Chapter 60
The night in Cloud City had always been prosperous, like a city that never sleeps. Various neon lights flashed between high-rise buildings, and the streetlights and car headlights along the streets were like a long ribbonâa galaxy on the ground, a rainbow in the dark night.
Here, it seemed everything existed, yet those truly within it felt that there was nothing here at all.
Duan Mingyue still carried the chill of the night wind, yet he was exceptionally passionate. As soon as they entered the dorm room door, he pressed Shen Yanjin against the wall and kissed him thoroughly.
Shen Yanjin submissively let him bite his lips, complaining in a small voice, “Why are your hands so cold…”
Duan Mingyue said, “I was in a hurry to come back and left my gloves at the venue. Did I freeze you?”
Shen Yanjin shook his head and buried his face in the man’s neck, greedily inhaling Duan Mingyue’s scent.
He knew that his dependence on Duan Mingyue had become increasingly pathological recently, almost reaching the point where he would claw at his heart and scratch his lungs if he couldn’t see Duan Mingyue.
Distance creates beauty; everyone needs space and freedom for solitude. Being this clingy would put a lot of pressure on people.
Shen Yanjin couldn’t control it, but Duan Mingyue didn’t seem to want him to control it either. Usually, aside from training matches, he accompanied Shen Yanjin almost all the time. Whenever they were alone, his behavior became even more intimate.
For instance, at this moment, Duan Mingyue indulged the young man clinging to his embrace, lowering his head to peck his earlobe. “You said you had something to ask me. What is it?”
Shen Yanjin’s arms circled Duan Mingyue’s waist, his eyelashes slightly lowered. “When did you discover I was YanGold?”
So it was about this. Duan Mingyue answered truthfully, “During that livestream.”
In other words, the previous special treatment and uniqueness wasn’t because of himself… No, no, no, UOOW was also him; there was no distinction to make.
Although saying so, Shen Yanjin was still a little disappointed. He thought amusingly: Clearly, I was the one who wanted to deceive Duan Mingyue, but in the end, I’m the one feeling sad again. This is too dramatic.
Duan Mingyue saw through his thoughts, smiled helplessly, and didn’t explain much, only saying, “It was my fault.”
But this wasn’t what Shen Yanjin truly wanted to know.
His hand unconsciously tightened around the hem of Duan Mingyue’s shirt. “After knowing it was me, why… aren’t you angry that I lied to you?”
In Duan Mingyue’s heart, bringing up old matters now wasn’t exactly a good time. Sensing the unease of the youth in his arms, he raised his hand to stroke his back gently twice. “Not angry. I added you back then also because I thought UOOW was you.” After saying it, he felt these character relationships were too tongue-twisting and complex, finding it a bit funny.
But Shen Yanjin didn’t find it funny at all. The truth seemed close at hand, and he had begun to tremble unconsciously.
His trembling was naturally transmitted to Duan Mingyue.
Duan Mingyue coaxed in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”
“Five years ago…” Shen Yanjin closed his eyes. “You wanted to recruit me into KW, right?”
Duan Mingyue admitted it crisply. “Right.”
“If you just wanted to recruit a rookie, there was no need to go through so much trouble. But youâ”
But you chatted with me every day, teased me to make me happy all the time, duo queued with me at night no matter how tired you were, protected me, carried me, and treated me gently.
Such care exceeded the relationship between a captain and a rookie by far too much, giving birth to too many hopeless longings in me.
Shen Yanjin was afraid of losing his composure and didn’t continue; his voice stopped abruptly.
“I didn’t figure it out before,” he felt the man’s broad palm gently patting his back, “but thinking about it now, I actually had already fallen for you back then.”
Boomâ
Like a muffled, deafening thunderclap roaring through the clouds, causing the soul to tremble violently. Like a giant beast lurking in the dark night ferociously piercing the clouds, it carved out a brief blankness in Shen Yanjin’s brain.
Duan Mingyue clearly saw the youth in his arms turn pale instantly after he finished those words. His eyes widened in disbelief, his lips trembling as they opened and closed a few times.
“Iâ” Shen Yanjin didn’t know where the strength came from, but he pushed Duan Mingyue away. “I need to calm down.”
After speaking, he rushed out the door and fled into the adjacent room. The crisp sound of the latch clicking echoed: he had locked the door.
Leaning against the door panel, Shen Yanjin’s body slid slowly to the floor as if drained of strength.
He remembered himself when he first arrived in Cloud City: penniless, with no family to turn to, eyes full of confusion. That small dorm room in HG was narrow and dim, without even a small window. The electric bulb hung low, casting a yellowish light. He curled up on the hard, uncomfortable bed board, staring blankly at the chat account he had deleted. He couldn’t think back; thinking back felt like a knife cutting his heart…
But now, Duan Mingyue said he had fallen for him back then?
If so, why did he reject him in that way? Wouldn’t the five nightmare-like years be just a joke?
“…After he ran away, the Captain simply went crazy. He got into arguments with people in RANK and was directly banned for four games…”
Kai’s words suddenly rang in Shen Yanjin’s mind.
…Duan Mingyue rejected him and told him to get lost, so why would he lose his composure like that afterward?
Could it beâ
Could it be that that person wasn’t Duan Mingyue at all?
Knock, knock.
The knock on the door came at exactly the right moment.
The man’s voice came through the door panel, a little muffled.
“Yanjin,” Duan Mingyue said, “let me keep you company, okay?”
Shen Yanjin’s heart suddenly birthed a bit of resentment again.
Since you like me, whyâ
In the same region for so many years, he never discovered his name was YanGold, Yanjin.
Countless types of bitterness flooded Shen Yanjin’s heart. He finally admitted helplessly that his five years of struggle and dedication were just his own wishful thinking. He walked painfully through thorns, thinking he could obtain a little bit of the bright moon’s radiance.
But the truth was, Duan Mingyue never put him in his eyes. Five years, and he didn’t even know his name.
He climbed up from the floor, stood in front of the door, and looked down at the lock.
Did Duan Mingyue treat him well?
Well. Simply too well, almost meticulous care.
Wasn’t this exactly what he wanted and prayed for?
Shen Yanjin laughed at himself. It seems I’ve really been spoiled by Duan Mingyue. Weren’t those sacrifices made willingly by myself? Now I’m indulging in self-pity; isn’t that being pretentious?
He took a deep breath and unlocked the door.
Duan Mingyue stood at the door, looking worried.
He had just been inexplicably lashed out at, yet he came over to make amends first. Having calmed down, Shen Yanjin really felt he shouldn’t have.
He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I…”
Duan Mingyue raised his hand and covered his lips. “Don’t apologize. From beginning to end, this matter is my fault.” The light wasn’t on in the room, but borrowing the street lamp’s light from outside the window, Duan Mingyue saw the redness at the corners of the youth’s eyes. He took a step inside, kissed Shen Yanjin’s eyes lovingly, and the door closed behind him. “Letting you suffer so much grievance, I should be the one saying sorry.”
Shen Yanjin’s eyelashes trembled, and he didn’t speak.
Although he didn’t speak, his body was submissive.
There was still no result from XXDY’s side. Duan Mingyue hadn’t expected that waiting would actually cause problems. He sighed and decided to lay everything out. “For these five years, I always thought you left without saying goodbye.”
“That day when my training match ended and I returned to the training room, you had already deleted your account and left. Later, I never looked for a new duo partner until UOOW appeared. She was too much like you, but I truly didn’t expect she was you.”
New ID, voice changer, social media and game accounts all set up according to female habitsâif not for those photos and the faint suspicion Duan Mingyue always kept in his heart, the truth probably wouldn’t have come out until they actually met.
Shen Yanjin had clearly resolved a moment ago not to be pretentious anymore, but now he couldn’t help asking a very pretentious question: “If she wasn’t me, would you have liked her too?”
Duan Mingyue said with a candid attitude, “I don’t know.”
Shen Yanjin smiled bitterly and lowered his head again.
But Duan Mingyue quickly pinched his chin, forcing him to look directly at him. “I only know that whether it’s YanGold or UOOW, the person who made my heart move is you.”
After speaking, he leaned down to peck Shen Yanjin’s lips, sighing, “I’m sorry. If I had paid a bit more attention to players in the same region, I wouldn’t have let you suffer so much. I’ve been having someone investigate what happened five years ago these past few days. I originally wanted to get the results before clearing things up with you, not like now, where I don’t even know what exactly happened five years ago.”
Shen Yanjin asked, “That person really… wasn’t you?”
Duan Mingyue was sharp and smart. He asked, “What did that person say?”
Shen Yanjin, however, wasn’t willing to continue. He hugged Duan Mingyue’s neck and offered his lips. He kissed with unprecedented initiative. The man cooperated well, parting his lips and teeth, lingering with extreme tenderness.
Although no one lived in this dorm room, the cleaner cleaned it every day, so there was no dust. The bedding was new. The two embraced and sank into it.
Duan Mingyue naturally wouldn’t force Shen Yanjin to say what he didn’t want to say. After the kiss ended, he realized Shen Yanjin’s hand had quietly undone his belt. His eyes darkened, voice slightly hoarse: “Yanjin, don’t continue.”
Shen Yanjin looked at Duan Mingyue, his eyes shimmering with the watery light of street lamps and moonlight. Immediately after, Duan Mingyue was pushed back onto the bed by him.
The youth’s body was both warm and soft. He didn’t listen to Duan Mingyue; his slender fingers kept teasing. His originally plain brows and eyes now burst with startling charm. “Brother, let me help you.”
After saying this sentence, he lowered his body and crouched down.
Duan Mingyue immediately felt his lower abdomen tighten, his scalp tingling, suddenly falling into a gentle trap of deep water and scorching fire. The youth’s movements were unskilled and green, inevitable bumping occurred, but he won by being exceptionally diligent. Taking it in wasn’t enough; his head wanted to sink further. Duan Mingyue sensed an unusual tightness. He knew his own size well and was startled, reaching out to stop him.
Seeing the confusion and even grievance in Shen Yanjin’s eyes, he ground his teeth. “Do you still want to speak tomorrow?”
Shen Yanjin weighed it in his heart and slowly loosened up. His expression still carried a bit of unwillingness. Although he didn’t persist, he still sank down a bit from time to time.
Duan Mingyue kept his nerves taut the whole time, desperately suppressing the urge to thrust his hips. In the end, he intended to pull out, but Shen Yanjin seemed crazy tonight and wouldn’t let him move no matter what, so he had to release just like that.
For a moment, only the sound of two people’s rapid breathing remained in the room.
Duan Mingyue pulled out tissues from the side and held them to Shen Yanjin’s lips. “Spit it out.”
But he saw the youth’s Adam’s apple slide up and down, looking innocent as he said, “Already drank it.”
Translatorâs note: Wait⌠Iâm shook. I wasnât ready. Omg. Omg. Omg. Iâm embarrassed. Hahahaha.
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