ITF Chapter122

His palm was even warmer than the pool water. Bai Heting felt for the back of his hand, sliding his fingers into the gaps between Luo Congye’s, locking them tight, before tilting his head over to plant a light kiss on his lips.

He did not utter a single word, yet Luo Congye heard a silent consent. Shifting his knees, he wedged his thighs between Bai Heting’s.

It was a posture that allowed the other party no room to break free, causing the person in his arms to tense his body as a reflex.

“I will be forever loyal to you.” Luo Congye kissed away a drop of fir-scented hot sweat from his forehead, gripping his fingers tightly. His speaking speed was slow, carrying an unquestionable firmness. “Bai Heting, I am unconditionally loyal to you. Even if death parts us, I will still remain unconditionally loyal to you.”

The corners of Bai Heting’s lips curved into a faint smile.

His brat possessed the most precious quality in this world.

Loyalty.

Memory surged and overturned like a colossal wave. Time, with nowhere left to retreat, froze on that night of chilly moonlight.

“Do you want to live?” The youth asked with lowered eyes.

The six-year-old child who had been pushed to the ground looked completely blank. He did not utter a single word, yet the dagger in the youth’s hand was so fast that nothing remained but the afterimage of the blade’s glint.

Time rolled on, yet it also felt as though a mere second had passed.

The flames had long since died out, the tide had withdrawn, all things had changed, and even the stars had shifted in the heavens.

Yet, they were still here.

“Today,” Bai Heting said in a low voice, “is the day my mother used to make apple pie for me.”

“Really?” Luo Congye instantly jolted.

Bai Heting continued, “You didn’t come out to welcome me back to the mansion, and you even pulled a face at me… I ought to punish you…”

“How can you file a suit first like a villain?” Drawing his elbows in, Luo Congye pressed him back onto his own body. The Omega’s skin was coaxed into a feverish sweat by the heat of arousal, the fine beads of perspiration wrapping around his body along with the warm water, looking as though a layer of shimmering pearlescent light had been scattered over him. “You and I haven’t seen each other for half a month. The moment we meet, if you aren’t asking me for money, then you’re—” he used his legs to part Bai Heting’s thighs even wider, “asking me for this.”

Bai Heting tilted his head back, panting heavily as he fell backward into his embrace.

“You’re talking nonsen—”

“I love you.”

Bai Heting fell silent. Turning his head back, he looked at Luo Congye with a pair of blurred, hazy peach-blossom eyes.

Luo Congye lowered his head, kissing the enticing tear mole just beneath his eye.

“I love you,” he repeated. Taking a deep breath, he softened his voice and asked, “What do you want to punish me with?”

“Punish you… to…”

Bai Heting’s gaze dropped to Luo Congye’s palm.

Resting in those calloused, dirt-smudged fingers was the missing pearl; smooth, lustrous, and gleaming softly under the bright early summer sun.

“You…” Bai Heting’s anger stalled in his throat, his peach-blossom eyes widening slightly. “You stole it from my desk again.”

“How can you call it stealing when it belongs to me in the first place?” Luo Congye grinned, entirely shameless. He took Bai Heting’s hand, flipped his palm open, and pressed the cool, round pearl into his center before curling Bai Heting’s fingers over it one by one. “I just took it to get the setting fixed. Look closely.”

Only then did Bai Heting notice a delicate, intricately engraved silver band looping securely around the pearl, turning the loose token into a solid, wearable pendant.

“The ribbon I used before was getting frayed,” Luo Congye murmured with his thumb lightly brushing across the back of Bai Heting’s knuckles. His teasing demeanor softened, replaced by that familiar, grounding warmth. “I figured if you’re going to keep a piece of my childhood locked in a box, you might as well wear it where everyone can see who you belong to.”

Bai Heting stared at the pearl in his hand, the last remnants of his panic dissolving into the gentle fragrance of the garden. He felt the ridiculous disparity of the situation; him standing barefoot in an oversized pair of Alpha boots, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown, while the man who had terrified him by ‘vanishing’ was simply standing here, covered in soil, talking about jewelry.

“Utterly ridiculous,” Bai Heting muttered, though his voice had lost its sharp edge, turning soft and weary. He closed his fingers tightly around the pearl. “If you ever disappear for two days without waking me up first, I’ll have the newly formed council strip you of your title before you can even step into the Commerce Department.”

“Understood, my Lord Protector,” Luo Congye laughed softly. Without warning, he bent down, scooped Bai Heting up into his arms, and began walking back toward the mansion.

“Put me down,” Bai Heting frowned, instinctively gripping Luo Congye’s shoulder, his face flushing slightly. “The servants will see.”

“Let them look. They need to get used to seeing the future Minister of Commerce taking care of his General,” Luo Congye said, his grip tightening comfortably around Bai Heting’s waist. He bent down and pressed a brief, firm kiss to the side of Bai Heting’s neck, right over the newly marked gland that still carried a faint ache. “Besides, you’re the one who ran out here half-naked. If anyone’s going to get scolded for a breach of royal decorum, it’s you.”

Bai Heting let out a quiet sigh, finally giving up the struggle. He rested his forehead against Luo Congye’s chest, breathing in the scent of rich earth, fresh water, and the intoxicating, lingering warmth of tequila.

The throne room was still a mess, the Church was still plotting, and the kingdom’s future hung by a thread; but inside this quiet courtyard, carried by the only person he was truly responsible to, Bai Heting closed his eyes and let himself rest.

Bai Heting looked at the object in his hand; it was a brand-new dagger.

Unlike his previous daggers, the hilt of this one was made of metal, carved with fine, smooth, and intricate patterns. Yet, the imagery of the design defied all logic.

A fierce fire raged, and a lone feather fell into its heart, emerging entirely unscathed.

“Do you like it?” Luo Congye supported his hand, tilting the dagger to a different angle to reveal the white pearl embedded at the very tip of the hilt. “I had this inlaid just a few days ago.”

Judging by the color and size of that pearl, it was unmistakably the very one Bai Heting had personally selected in the southern jewelry market. His anger had still not entirely dissipated, and with a grim expression, he said, “How do you still have this awful habit of stealing things?”

“Stealing?” Luo Congye immediately retorted. “How can you call this stealing? You gave this pearl to me with your own hands.”

Bai Heting said in a rigid, matter-of-fact tone, “This mansion is my property. Every single inch of this land, every single plant, and every single object belong to me.”

The noble lord was being thoroughly unreasonable. Yet, it was an undeniable fact, and Luo Congye could not refute it.

“Fine, it’s yours, everything is yours,” he coaxed him. “I am yours too.”

His words carried a somewhat dismissive, placating tone. Just as Bai Heting was about to flare up in anger, he was pulled forward a few more steps.

“Let me show you something.” Keeping one hand wrapped around Bai Heting’s, Luo Congye lifted the water bucket with his other hand, his footsteps finally coming to a halt before a certain plant.

*

Bai Heting had never possessed the leisurely disposition to stroll through a garden. Although this was his very own garden, this was genuinely his first time setting foot here. The plant before him was completely out of place amidst the competing, vibrant flowers surrounding it. Its appearance was quite plain and ordinary, with broad, thick, fleshy leaves spreading out in a rosette formation. A thick, sturdy flower spike towered high, appearing to be at least four or five meters tall.

It was an agave plant, currently in its flowering period.

Yet, agaves had never been a favored plant species in aristocratic gardens. Perplexed, Bai Heting asked, “Why would there be a…”

Luo Congye said, “I planted it.”

Bai Heting asked in surprise, “You planted it?”

Luo Congye gave an “mm” in response. “In the spring of the second year after my differentiation, I sneaked back here and planted it.”

“Sneaked?” He was only sixteen during the second year after his differentiation, making Bai Heting feel increasingly astonished. “How could the guards have let you in?”

Luo Congye said nonchalantly, “Back then, in order to get into your Beta guard regiment, I trained incredibly hard.”

He slowly poured the water from the bucket onto the roots of the plant. After a moment of thought, he added, “At that time, when I discovered I had differentiated into an Alpha, I felt like the sky was falling. Everything was completely ruined. I lost the qualification to stay by your side and protect you.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered even if you entered the guard regiment,” Bai Heting reminded him. “I don’t carry guards with me.”

Luo Congye let out a smile and a sigh. “So, you should be able to imagine how ecstatic I was on the day I was chosen to go to the hunting grounds. I worked hard for thirteen years and finally obtained an opportunity to protect you.”

Bai Heting’s throat tightened being stared at by that burning gaze. Turning his head, he reached out to brush his fingers over the hard spines lining the edges of the agave leaves, changing the subject, “It is quite resilient, though. To think it didn’t die after being left unattended all these years and even grew this tall.”

Luo Congye, however, shook his head. “It’s about to die soon.”

Bai Heting looked toward him in bewilderment. “Why?”

The flower branches were robust, and the leaves were a vibrant green; this agave showed not the slightest sign of withering.

“Do you see its flowers? At the very top.” Luo Congye looked up at the tip of the flower spike before explaining to him patiently, “Those yellow clusters are its flowers. Once the flowers fade, it will die too.”

Bai Heting stared blankly at the high spike.

Several clusters of bright yellow agave flowers were currently blooming in magnificent splendor.

He suddenly recalled that he had indeed read about this in a book before; an agave blooms only once in its entire life, pouring absolutely everything it has into that single, solitary blossom.

A shadow suddenly fell over his eyes as Luo Congye stepped in front of him, raising his arms to draw him into his embrace.

“An agave blooms only once in its life, and I will love only one person in mine,” he asked in a teasing manner. “Aren’t we quite alike?”

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