Wang Tao passed through the garden and arrived at his favorite spot. His tense body relaxed as he passed through the bed of flowers.
"Ah!"
The Celestial whipped his head towards the sound. His eyes showed a momentary shock when he noticed the cause.
There stood Chen Xiang who had covered his mouth once he'd emitted the sound. The human nervously looked at the beast man nearby.
Wang Tao frowned before walking up to the boy. His eye twitched in annoyance when he understood the situation.
Bending down, he picked up the fallen petals of the flower and held them in his palm. Exhaling softly, he turned to look at Chen Xiang, awaiting an explanation.
"I-I'm sorry I just. I-...I'm sorry please don't get mad."
The boy's eyes watered as he stuttered. He fidgeted with his shirt as he anxiously tried to judge the other's reaction. One would find it a bit hard to tell whether this was an act or not.
If he didn't see firsthand the bubbly personality of the other, Wang Tao might have believed it. But that was unlikely as he was already doubting the cheerful side of the boy.
"I'm not mad. Just don't touch them again."
Wang Tao simply stated this before directing his attention to the damaged flower. These were flowers he'd made and they were actually quite difficult to create so he took good care of them. Wang Tao was perplexed on whether he should use his powers since these flowers were not the type to regrow very quickly.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiang glared at the other, irritated at his reaction. He'd been hoping the other would act out more since he knew how important the flowers were to him. Zhou Jian had told him a while back.
The transmigrator's worries about the closeness between the two friends had returned. Even if the older man wouldn't reciprocate the feelings, the growing trust between them posed a problem.
Chen Xiang was hoping to create an incident for him to show the original's trauma and force Zhou Jian to ban the other from being near his lover. All that was left was to show some dependency on Zhou Jian, a valid excuse to be around more often, creating little opportunity for Wang Tao to approach his friend since the boy was near.
[ System. ]
[ Yes host? ]
[ Is there anything in the system shop that can cause negative emotions to flare up? ]
[ Umm, yes there is…W-ehat will you use it for? ]
[ Mind your business. How much? ]
[ 2050 S points. ]
[ Can it be spread in the air? Towards Wang Tao. ]
[ ...Yes but that will be 100 extra S points. ]
[ I'll take it. I have a lot of points from my previous missions. ]
[ All done...Target has consumed it. What now host? ]
[ Just watch and learn. ]
"Tsk, where is my slave?"
[ H-host! Why did you say that. Beast men have great hearing. He probably heard! ]
[ That's the point. ]
[Huh? W- ]
The system froze.
The small blue ball wasted no time disappearing into the system space in fright.
The young man blinked his eyes innocently as he looked at the beast man before him. Chen Xiang kept up his act but could feel himself trembling from the pressure the man exuded.
Wang Tao's eyes narrowed as he glared at the human. His silver eyes had turned crimson as his tail struck.
He was enraged at the fact that the lowly human dared call Zhou Jian a slave. He had immediately picked up on who the boy was referring to.
Chen Xiang screamed as the silver tail flung him across the garden. He was bashed against a nearby tree and his body cried out in pain.
In moments, he felt a hand wipe his bloody lips and blinked away the tears to see Zhou Jian. The man was quite concerned as he held his lover close to him.
Chen Xiang struggled but managed to grab onto his lover and began to cry. The tear streaked face of the boy would evoke sympathy from spectators, if there were any. Zhou Jian hurriedly wiped the boy's tears as he comforted him and looked up at his friend.
The Celestial had come back to his senses, his anger long forgotten. The phoenix eyes were once again silver and the murderous aura had instantly disappeared once the Zion arrived.
Panic ensued the Celestial as dread crept up, subconsciously backing up in fear of the others reaction.
Oh no, oh no, oh no.
What did I do?
I'm so stupid.
I knew I'd do something like that.
He'll be upset.
He hates me.
What should I do?
I don't want that.
It's too late.
I shouldn't have hurt the boy.
I couldn't help it.
It's not my fault.
Yes, it is!
I-I…
"A Tao."
Wang Tao flinched. He waited, expecting the onslaught of insults or curses. Possibly just a cold goodbye.
His hands shook as he blocked his face, not daring to look the other in the eye. He could hear the sweet words Zhou Jian was whispering to his lover as he healed him.
Wang Tao felt the two's presence disappeared and realized that the other took his lover away.
[Does he not want to shout in front of Chen Xiang? ]
Thinking this, Wang Tao sank to the ground and stayed put. He buried his head in his arms, bracing himself for the harsh words coming when the man returned.
He held back the pain as he tried to calm his chaotic mind. It had gotten worse since that incident a month ago, when Zhou Jian found him freezing cold in the gardens.
"A Tao look up."
"..."
"A Tao."
"..."
Wang Tao refused to raise his head. He knew that his heart would break further if he saw the rage on the other's face.
When he felt the other's warm hand hold his arm, he flinched a bit.
The man pulled Wang Tao's hands away from his face before using his finger to lift his chin. Zhou Jian gazed at the Celestial who had his eyes shut and gave up.
"A Tao, I'm not going to hurt you."
"..."
"I am mad though. After all, my lover was hurt but…I know you wouldn't do it for no reason."
"Y-"
"...Can you look at me?"
The younger man hesitated before opening his eyes. Zhou Jian ran his hand through the other's hair until the Celestial relaxed. Wang Tao carefully observed the other, still not fully convinced.
"Y-you don't hate me?"
"Of course not. Why would you think that?"
"I hurt your lover so…If, if someone hurt you I'd be angry. So…so why aren't…"
"I-"
Zhou Jian hand paused as he furrowed his brows as complex feelings arose.
He himself didn't understand and was surprised at his tolerance. He was angry but also not angry. It was a weird feeling.
Maybe it was because he could guess what irritated his friend to that extent?
The Zion's eyes traced Wang Tao's face and picked up on the redness of the other's eyes. His hand trembled a bit as he thought over something.
"A Jian?"
"Mmm."
"D-do I have to apologize?"
"..."
"A Jian?"
"Mm-hmm. Please."
[ Why is he asking me? ]
"A Jian, are you ok?"
"...Yeah…Why'd you ask?"
Lowering his eyes, Wang Tao bit the inside of his lip. An uneasy feeling grew as he took notice of the man's melancholy mood. Zhou Jian was acting weird recently, actually longer than that, but it was more prominent in this world.
Noticing his friend eyeing him, Zhou Jian forced a smile before standing up. He mumbled something about needing to check on Chen Xiang before his figure disappeared.
Wang Tao was left in the garden, speechless at his friend's actions. His confusion and concern grew the more Zhou Jian went on like this.
He also worried about himself, realizing that his mental state had been slipping more rapidly. His reaction earlier proved it.
The powder from a system - he noticed the foreign substance - wouldn't be able to affect him so in a way, it was his own actions.
Well, it shouldn't have affected him but Wang Tao was unsure with how vulnerable emotional state was. He had reacted so badly to the incident and his concern for himself was growing.
_____
Zhou Jian sat beside his lover who he'd laid down on the bed earlier. After healing the boy, Chen Xiang no longer felt any pain and the wounds were gone, not even leaving a scar.
Still, Zhou Jian rubbed the other's hand with his thumb to comfort the shaking boy. The accident seemed to have brought up a trauma and Zhou Jian felt his heart twist.
Once he calmed down, Chen Xiang sat up and leaned against the man. Zhou Jian encircled his arms around his lover and waited for the other's questions.
"Who are you?"
Chen Xiang had finally found the perfect time to ask. Zhou Jian had revealed himself when he healed him.
In this world there was no magic, the most magical thing here were beast men who didn't actually transform into animals like the others. They only had big ears and tails.
"I...I won't say yet n-"
"Are you from this world?"
"..."
"Jian Ge."
"...No."
"Do you remember your previous lives?"
"...Yes."
Chen Xiang's fear had come true and his face darkened. Luckily, he had buried his face in the man's chest, hiding his expression. This posed a problem.
Zhou Jian remembered everything.
He remembered his attempt at hitting on Wang Tao, even though he made himself seem oblivious, and every sudden death. He's sure that the older man was suspicious of him by now.
But this was also good. If Zhou Jian hadn't forgotten all this and still loved him, that means his love was incredibly strong.
It hadn't broken yet so he could still fix things. Chen Xiang got an idea but it would depend on the next world.
"I'm sorry. I left you so many times. I'm really a horrible lover."
Chen Xiang looked up, revealing his teary green eyes. Zhou Jian was unsure of what to say and after a moment simply gave the other a kiss. Once he found his voice, he comforted the other.
"You're not, don't say that. You didn't die on purpose right?"
"Of course not!"
"Exactly, so don't blame yourself."
The transmigrator nodded obediently and snuggled back into the older man's embrace.
His position led him to miss the slight frown Zhou Jian had before it disappeared the next second. The Zion's hands trembled a bit as he hugged the boy tight.