Isaac glanced longingly at the blonde girl's departing figure, then sheathed his greatsword and strode over to Yun Wei's side.
Looking at the two mages lying on the ground, fast asleep and unconscious, Isaac couldn't help but shake his head.
Perhaps his master was not as fragile as he imagined.
He looked at Yun Wei, only to see that the other man had his eyes lowered, seemingly lost in thought. His fair and delicate face was still exquisite, but Isaac keenly sensed the other man's low spirits.
"Are you hurt, Claude?" he asked cautiously, trying to find out.
"No, I'm fine." Yun Wei looked back at the way they came, avoiding Isaac's gaze. "Let's find an inn to rest. I'm a little sleepy."
Tomorrow is the first day of school at the Lunagal Magic and Martial Arts Academy, so they do need to get up early. Isaac didn't think much of it and led Yun Wei towards the north of the city.
They finally arrived at a hotel not far from Dawn Avenue, where the academy was located. The hotel was situated on a side street, quiet and elegant, yet clean and tidy.
Yun Wei lowered his head and walked down the carefully paved stone steps into the main hall.
The drowsy manager by the bar looked up at Yun Wei, then glanced at the tall man silently following behind him.
As the manager of the continent-wide chain hotel "Eagle Feather," he had seen many guests who came to Moonflower City with their servants. But he still felt that the person in front of him, Bili, had a special temperament, and even his servants were so handsome and composed.
"Two single rooms are needed." The black-haired man spoke directly in standard Mandarin, without any of the accent he had expected from Bili.
The manager, who was about to promote the suites, suddenly stopped talking after meeting Yun Wei's cold gaze. The man's dark pupils seemed to be filled with ice, carrying a chilling aura that kept everyone at arm's length, leaving the manager with no choice but to obey.
After taking the two number plates, Yun Wei handed one to Isaac and then turned and walked upstairs.
Isaac followed behind him without saying a word.
As he turned the corner of the stairs, he couldn't help but speak, his eyes fixed on his master.
"Shall I come to your room tonight and prepare dinner for you? I—" I bought a lot of spices and seasonings at the grocery store today, which may bring you a new surprise.
"No need." Yun Wei interrupted Isaac coldly before he could finish speaking, stopping in his tracks at the top of the stairs.
The fireplace light shone on his thin frame, casting a lonely, long, narrow shadow.
“I’m really tired, Isaac.” He tried to keep his tone normal, not too sharp or sarcastic. “Sorry, I just want to be alone. Don’t come looking for me. See you tomorrow morning.”
"...Okay." Did he do something wrong?
Isaac tried hard to recall, but to no avail. He could only watch as his master quietly disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.
...
Yun Wei closed the door, leaned back on the bed, and stared blankly at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
Even though it was the first time Yun Wei had lain on such a comfortable bed since arriving in this other world, he had no interest in enjoying the Simmons mattress and velvet beneath him.
His heart was like a battlefield, a chaotic and unbearable struggle of meaningless emotions. He dared not consider Isaac's feelings at that moment, and even when he was still in Golden Oak Alley, he had blocked out the senses brought by the contract.
He seems to have messed everything up.
But that was all he could do.
He couldn't comfortably enjoy the other person's intimacy and closeness without their knowledge.
This will fill him with guilt, making him hate himself even more.
I'm so sad.
The sunlight, now a golden-red hue, filtered through the intricate patterns of the windowpane, illuminating half of the Eastern man's face. Yun Wei lay listlessly on the bed, his face hidden behind his elbow, but only one thought occupied his mind.
"Come back later tomorrow." He didn't know how to face Isaac.
...
That night, Yunwei dreamed of the past again.
This time, he was no longer a bystander like before, but was instead reintroduced into his fourteen-year-old body. The reason he could clearly recognize that this was a dream was because the memory was so painful that it was etched into his very being.
Yun Wei is a born homosexual, and he realized this at a very young age.
He was a little "abnormal" from a young age.
Born weak, he would sit under the shade of a tree on the playground during PE class, watching boys his age run freely in the sunshine. The sun gave them healthy, bronze skin, and sweat streamed freely down their necks.
Yun Wei knew that he could never become a man like them.
It's hard to talk animatedly with them about the pretty girls in class at night, hard to strip down and go to the shower room in a big, uninhibited way after returning to the dormitory, and hard to go to the toilet with arms around each other, pushing and shoving each other while laughing and joking during breaks.
Even when intense romantic scenes between the male and female leads occurred during the movie, his gaze remained fixed on the very manly male lead on the screen.
This unique secret caused him to suffer from self-doubt and self-loathing for a long time, and he could only study hard and prove himself with outstanding grades.
At the end of the first semester of seventh grade, he ranked first in his class. The class monitor at that time was also a very polite boy who was very friendly to him.
This gave Yun Wei the illusion that he, too, could have a pure friendship.
So one afternoon in the second year of junior high, in the flower bed behind the toilet in the teaching building, Yun Wei mustered up her courage and came out to the class monitor.
The scene depicted in the dream is exactly what we are seeing right now.
That afternoon, the pale sunlight seemed to drain his soul; Yun Wei would never forget it.
He struggled and screamed inside his body, trying to stop himself.
But it was all in vain.
Yun Wei could only watch helplessly as he walked step by step towards the class monitor, feeling somewhat timid, yet mustering his courage to speak—
"Afan, I have something to tell you... but you can't tell anyone else, okay..."
"Hmm, what is it?" the class monitor muttered, holding a book called "Three Points and One Test" in his hand, preparing for the monthly exam.
“Then you can’t tell anyone,” Yun Wei emphasized again, adding with concern, “It’s a secret of mine.”
The squad leader looked up, glanced at Yun Wei, and muttered impatiently, "Speak up if you have something to say, why are you being so mysterious?"
"It's...me..."
"that is……"
"I like boys..."
The derailed train flew off its designated tracks.
The world seemed to stand still for a moment; time froze, and all was silent.
When Yun Wei saw the class monitor standing in front of him, his face showed an unprecedented embarrassment and panic.
He felt so unfamiliar to him, as if the two of them had never been close.
"ah?"
He heard his friend express such doubt.
"oh!"
He heard his class monitor say this with emotion.
Yun Wei pursed his lips, preparing to explain in detail. He wanted to recount his complex psychological journey, his painful inner struggle, but a contemptuous, mocking cry came from behind him—
"Hey! I've overheard some incredible secret! Yun Wei likes men! Maybe Yun Wei likes the class monitor!"
The voice was harsh and unpleasant, extremely sarcastic, yet it was like a thorn that pierced his soul.
Yun Wei turned her stiff head in alarm, only to see a nonchalant-looking boy walking out from the flower bed.
He was the worst-performing physical education student in the class. He had bullied Yun Wei before, but he stopped after Yun Wei's grades improved and he became closer to the teacher.
When Yun Wei came out to the class monitor, the boy happened to be in the bathroom.
At that moment, the boy was gloating over the rumor he had casually made up. He looked at Yun Wei with a very amused smile on his face, then whistled and walked away.
Left behind, Yun Wei stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning. His mind went blank, but his legs felt like they were made of lead, and he couldn't move an inch.
His delicate face was clearly flushed red, but he seemed to have forgotten to breathe; he was like a drowning fish!
"Ahem!" The class monitor coughed heavily, but looked at Yun Wei with a complicated expression, his tone polite yet distant, "I have to go back to the dormitory, I'll be going now."
“…Okay.” Yun Wei opened his mouth wide, but didn’t know what to say. Even the word “okay” sounded hoarse, like a breath.
Whether it was the sports student or the class monitor who first spoke out, Yun Wei was more inclined to believe it was the former.
That very afternoon, news that Yun Wei was gay had spread throughout the entire class. During the first period that afternoon, all the students were distracted, almost all of them secretly observing him.
Even worse, some people held up two fingers, pointing at him and the class monitor, then winked at the people next to them and gave a lewd smile.
The geography teacher was a stern old man; his bright white shirt was buttoned up tightly, even the top button. His face ashen, he turned around, threw the chalk at a mischievous boy in the last row, and angrily demanded, "What are you laughing at?"
"Teacher! Yun Wei likes boys!"
After a moment of complete silence, the entire classroom erupted in uproar as the old teacher roared for discipline.
Yun Wei's face turned deathly pale. He looked helplessly at his best friend, but the moment their eyes met, the other person turned away with utter disgust and joined the crowd that was mocking him.
He's a monster!
A burst of laughter rose from the ground like a tidal wave, instantly engulfing Yun Wei, who was looking down at the table.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the entire classroom begin to spin. His dormant soul trembled as well, for he knew that when the bell rang, the homeroom teacher would call him to the office.
His serious and traditional parents will also know all this.
"bite--"
The sound of the bell in his dream overlapped with the distant sound of the night watchman's clapper. Yun Wei suddenly woke up, sat on the bed, and gasped for breath.
He was soaked in cold sweat, as if he had been pulled out of the water.
Even now that he's awake, the shadow of the past year still haunts him like an unfinished nightmare, toying with him and threatening to devour him completely in the next unknown night.
The evening of that day, that month, that year was particularly unbearable; roars, fists, tears, and blood intertwined to form the climax of his youth.
Yun Wei once felt that he should have died on that day.
He clearly remembers that after that, he transferred schools.
After venting his anger, the proud father became addicted to gambling, alcoholism, and violence.
His timid yet strong-willed mother would occasionally scold him a few times.
"shameless."
"Two chairs."
"A money-losing product."
"You filthy bitch."
Such as these.
Not long after that, the apocalypse began.
The father ignored all advice and went out to play cards. He eventually returned home covered in blood and kicked the pale-faced man to the ground when he opened the door.
Afterwards, the already hideous face became even more terrifying after the zombie transformation, and it viciously bit the neck of its mother who was blocking its way.
Like the roar of a beast, with blood dripping everywhere, the shattered dreams finally overlapped at this moment.
Yun Wei covered his lips with the blanket, trying to suppress his sobs. His despair stemmed from the fact that he knew he had always blamed himself for everything.
His reason was telling him, "You're not wrong, they are. What's wrong with love? You just want to show your true self."
But guilt and moral principles, on the other hand, sneer, "No, you are a monster born."
If he doesn't like boys, or if he doesn't choose to tell anyone.
Perhaps my father and mother wouldn't have been so disappointed, and perhaps none of what happened afterward would have occurred.
This was a secret buried deep within his heart, one he could never tell anyone again. It had long since rotted away, yet it had decayed into an insatiable black hole, drawing away his energy and life force.
This is the sin he can never atone for.
But one shouldn't step into the same river twice in one's lifetime. And now, if you really count, he has already lived three lifetimes.
Yun Wei opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, making a decision in his heart.
After an unknown amount of time, he was exhausted and finally fell into a deep sleep.
The pale moonlight lazily poured over the entire Moonflower City, shining through the exquisite window frames onto the dark-haired boy's damp face.
Tomorrow might be a sunny day.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com