In the early morning, Xu RenDong woke up from sleep.
The sun seemed to be dancing on the eyelids, and it was hot. He opened his eyes and saw the light was bright. The area is very quiet, probably before the rush hour for work and school. There are no human voices, only birds chirping.
He stretched. The person hugging him from behind was startled and with an "hmmm" instinctively wrapped him in his arms and buried his head deep into his neck.
Warm breath blowing on the neck. RenDong felt itchy on the back of his neck and couldn't help but smile and move his position.
Lian Qiao was still sleeping soundly like a high school student who never gets enough sleep.
RenDong wanted to get some food but Lian Qiao put an arm on his chest, coquettishly not letting him go. RenDong was reluctant to push him away and gently stroked his arm with his fingers, feeling the strong and beautiful lines. The scene of his waist being held up and down by those hands last night came to mind.
…Tsk. It's not good to think about these things early in the morning.
As soon as he lowered his head, he suddenly realized that he had changed into pajamas. He also felt very refreshed, probably because Lian Qiao carried him to the bathroom to clean up after he fell asleep from exhaustion last night.
Lian Qiao has always been considerate and meticulous in this matter, taking great care not to leave any traces on him in conspicuous places and would also clean him up afterward to avoid getting him injured or sick.
Sometimes he was very childish but at other times he always shows the gentleness of an adult in such detail.
How could one not love him?
RenDong felt warm in his heart, as if the sun was shining in.
Half an hour later.
Lian Qiao fell into a drowsy sleep and suddenly realized that his arms were empty. He groped around with his eyes closed. The bed was still a little warm but he couldn't touch anyone anywhere.
Huh?!
What about my partner? How did I lose such a big object?
Lian Qiao, who was tortured into PTSD by the last instance, was startled and opened his eyes suddenly. What he saw was a familiar scene, he realized that he had left the instance and returned home. However his heart was still beating wildly, pounding his chest like a sledgehammer. He pulled back the quilt and jumped off the bed, thumping and running out to find RenDong.
"RenDong, RenDong, where are you?"
Lian Qiao ran to the door of the kitchen and, before he entered, he heard the sound of the frying pan.
"I'm making breakfast." RenDong was standing in front of the stove, turning his head and smiling at him. His eyes fell on his feet and he smiled helplessly, "Why did you run out barefoot without shoes on?"
"Hey hey." Lian Qiao was a little embarrassed, curling up his toes shyly.
RenDong held the spatula and turned over the poached eggs in the pot. Lian Qiao came over, hugged him from behind, put his head on his shoulder curiously and asked softly: "What are you having for breakfast?"
"Toast and omelet. The toast is in the oven and hasn't been taken out yet." RenDong turned his head and kissed the corner of his lips, "Hurry up and put on your shoes, don't stand her\e barefoot, you'll catch a cold."
"Aw." Lian Qiao reminisced about that short but sweet kiss and happily went back to his room to put on his shoes.
After a while, he ran over again after pulling on his slippers. RenDong was putting breakfast on the table.
Lian Qiao tilted his head and looked at the apron on his chest. For some reason, my heart suddenly felt hot. Sour and swollen emotions crawled across his chest like vines.
RenDong noticed something strange, raised his head and looked at him in surprise.
Lian Qiao rubbed his eyes and smiled: "Sorry. When I first met you, I thought I saw a vision of you wearing an apron. So you really cooked for me."
"…" RenDong didn't know what to say for a while. He reached out and touched his hair.
After they came out of the instance, RenDong told Lian Qiao about their collective memory loss. Although Lian Qiao was shocked at the time, he quickly smiled in relief. Actually he felt he already had a feeling about this.
In fact, RenDong also felt this way. As early as in the Matryoshka instance, he felt that Lian Qiao seemed to have known each other. He just didn't think much at the time.
Lian Qiao lost his own key and his memory could never be retrieved. For this, Lian Qiao was so regretful that he couldn't sleep for several days. On the contrary, RenDong was glad that there were some things that Lian Qiao still didn't know.
RenDong learned from his memory that in the first round of games, Lian Qiao's character already showed signs of collapse. Then he died and, after Lian Qiao made a wish to revive him and so had to enter the second round of games, Lian Qiao became more and more unscrupulous.
At that time, Lian Qiao would not only push his teammates to death without hesitation but even tortured key players to extract confessions, killing them immediately after obtaining clues in order to get their doll.
What he did was cruel and tyrannical, his actions were worse than that of the Gentleman.
At first, Lian Qiao felt guilty. But then, after killing a lot of people, you would get used to it. He gradually began to ignore life, not treating others as human beings, not even treating himself as a human being.
There is only one person left in his world and that person was Xu RenDong. There is only one purpose left, which is to let RenDong leave the instance alive.
As for other things, such as his moral bottom line, such as his own life, he no longer cared about it.
In the second round, RenDong still had memories and knew that Lian Qiao did all this for himself. He didn't approve of Lian Qiao's approach but, no matter how he tried to persuade him, Lian Qiao insisted on acting alone until RenDong almost wanted to break up with him. After Lian Qiao noticed it, he resorted to various means to make him unable to leave him.
At that time, Lian Qiao had completely changed. He could do anything. Lying, self-mutilation, coercion, imprisonment… It's not that he doesn't love RenDong, he loves him too much. RenDong has become the only reason for him to live and he can't lose RenDong.
Later, the two of them became tormented by each other.
RenDong was so miserable that he almost forgot what Lian Qiao looked like in the beginning. What makes him even more painful is that Lian Qiao became like this because of him.
Lian Qiao just wanted him to live.
Lian Qiao just wanted him to live for him.
It was too difficult. The second round of instances increased the difficulty and even Lian Qiao couldn't protect himself.
In the end, Lian Qiao got his wish and sent RenDong to the final gate. However, he was haunted by his teammates who turned into ghosts and died after being cut into pieces.
Before he died, he cried to RenDong, "I know you don't love me anymore, so don't hate me, okay? When you get out, forget about me and pretend I never existed."
-How can he do that?
How could he not love him? Lian Qiao caused unforgettable harm to him but also gave him unforgettable love.
How could he forget? How could it be possible to pretend that this never happened?
Therefore, RenDong chose to stay again after the end of the second round.
The third and final round of instances will once again greatly increase the difficulty. He knew that with the relationship between him and Lian Qiao's ability, there was absolutely no possibility for both of them to survive. So he sacrificed what he cherished most in exchange for the ability to reset upon death.
Unexpectedly, the instance determined that the thing he cherished most was the memory of being with Lian Qiao. The instance also erased his memory of Lian Qiao. At that time, he was extremely desperate, fearing that he would pass Lian Qiao by without losing his memory and forget the reason why he returned to the instance.
If he can survive to the end and retrieve his memory, that's all okay. But what if he used the key halfway?
If he couldn't get his memory back and if he and Lian Qiao didn't know each other, then he might just stand by indifferently as he watched Lian Qiao, a stranger, die in front of him. Just like this, he would arrive at the end without knowing it and have no choice but to give up in the face of the treasure box that he couldn't open. Just like that he would leave the instance world forever…
Then he would really lose Lian Qiao forever.
He won't even remember that he once fell in love with Lian Qiao.
Every time he thought about this, his heart ached so much that he couldn't breathe. But he also felt he was a little lucky: fortunately, Lian Qiao didn't remember any of these things.
Lian Qiao has lost those memories forever. Although he has forgotten all the things they experienced together, he has also changed back to the true and innocent person he was.
RenDong felt that this was the best ending for Lian Qiao.
For him too.
Therefore, when Lian Qiao pestered him about his past affairs, he deliberately skipped the bad parts. Lian Qiao didn't know that he had turned black.
He won't know it in the future. They will never again face the choice of being forced to give up their humanity.
"… RenDong?"
Lian Qiao's slightly surprised call brought RenDong's thoughts back to reality.
Lian Qiao poked the tip of his nose, tilted his head and asked curiously, "What are you thinking?"
RenDong didn't intend to hide it. He held his finger, put it on his lips and kissed it. He then said, "I'm thinking about the instance."
Lian Qiao narrowed his eyes, enjoying the slightly itchy feeling on his fingertips. As if he suddenly remembered something, he said casually: "By the way, I forgot to tell you that Little Apple added me as a friend two days ago."
"Huh?"
"She saw my old videos on the Internet and went to the platform to send me a private message. I haven't logged in to my account for a long time and only saw the private messages she sent after logging in a few days ago. She messaged me in order to inquire about the instances."
It was only then that RenDong remembered that their last instance seemed to be only the second or third instance for Little Apple. She still has a long way to go.
RenDong couldn't help but worry: "The difficulty of the instance will only increase. She was influenced by us and entered such a difficult instance this time. What about the next instance?"
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that." Lian Qiao said with a smile, "After that, she had already entered another instance. It was so simple, with only a dozen players in total. That's why she felt strange and came to ask me what was going on. I guess the instance reset his difficulty level. After all, we are in the third round of the game which in game terms is extreme mode. Now that we have cleared the level, Little Apple's difficulty level should have dropped to normal."
RenDong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. It's a pity that we can't help much."
Lian Qiao laughed loudly: "Just let her be. If we get involved, we will become fourth round players! Fourth round! Just imagining it is freaky."
"That's true."
After the two had breakfast, RenDong went into the house to change clothes. The suit came out neatly.
While Lian Qiao was washing the dishes, he turned around to look at him and praised him from the bottom of his heart: "You look good in a suit."
RenDong smiled.
Lian Qiao: "I want to see you in a suit. Then I'll hold you in front of the French window of the company as you cry and beg for mercy."
RenDong: "…"
That kind of scene, just hearing the description come out of his mouth made RenDong feel ashamed.
What was even more embarrassing was that RenDong actually felt a little excited.
His face turned slightly red. He suppressed the restlessness in his heart, walked over and pinched Lian Qiao's face. Lian Qiao kept blabbing and came over to kiss him with a playful smile. The two of them shared a gentle kiss in front of the pool and then RenDong said, "I'm going to work. Whatever you want to eat tonight, I'll go to the vegetable market when I get off work and bring it back to you."
Lian Qiao tilted his head and thought for a moment. He then said with curved eyes: "Then I'll wait for you downstairs in your company in advance. Let's go together."
"Okay."
After clearing the instance, the two recuperated at Lian Qiao's parents' house for a while and then returned to their own home in City A. Although Lian Qiao's parents already regard RenDong as their own family, the two are ashamed to show their affection in front of their parents. They still prefer being in their own home where they can do it wherever they want and are not afraid of being interrupted by their parents after the sun goes down.
Lian Qiao took care of RenDong with great care. RenDong lived of leisure, where he could simply stretch out his hand and food and clothing would appear. He felt that if he continued like this, he would be spoiled by Lian Qiao and so he contacted his original supervisor when he was almost recovered and asked if the company would still accept him.
He has no plans to return to his old position. Although the position paid a lot of money, it was too busy and tiring and his body couldn't take it. Lian Qiao would also not agree.
Fortunately, the supervisor admired him quite a lot and knew that he had been in the ICU. He was so talented that he was given a relaxing job. The income is naturally not as good as before but the advantage is that he can get to and from work on time. His daily workload was also very stable and he didn't need to work overtime much.
The colleagues in the new department are very easy-going, and RenDong gets along very well with them.
Hearing that RenDong was back, all the former colleagues formed a team to see him. Soon, the news of RenDong's return spread throughout the company. Everyone was guessing what he has experienced during this time, why his personality has become so good and why he is completely different from before.
In the past, RenDong was like a high mountain flower blooming in the ice wall, making it difficult for people to get close. But now, he treats everyone with kindness and gentleness, like sprinkling a few tea leaves on a cup of boiled water: light, warm and has a long aftertaste.
Previously there were many people in the company who had a crush on RenDong and were unable to get close to him. Now it's great, everyone's long-dormant spring heart melted again and they couldn't hold it back anymore. They showed their goodwill to RenDong in all kinds of ways.
RenDong refused them all seriously and said politely: I'm sorry, I have an owner.
Everyone: What? When did you get married, and why didn't you invite us to a wedding banquet?!
RenDong: No wedding, no wedding banquet.
Everyone: Oh, so we're just talking about a partner. When do you plan to get married and drink wedding wine?
RenDong: There probably won't be any wedding wine…
Crowd: ???
So, "Xu RenDong is a scumbag who has ensnared a girl but doesn't plan to marry her to give her a wedding", "Xu RenDong made the girl pregnant but refused to recognize the baby", "Xu RenDong's girlfriend was so angry that she had a miscarriage," etc.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
RenDong: "…you have such a rich imagination."
In the afternoon, it's almost time to get off work. RenDong walked to the window and stretched. When he lowered his head, he saw a familiar figure standing across the road.
Lian Qiao happened to raise his head and smile at him from a distance.
RenDong's heart was sweetened and he suddenly had the urge to call all his colleagues over to see his "girlfriend who just had a miscarriage".
However, the matter of coming out of the closet has to be discussed with Lian Qiao. After all, Lian Qiao often comes to the company and sometimes bumps into his colleagues. According to the level of gossip among colleagues in the company, it's unknown how it will be spread if they really come out as gay.
Ten minutes later, RenDong and Lian Qiao met in the parking lot downstairs.
Lian Qiao got into the car and said casually while fastening his seat belt, "My dad wants to buy you a car."
RenDong's hand slipped and the seat belt buckle almost bounced off his hand. He turned his head in surprise: "Why do you want to buy a car all of a sudden? Don't you tell him I already have a car?"
"He knows so he just wants to get you a new one. This, uh…" He seemed a little embarrassed, and said coyly, "You just treat it as that… a betrothal gift? A meeting gift? Ah, anyway, it's that kind of thing…"
RenDong was a little flattered. His mind was dizzy and he didn't know what to say for a while. He had no choice but to stare at the reversing mirror and drive the car out of the underground garage.
Driving under the sun, he felt a little clearer. So: "It's better to buy it for me than to buy it for you. It will save you having to squeeze into the subway every time you go out."
Lian Qiao knocked on the car window and said with a smile: "When you get a new car, I can drive this one."
RenDong: "…"
Lian Qiao: "Don't be embarrassed. They treat you as…well, as a son, so they bought it for you."
RenDong's face was slightly red and his eyes were fixed on the road ahead: "…I know. I am very grateful to them. But Lian Qiao, we can't get married after all. Your parents gave me such a valuable thing, I…"
Lian Qiao smiled: "It's because we can't get married that's why I wrote your name and gave it to you directly. To tell you the truth, they plan to buy you a house and want me to ask you if you prefer a villa or a flat."
RenDong: "…?"
"Our relationship is not recognized by the law, nor is it protected by the Marriage Law. It doesn't matter. In my parents' hearts, you are already theirs…" He was a little embarrassed, and touched his nose with a blushing face. Smiling he said, "Hey, let me be straight, they just treat you as a daughter-in-law. So they have to give what is due, and you should accept it. This… This is the treatment of a daughter-in-law. If you don't If you are not willing to accept it, they will be offended."
RenDong took a deep breath. He clutched the steering wheel tightly with both hands, still speechless.
Lian Qiao smiled and reminded: "The light is green."
RenDong raised his head and realized that the driver behind him was impatient with waiting and was honking his horn desperately. He quickly started the car.
Lian Qiao reached out and pinched his earlobe. He said softly: "Okay, don't worry about it. Let's talk about it when we go back. You can drive well first."
Unexpectedly, RenDong suddenly braked and stopped the car on the side of the road.
"?" Lian Qiao looked at him in surprise.
RenDong blushed and said in a low voice: "You drive." Then he opened the car door and walked around to the passenger seat. He opened Lian Qiao's car door again and asked him to get out of the car.
Lian Qiao: "???"
Feeling the curious eyes of passers-by on the street, RenDong covered his face in embarrassment but couldn't hide his red ears.
"I can't help but not think about it." He said in a low voice, extremely ashamed, "Driving like this is prone to accidents, you drive…you let me think about it."
Lian Qiao felt that his heart was hit hard and his heart was trembling because of the cuteness. He clutched a heart that was about to melt and got out of the car holding back a smile.
RenDong got into the passenger seat as if fleeing for his life and slammed the door shut. Like a squirrel hiding in a hole with its tail curled up.
Why is he so cute?
Lian Qiao walked around and got into the driver's seat. Looking sideways, RenDong covered his face and curled up beside the car door, as if he had been bullied by something. Only those delicate and beautiful earlobes revealed his current mood.
Lian Qiao looked at him, his heart was overflowing with love and suddenly he had the urge to press him on the seat and kiss him fiercely.
…But this is the street after all. With so many people coming and going, it's easy for someone to call the police.
Feeling bad, Lian Qiao coughed and suggested, "Why don't we skip the vegetable market and go home directly?"
RenDong covered his face, and let out a soft "um" from deep in his throat.
So Lian Qiao stepped on the accelerator and drove home.
Facts have proved that the hard and solid ground is really not suitable for driving.
Turning the steering wheel so hard rub against his hand. Pain.