16 Cherish

Outside, thunder rumbled, and a gentle drizzle began to fall, making the air inside the room damp and heavy.

Lu Mingzhao wasn’t sure if he had heard Shao Ziyang’s words, but when he saw Luo Wen carefully carrying out a bowl of soup broth, its orange-yellow hue clearly the result of considerable effort, he was deeply moved in his heart. The eldest young master lacked nothing in luxury and fine living; it was Luo Wen’s sincere devotion that truly touched him.

Without hesitation, Lu Mingzhao instinctively reached out to take the bowl of noodles from the young man’s hands. “Let me.”

“No need, it’s very hot.” Luo Wen placed the longevity noodles before Lu Mingzhao, his eyes slightly lowered, his calm and indifferent expression under the light revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Lu Mingzhao touched his nose, furrowing his brows. Though Luo Wen’s tone was as usual, he sensed an unusual emotion beneath it... Had he heard what Shao Ziyang said and became angry?

Before he could speak, Shao Ziyang rose and approached Luo Wen. He flashed his identification and smiled politely. “Hello, Mr. Luo, we have something we need your cooperation with. Can we speak privately?”

He then glanced at Lu Mingzhao, maintaining a courteous smile.

Lu Mingzhao, understanding the implication, walked silently into the bathroom.

Through the frosted glass, muffled voices reached his ears. The initial questions were routine, no different from what he had just experienced.

But then, Lu Mingzhao frowned.

Shao Ziyang asked, “Has your mother ever told you anything about your father’s whereabouts?”

Luo Wen’s voice was calm. “I don’t know. She rarely talks about it, only saying that my father abandoned us.”

Shao Ziyang pressed on, “Have you considered that maybe it wasn’t your father who abandoned you, but that he could never come back?”

Luo Wen’s tone changed slightly, tinged with confusion. “Why would you say that?”

Shao Ziyang said, “Have you never heard of the Jiangcheng dismemberment case? Such a big event—back when you were a student, you should’ve caught wind of it.”

Luo Wen replied, “We moved away after that year. I never heard any of those things you mentioned.”

Shao Ziyang continued, “Well, actually, this dismemberment case—”

At that moment, Lu Mingzhao opened the door, expressionless, and looked at the man on the sofa. Shao Ziyang stopped mid-sentence, distracted by the sound.

“Shao Ziyang, you’re here about Ke Tianyu’s case. Why bring up all this unrelated nonsense?” His black eyes darkened with a hint of pressure as he stared at the other man. “You were at the scene that day. You know he’s not the real culprit. So there’s no need to test me like this.”

Shao Ziyang saw the irritation in his eyes and was somewhat surprised. Besides his young aunt who died early, he had never seen Lu Mingzhao so fiercely protective of anyone.

A hint of worry arose in him, but he only raised an eyebrow and half-jokingly said, “Alright, I get it—you’re protective. Let’s leave it at that for today. We’ll take our leave.”

Lu Mingzhao rubbed his temples without a word, then opened the door as if to see them out.

Shao Ziyang stood up and was being escorted out, but just as the door was closing, he pulled Lu Mingzhao aside and whispered, “I know the real killer isn’t him, but your boyfriend is not as simple as he seems. All these cases revolve around him... Anyway, though I know how close you two are, as your cousin and friend, I want to warn you—be careful.”

---

Seeing Shao Ziyang’s concern, Lu Mingzhao was silent for a moment. “I understand. But... Luo Wen is inherently kind. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

His hatred index had dropped from a hundred percent to less than half with just a gentle word; if anyone was bad, it was probably that he was too easily coaxed, likely to be swindled in the future.

What Shao Ziyang feared most was the Blood Eye organization closely linked to Luo Wen.

Shao Ziyang was frustrated by his stubbornness—how could he be so lovesick? With a heart full of grumbles, he left.

Lu Mingzhao turned and closed the door, meeting a pair of cold and indifferent black eyes.

He was momentarily startled, but Luo Wen remained still, his gaze fixed. The atmosphere thickened with a chilling darkness, and a breeze carrying a faint iron tang blew through the open window, making Lu Mingzhao’s skin crawl.

Focused solely on Luo Wen, he didn’t notice the changes around him. He raised his hand to close the window, then frowned at Luo Wen. “Why just stand there? Let’s go.”

He naturally took Luo Wen’s hand; the fingers were slender and pale, like finely carved works of art, but icy cold to the touch.

Lu Mingzhao tightened his grip slightly, trying to warm him with his own burning palm.

Tall and slender, Lu Mingzhao was taller than Luo Wen, with much larger hands. Opening his palm wide, he could easily hold Luo Wen’s hand firmly.

Luo Wen looked down at their intertwined hands, the contrasting colors striking. Thick, long lashes cast shadows beneath his eyes. Though his expression seemed calm, the fingers held by Lu Mingzhao trembled subtly.

Lu Mingzhao sensed an unusual silence. He knew Luo Wen was smart, and Shao Ziyang’s unfinished words had revealed enough.

He didn’t know what feelings Luo Wen harbored for a father he hadn’t seen in years, but to suddenly hear that the dismembered victim was his father—who could bear that?

“You don’t need to listen to Shao Ziyang. He’s unreliable and often speaks nonsense.”

He assumed Luo Wen was struggling to accept a sudden truth.

But he was wrong.

The father’s face had long since blurred with time. What remained was only resentment. Hearing that his father died painfully, Luo Wen felt confusion and bewilderment above all.

He didn’t understand why his mother, who knew the truth, would lie to him. Why turn the man’s brutal murder into a story of abandonment? Luo Wen found his mother’s resentful, sorrowful face to be almost laughable.

He even began to feel that the contract he signed for his mother’s sake was meaningless.

What if he hadn’t met Lu Mingzhao?

What if Lu Mingzhao really was as violent and cruel as rumored?

What would become of him?

A chill washed over him again and again, a long-forgotten spasm stirred in his stomach. Luo Wen instinctively curled his spine, his frail body trembling, his face pale and sickly.

The familiar “hatred rising” alert sounded in his ear. The system stared in shock as the value suddenly shot up to half, tugging at Lu Mingzhao’s sleeve.

But Lu Mingzhao was no longer paying attention to hatred levels. With his other hand, he circled Luo Wen’s waist and caught him just in time before he collapsed.

---

Those hands remained cold after several minutes, even colder than before, like ice.

Worried, Lu Mingzhao stopped holding Luo Wen’s hand and placed his hand on the hollow behind his knee. The next moment, he quickly laid him down on the sofa.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” he asked repeatedly, reaching to check Luo Wen’s temperature.

But Luo Wen’s eyes seemed unfocused; he turned his head, staring blankly at a point in midair. A faint, elusive sneer tugged at the corner of his thin lips.

After a long silence, as if finally hearing Lu Mingzhao’s voice, Luo Wen stiffly turned his head and said flatly, “Aren’t you afraid? I’m connected to several murder cases. People as unfortunate as me—you should stay away.”

Lu Mingzhao fell silent. He knew Luo Wen had overheard his conversation with Shao Ziyang. How to put it? The memories Lu Mingzhao had of him were far scarier than any of those cases. Those terrifying incidents paled compared to the Blood Angel lurking behind Luo Wen.

In the end, he simply said, “I’m not afraid.”

His voice was low and hoarse, betraying no obvious emotion, but in response, Luo Wen’s deep black eyes seemed to kindle two faint, glowing embers.

The words seemed to have a fleeting effect. Luo Wen slowly bowed his head, curling up in the corner of the sofa, hugging his knees and murmuring to himself, “Lies... all lies. She’s lying to me. In the end, you’ll lie to me too.”

As if finally convincing himself, he shrank into a ball, like a lost, chilled bird trembling in a dark, damp nest, tears leaking steadily from the corners of his eyes.

...Was it really because of the sudden truth?

Lu Mingzhao bore no impatience. In the past, he had approached those before him only to reduce hatred values, but now, it was simply pure compassion.

He knelt before Luo Wen, gently prying apart the fingers clenched tightly around his palm. Under the corridor’s faint light, he could see the deep nail marks etched in Luo Wen’s pale palm.

Opening Luo Wen’s hand, he placed his own palm over it, intertwining their fingers, filling every gap as if they were born to fit perfectly.

A thought, never before conceived, sprouted like a tender shoot breaking through the soil.

He wanted to end their contract ahead of time, to treat the person before him openly and honestly.

This sudden idea quickly blossomed into a fierce storm within his heart.

Gazing at the silently weeping young man, Lu Mingzhao knelt before him, looking down, and finally took a corner of his own shirt to gently wipe away Luo Wen’s tears.

But the moment one eye was wiped, tears welled up in the other, soaking his lashes.

The rain continued unabated, pattering with increasing intensity. Outside, thick clouds blocked out the sky, casting the room into dimness.

In the darkness, Lu Mingzhao fumbled as he wiped, then cupped Luo Wen’s damp cheeks in his hands. His angular fingers gently brushed away tears, then his eyes, pale cheeks, and high nose bridge.

The warm palms on the cold face were like a spark of flame, burning hot enough to make Luo Wen open his eyes in the darkness.

His eyes, tinged with faint red, refocused in the dim light, locking onto the face before him, meeting a pair of eyes radiant as stars.

Softly, he said,

“Luo Wen, let’s end the contract.”