Pleased by how quickly he'd located his lover this time, the light smile on Chen Yu's face grew subtly warmer, only to be replaced by a speculative look a moment later.
The imprint was something like a shared echo chamber; whenever one party became stimulated while close to his partner, the other's soul would react automatically.
Logically, as the triggering side, his lover should have felt the impact even before he had, yet Chun'yu Dao remained perfectly composed, his emotionless speech about something or another smooth and steady.
No matter how impassive the man was, it was unlikely that he could completely ignore such an unusual phenomenon.
At the very least, with Chun'yu Dao's personality, he should have rushed away to start investigating the anomaly, so the fact that he was standing here indifferently meant that he hadn't perceived the resonance at all.
This in turn suggested that his lover's soul wasn't able to make itself known even when his emotions fluctuated sharply.
Factoring in the soul split in the last plane and the odd delay before the transmission to this world, Chen Yu could basically conclude two points: firstly, his lover's soul was weakening, and secondly, he had somehow become unable to enter a plane unless the man was ready to accompany him.
Provided that his guess was right, the latter point would ensure that the former didn't become a fatal problem, since the system would have to protect his lover for Chen Yu to execute more missions.
Yet as reckless as he may be at other times, this gamble was one he didn't feel like taking. If nothing else, that was his future sex life at stake ah.
Therefore, he contacted the system, which confirmed that his golden finger couldn't be exchanged for any soul-enhancing agent, then unhesitatingly transferred practically all the energy he'd accumulated over the past few planes.
Almost instantly, the aftereffects overwhelmed his senses.
Having lost the strength to continue suppressing the pain, the chills and stomach cramps rushed up again, his vision spinning dizzily until he could barely distinguish anything.
Still, he was someone who had experienced far worse, the sole sign of discomfort he exposed was his skin momentarily blanching.
This minute symptom, however, was enough to alert Chun'yu Dao.
The man immediately broke off mid-sentence, easily abandoning the description of prerequisites for a laboratory, which he'd been personally listing out in order to prevent Lei Xinxiu from pressuring other researchers like it had today.
After all, there were other methods to handle the subject, but missing a single observation could affect the whole study.
Thoroughly absorbed in ensuring the sanctity of his experiment, Chun'yu Dao switched his gloves to disposable ones in a practiced manner to silently measure and record the data, but his brows uncontrollably wrinkled every time his eyes passed over the untended cut on its chest.
Notwithstanding its relatively low severity, an open wound could lead to a great deal of trouble given 004's condition. Moreover, a damaged specimen was offensive to his sensibilities.
Nonetheless, it would be far worse if attempting to contact the site pushed it into exploding, so he held back and simply placed water and soap close to the bed with a short "Clean up."
Unfortunately, the command fell on deaf ears.
Rather curious whether the improved vitality of his lover's soul would become obvious right away, Chen Yu disregarded the doctor's chilly stare, instead unhurriedly untying his hospital gown with one hand and grasping the man with the other.
While he outwardly strained to maintain his grip on Chun'yu Dao's wrist, in his heart he thoughtfully noted, hm, based on how the block of wood kept withdrawing, it seemed the pervert's characteristic skin-hunger hadn't surfaced yet.
Though the finding was, arguably, undesirable, the man's disturbed appearance made the trouble of holding on worthwhile, so much so that he didn't want to give up the pleasure of vexing his cheap guardian anytime soon.
Accordingly, he tightened his grip, overlapped their hands, and lazily blinked, murmuring, "Doctor, I didn't have a chance to close up the cut before. You help me do it, okay?"
At the soft words, Chun'yu Dao paused, reminded of his priorities.
He'd reflexively been trying to pull away without snapping 004's fragile bones, unaccustomed to the temperature of a conscious body, but naturally, his subject had to be preserved no matter how awkward the method of treatment.
Duly returning his attention to the important issue, he expertly controlled the other's fingers to confirm that the loop recorder was properly placed, then sutured the incision closed, every step skillfully executed despite the clumsy arrangement.
But, perhaps because it had been so long since he'd last worked on a non-sedated body, he was inexplicably distracted the whole time, each hot exhalation and faint shudder constantly breaking his concentration.
Whereas his hands at least managed to proceed with their ministrations, his eyes were drawn as if possessed to Lei Xinxiu's inconspicuous movements, his gaze roving over the wide expanse of skin that had been bared by the loosened robes.
Although he had viewed this scenery numerous times before, he had never noticed how delicate the skin here was—it was so thin that the loop recorder created a visible bump, and the color was nearly transparent, clear enough that a myriad of blue veins could be traced.
Combined with the distinct clavicles and thin waist that was arched up in response to the pain, the whole body looked like a glazed qinghua porcelain vase, the fragility and smoothness of that imagery inexplicably making Chun'yu Dao want to crush it into powder, fill it up to its bursting point, heat it until it melted.
As if aware of the peculiar ideas fermenting in his imagination, the flesh under his fingers twitched nervously and shrank back, yet this bid to escape merely fueled his newfound desire to carry out his tests on a live sample.
Previously, he hadn't held much interest due to his aversion to interacting with lab animals like they were patients, but the stifled sound Lei Xinxiu let out when the swab he was using brushed against the reddened point on its chest was the final stroke that convinced him that he shouldn't have neglected this aspect.
That abnormally high degree of sensitivity, that remarkable reaction time, that vigorous range of motion, any one of these could be a critical indicator.
And, considering he had already decided to closely monitor 004 himself, it was of course his responsibility to explore each attribute further, so he moved closer, intending to rectify this oversight personally.
Unexpectedly, however, the hands he'd unwittingly been holding all this time stopped him, coolly removing themselves and brushing him off.
Chen Yu hooked his lips toward the puzzled man, pleased with the foolishly vacant expression on those sharp features.
By his estimate, his question had been answered, enough wellness benefits had been provided…En, there was nothing left to do for now, it was time to get some sleep.
He therefore casually dismissed, "That's enough, thank you Doctor. You can go now," sweeping aside the man's lingering fingers and neatening his clothing as if he couldn't see the other's darkened face.
What Chun'yu Dao hated the most in the world was his research being interrupted. If the obstacle had been anything else, he would have destroyed it on the spot.
Twitching from the urge to do so now as well, he paced back and forth, but the memory of the safeguards 004 had installed ultimately forced him to grit his teeth, restrain himself to picking up the laptop on the side, and spit out, "This will be confiscated to prevent accidents, and a new model will be sent tomorrow."
Then, without waiting for permission, he strode out, instructing his assistant to make the necessary arrangements.
No matter what, the sudden advance in intelligence and tactics that Lei Xinxiu had displayed today was suspicious. He would have to confirm that 004 had really learned its tricks online, not from any person who might be aiming to disrupt his work.
Since he had inputted the appropriate search history long ago, Chen Yu just smirked at the man's sullen behavior, his mind having already moved on to reviewing the information he'd skimmed about the original owner's guardian.
Although his investigation had been quite shallow because he hadn't cared much about Chun'yu Dao before he'd been identified as his lover, he recalled that the man was an illegitimate son of Chunyu Group's chairman.
While he hadn't been granted permission to use his father's surname, not to mention public recognition, Chun'yu Dao nevertheless became the favorite child of this business conglomerate head once he grew up, thanks to his refusing all inheritance rights in favor of pursuing his research.
For the chairman who was struggling to retain power in the face of his dozen ambitious sons and daughters, this kind of passivity was the most reassuring attitude. As a result, Chun'yu Dao received a formidable level of support from an early age, setting him apart from his half-siblings.
What cemented this advantage was his later development of a deadly virus, through which he seized absolute dominance over not just Chunyu Group, but also the higher levels of the government.
Luckily for all the parties involved, Chun'yu Dao genuinely didn't like attending to anything besides his experiments, but his biological weapon nevertheless hovered over their heads as a potent deterrent.
As for why such a self-sufficient person had accepted the burden of two young wards, it was ostensibly due to the friendship between the chairman and Lei Laoye. From his knowledge of the man, though, Chen Yu rather suspected that his motivation had actually been to gain control of some intriguing specimens.
Well, whatever the case, he would be taught to take better care of him eventually.
---
A little over a month later, Chen Yu finally stepped foot into Donghua Academy.
For the first few weeks after his arrival in this plane, he'd been stuck honestly studying a great deal in order to meet Chun'yu Dao's standards, because he hadn't invested much time in the medical field before; in his original life, there had been machines to do everything, and after he'd begun taking on missions, the unavoidable nature of his deaths in the so-called introductory phase had understandably dampened his interest.
Indeed, what little information he'd picked up during his previous dabbling had been so haphazard that it was only after maximizing his remaining spiritual strength that he'd been able to memorize the huge amount of required material.
Anyway, no matter the process, in the end he had successfully passed every test perfectly, much to the surprise of all the doctors.
Even the usually imperturbable Chun'yu Dao had been markedly affected, his enthusiastic face almost broadcasting the news that the scientific talent Chen Yu had demonstrated had changed his status from an object to a person.
Remembering the man's intense gaze, Chen Yu somewhat regretfully shook his head.
If he hadn't been provoked by the absent Lei Xinzhen's overconfident message prohibiting him from transferring into his school, he could have taken the time to tease his lover some more.
Of course, the man was presumably still digesting the greater shock of how he had mysteriously recovered a significant degree of health in just ten days.
In fact, he couldn't take the credit for this miraculous revival.
It was the information he'd extrapolated from the original owner's memories that had simultaneously pointed him in the right direction in terms of effective medicine and confirmed his hypothesis that the Lei twins' multiple organ failures hadn't been caused by a simple infection.
As he passed through the grand ivy-covered gates and grew close enough to the team waiting to welcome him that he could spot Lei Xinzhen's apathetic expression, Chen Yu idly hummed, wondering when this brat had been told the truth.
The big reveal had probably taken place quite early on, as the brothers had been very close as young children until Lei Xinzhen had abruptly distanced himself. Since the original owner also generally hadn't been someone who liked to stick his hot face on a cold ass, by this time, there was predictably little sentiment left.
The estrangement had gotten to the point that this was Chen Yu's first time meeting the protagonist gong.
Upon inspection, the boy's face was eight or nine points similar to his own, their long, narrow eyes, willow leaf shaped brows, and narrow nose virtually identical, but their overall concepts were unmistakably different.
Whereas Lei Xinzhen had developed enough muscle that he looked like a classic handsome noble son, Lei Xinxiu's slightly wan complexion and spare frame gave him the aura of a sickly scholar, to which Chen Yu's signature teardrop mole added a subtly evil note.
Naturally, the important thing was who was more attractive.
Having concluded to his satisfaction that he won in all aspects, Chen Yu cheerfully turned away from the other's contemptuous eyes with a careless grin and surveyed his surroundings.
Every part of the Academy's campus that he could see was well-maintained, the Western-style brick buildings distributed around vibrant green fields and the directions to the specialized business, medicine, and art areas that the top students could enroll in prominently displayed.
So, this was the place where the original owner had squeezed in, driven by the belief that by doing so, he could become closer to Kan Yawei.
The lamentable reality had been that he'd simply served as a foil for his twin.
For one thing, because his more severe sickness had left him little time to be tutored, he'd struggled to even score in the top thirty of his grade, hardly an impressive ranking to the lofty shou.
Additionally, in contrast with Lei Xinzhen who had undergone training as the family heir, the original owner had rarely spoken with people besides doctors and nurses. He thus had trouble getting along with other children, a situation that had worsened when Lei Xinzhen had noticed his excessive attention to Kan Yawei and privately warned him off by disclosing that they were dating.
Even after he'd gotten over the shock and his resolve to prove himself to his first love had inspired him to jump into the most advanced class, qualify to specialize in medicine, and substantially rehabilitate his body all in less than half a year, he'd merely succeeded in upgrading himself into a spare tire.
Once he'd been coaxed into giving his brother all the medicine he had produced by the shou's promise to break up with Lei Xinzhen as soon as he was healthy enough to take the blow, he'd been goaded into a trap then left to wither away.
In short, from the time he'd entered this school, his life had devolved into a series of pointless sacrifices.
Musing over how people had to keep some self-respect and intelligence even when caught in the throes of passion, Chen Yu flicked off a nonexistent piece of dust and walked ahead.