Fu Tianhe struggled to wake up from his burning cold dream.

The hole in his right eye made him extremely uncomfortable, and he desperately wanted to find something to fill it, a finger, a cup, a paper ball, anything would do.

He felt so much pain all over his body. It was clearly the beating he received yesterday, but today it made him suffer more. Fu Tianhe moved his arm with difficulty, grimacing in pain, and immediately woke up the boy who was sleeping next to him.

Chen Ci suddenly opened his eyes and found Fu Tianhe lying next to him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. But soon, his eyes froze and stared at Fu Tianhe's hair.

After a few seconds, he reluctantly looked away and asked softly, "How do you feel?"

Fu Tianhe nodded slowly and whispered, "I had a very long dream."

Chen Ci didn't know what to say, he just leaned over and kissed Fu Tianhe's dry lips.

It was a wet kiss. Chen Ci penetrated Fu Tianhe's already unguarded teeth and gently brushed the Alpha's soft mouth, actively providing him with more. He could even taste a faint smell of blood. Fu Tianhe also had wounds in his mouth.

Chen Ci found the wound, which was obviously caused by a tooth being hit hard. He licked it gently, pressing it with the tip of his tongue, clumsily hoping it would serve as a soothing action.

It seemed that something had become too different. Fu Tianhe couldn't help but tighten his hand and grabbed Chen Ci's wrist. Everything that happened yesterday reappeared clearly in front of him. The boy locked in the cage broke free from his restraints and ran towards him. They were still able to hug each other.

very nice.

After a long time, Chen Ci finally stepped back. He pursed his wet lips and said softly, "Thank you."

Thank you for what you did yesterday.

Chen Ci didn't know how difficult it was for Fu Tianhe at the moment of making the decision, because digging out the artificial eye that had been suppressing Ashes would mean death.

He wants to exchange his life for his own safety.

"Don't say that to me." Fu Tianhe whispered, "I should be the one thanking you."

Although I don't know why, September's blood... is indeed suppressing his condition.

Chen Ci raised his hand and touched Fu Tianhe's hair. Silver strands fell on the young man's fingertips. "Tell me about your past."

In the past...

No one knew when this word became a taboo for Fu Tianhe. He would not tell anyone about his previous life, because once he said it, it would mean that he would be dead.

Do you want to dig up the past that has been buried for more than ten years and tell it to September?

Yes, he was willing. He was willing to dig out the many days and nights that had rotted and stank under the soil, hold them in his bloody palms, and present them to the boy with both hands, even if they were filled with his own pain and unbearableness.

Because he knew that September would not look at him with critical eyes, nor would she frown in disgust.

He would only use his usual calmness to pick out the pus and draw away the venom, trying to find the seeds of life that were still there, sow them again, and water them with his own blood.

Fu Tianhe closed his eyes, raised his hand to cover his empty right eye, and then opened it again.

Let me start with... the dream I just had.

Chen Ci listened quietly, hearing how Fu Tianhe was infected without realizing it at the seaside, how he was taken by his mother to live in seclusion in a remote corner in search of a chance to survive, how he struggled in the pain of his eyeballs rotting and melting inside his body, and how he got an artificial eye implanted by his mother herself.

Until he heard Fu Tianhe talk about the day she disappeared.

Chen Ci's eyelashes twitched. From Fu Tianhe's description of the surface, he almost instantly understood what was happening behind the scenes.

She taught her child all the skills he needed to survive madly and strictly because she knew she would never be able to be with him again and let him grow up slowly.

There is a process for the onset of Ashes. Ashes will first enter the human body, and the fine crystal dust will take root in the internal organs and blood vessel walls, absorbing nutrients and growing. During this period, it is non-contagious and the patient will only feel itching and pain.

But as the crystals grow larger, they begin to move outward, like parasites trying to break free of the host's body and complete their mission of reproduction.

This process usually takes three months. When the lens rushes out of the body through weak points such as the mouth, nose, eyes and ears, the patient becomes highly contagious.

They would be used as feed and sucked dry in just a week, or they would be completely assimilated by the Ashes and become statues that would break at the slightest touch.

Chen Ci didn't know why the incubation period of Fu Tianhe and his son was so long, nearly eight months. As the first group of people infected, they should have become ill soon.

Maybe it has something to do with the artificial eye obtained from the alchemist?

But no matter how magical a substance is, it can only play a temporary suppressive role.

She knew clearly that she didn't have much time left, so she chose to report it before her body broke down.

She left with the people from the epidemic prevention station, leaving a book to Fu Tianhe as a relic, and asked them to tell Fu Tianhe that she was just going on a trip.

The golden prosthetic eye made Fu Tianhe no longer have the symptoms of an infected person. He escaped detection and avoided the fate of being rendered harmless. He became a poor child who had his right eye removed due to "optic neuroblastoma" and continued to live.

Chen Ci gently pulled away the hand that was covering his right eye. The eyeball was missing and the eyelid was dryly closed, but it was not at all as scary as Fu Tianhe said.

Fu Tianhe took a deep breath. It was not as difficult as he had imagined to uncover the scar. Perhaps it was because the person he was facing was September, which made him feel particularly relaxed and happy.

It was a similar feeling to the time when I used to cover up the itchiness by pressing hard on my artificial eye. It was an almost self-abuse pleasure that made my heart and body tremble.

There is nothing much to say about the following days. Fu Tianhe was unwilling to go to the orphanage arranged for him by the epidemic prevention station staff, so he wandered around in the underground city of Sanshui.

He walked around the beacons, hoping to find his traveling mother somewhere.

Two years later, Fu Tianhe woke up next to the trash can and heard from passers-by that Cinnabar's Research Institute and the Epidemic Prevention Station had jointly developed an effective vaccine, and the dust disease that cruelly took the lives of millions of people was finally completely eradicated.

He raised his hand and gently touched his right eye, then wrapped his coat tightly around him indifferently, curled up again and went to sleep.

His mother left him a bank account with a lot of money saved previously, which Fu Tianhe used very frugally. He lived like a weed, doing odd jobs against the rules, fighting with fat rats, studying the engineering book under the light of street lamps, picking up some parts from the garbage dump, and doing the work himself.

When you are dirty and tired, just rent a cheap hotel, take a hot bath and have a good sleep.

Pain still emanated from the bottom of his eyes from time to time, but Fu Tianhe had become accustomed to its existence. He could easily put on the most brilliant smile, and no one would ever think that he was in pain.

Fu Tianhe felt happy.

Why not? He was alive, well fed, and even had a little money in his bank account.

Why not?

It was not until he was fourteen that a man claiming to be his father found him and told Fu Tianhe his life story.

Yu Yongyi said that his mother was his first love, but they later separated due to a dispute. He did not know that she was pregnant until an acquaintance told him that he had seen a boy who looked very similar to him in the dungeon.

Fu Tianhe didn't believe a word he said.

Fu Tianhe once asked his mother why other people had fathers but he didn't. His mother hugged him and told Fu Tianhe that his father was a hopeless scum and told him never to become that kind of person in the future.

But Fu Tianhe still followed Yu Yongyi to the top floor of Sanshui, because he wanted to try to see if he could find his mother there.

"I moved into the Yu family's villa, where his current wife and their three children lived."

"Actually, I shouldn't mention his current wife, because Yu Yongyi has only been married once. The niece of Sanshui Elector Qiao Xianfeng is his first wife."

"I'm just an illegitimate child who can't show up on the stage."

"Although I was not well received at first, I managed to survive until I was sixteen, when I differentiated into an Alpha."

"This is actually a good thing. Yu Yongyi is so happy that he's going crazy."

Fu Tianhe pulled a mocking smile at the corner of his lips: "But unfortunately, I don't have mental strength."

Upon hearing the news, Fu Tianhe was actually quite happy, because he knew the real reason why Yu Yongyi had taken so much pains to find him and raise him at home.

Although Jolina is the niece of Joe Xianfeng, she is a Beta. It is almost impossible for their three children to differentiate into high-level Alpha or Omega.

But Fu Tianhe's mother is an Omega.

With Fu Tianhe's physique, it was only a matter of time before he differentiated into an Alpha, and the top Alpha would possess mental power.

The current Elector Prince Joe Xianfeng is old and can no longer take on the task of repairing the core programs for Sanshui, which means that he needs a successor with strong mental strength.

It is best to train this successor from an early age.

Yu Yongyi's hope was shattered.

He originally thought that his son would be able to become the next Elector of Sanshui, and even Jolina was convinced by him and was willing to recognize Fu Tianhe as her adopted son.

However, reality shattered all his assumptions, and all his preparations became in vain.

Fu Tianhe instantly became the hated person of the Yu family. His three "sisters and brothers" used to know how to be more restrained, but now they no longer had to act.

Only the youngest sister would get close to him. She was only five years old and didn't know anything. She just liked Fu Tianhe instinctively, but every time she would be scolded by others and told to stay away.

Not long after, the younger brother who was only a few months younger than Fu Tianhe suddenly differentiated into an Omega.

Moreover, he had the budding of spiritual power.

The entire Yu family was ecstatic. Fu Tianhe's last value had disappeared. Who would like an illegitimate son who was full of thorns, blind in one eye, and of no use at all?

Upon seeing this, Fu Tianhe quickly left and boarded the ship to Xingye alone.

It’s really nice to have two years of free food and drink.

In the following years, he taught himself engineering at Xingye, then went to Smoky Crystal and Blue Alum, and finally came to Cinnabar, where he found a job as a mechanic in the No. 13 Information Processing Area.

At this time, he was 21 years old.

"That's about it. Then I met you."

Fu Tianhe let out a breath and omitted many irrelevant details. It turned out that his entire twenty-one years of life could be told in just over ten minutes.

If it is written, it should just be a thin book, right?

If this was a story that happened to someone else, Chen Ci might have objectively commented that the last sentence was brilliant.

But now, he knew that every word spoken lightly meant difficulties and suffering for Fu Tianhe at that time.

Fu Tianhe was alone, just like his mother taught him, no matter what happened, he always faced it with a brilliant smile. He had experienced almost all the injustices in the world, but he could still be so happy.

Fu Tianhe poked Chen Ci's face. The young man's brows were slightly wrinkled, as if he was thinking seriously.

Is his past worth thinking about?

Until, a "gurgling" sound was clearly heard from under the quilt.

Chen Ci came to his senses at this moment. It was already late. Fu Tianhe was almost unconscious and fell asleep for several hours. He had already consumed a lot of energy and must be hungry.

"I'll ask An An to help me buy a meal."

Chen Ci got up and went to call the girl next door. Fu Tianhe turned over slowly, adapting to the pain coming from every part of his body. It was really hard to bear being beaten up.

He leaned on the bedside table, sat up, and walked unsteadily to the bathroom, wanting to see what his missing right eye looked like now.

Fu Tianhe came to the mirror, looked up and was stunned.

His originally thick black hair had turned completely white in just one night.

Now he has white hair, a missing right eye, a bruised face and nose, and there is not a single healthy spot on his body. In the empty eye sockets, there is soft and rotten flesh that may be pierced by the crystal again.

Like... a monster running out of the gutter.

Fu Tianhe took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and tightened his hands on the sink, causing his joints to ache.

At this time, Chen Ci came back.

He saw Fu Tianhe in the bathroom, his Alpha shoulders and back were hunched, and he seemed to have collapsed. Chen Ci even clearly witnessed a drop of water falling for no reason and hitting the sink.

It took Chen Ci two seconds to realize that it was a tear.

He walked over and hugged Fu Tianhe from behind.

Chen Ci couldn't quite understand why Fu Tianhe was crying. Maybe it was because it was too painful. He hugged Alpha, rested his head on his broad back, raised his hand and touched Fu Tianhe's hair.

After a long time, Fu Tianhe said in a trembling voice: "I have become so ugly."

"Where?" Chen Ci raised his head and looked at Fu Tianhe in the mirror. He really didn't think there was anything worthy of Alpha using this word to describe.

The scars on the face will soon heal and the hollow eye sockets can be covered up. As for the white hair, isn’t that the color that many people desperately want to dye their hair?

His fingertips passed through Fu Tianhe's hair. The graying of his hair overnight did not change the texture of Fu Tianhe's hair. It was still hard and tough, and felt like a dog's hair.

"If you don't like this color, you can dye it into other colors," Chen Ci said, "but I like it very much."

Fu Tianhe rarely heard Chen Ci use the word "like" to evaluate something. Omega is always calm and objective. He will make judgments based on appearance, efficacy, practicality, etc., and rarely brings in his own preferences.

And now, September says she likes him the way he is.

This... wolfish and tired look.

Whether the young man was explaining the facts or simply offering comfort, for Fu Tianhe, it eased a lot of the sadness in his heart.

He turned around and hugged Chen Ci tightly, even though the action caused severe pain all over his body: "As long as you like it."

Fu Tianhe's chin was resting on Chen Ci's forehead, which felt a bit prickly, so Chen Ci simply suggested shaving it for him.

Alpha was seriously injured, so it was best not to get his hands wet recently. Chen Ci splashed foam on Fu Tianhe's injured face, carefully lifted his chin, and used a blade to scrape off the fine stubble that had just appeared.

No matter how careful Chen Ci was, he couldn't avoid touching Fu Tianhe's injured parts, because there was no intact spot on his face.

Fu Tianhe frowned, endured the pain, and didn't let himself make a sound. Having lived to this age, he was not particularly good at anything, except that he was good at endurance.

The water flowed, washing away the foam and stubble on the blade. Chen Ci helped Fu Tianhe wash his face and wiped it dry with a small handkerchief.

"Okay." Chen Ci looked around and was very satisfied. At this time, his mental power detected An An approaching in the corridor outside. Before she knocked on the door, Chen Ci took the initiative to open the door for her.

"Master." An An was holding their lunch in her hand, "I bought a little bit, I wonder if you like it."

Chen Ci: "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

An An put the food on the table. She looked at Fu Tianhe with concern and asked in a low voice, "Is Master's wife feeling better?"

"Better now." Fu Tianhe subconsciously raised one hand to cover his right eye and smiled at her: "Don't worry, did I scare you last night?"

"How could that be?" An An waved her hand hastily, "As long as you're okay."

The three of them sat together and after lunch, Fu Tianhe kept wanting to cover his right eye.

This has become a kind of habit for him. After all, ever since he got the artificial eye, his mother has sternly warned him countless times not to take it off under any circumstances.

Now that his empty eye sockets were exposed, Fu Tianhe felt as if he was walking naked on the street. Uncontrollable shame and fear spread in his heart, and all his secrets would be seen clearly.

Chen Ci glanced at him a few times and let Fu Tianhe finish his lunch with his eyes covered.

Of course An An didn't think there was anything strange about it. From the first time she met Fu Tianhe, she knew that one of her master's eyes was fake. Her idea was very simple. If the old one was thrown away, she could just get a new one.

After dinner, An An rushed to clean up the table. Chen Ci said to her, "I'll teach you again tonight."

"Okay." An An agreed, took the garbage out of the room, and closed the door so as not to disturb the two people.

Chen Ci let Fu Tianhe lie down on the bed again. Alpha's vitality was badly damaged, so he should get as much rest as possible in the next two days. Ashes was only temporarily suppressed, and Chen Ci had not yet figured out a way to completely cure it.

During the latent period, the dust crystals will also absorb the life force of the infected person in the body, otherwise Fu Tianhe would not have turned gray overnight.

As soon as Fu Tianhe touched the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep again. He felt more at ease speaking in this state. Although he was still relatively slow in perceiving emotions, he could still sense the destructiveness revealed in Fu Tianhe.

What Alpha wants to destroy is himself.

Chen Ci flipped over the luggage that the two people had placed in the corner, took out a sewing kit from his inner pocket, and sat at the table to study it.

Well, of course he wouldn't use such things. Living in the White Tower, how could Chen Ci possibly mend things by himself? No matter whether it was clothes or supplies, let alone broken ones, as long as they were slightly stained, they would be immediately replaced with new ones.

During previous trips, if their clothes had cuts or unraveled threads, Fu Tianhe would sew them up.

But he had seen Fu Tianhe use it. The thin needle and thread moved deftly in the Alpha's hands, and it only took a dozen seconds to sew the torn clothes.

It doesn’t seem that difficult.

Chen Ci got started directly. He found a piece of white cloth, cut it into two identical rounded rectangles, filled the middle with soft gauze, and then sewed them together.

He held his breath and concentrated on threading the string towards the light. His hands, which were good at playing the piano and violin, were extremely steady and he threaded the string in one swoop.

Then there are the stitches.

Chen Ci gave the first injection and confirmed that it was not that difficult.

His eyelashes drooped as he worked very carefully. When he sewed the third edge, the needle pierced through two layers of fabric, and the fingers underneath suddenly felt a tiny, sharp pain.

Chen Ci reflexively withdrew his hand and saw a bead of blood slowly bulging out from the tip of his index finger.

He stared at it like this until the blood bead swelled to the limit and would roll down at the slightest movement.

Chen Ci stood up and walked to the bed. He stretched out his hand and smeared the drop of blood between Fu Tianhe's lips.

Fu Tianhe's pale lips were stained with a rich, bright color. The sleeping Alpha greedily stretched out his tongue and licked away all the blood with the taste of tuberose, and seemed to be eagerly searching for more.

Chen Ci simply put his index finger into his mouth and felt the eager sucking. More blood was sucked out by Fu Tianhe and the pain appeared regularly.

But it was just a small pinhole after all, and it would soon be difficult to suck out blood from the wound. Chen Ci pulled out his index finger that was stained with Fu Tianhe's saliva, and he clearly felt the Alpha's reluctance to keep him at that moment.

Chen Ci took out a tissue, wiped his wet fingers, and went back to the table to sew.