Chapter 92

Chapter 92

"092"

"Xiao'ao."

The first time Xiao Lancui called Lu Ao this way, Lu Ao was nearly frozen to death.

In the dead of winter, Xiao Lancui's charcoal was found and confiscated by a group of young eunuchs, leaving the side hall as cold as an icehouse. Lu Ao bore it through the night, and before dawn broke, his limbs were frozen stiff, no longer able to move.

Lu Ao no longer even felt the cold. His frozen mind had thawed into clarity, and he knew he was about to die.

Lu Ao thought of nothing.

A life born into filth, never wanted—dying wouldn't be a loss either.

Lu Ao's vision gradually darkened. At that moment, warmth touched his forehead, and he heard a voice—distant, yet so close.

"Xiao'ao."

His heart leaped suddenly. With a final effort, Lu Ao opened his eyes.

Xiao Lancui's face appeared with the dawn light outside the hall, leaning close to his.

Xiao Lancui's hand moved to his cheek. His palm was slightly cool and dry, yet it burned him until Lu Ao's whole body began to tremble.

Xiao Lancui smiled at him. "Don't be scared. I'm here."

That was the first time Lu Ao ever saw such a beautiful smile.

Later, he went a long time without hearing Xiao Lancui call him that way—until he was ambushed, and crawled with all his remaining strength to Xiao Lancui's small meditation courtyard. Only when he saw Xiao Lancui did he close his eyes in relief.

Dazed, he heard Xiao Lancui calling him over and over, "Xiao'ao!"

The long-missed intimacy was a temptation he couldn't resist, and he finally opened his eyes, emerging from the darkness.

...

Thump, thump...

The pounding in his chest was loud and clear in the dark night. Lu Ao clenched his fist, nearly crushing the fragile phone in his hand.

It felt like a lifetime ago, yet the tone was achingly familiar.

This was Xiao Lancui calling him by his nickname once more.

Lu Ao's throat tightened. He didn't want to hide any longer.

He couldn't bear the thought of Xiao Lancui using that gentle tone to call someone else, and even worse, he couldn't bear Xiao Lancui falling in love with someone else.

Even if the person inside this body was him, he still couldn't stand it.

He wouldn't allow it. Absolutely not!

He wanted Xiao Lancui to see him, to call out to him, to fall in love with the true Lu Ao.

His fingers creaked as he clenched his fist. Lu Ao was about to speak when his breath suddenly caught.

His whole body stiffened as he gripped the phone and turned around.

Not far away, just three or four meters away, Xiao Lancui stood beneath a streetlamp. The night wind blew the fine black hair across his forehead. He also held a phone to his ear. The lamplight fell into his eyes—dark, unfathomable, showing nothing.

It was like a bucket of ice water was dumped over him in an instant. Lu Ao was in despair.

Too late.

His sharp-witted A Lan had already figured it out.

The next moment, those pale, bloodless lips spoke again through the phone, asking calmly.

"Your Majesty, is this your idea of revenge?"

Before Lu Ao could understand what Xiao Lancui meant, his legs were already moving him toward Xiao Lancui. He threw aside his phone, and from a few steps away, arms spread wide, caught Xiao Lancui just as he was about to collapse. "Watch out!"

Xiao Lancui swayed slightly, then was caught in a familiar pair of arms. A rush of heat surged through his nose. He raised his hand, and a drop of blood fell from his nose, landing on the back of his hand.

Then a second drop, then a third—

Splashes of blood spread across his pale, thin arm.

Lu Ao's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He quickly freed one hand to stop Xiao Lancui's bleeding, but Xiao Lancui, for a moment dazed, stepped back two paces, slipping out of Lu Ao's embrace.

Steadying himself, Xiao Lancui raised a hand to wipe the blood from his nose, and said in a low voice, "Don't come near me again."

Lu Ao was frantic, but he forced himself to stop and not move closer. His temples were pulsing as he studied Xiao Lancui's deathly pale face. He said urgently, "I..."

Xiao Lancui didn't want to listen.

He turned away. The nosebleed had stopped. He lowered his hand without wiping the blood from his fingertips, even though he had a neatly folded clean handkerchief in his pocket. He walked slowly forward.

The world in his vision was swaying, as if it might topple at any moment, but Xiao Lancui ignored it.

He thought calmly, "I deserve this."

He had known all along, hadn't he? Yet he'd been greedy, deceiving himself—that this was another Lu Ao, a Lu Ao he could call his own.

Until the fire burned hotter and hotter, and that fragile veil of pretense was about to turn to ash. He finally had no excuse to keep lying to himself, yet he still tried to take one last gamble.

Betting that he was wrong, that fate wouldn't be so cruel to him.

His chest twisted violently, as if tearing apart, but Xiao Lancui felt no pain.

Just like when he'd woken up after falling off the cliff—his legs were ruined, without any sensation. After that, even pain would be a luxury.

Xiao Lancui's fingers trembled as he pressed a hand lightly against his chest.

"Xiao Lancui, you heartless beast!" his father had cursed him, pointing a finger, before dying. "I curse you—you will die a miserable death! For your entire life, no one will ever truly treat you well or love you!"

His father had gotten what he wanted.

He was dying a miserable death, and no one truly cared about him.

Being reborn wasn't fate's mercy—it was punishment. It was to make him realize that he loved Lu Ao.

He had destroyed Lu Ao's beloved back then, and now Lu Ao had destroyed his. It was only fair revenge.

It was all his own fault.

Another wave of blood surged up Xiao Lancui's throat, and everything around him finally tilted. Before he could swallow the taste back down, his lashes drooped, and he pitched forward, blacking out completely.

"A Lan!"

...

"A Lan."

"Teacher."

"Beloved Minister?"

In the darkness, different voices tangled together in his mind. Xiao Lancui's head was splitting, and he slowly opened his eyes.

As his vision slowly cleared, he saw the face of the person who'd been speaking.

"A Lan..." Lu Ao asked softly, "You want to eat something first? But the doctor said you've had a major shock and your body is weak—you're only allowed light liquids for the first couple of days."

A good chunk of time must have passed—Lu Ao had stubble now, and his hair was a mess.

Xiao Lancui hadn't forgotten what happened before he passed out. The smell of disinfectant in his nose told him he was in a hospital.

Xiao Lancui said nothing. He tried to sit up, only to realize one of his hands was held by Lu Ao. His lashes swept across the skin, and Xiao Lancui said in a flat voice, "Drop the act. I haven't lost my memory."

He tried to pull his hand back, but Lu Ao held on tighter. Lu Ao's eyes were bloodshot red. "I was a bastard who took advantage of you when you were down. Just hang in there—once you're better, you can chop me into a thousand pieces."

Xiao Lancui didn't get it. He was going to cut Lu Ao into a thousand pieces?

Shouldn't it be Lu Ao cutting him into a thousand pieces?

He tried to pull his hand away again, but Lu Ao held on tight, not letting go. Xiao Lancui gave up struggling and closed his eyes, waiting for Lu Ao to mock him and sneer.

But instead, what he heard was—

The sound of a sword being drawn.

Xiao Lancui opened his eyes and, not surprised, saw Lu Ao holding the iron sword—the one Xiao Lancui had given him.

Lu Ao extended the sword toward Xiao Lancui. Xiao Lancui was just as quick. The second Lu Ao got close, he raised his hand and slapped Lu Ao across the face with all his strength.

This pathetic tyrant—even at death's door, he'd still land a slap!

A dull thud. Lu Ao's left cheek ballooned up instantly.

But the sword didn't stab Xiao Lancui's heart or slash his throat.

Lu Ao flipped the sword around and held the hilt out to Xiao Lancui.

The split-second difference in their moves left both of them stunned.

A cut had split the corner of Lu Ao's mouth. He licked the fresh bead of blood away and smiled at Xiao Lancui. "A Lan, don't you think one slap is letting me off too easy?"

Xiao Lancui stared at the sword hilt, his usually sharp thoughts suddenly a mess.

What was Lu Ao up to now?

He frowned and spoke up first. "I love you, but I'm not going to be played by you. If you're going to kill me, hurry up. Wait any longer, and you won't get another chance."

Lu Ao finally realized something was off.

He probed carefully. "Brother, who am I?"

Xiao Lancui: "..." He gave a tired twitch of his mouth. "The tyrant."

Lu Ao: "..." He was incredulous, but also hurt. He asked anyway, "A Lan, you don't seriously think I'm the one who poisoned you, do you?"

Xiao Lancui's heart suddenly lurched. He caught on too, and his voice started to waver. "Wasn't it you?"

Lu Ao was beyond hurt. If Xiao Lancui weren't sick, he would've pinned him down and kissed those infuriating lips raw.

"A Lan, after everything we've been through, you actually thought I'd kill you?" Lu Ao finally put the sword down, leaned in, and grabbed Xiao Lancui's chin. Still unable to bring himself to use force, he lifted it in a half-hearted punishment, making Xiao Lancui look him in the eye as he said, word by word, "I'd kill myself before I'd ever touch a single hair on your head."

His breath was so close. Maybe his body really was too weak—Xiao Lancui's thoughts were slow and clumsy.

He froze for a moment, not pushing Lu Ao away. After a long pause, he finally got out, "I burned Qi Ying's body."

Hearing that hated name out of nowhere, Lu Ao's face turned sour. "Why bring him up?"

Xiao Lancui's fingers clenched, and his temper flared up.

He grabbed Lu Ao's hand to pull it off, but even at full strength he couldn't move Lu Ao, let alone in his current weak state. He tried a few times, and Lu Ao reminded him, "A Lan, I'm not letting go until you explain yourself."

Xiao Lancui pulled his hand back. His chest heaved a few times before he said slowly, "I played the bad guy to keep you two apart, and I didn't even let you see him one last time. Isn't it only natural that you'd want to kill me?"

Lu Ao understood now, and it was more disgusting than swallowing ten thousand flies.

His fingers tightened without him realizing, and Xiao Lancui let out a soft whimper. He let go quickly, but clear fingerprints were left on the sickly pale chin. Lu Ao stared at those two red marks, wishing he could really kiss Xiao Lancui's mouth raw.

Always saying stuff he didn't want to hear.

Lu Ao sighed helplessly. "A Lan." He cupped Xiao Lancui's face again, this time with both hands—gentle, precious—and made a solemn declaration.

"I love you."

"From life to death, and to this very second, the only one I've ever loved is you."