Zhou Zi Shu turned around. His sudden movement threw the man who was lying against his back off balance. He caught him by grabbing his elbows and helped him to stand.

Lao Wen gave him a faint smile.

"A-Xu, is this how you greet me when I wake up? You were more tender earlier!"

Zi Shu felt the red in his face. Had he once again played him and pretended to be asleep to listen to him pour out his heart?

"Were you awake?" asked Zhou Zi Shu a little curtly. Lao Wen must have understood because he dropped his teasing tone and answered.

"I could hear you, but I couldn't move or say anything! A-Xu believe me, I would never be so cruel to you! Especially after watching over me ... how long by the way? "

"Four months!"

"Four months ???? So much!" Those eyebrows frowned.

Zi Shu could see that he was thinking and trying to gather all his memories. Should he ask him now to explain his behavior? Or should he wait until he was better? He didn't have time to decide what to do, Lao Wen lost his balance and collapsed in his arms. He had lost consciousness again. He carried him to the bed and made him comfortable again.

Now that he was out of his long lethargy, he would soon resume normal sleep cycles. He just had to wait.

He returned to the work table and finished preparing the herbs for his soul mate's potion.

Zi Shu wondered and was afraid! This man he thought he knew, had repeatedly hidden things from him and lied. Could he really trust him and tell him his feelings? He glanced at him and sighed.

This was the first time he was in love and he wanted with all his heart to cherish and live with another person! He wanted to share his joys and sorrows with Lao Wen! And the person responsible for this emotion was a complex and deeply wounded character who never revealed the swirls of pain that ravaged his heart! He always hid behind a mask of frivolity and effrontery.

But now... now that the past had been revealed to everyone and those responsible for the death of his parents had paid the blood price, was his heart ready to calm down and start living again? Zi Shu hoped so! He was still a little angry at her for deciding to sacrifice her life to allow him to continue his, but he too had to forgive and wipe out the past!

Fate had given them the chance to start a new life, far from the torments of men. But could they stand each other? They had lived almost a year together, could they live the next 200 years side by side?

But before anything else, the most important question on his mind was what feelings did Lao Wen have towards him? The sacrifice he had decided to make, was it that of a younger brother to an elder or of a lover to the object of his love? As long as he did not have the answer to this question, he could not decide serenely about his future, about their future.

He put away the herbs and poured the potion he had just prepared into a vial that he placed on the shelf above the work table. He turned to the bed. Lao Wen was sleeping peacefully. He could clearly see the breathing movements of his chest, which for the past four months had been imperceptible. He slowly approached him. Outside, the temperature had dropped again. It must have been dark by now. If he wanted to sleep with any semblance of warmth, he had no choice but to crawl into bed against Lao Wen's sleeping body.

He felt good. He was warm. He was aware of the weight of a body lying half on top of him. In the solitude of the armory, that body could only be Zhou Zi Shu. A smile stretched his lips as he opened his eyes.

"Don't smile so stupidly, it's not what you think!" said a voice close to his ear.

"Ahh? And what do you think I'm thinking?".

"With your perverted mind, it's not very complicated.

"Who says I'm perverted?

"Me!

"Really and I what should I think? I'm the one who wakes up after 4 months of sleep and finds a man lying on top of him! And there's no need for me to remind you where your hand is right now, is there?".

Zhou Zi Shu immediately removed the offending limb that was resting on my hip. I looked at him mischievously, his face was so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my cheek. He looked embarrassed and... I wasn't dreaming... he was blushing !!!! I turned around completely towards him and rested my elbow on the bed, my head against my fist. I continued to tease him.

"So, if you did not attack my virtue and you did not have an unmentionable intention, what is the explanation?

After an exasperated sigh, he pulled me aside and put a hand on my chest.

"Your virtue? In my opinion it is a long time that it is no more than a memory!

"What are you insinuating?

"Don't make me believe that you are a pure young lady to be married!

I was having the time of my life!!! It was the first time we talked openly about our sexual experience! Well, mostly about mine actually!

"I may not lack experience in deflowering beautiful maidens, but my flower is untouched when it comes to the other gender!"

I stopped for a moment and moving closer to him, I added with a knowing look:

"On both sides of course!

I didn't think it was possible for his face to become even more red than it already was! And I had to admit that this shade suited him very well!

"It's my turn to ask you what you're insinuating.

I decided to resume my seriousness. The mischievous smile that I had been wearing since I woke up faded away. I looked him in the eyes. I wanted him to understand that I was sincere.

"A-Xu, I think you know this. You are precious to me and I hope I am precious to you. I'm not asking you to give yourself to me right now, but to think about whether we could become closer than we already are!

"I remind you that we are in the same bed!".

"I mean in a more... intimate way".

"Oh!!!" He pursed his lips, which made them turn redder...and more desirable.

"A-Xu, I'll be honest, I never had much inclination towards women, but I did have several relationships when I was younger. Life in Ghost Valley was... complicated, to survive, I had to manipulate the people around me and the fastest way to get what I wanted was through sex! Later on, when I took over the power, I was able to give free rein to my natural inclinations for men. But I never felt like going all the way! I always found an excuse... until I met you.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I wanted to see his reaction, to see how he received my advances. He made a little pout with his mouth and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Lao Wen, to say that I don't feel anything would be lying to you, and I have never met anyone I would like to build a common future with...until you." I smiled again as I heard these words.

I saw him sigh again in exasperation as he rolled his eyes!

"Don't think that means it's a win-win for you! We are constantly bickering, for a yes or a no, all pretexts are good .... ".

"And this is what makes our relationship never monotonous!

"And if one of our bickering goes too far? we are immortals now.

"Why do you worry about what may never be? What I notice is that you don't seem to mind a carnal relationship with me!

He pursed his lips again, made a face and turned his back to me.

"Idiot! You don't understand anything!"

What was there to understand? The smile on my face froze when I saw a solitary tear roll down his cheek. What had I said that made him suffer so much that he cried? ... or not said!

I moved closer to him and took him in my arms. He turned and snuggled up to me, his face in my neck.

"If I stay against you, it's because the temperature is going to drop again and that's the only way to keep our body heat .... ".

"Okay...".

"So your hands better stay where they are or I'll break your fingers".

"I get the message.

I held him a little tighter against me, without him pushing me away. I had to be patient, but above all I had to understand what was holding him back. It was clear that he loved me, everything in his behavior proved it, so what was this barrier that he had broken down between us and that prevented us from joining? I thought I had discovered all the facets of his personality, but it seemed that there was still one I didn't know about, the lover!

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)