”
Lu Qiao smiled, pressing his lips together.
“Yan Qiu, marry me.”
Yan Qiu’s arms tightened around him.
Ji Zhuyun had once asked him what he really felt for Yan Qiu.
Now, looking back carefully, Lu Qiao could clearly realize that his feelings for Yan Qiu had not appeared overnight.
In fact, perhaps from the very first time their eyes met, something had already begun stirring in his heart.
Five years ago, when he heard the bad news about Marshal Yan, why had he cried?
Because it had been the first time such an emotion had ever surged through his heart.
It had been completely unfamiliar, catching him off guard. No one had ever told him what it was.
But now he understood.
He hadn’t only been grieving for Yan Qiu.
He had been grieving for the man he had fallen in love with.
His feelings for Yan Qiu had already been quietly growing for many years.
Suddenly, Lu Qiao’s eyes grew hot.
He hugged Yan Qiu tightly and rubbed his face against his chest, his voice choking with emotion.
“Marry me, Yan Qiu. I love you!”
Yan Qiu released him, rested his forehead against Lu Qiao’s, and laughed softly.
“Okay.”
The man’s answer sent fireworks exploding inside Lu Qiao’s heart as well!
He was overwhelmed with excitement, his emotions surging.
Yan Qiu lifted his chin and lowered his head to kiss him.
Even within the consciousness world, the sensation was incredibly real.
The two of them kissed for quite a while before separating.
Breathing softly, Lu Qiao said, “The actual ring is on the cake. Come on, let’s go eat cake.”
“Wait.”
Yan Qiu rubbed the tip of his nose against Lu Qiao’s, then kissed him again, his breathing becoming ragged.
After kissing for a while longer, Lu Qiao struggled to protest.
“Come on, eat the cake! The food’s going to get cold!”
“Wait a little longer.”
Yan Qiu shifted his angle and continued kissing him.
After yet another while, Lu Qiao finally said,
“…Are you going to eat the cake or not?!”
Yan Qiu said, “I already am. The sweetest one in the world.”
With that, he directly laid Lu Qiao down on the floor of the consciousness world.
Lu Qiao: ???
Wait?!
…
Lu Qiao couldn’t believe that by the time he left Yan Qiu’s consciousness world, it was already eight in the evening.
Two hours had passed!
When his consciousness returned to reality, he sat across from the cake he had taken out before entering Yan Qiu’s consciousness world, his mind still dazed.
The man in front of him looked completely refreshed and said with a meaningful smile,
“Very delicious.”
Lu Qiao: “…”
Yan Qiu paused after saying that, then suddenly realized something.
“The two of us weren’t locked together.”
Lu Qiao was dazed again as he examined the state of himself and Yan Qiu.
It was already eight o’clock, yet the two of them were sitting across from each other with a dining table between them.
Not a single part of their bodies was touching.
Lu Qiao’s eyes widened.
Yan Qiu understood immediately.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled.
“So this is what counts as ‘infinitely intimate’… It really is the deepest distance that can be reached in this world.”
Lu Qiao collapsed face-first onto the dining table.
So Ye Lan’s original guess had actually been right?!
It took a meeting of their consciousnesses to unlock it?!
Then ordinary people couldn’t unlock it at all!!!
This world virus really was insane!!!
No matter how chaotic Lu Qiao’s thoughts were, Yan Qiu was in an excellent mood.
He picked up the ring sitting on top of the cake and handed it to Lu Qiao.
“Put it on me.”
Lu Qiao glared at him, but still obediently took the ring and carefully slipped it onto Yan Qiu’s ring finger.
Then he admired it for a moment and happily said,
“Then you’re mine now.”
“I’ve always been yours.”
Yan Qiu smiled at him.
“Wife?”
Lu Qiao: !!!
“Call me husband!!!”
Yan Qiu smiled without saying anything. He took Lu Qiao’s hand and said,
“Come. Come with me to the backyard.”
Lu Qiao froze for a moment, then hurriedly stood up.
“What are we going there for? We haven’t even eaten yet.”
“We’ll eat later.”
At this rate, it was going to become a midnight snack—
No, it was practically a midnight snack already!
However, the moment Lu Qiao stepped into the backyard, he froze in place.
The backyard had once been his grandmother’s favorite place.
She had always planted all kinds of flowers and plants there. There was also a flowering tree in the courtyard, and it happened to be flowering season now. When they first arrived, Lu Qiao had taken a glance and seen pink blossoms covering every branch.
But ever since his grandmother passed away and Lu Qiao left home to study elsewhere, the backyard had been abandoned.
Aside from the flowering tree, the rest of the courtyard still looked extremely messy.
Lu Qiao had always felt helpless about this courtyard that existed in his memories. Every time he returned, all he could manage was cleaning it up.
But by the next time he came back, it would always look the same again.
When he had told Yan Qiu to clean the backyard, it had only been to distract him. He had never imagined Yan Qiu would transform the courtyard into anything special.
Yet at this very moment, the courtyard was filled with flowers.
Roses, jasmine, and all kinds of flowers decorated the courtyard, colorful and brilliant, their fragrance filling the air.
It looked just like it had when his grandmother was still alive.
There were also many tiny flowers and grasses scattered among them, glowing with little points of light.
Lu Qiao didn’t know what they were called. He only knew they were a variety that automatically glowed at night.
And they were very expensive!
Several exquisite little lamps hung from the branches of the flowering tree, their soft light spreading through the night.
The sight was so beautiful that Lu Qiao stood there in a daze for a while.
Then the man beside him said,
“I remember you once told me that you liked candlelit proposals. But it isn’t very safe here, so I chose this instead. Do you like it?”
Lu Qiao remembered what had happened the first time Yan Qiu took him to the Starlight Restaurant.
He stared blankly for a moment before realizing what Yan Qiu meant, and he almost burst out laughing!
But seeing how serious Yan Qiu looked, he managed to hold it in.
And once he held back his laughter, emotion surged through him instead.
He couldn’t believe Yan Qiu had made all these preparations without him knowing.
Unable to find the words, he turned to look at the man.
Yan Qiu said, “When I heard what you said while we were visiting the graves, I knew you were already ready. But I actually started arranging this proposal a month ago, when you said you wanted to come back home.”
Lu Qiao’s nose turned slightly sore, but he smiled.
“And here I thought you were planning to keep waiting for me.”
Yan Qiu pinched his cheek and smiled.
“I really couldn’t hold myself back anymore. I wanted to try first. Fortunately, you were willing.”
Lu Qiao was both touched and amused.
No wonder he had kept sensing movement outside while he was cooking.
Come to think of it, there was a back door to the courtyard, too!
But Yan Qiu understood, didn’t he?
Even though Lu Qiao probably wouldn’t have much time in the future to live in this house filled with memories, this place would always hold a special meaning for him.
That was why Yan Qiu had chosen to propose to him here.
Ah.
They had actually prepared proposals for each other at the exact same time.
How stupidly sweet!
Yan Qiu rubbed the corners of his eyes, wiping away the moisture there, then took his hand and led him into the courtyard.
There were photographs placed among the potted flowers and hanging from the branches of the flowering tree.
By the tiny lights among the flowers and grasses and the delicate lamps hanging from the tree, Lu Qiao examined them carefully.
He realized that they seemed to begin from around the time he and Yan Qiu first met.
They were all pictures of him receiving awards, competing, or training.
From the days when his face was still young and innocent, all the way to when he had grown up and matured.
Lu Qiao asked in astonishment,
“Where did you get all these pictures?”
“Some of the earliest ones were taken by Song Yue or Ji Zhuyun. Later, some…”
Yan Qiu paused.
“…were taken by me.”
Lu Qiao immediately exclaimed,
“You secretly took pictures of me!”
Yan Qiu glanced at him, amused.
“Mm. I did.”
Lu Qiao was delighted.
Yan Qiu had actually secretly photographed him!
He happily looked at the photographs, and all the little moments he had shared with Yan Qiu over the years surfaced in his mind.
There hadn’t been many.
But every minute and every second had been wonderful.
Lu Qiao had always felt that his life was somewhat unfortunate.
His family had passed away when he was young, leaving him to live alone.
Although he had managed to stay strong, a life like that was bound to be lonely and difficult, wasn’t it?
Yet at this very moment, he realized that his life had actually been quite fortunate.
Because after his family left him, another man had soon come into his life.
That man had accompanied him as he grew up.
And then he had given him a home.
Standing beneath the flowering tree filled with memories, Yan Qiu took a velvet box from his pocket.
He opened it, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
“Marry me, Qiao Qiao.”
Lu Qiao sniffed, then nodded firmly, smiling happily.
“Okay!”
A ring was slipped onto his ring finger.
A single pink petal drifted gently down and landed on their clasped hands.
“My birthday wish is to grow old with you.”
Beneath the night sky, the man rested his forehead against Lu Qiao’s.
His voice was gentle.
END