ITF Chapter81

The sea was an unfathomable depth. Luo Congye did not feel cold, only darkness. He had no idea how long he had been diving down this time, only knowing that the process was exceptionally long.

“Long” was not a description of time, but a sensation.

This was likely the absolute deepest part of the ocean. Looking up toward the surface, there was only a vast expanse of pitch black, making the faint glimmer of light below look extraordinarily prominent.

Sinking a bit further down, the source of that luminescence revealed its full form.

A stone sarcophagus floated quietly within the sea. The effigy on the lid must have been the handiwork of a master craftsman, carved with lifelike precision. The master of the coffin possessed a flawless face, striking an ingenious balance between handsome and beautiful. With his eyes gently closed and an expression of calmness, his two hands were clasped together over his abdomen, sleeping very peacefully.

Luo Congye was still sinking, and the stone statue was now within arm’s reach. He reached out his right hand, lightly covering that snow-pale face.

The skin beneath his hand was icy cold, yet soft.

That was not the texture of a stone statue.

That was a corpse.

Luo Congye’s gaze seemed bound by something invisible. Staring blankly at that familiar face as if wanting to confirm something, he grabbed both of the man’s arms with his hands and yanked him upward.

Bai Heting’s temperatureless body then drifted limply into his embrace.

*

Luo Congye snapped his eyes open.

The faint light of dawn filtered through the window, carrying with it a subtle scent of silver fir. The source of that fragrance lay beside him, turned away with his back facing him, seemingly still asleep.

Cold sweat coated his spine, and his heart, still clenched by fear, thudded violently in his chest.

It was just a dream, Luo Congye told himself.

He lifted his arm, tightly wrapping it around Bai Heting’s waist from behind.

Perhaps disturbed in his sleep, Bai Heting shifted his head against the pillow and raised a hand to press down on the arm around his waist.

Luo Congye finally gained a solid sense of returning to reality.

The body in his embrace was warm. His palm could feel the even and slow breathing through the thin, breathable linen fabric. He leaned in a little closer, pressing his body against Bai Heting’s back. Lowering his head, he drew near that snow-white nape and inhaled deeply, taking in the lingering scent.

As his breath brushed over the gland, the man in his arms let out an unconscious soft hum, moving slightly forward to evade it. Luo Congye’s hand moved all the way up, trapping the man’s neck with the crook of his thumb and index finger, while his teeth covered the already healed bite mark.

Bai Heting’s body stiffened for a brief moment, and amid quick, uneven breaths, he turned his head back to look over his shoulder.

His face was flushed, and a trace of angry annoyance flickered within his slightly narrowed peach-blossom eyes; he had not yet recovered from the soreness and weakness that came with the onset of a mark. Luo Congye loosened his grip at his neck and lifted his chin slightly, then brushed the tip of his nose against his profile in a faintly affectionate nuzzle. Leaning in, he whispered in his ear without a trace of apology, “I woke you up.”

His voice was raspy, causing Bai Heting’s breath to turn even more ragged as he tilted his head back to seek his lips. However, the hand supporting his chin continued to move upward, covering his mouth.

Withdrawing his hand from the back of Luo Congye’s head, Bai Heting pulled down the hand covering his face and asked in confusion, “Why won’t you let me kiss you now?”

Luo Congye did not reply, merely using his gaze to trace those thin lips bit by bit. Those lips parted and closed, asking again, “Are you never going to kiss me in the future either?”

Only then did Luo Congye lower his head to plant a kiss as light as a dragonfly skimming the water.

He kissed Bai Heting’s cheek.

This time, those thin lips remained parted for a long while, unable to utter a single word.

A look of surprise surfaced on that flawless face.

How could there be such a fiercely stubborn and conflicted person in this world? Bai Heting furrowed his brows and said, “What are you being awkward about again? Didn’t you just kiss me earlier?”

Luo Congye immediately countered, “When?”

He thought about it for a good while before correcting him rigorously, “That was passing you air.”

Bai Heting had already stayed here for nearly ten days. Although the two of them slept together every single night, they had not engaged in any further physical contact. Left completely hanging by Luo Congye’s teasing, he simply sat up from the bed in a fit of pique. He stepped over him with long strides, got down to the floor, and rummaged through the wardrobe, pulling out a few pieces of clothing.

Luo Congye remained lying on the bed, propping his head up with one hand as he silently watched General Bai dress himself.

He was still wearing Luo Congye’s clothes.

As the straps wound intimately between several slender fingers, Bai Heting’s movements remained unhurried. Rather than simply putting on a black shirt, he looked as though he were dressing in a finely crafted silk robe.

Luo Congye flipped over and got out of bed.

He walked barefoot over to Bai Heting, dropped to one knee, and picked up a boot. “The sky has barely brightened,” he asked him, “where are you going?”

Bracing himself with one hand on Luo Congye’s shoulder, Bai Heting slid his foot into the boot shaft without concealing his intent. “To find Jiang Han.”

“Hey.” Luo Congye’s hand paused as he was tucking in the trouser leg.

Luo Congye lifted his other foot while looking down at him. “Do you have an issue with that?”

Luo Congye felt a vague discomfort in his chest, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was bothering him. He hastily tucked in the trouser leg, grabbed the second boot, and muttered under his breath. “I don’t have an issue.”

*

“You come to my place every single day. Luo Congye doesn’t mind?” Jiang Han closed the book with his left hand, rotated his right wrist a few times, and gave Bai Heting a helpless smile. “You don’t need to keep coming over to massage my hand. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Don’t move around blindly.” Bai Heting said, pinning his wrist in place with his left hand while his right searched for the earlier acupuncture point. “If I stay at his place, I have to listen to a whole crowd of people whining and gossiping. At your place, I only have to listen to one person whining and gossiping.”

Standing in front of the medicine rack, Lin Qian sorted through the herbs while chipping in, “I arranged such a spacious house for him precisely so everyone could use it to discuss important matters.”

A few days ago, Luo Congye’s refusal to change the meeting location had once again sparked public outrage. However, everyone quickly discovered that Bai Heting never actually showed his face at Luo Congye’s residence during the day. The matter had ended up as a compromise with both sides taking a step back.

“Who would have thought,” Lin Qian let out a cold, disdainful scoff, “that he would actually use that massive house to keep an outsider?”

“You’re speaking ill of others behind their backs,” Luo Congye crossed his arms while leaning casually against the doorframe as he said unhurriedly, “if your father finds out, he’s going to call you in for a lecture.”

The sudden appearance of a full-grown man at the threshold gave Lin Qian a massive fright, and her temper flared up instantly. “Why are you here too?” She looked at Bai Heting, who remained perfectly composed, and then at Luo Congye, who wore a playful smirk, before cursing resentfully, “Do you two not have a residence of your own?”

“Don’t repay kindness with resentment.” Luo Congye smiled at her as he offered a well-meaning reminder, “I happen to be bearing good news.”

“Oh, please save it.” Lin Qian rolled her eyes at him while shaking her head dismissively. “What kind of good news could you possibly bring me? I’ll thank my lucky stars if you just stop causing me more trouble.”

“Zhong Xiao is coming back. She arrives tonight.” Luo Congye’s gaze drifted back to Bai Heting, who was sitting up perfectly straight as he said absentmindedly, “Let’s hope she brings us good news as well.”

Lin Qian hurriedly shoved the herbs in her hands back onto the rack. Aside from pleasant surprise, her face held more of a complaint, “Why are you only telling me this now?”

“I came to notify you the very moment I received the letter.” Before the words could fully leave Luo Congye’s mouth, Lin Qian had already vanished like a puff of smoke.

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