Chapter 683: What Do You Mean?
Zeke jolted out of his trance as soon as the realization dawned on him. His entire body stiffened and he almost shot up sitting if not for the solid reminder that Lu Yizhou’s arms were still wrapped around him — Lu Yizhou, who was supposed to be severely injured. Lu Yizhou, whose heart had briefly stopped beating just a short few hours ago. Whenever he recalled that moment, terror immediately seized his heart, chilling him down to the tip of his fingers.
He did not want to move casually only to aggravate the man’s wounds. No – in the first place, how the hell did Lu Yizhou sneak his way here? Where was Dr. Xiao and Dr. Feng who were supposed to keep watch over him?!
Zeke strained his ears to listen to any movements outside, yet aside from the erratic thumping of his own heartbeat and Lu Yizhou’s steady and deep breathing, he could not hear anything else. It was as if the whole world had shrunk rapidly to encase only the two of them alone.
Unwilling to rouse Lu Yizhou from his sleep, Zeke carefully held his breath and opted to rake his gaze all over Lu Yizhou’s features instead. It was very seldom for him to see Lu Yizhou in such a defenseless state, even inside the simulator. In his earliest memory with this person, Lu Yizhou had not closed his eyes when he fell asleep and when he awoke, Lu Yizhou’s eyes were already open. Sometimes, it gave off the impression that this man did not need any sleep at all.
It was not until they had gone through more and more simulation that Lu Yizhou began to let himself relax. Zeke could still remember vividly how emotional he felt simply by waking up to see that Lu Yizhou was fast asleep beside him. Such a sight was undoubtedly more rare than a blizzard on the peak of summer. What he knew about Lu Yizhou was only bits and pieces that the man willingly divulged to him, as well as... what he had witnessed with his own eyes. But that alone was already enough for him to imagine what kind of burden this person had been carrying on his shoulders.
That’s why, seeing Lu Yizhou sleeping so peacefully like this had Zeke’s heart swelled in a sweet ache. His nose turned sour and he blinked his eyes rapidly to keep his tears from overflowing. He had cried so much today that his eyelids turned swollen. He did not want to get any uglier than this!
He was too engrossed in his own thoughts that he failed to notice when the arm curled around his waist started to move. All of a sudden, a cool and familiar palm cupped his face, wiping the traces of moisture from the corner of his eyes while measuring the temperature on his forehead. "How are you feeling?" a deep, husky voice still tinged with drowsiness drifted close to his ears.
Zeke’s body tensed in surprise. Slowly, he peered over his lashes to find that Lu Yizhou was gazing down at him with those mesmerizing and gentle silver eyes of his. Moonlight spilled from the window behind him, casting a shadow that made his features look deeper and softer. For some reason, Zeke sensed that something was different with him. How to say it? There was an air of ease and languidness on Lu Yizhou that he had never seen before. It was as if... he had truly put down the burden on his shoulders to take a fresh breath of air for the first time.
Guilt crept into his heart, and his voice was quiet when he asked, "Did I wake you up?"