Like Love But Not ch53 (END)

Summary: And I’m destined to be yours.

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Book-Exclusive Extra: FALLEN 9

“You’re awake.”

In the already pitch-black night, Tang Qi was sitting on the windowsill, feeling the cold night wind and holding a cup of steaming-hot black tea.

Since Little J was after all this era’s cutting-edge robot, the moment he woke up, his mind was immediately filled with today’s “itinerary”, and when he compared that to his system’s time, it seemed like it was already… a bit too late.

“Master, the party at city hall—-”

“I told Duan Yi to go by himself.” He hadn’t felt like keeping that kind of troublesome appointment in the first place.

“…”

Little J then looked to see where he was and found that he was in Tang Qi’s bedroom, even lying on Tang Qi’s bed — and he couldn’t help but feel confused.

Because he had done something wrong, Tang Qi had shut him down.

Although he had cried and begged Tang Qi not to shut him down, he himself knew that what he had done couldn’t easily be forgiven. In fact, it was serious enough that he might’ve been shut down forever, or just thrown away, sent back to his “father’s” laboratory.

But he had been shut down for only three or so hours before he was restarted.

And Tang Qi didn’t look like he was still angry.

So… why is that?

And that party… you aren’t going with Duan Yi? Aren’t you always pampering him?

Little J stared at Tang Qi. Compared to his usual gloomy appearance, this kind of foolish and silly expression seemed a hundred times cuter to Tang Qi.

“Don’t worry, it’s impossible for us to lose him. Although he’s worth a lot… the penalty for stealing robots is so heavy that most people probably wouldn’t dare to steal him.”

As Tang Qi spoke, he looked outside the window. He really did feel a bit uneasy being stared at so fixedly by Little J like this — that rascal was usually furrowing his brows and complaining about this or that, but now he was suddenly expressionless, thinking of who-knew-what, and when added onto that perfectly sculpted face of his, it made him look like a delicately crafted puppet, especially frightening!

As Tang Qi was thinking this, a shadow suddenly fell overhead. With a suddenness as swift as lightning, that golden-haired man had gotten off the bed and moved to his side, though his face still bore that frightening, wooden expression.

“W-what are you doing!”

The entire window had been tightly encircled by this rascal. Tang Qi had nowhere to hide; the only way he could escape now if he really wanted was to jump out the window.

Truthfully, he still hadn’t completely figured out how he’d punish Little J.

He definitely couldn’t waive the punishment! Or else wouldn’t he just be spoiling this person, allowing him to walk further and further down a bad path? He had simply been worried that, if the shutdown lasted too long, this rascal would once again start obsessing over trivial things, so he had decided to restart first and think more later. He definitely hadn’t meant it as a sign that he had simply forgiven everything!

But right now he had already lost the opportunity for thinking more because this handsome blonde man had him completely trapped on this windowsill and was, right this moment, reaching out a hand to grab his extremely expensive, easily wrinkled, 100% silk bowtie in order to plant a ferocious kiss on him.

Hey! Couldn’t he start out a little gentler?! Did he have to go so deep?! Enough! When is it going to end, I’ve almost run out of breath, it’s too much!

“Let go! Let—- Ah! Little J, let go! If you keep this up, I’m going to lose it!”

Those two golden eyes[1] looked at him with a face equal parts anxious and loving.

“Weirdo, what exactly do you see in me?! What exactly do you see in me, and wouldn’t it be fine if I just changed whatever it is?!” Tang Qi looked on the verge of collapse as he looked towards the sky and sighed. “Why?! I have such a good personality, so why would someone so paranoid like me?”

Robots are known to be obedient! Obedient! Obedient! Aren’t there the three laws of robots, marking them as respectful and deferential, with absolutely no way of disobeying their masters’ orders?! How can there be this kind of robot who could force something like this?! It’s unreasonable ahhh!

While he was still freaking out, he suddenly felt his body get lighter; he was being lifted and moved towards bed.

“Ah! What are you doing?! Don’t you think this is moving kind of fast?! Hey! Little J! When your ‘father’ made you, did he switch your brain with your hormones?!

“I just want to make it clear to you that I’ll never be on the bottom!

“Hey — are you listening to me?!”

His body was laid on top of the blanket, but Little J didn’t immediately pounce on top like Tang Qi thought he would. Instead, he simply kneeled next to the bed, staring fixedly at Tang Qi.

“Master, I don’t want to force you. Actually… if you aren’t prepared, I can keep waiting for you.

“Don’t worry, you can entrust yourself to me, and I’ll definitely treasure you.”

Tang Qi’s veins throbbed. What kind of sappy bullshit was this?! It was worse than if he had simply been fucked!

“D- cough… D-did I say anything about how I felt… W-what exactly are you implying here? I simply restarted you a bit earlier, so don’t misunderstand ahhh!”

Little J thought for a moment and then nodded, face serious, “Master, do you know how hypocritical you’re being?”

W-what? What shit—-?!

“Who’s hypocritical — I see that you have issues not only with your personality but also your comprehension skills! Oh—-”

His entire person was pushed down again. Out of the corner of his eye, Tang Qi saw that, according to the wall clock, it was only a bit past seven o’clock.

Why did such an ordinary day turn into such a crazy one?

And an entire long night still remains, ahhh, who knows what else would happen…

***

The city hall building was a brightly-lit bustle of noise.

The spacious driveway and lawn were already filled with various types of vehicles when Duan Yi stepped out of the car in a tuxedo. Since he didn’t look the least bit like a robot, whether in appearance or expression, and he carried with him a VIP invitation, he was able to get into the building without any trouble whatsoever.

Passing by the promenade, through the wine reception hall, all the while ignoring the gazes of the other guests, Duan Yi had his attention only on searching for a certain figure.

Tang Qi said that person would be here.

……

Behind the great hall was a vast rear garden. In the dark-blue sky above, thousands of stars twinkled, shining with light that has traveled thousands of light-years to reach this moment, piercing through the cold night air and illuminating the myriad trees below.

The sound of music grew more and more indistinct, fading farther and farther away. Duan Yi looked at that strange yet familiar figure sitting next to the fountain, half-hidden by the dark of the night, and felt as if he had been transported back to a lifetime ago.

He slowly walked towards that person.

That person also heard footsteps and raised his head to look, lips raised in a warm smile. It was different from what he remembered, as that face carried not a trace of worry.

He knew that it was simply a smile of politeness, yet Duan Yi still felt his heart immediately fill with a throbbing sweetness.

With that mature appeal, the over thirty-years-old Xiao Heng was even more captivating than he remembered.

It was the first time that Duan Yi had seen him in formal attire, and this appearance was alluring to the extreme — his neck was clearly covered up underneath his shirt collar and bowtie, and even his hands were hidden beneath some white gloves, yet why was it that… he still gave off such an inexplicably sexy vibe?

Mr. Xiao looked at the profile of the nervous Duan Yi who had just sat down beside him. The same feeling from when he first saw this person again arose in his heart — as a robot engineer, this was also the first time in his life that he had felt this way — he knew that the other party was a robot, but he still had the impression that this person should be a real living human instead.

That inexplicable feeling of deju vu, even now, made him think, upon seeing that perfect face, that “this person was really born quite beautiful” rather than “this face was designed very well”.

“Strange…” he couldn’t help but mutter. “Where exactly have I seen you before?”

Duan Yi didn’t know what to say.

The other party couldn’t possibly understand those things, so he wasn’t able to say them.

Right now, he simply wanted to remain forever under this starlight, stopped in this moment in time, so that he may always stay by his side.

However, Mr. Xiao suddenly seemed to remember something, and he took out a small leather bag from his pocket. He shook out the contents, and a simple, silver, cross-shaped earring appeared in his hand.

Duan Yi looked at that silver object, feeling as if there was a buzzing in his ears.

“A friend designed this and insisted on gifting it to me, but it’s not something I’d ever wear.” Under the twinkling light of the stars, that person reached out a hand, holding up that silver earring to Duan Yi’s ear.

“But, it really seems to suit you.”

Amidst those strands of black hair, that silver earring sparkled, looking beautiful beyond compare, as if that was always the place it was meant to be.

“You…”

That person looked at Duan Yi, his brows lightly furrowing, revealing a slightly puzzled expression.

“…”

From the surroundings came the rustling of trees, the whistling of the night air. Duan Yi saw Mr. Xiao’s lips move, but he wasn’t able to hear anything the other said. It was only when that gale completely stopped that he was finally able to hear those soft words clearly, lingering in the sound of the wind.

“…Luo Yuchen?”

Luo Yuchen? Whose name is that?

Duan Yi couldn’t remember. But upon hearing those words, he suddenly felt a sweet yet bitter feeling explode in his heart. The dusty memories seemed about to break through their shackles when he suddenly seemed to trip and fall into a blinding, chaotic brightness, his entire mind turning into mush.

“Luo Yuchen.

“Luo Yuchen—-!”

The surroundings had become completely dark, and it was only this voice that continually resounded next to him, incessantly calling out this familiar name.

“Luo Yuchen!”

“!” Luo Yuchen suddenly startled awake, though the surrounding light reflexively made him close his eyes again.

What was going on… his head hurt like hell!

“So how about that; like I said, disasters last for a thousand years, so how could he die so easily?” Lofty and arrogant, that cold fox’s voice floated over. “I won, Xing Wei. Are you going to transfer me the money directly, or are you going to write me a check?”

“Shh! Quiet! How can you be so bold as to say something like that here?!

“Really, you two… isn’t this too vicious of you, to bet even on something like this?” The surgeon Li Mingxin was still properly lecturing in this first half, but as expected, the second half went quickly askew, “And Xing Wei, what are you doing? You actually bet that he’d die? Do you really think so little of my surgical ability?!”

“No matter what, it’s still a relief!” A certain voice whose pronunciation was all wrong seemed very excited. “Isn’t that right?! Isn’t that right, Xiao Heng?”

…Xiao Heng? Luo Yuchen used all of his remaining strength to crack open his eyes.

“You still know to wake up?!”

Xiao Heng’s eyes were red, and he looked as if he’d been gritting his teeth, wanting to beat the other up, but in the end, he simply gently pinched Luo Yuchen’s cheeks in reprimand.

The famous celebrity felt somewhat disoriented seeing this lively person in front of him.

So many inexplicable memories were flashing through his head. Luo Yuchen felt like his nerves had grown more and more frayed, and he really was starting to become incapable of telling what was real and what was imaginary.

Xiao Heng…

“Hey, Luo Yuchen! Are you OK? Can you hear what I’m saying?

“C-can you see me? Luo Yuchen, you…”

“Oh my, oh my, I’ll say, it can’t be that he got knocked dumb, right?” In the background, Lu Weixi’s beautiful head poked in, and as he spoke, he pushed Xiao Heng forward, “Famous celebrity, do you still recognize him?”

“Xiao Heng.” His ears were still ringing, and his voice was so dry that it didn’t sound like him at all.

“See, he isn’t dumb yet.” Lu Weixi let out an enormous sigh of relief and then asked, “Do you still remember who he is to you?”

Who he is to me?

Who he is to me… A lover? A legal, registered spouse? The person that the great me is going to keep forever, the person who I am never giving any of you leering assholes an opportunity to steal from me?

Luo Yuchen looked at Xiao Heng, and then looked some more, feeling like he still couldn’t get enough. In his distraction, he seemed to recall those disorienting memories and remembered the face of that similar, yet somehow slightly different, person whom he dearly missed, and then like a fool, he started to laugh.

It seemed like, within one of those strange recollections, this person wasn’t just the one he loved… but also an “older brother”? Wait, “older brother” wasn’t even the strangest one; there was something even stranger. Really, definitely nothing could surpass…

“…Master.”

That’s right, it was ‘Master’! Ah… that was a dream, right? In that dream, it seemed like he had fallen victim to some truly cruel circumstances. Thank goodness that he had finally returned.

Brother, Master, those were truly too painful, completely unbearable! The way it was now was better by far.

In comparison, all the happiness that “Luo Yuchen” possessed were practically all things that that rascal “Duan Yi” couldn’t even dream of obtaining.

But he really hadn’t thought that he would be able to return in the end, to be by his side once again.

Did he succeed at that retying the red string business that he promised Lord Meng? So did that mean he retied Tang Qi and Little J’s red string? Wait a second… what Lord Meng, what exactly happened, why was his memory of that time already getting blurry?

It was also gradually becoming harder to recall the details of everything else. Had everything been real? Or was it just that, during this time he was unconscious, he had dreamed an extremely long and absurd dream?

“Master?”

Xiao Heng very likely couldn’t even grasp the meaning of this word so outside the scope of his normal life, but Lu Weixi conversely looked as if he had just discovered a terrifying secret.

“Wow, so it turns out that you two usually engage in this kind of ‘play’ at home! How shocking! I really couldn’t tell! And Xiao Heng, you’re actually the master while he’s the slave?! Wait, wait, I’ve been to your house so many times, so why hadn’t I discovered this before? Where do you hide all your whips and candles?!”

“I think… we should hurry and get a doctor to examine him,” Xiao Heng rushed to say, “It seems that there’s still something not quite right with him.”

The conclusion of the examination was that there wasn’t anything particularly wrong — although Luo Yuchen had lain there for over a hundred days, life and death hanging in the balance, he had still managed to wake up in the end, and after a bit of recuperation and rehabilitation, he’d be able to leave the hospital and return home.

Now that he had returned to the present, his life felt so fortunate that it was like paradise in comparison. But this fortunate Luo Yuchen still couldn’t help but feel a faint distress.

Although the details of that long “dream” slowly became more and more murky, he still remembered most of the broad strokes.

If it was just a dream, then forget it… but if that was truly his next life… then it’d really be too painful! It was just pain, pain, pain all day long! He had originally thought that he’d already suffered enough in this life, but there was still more after this?!

It couldn’t really be as Lord Meng said, that his natal horoscope was just like this so that his next life was destined to be bumpy from beginning to end?

Although in the end he had once again reunited with Xiao Heng under that starry sky decades later, if it was up to him, he still wouldn’t want to go through such torment and ruin before reaching his destiny in every single lifetime!

Can’t we just meet in an ordinary way, and then I can tenderly pamper him for a lifetime?!

Speaking of which, that Lord Meng whatever was also quite a bastard, just throwing him back here without even a word. He had done him such a huge favor, and that rascal spent every day playing around the Stone of Three Lives, so why didn’t he help out a little bit!

He always thought that this fox and foreigner spent all day just waiting for the chance to pounce on his beloved person! And that stone — that androgynous rascal better guard it well for him and keep anyone else from secretly going to kneel before it!

“I’ll say, did you really become a fool or didn’t you?” Lu Weixi was waving a hand that was even more beautiful than his face before Luo Yuchen’s eyes. “Can you speak properly? All day, you’re either smiling like an idiot or looking serious enough to die. It really freaks people out.”

Luo Yuchen rolled his eyes at that mixed-race beauty and continued to drink the delicious chicken soup that his beloved had singlehandedly made for him.

“You’re not an invalid. Every day, you want to eat this and drink that, and when Xiao Heng cooks for you with all his heart, you still want him to sleep overnight with you at the hospital all the time! You’re having a pretty good time being taken care of like this, huh?”

Luo Yuchen smiled maliciously. “What? Are you jealous?”

Of course, his heart also ached at the thought of Xiao Heng’s hardships, but he really couldn’t help but succumb to his selfishness — it warmed his heart to be taken care of, and when he thought of all the grievances and suffering he endured as “Duan Yi”, he realized that his life of being loved as “Luo Yuchen” was really too terrific!

“Then do you know how Xiao Heng has been over these past three months or so?” That foreigner propped his hand against his cheek and, with those blue eyes, glared at him with disdain. “Every day, he refused food and water and insisted on watching over you, and if you talked to him, he wouldn’t react. It was like he had gone crazy! If you had taken any longer waking up, Fang Xieyi would’ve ripped out your tubes and thrown you into the morgue, and then taken him to see a psychiatrist!”

“…”

“You’re exaggerating, it wasn’t that serious!” The hero of the hour had coincidentally just arrived at the door, carrying some sumptuous midnight snacks. He placed the food that he had made with the utmost care on the table and then seamlessly proceeded to comfort that famous celebrity who had deflated like a wilted eggplant.

“If I really didn’t eat or drink anything in that long period of time, wouldn’t I have starved to death already by now?”

“But you really… did become a lot skinnier.” The chicken soup that had tasted so delicious just now suddenly became hard to stomach.

“It’s just your imagination.” Xiao Heng gravely pointed at the bowls in front of him. “Finish it all, don’t waste anything.”

***

Half a year later.

Today, a meteor shower was going to happen in the middle of the night, so by the time the sun set, the two of them were already sitting on the roof of their house. Xiao Heng was genuinely interested in watching the meteor shower, but the famous celebrity could take it or leave it — so since the meteor shower hadn’t arrived yet, he naturally first looked at…

“Ah, at least you have a bit more meat on your bones now.” But it was still only just a bit.

Sighing, the famous celebrity reached out his mischievous hands to pinch the other’s cheeks, and then pinched them again.

No good, no good, still too bony. I need to make even more delicious food for him to eat.

Really, he ended up making himself look this haggard. I had only been asleep for some three months or so; there wasn’t any big danger, so why did he have to…

“Say… Xiao Heng, do you believe in past lives and reincarnation?”

“They definitely exist, probably.”

He almost forgot that Xiao Heng had always been like this.

“Then do you think… that we’ll meet again in our next lives?”

Xiao Heng startled, not knowing exactly why he had suddenly brought this up, looking somewhat at a loss. In Luo Yuchen’s eyes, this appearance was exceedingly adorable.

“Oh, I don’t mean much by this. I just wanted to tell you that, even if I died, you don’t have to care so much.”

“What are you—-”

“Ahhh! Don’t get mad! I-I-I mean — I just wanted to tell you, cough, that I’m 100% yours! We’re destined to be together! Even if we’re separated, we’ll still meet again in our next lives, and I’ll still love you just like I do right now!”

Actually everything Luo Yuchen said was fully based on his own personal experiences, so he didn’t feel like there was anything strange about it. But to Xiao Heng, all this talk sounded… incredibly embarrassing! Especially since it had come out so seriously from Luo Yuchen’s own mouth!

“What… are you saying?!” He turned around, his expression brimming with extreme unease.

Luo Yuchen was completely unaware of anything inappropriate and continued to confuse things, “But when we really do get to our next lives, I probably need to change my personality a bit, right? If my personality is a bit gentler, then when the time comes,  you’ll be more likely to accept me, right?”

“…” It couldn’t be that it was like Lu Weixi said, that he had hit his head so hard there was something wrong with it now, right? Recently, Luo Yuchen had definitely been a bit strange…

“Xiao Heng.”

“Hm?”

“Speaking of which, exactly what type of men do you like?”

“…” Xiao Heng was now seriously considering if he should call the hospital at once and inquire about the possibility of lingering aftereffects from the car accident.

He really didn’t hate Luo Yuchen for being an idiot. After all, they’ve been together for so long, so even if he hated it now, wasn’t it already too late?

But, what kind of silly question was that just now?!

What type of men do I like? It’s fine if other people don’t know my type, but what are you doing asking this question?!

“I think…” the famous celebrity said, embarrassed, “It doesn’t seem like you’re definitely always going to like me. Since clearly… Duan Yi’s personality is about the same as mine is now, but you didn’t like him at all.”

Xiao Heng completely didn’t understand what he was talking about.

“Ah, so I wanted to ask, what exactly should a person do to seduce you if you don’t like them? I mean, suppose you don’t like men, and I’m a man, what exactly should I do in order to win you over?”

One of Xiao Heng’s hands was grabbed tightly in the other’s, but he placed the other unused one against his own cheeks. Then he began seriously reflecting.

He really did begin seriously reflecting.

Because at this moment he was finally experiencing the feeling that Luo Yuchen had complained about previously — his partner had suddenly come out with a ridiculous idea that he wasn’t able to understand at all and asked a question that left him completely speechless; this kind of feeling truly—-

Left him completely and utterly unable to respond, and worried as heck!

“That kind of supposition isn’t possible, probably.”

“How do you know it’s not possible?!”

How… was he supposed to reply to this? Anyway, it wasn’t like he could suddenly change his orientation and start liking women again after this long, right?

“It’s just not possible! How could that kind of supposition be possible? If you really want to talk about this, then wasn’t it you who used to be straight?”

“Huh?” Luo Yuchen startled. “How could I have possibly been straight?”

“You weren’t?”

“When have I ever liked a woman?”

“…” Eh?

Xiao Heng carefully thought it over. It seemed like Luo Yuchen really… had never liked a woman. Even from the time he had just gotten to know Luo Yuchen back when they were young, he had never expressed any interest in a girl before.

What’s more, the one who bent Luo Yuchen, or rather the one who made him realize he liked men, seemed to be Xia Mingxiu, and not Xiao Heng.

“Weird…” Xiao Heng’s thoughts suddenly started churning in his head. Why had he always mistakenly and inexplicably believed that, “Luo Yuchen used to be normal, and it was he himself who had bent him, so he should take responsibility for it”?

“So that is to say, I was already beyond saving from the beginning!” When Luo Yuchen said this, he looked towards Xiao Heng with a look of grievance. “It’s actually you who was very possibly straight at first.”

“Me?”

You’ve never liked anyone before me, right? Neither boy nor girl, you’ve never liked either before, right?”

“Uh… huh?”

“And in the past, you’ve thought that, if you hadn’t met me, you probably would go on to get married and have children normally, right?”

That’s strange. Said like this, it seemed that… he had?

“You see! I’ve never once thought of something like that before, not even for a moment!”

That’s strange, what… what was this?

Xiao Heng suddenly felt as if everything he had previously known had collapsed, and now he had to rethink everything he knew about the world. And it was also at this time that, within the pitch-black night, the meteor shower began, the entire sky steadily shining with stars falling like rain.

Looking towards the sky, Luo Yuchen held up his right hand, covering up the brilliance of the night.

This scene reminded him of that starry sky a hundred years later. In that rear garden of city hall, after he had experienced such unending loneliness and despair, he had finally found him again in that dark night.

With his heart full of happiness and longing, he had suppressed the overwhelming desire to cry, and at that moment, the only thing he was able to do was to sit down carefully next to him once again.

He had no idea how much longer his path would be after that, and within that dark night, Duan Yi had looked at that person’s profile, his heart full of worries for his possible successes and failures. He hadn’t known how to make the other like him, he hadn’t known how to remain by this person’s side, and he hadn’t known exactly what he should do to make this person look at him with the expression he desired.

And now that he’d returned to the present, he could feel that person’s warmth in the palm of his left hand.

At this moment, this person was his. His heartbeat, breathing, laughter, and warmth, all of it made Luo Yuchen feel incomparably happy and relieved.

But even now he couldn’t forget, the words spoken into his ears by that handsome youth with a crafty smile.

“Ah, in your next life, your road to love is destined to be bumpy.”

At that time, he didn’t believe it, but after everything that happened, he now couldn’t help but believe.

If his love life was destined to be bumpy, then would the person, with whom he had stubbornly wished at the Stone of Three Lives to tie their next lives together, also be destined to face a bumpy road along with him?

What if… he let this person go? With the kind of person Xiao Heng was, if he got together with someone who understood how to treasure him more, he’d definitely be able to obtain happiness very easily.

“It hurts…”

Luo Yuchen startled. He discovered that he had unconsciously held Xiao Heng’s hand too tightly, squeezing it with a death-grip.

So it turned out… no matter what, he probably wouldn’t be able to let this person go.

“What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?” Xiao Heng asked him.

“I’m thinking about…” Luo Yuchen said, “During the time I was asleep, I think I actually had a very long and strange dream.”

“Really? What kind of dream?”

Luo Yuchen went through his memories, trying to think of what to say, when suddenly, in the midst of the images flashing through his mind, he stopped at that scene in that small, solemn chapel. That scene of a skinny Xiao Heng lying there quietly in that coffin unfolded before his eyes, and this memory once again pierced a painful hole right into his heart, making him unable to speak for a very long time.

Xiao Heng didn’t know what the other was thinking, but he did see Luo Yuchen’s face turn suddenly grave and the other’s body starting to shiver almost imperceptibly, as if immersed in a deep, deep sorrow.

He silently held that hand, and that tender warmth went straight to the other’s heart.

“Actually, during those days, I also seemed to have dreamed some very strange dreams.

“The moment I woke up, the events of the dream would become blurry… But I feel like lots of things happened, and I seemed to be in a very unfamiliar place, and then… I was always trying to find you.

“For the sake of finding you, I seemed to have gone to many places, and done many things… The one thing I remember clearly is that, during the final time I had that dream — I seemed to have finally found you; it was nighttime, and the stars were very beautiful. You were sitting next to me, and you didn’t look quite the same as you do now. I kept talking to you about something, and then inexplicably… I recognized you, and then I woke up.

“That day, not long after I woke up, you also finally woke up.”

“…” In this dark night, Luo Yuchen’s eyes shone brilliantly as he looked at Xiao Heng, a rare expression of bewilderment graced his face that made him look adorable. Even compared to this sky full of stars, the luster of those obsidian eyes appeared no less magnificent.

“Hey, what are you doing—-”

A burning, devouring kiss. Without the least bit of warning, that famous celebrity had pounced, throwing himself entirely over. With the weight of two full-grown men upon it, the deck chair began creaking and groaning in protest.

Xiao Heng didn’t even have time to struggle before his hands were caught and pulled over his head, Luo Yuchen singlehandedly holding them in place. The movement was gentle but strong.

Luo Yuchen looked inexplicably overjoyed, and his eyes shone with unbridled desire.

Xiao Heng didn’t understand. He had clearly been seriously explaining his dreams to him, so why did Luo Yuchen get turned on so suddenly?

Of course he didn’t know what the things he just said meant to Luo Yuchen — whether that bewildering dream was a next life or just a dream, the reality of it was fantastical regardless, and there was already no way of knowing the truth now. In those hundred years Luo Yuchen had experienced, lost and alone, without a home to return to, at the very end, in an unfamiliar world, in an unfamiliar future, at that party, he had finally been able to meet his destiny once again, under that starry sky.

No matter how far the time and distance between them, he wouldn’t be the only one trying to sustain their relationship.

Xiao Heng would also definitely look for him.

And then, a time would inevitably come in his life when he would be able to bring the other home.

“Luo Yuchen, you! What– is your hand doing!”

“Hm?”

“Stop messing around, wh-where are you touching!

The man with the obsidian eyes let out a somewhat wicked smile and, with a sexy expression that just begged for a beating, licked his lips. He leaned over and nibbled on the neck of the person under him.

“Xiao Heng, if you’re destined to meet with misfortune if you’re together with me, would you want to leave me?”

The person beneath him stiffened and said, face red, “What kind of question is that? Do you think that I’ve always been super happy and fortunate while I’m with you?!”

The famous celebrity stopped, face full of shock. “Ah? What? You haven’t been happy—-?”

Only now did Xiao Heng realize that his words just now could have multiple meanings. “No… I didn’t mean it that way.”

“What do you mean you ‘didn’t mean it that way’?! So you’ve been unhappy? So it turns out that us two together haven’t been happy. OK! I’ll let you know right now what happiness feels like[2]!”

“Hold on! Y-you can’t seriously want to do it here… ah—-”

They were outside! Although this wasn’t “broad daylight”, the light from the stars was still plenty bright!

“Speaking of which, last week during Xing Wei’s birthday, you looked pretty happy when you were lifted up by that fox and that foreigner… That surnamed Lu touched and kissed you right in front of my eyes, and you didn’t even object in the slightest!

“I still haven’t collected on the debt you owe me for that time, and right now we can settle it together along with this new one, what do you think?”

“Y-you are—- Ah!” Why is this brat always so jealous of Xiao-Lu and them each and every time!

But Xiao Heng already no longer had the time to think; Luo Yuchen’s warmth had now turned into the only thing he could focus on. His lips were licked and sucked, and with this kiss in the cold night air, these two people entered into a chaotic world of their own.

“You’re mine.” While the other party was catching his breath, Xiao Heng vaguely heard these words, and with the last of his reason, he said with clenched teeth, “Take us b-back into the house! Y-you’re practically a beast—-”

“But I’m the beast you chose!”

“…” He couldn’t refute, and thus his reasoning was thoroughly dominated by the other party.

With narrowed eyes, Luo Yuchen looked down in satisfaction, one hand holding onto his prey while the other hand shirked off his remaining clothes — he had become a hormone-addled beast, and at this moment, his mind was filled only with the desire to devour, to swallow this person whole, not leaving even bones behind.

That’s right, I won’t let go.

No matter what kind of fate we’re destined for, whether full of happiness or suffering, Xiao Heng, I won’t let you go.

Because I love you. No matter what time or place, no matter my identity or circumstances, this fact will definitely never change.

You are mine. And I am also destined to be yours.

***FALLEN FIN.

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The author has something to say:

Actually there’s still a few more extras left in this book, but they weren’t written very well, so I didn’t bother =w=

For this over a decade old story, thank you very much. xoxo.

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[1] Yes, the text does say they are golden here, despite spending an entire chapter and a half waxing poetic over how this robot was a “blonde haired, green eyed” angel. I think at this point the author gave up editing, since these last two chapters are full of various minor typos like this LOL.

[2] OK, so this was a series of play on words that was a bit difficult to translate. So Luo Yuchen asks if Xiao Heng encounters 不幸 (misfortune), would Xiao Heng still want to be with him? Xiao Heng responds (embarrassed) that it’s not like he’s always been 很幸福 (very fortunate) around him. However, 幸福 can also just mean plain “happy”, so Xiao Heng sounds like he just said he hasn’t been happy being with Luo Yuchen, which leads into the later lines. Finally, Luo Yuchen says that he’ll show Xiao Heng what’s 性福, which is pronounced the same as the above word for happy/fortunate but is netslang for sex.

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F-finally finished!! Oh gosh, I did not expect these last several chapters to be such a stumbling block, haha. To be honest, in the year when I wasn’t translating, I had basically completely lost interest in Chinese webnovels as a whole, and I’m only now slowly trying to get back into it.

I think, while I’ve been resistant to it up to now since I didn’t want to make this hobby seem like work, I’m actually going to implement a schedule and a stockpile of chapters for my next project, so I can have steady releases, instead of just “whenever I feel like it”.

Anyway, here’s my thoughts about these nine extras, hidden under a details cut.

I remember when I first finished reading these extras, I was appalled by Duan Yi’s actions, especially in that extra where he sexually assaults Xiao Heng (as censored as it might be). However, I also found this ending singularly beautiful, especially after all Duan Yi had gone through. While I think Duan Yi’s treatment of Xiao Heng was deplorable, basically on par with Luo Yuchen’s in the main story, I also think Duan Yi suffered far more than Luo Yuchen ever did, especially when you consider that he was only a teenager (14!) when he got into the car accident that took away most of the things most important to him (his parents, his human body, etc.) and led him to make his later bad choices. No one deserves all that for the mistakes they made as a teenager.

I also think, as much mistakes as he made, and as much as he suffered almost excessively from those mistakes, Duan Yi also grows as a person a lot more than Luo Yuchen did in the main story. Like, in the previous chapter, when Duan Yi learns that Ye Wenyu and Song Qing had lived happy and fulfilling lives, he had been truly happy for them, instead of bitter or angry at them for stealing his happiness (a flaw that Luo Yuchen in this life still retains — just look at how jealous he is of Lu Weixi and Fang Xieyi still!). It really gives a sense of Duan Yi having “grown up” in the time he lived as a robot, adding additional poignancy to the whole affair, and making it that much more effective as a tragedy.

I’m also typically the first person to decry the “soulmates/fated reincarnation” trope, since I find it really takes any agency away from characters and also simplifies the complexities of actual relationships. But I also legitimately felt so sorry for Duan Yi here that I didn’t mind it as much. And, honestly, I think that the image of Duan Yi reuniting with Xiao Heng under a brilliant starry sky was one of the most memorable scenes in this whole story. And the later sequence with Luo Yuchen and Xiao Heng talking amidst a sea of shooting stars just adds to it. Such great and poignant mirrored scenes. Really made this worth translating, despite my annoyances with the extremely unhealthy side relationship in this.

I actually think this might be a better ending/capstone for this story than the main story ending was. Now if only Luo Yuchen hadn’t ruined the moment with his groping hands LOL.

But yes, thanks for sticking around for this belated ending! I hope folks enjoyed! I’ll upload the PDF/EPUB soon, once I finish looking over it one last time, and then I’ll be back with something new! Uh… eventually. Hopefully on an actual schedule this time, haha.

Oh, and of course, if you enjoyed this and are able, please support the author on Jinjiang!