208: 5.18 A Hundred Percent?!

5.18 A Hundred Percent?!

Terra wasn't willing to let go of Lu Yizhou yet. However, he was forced to do so when the nurse serving breakfast arrived with a trolley. Her face was suspiciously flushed as she glanced at the two, eye twinkling with excitement. "Good morning, General Kai and Terra. I will just put the trolley here. Just leave the dirty plates in the hallway and I will come to get it soon." With a giddy and delighted smile, she bowed and hastily closed the door behind her as if fearing she would witness something inappropriate.1

Lu Yizhou sighed. What was up with this hospital's medical staff? Even with his ears plugged, he could still catch a faint uproar somewhere in the distance of people betting whether he and Terra had kissed or not. If it wasn't because he couldn't sense any malicious intention from them — other than peeping, but Lu Yizhou assumed it was quite harmless as long as they were still fully clothed — he would have stormed his way there and taught them a hard lesson to not be such a busybody. Well, he sighed, he might have felt a little grateful though because at least the doctors and nurses were sincere toward Terra.

"Let's eat." Lu Yizhou murmured above Terra's head, almost lightheaded from being so close to the source of the heavenly and delectable scent. The euphoria he felt was magnified tenfold than when he was in Altair's body. It was different from sensing his lover's pheromones — now he was way sweeter, richer and painfully irresistible, Lu Yizhou was tempted to take a bite to see if Terra tasted the same on his tongue —  making everything all the more unbearable. 

Fortunately General Kai's body wasn't as easily aroused as Altair where the slightest physical touch could even make him erect, sparing him the inconvenience of hiding his physical reaction. In this body, what he sensed wasn't fully desire, but also a spiritual peace that made his entire body feel lighter. He almost didn't want to let go, ever.

Alas, like a warning bell, Terra's stomach gave a loud rumble that reverberated through the room. The guide flinched and curled up to wrap his arms around his stomach. Faint blush crept up his cheekbones. Lu Yizhou let out a brief chuckle and stood up to drag the trolley closer. The dishes varied from white rice, stir-fry mushroom and vegetable, potato soup, and honeyed roasted pork. There was even fruit pudding as a dessert. Lu Yizhou peeled off the wrapper from one of the three bowls of rice, mixed it with the dishes, scooped up a small spoon and blew on it before he brought it to Terra's lips.

The guide stared up at him wide-eyed, frozen and Lu Yizhou simply gave him a smile. "Open up."

Terra's jaws dropped and Lu Yizhou took the opportunity to send the food to his mouth which he automatically chewed on. Terra's face was blank for a few seconds and when he did finally register the food in his mouth, the corner of his eyes crinkled ever so slightly, eyes turning half-lidded in bliss. It made Lu Yizhou realize that he hadn't seen Terra's smile yet ever since they met. Not only that, he also hadn't heard the guide talk. Lu Yizhou would wait, he had always had an endless amount of patience reserved especially for his lover, but he found himself imagining how beautiful of a sight a smiling Terra would be. He suppressed the wistfulness and proceeded to feed Terra like a baby bird. 

Lu Yizhou hummed when he felt the guide tugged on his sleeve. "What's wrong?"

Terra stared at him for a while then tilted his head in question. How about you?

"It's okay." Lu Yizhou said gently and brought another spoon to Terra's mouth. "I will eat after you."

Lines appeared between his brows and he tugged on Lu Yizhou's sleeve even more insistently this time. "Alright, then." Helplessly, Lu Yizhou fed the spoon to his own mouth instead. Only then did Terra nod in satisfaction and stop fussing. Back and forth, Lu Yizhou fed the guide and himself, the atmosphere surrounding them was especially soft and sweet that it could make anyone get diabetes. At some point, Terra pressed his lips shut when Lu Yizhou nudged the spoon closer. Lu Yizhou frowned. There was still so much food, it's no wonder that Terra was so thin. How could he grow some meat when he ate very little every time? 

"Just a little more, okay?" Lu Yizhou coaxed.

Terra huffed and glared at him defiantly.

"Please?" Lu Yizhou didn't budge at all.

With a begrudging look, Terra opened his mouth and chewed with his cheeks full like a squirrel, his fists twisting the blanket in silent anger.

Lu Yizhou rubbed his head, satisfied. "Good boy."

Terra abruptly stopped chewing, even as his head bobbed back and forth under Lu Yizhou's broad palm. The tip of his ears were fiercely red and Lu Yizhou pretended he saw nothing when he delivered two more spoonfuls of rice into Terra's mouth before the guide started to give him a cold shoulder.

"Okay, no more." Lu Yizhou smiled helplessly. It's okay, he still had time to slowly fatten Terra up. He peeled open the wrapper to the rest of the plates and devoured them in less than five minutes. All the while, Terra was staring at him without blinking. 

One by one, they freshened themselves up in the bathroom and soon, the time for the examination arrived. It was Doctor Wyatt who personally came to escort them. He observed Terra with a sharp gaze. "Ready?"

Terra wrung his fingers together anxiously. Since he first arrived here, he hadn't even gone five steps away from this room. It had just been a year but how come he felt like the arduous and difficult time when he had to hunt for food and worry about the stormy weather seemed so far away? For God's sake, what was he worrying about? Like Doctor Wyatt said, he was safe here. No one would be able to hurt him and moreover… his gaze drifted to the dark sentinel beside him. A silent yet steadfast presence who looked at him as if he was the only person in the whole world. Terra took a deep breath and nodded.

He clenched his fists, desperately trying not to do something like tugging on the sentinel's pinky finger or holding onto his sleeves or worse, clinging onto his arm. No, he wouldn't be weak just because he had met a sentinel whom he didn't mind spending the rest of his life with. The rest of his life, realization dawned on Terra. If their compatibility came out high, then could Terra truly stay by his side forever? 

His last minute hesitance and self-doubt must have shown in his face because in the next second, a warm hand brushed against the back of his palm before taking hold of him. Terra's heart skipped a beat and proceeded to thunder in a way that only happened when he prepared himself to kill. But this was different, he told himself. This wasn't bloodlust, this… this was something soft, sweet and tender. It made his heart ache and set his entire body aflame. Would he have to get used to this kind of feeling through days to come?

He took a deep breath and squeezed Lu Yizhou's hand and the man responded by intertwining their fingers together. The examination room was empty when they entered. Terra noticed with relief that there were only two staff members in charge of working with the machine. 

Lu Yizhou and Terra were then demanded to enter the transparent glass room where the machine was.

"Go on." Doctor Wyatt guided through the microphone. "You can start releasing your spiritual element, one by one. Starting from Terra first."

Terra sucked in a breath and Lu Yizhou tightened his hold, reassuring. Alright. Alright, let's do this. He could do this. Just like Doctor Wyatt taught him, he dismantled a small part of his barrier to let his spiritual element out and in an instant, the machine let out a long beep as a flow of spiral gold lines appeared on the screen. 

"Nice. A little bit rough but very good, Terra. Your control has improved tremendously." Doctor Wyatt praised, and Terra's shoulders slumped in relief. "Next, General Kai please."

Lu Yizhou nodded and in the next second, Terra felt the vivid change of energy inside the room. It engulfed him with warmth, like he was cocooned in layers of thick blanket in the middle of winter. Terra planted his feet on the ground so he wouldn't be swayed off his feet, figuratively and literally. It was dangerous and addictive at the same time. Terra couldn't quite decide whether he wished to find a place to hide or bury his face to the source of the energy. More lines appeared on the screen, thicker and different in color — blue — coiling around his to form a double helix.

There was a soft ding and a number appeared on the screen. [Showing the compatibility result… 0%... 20%... 50%...]

It happened very fast. Terra hadn't even gotten the chance to blink yet when the index rose higher and higher until it breached 90% and still not showing signs of stopping. 

"This… this…" The operator exclaimed in shock when the machine recorded 95%... 96%... 97%... "What kind of compatibility is this?!"

Doctor Wyatt's jaws dropped to the floor. Everyone's eyes were practically glued to the screen, transfixed as the number continued to rise. 97%... 98%... They held their breath. Goodness, this was a new record! The last highest compatibility index recorded was 92% and this was 98% already! Awesome! However, to their shock, the machine wasn't done yet! After stopping for a few seconds at 99%, it gave a low rumble and shot up to 100%! 

One hundred percent compatibility! 

There was a pair of sentinel and guide with perfect compatibility in this world!

Heavy silence descended in the room and it was promptly shattered when the machine gave a suspicious purr and started to emit black smoke. Before anyone could react, Lu Yizhou hauled Terra out of the glass room at the same time when the machine exploded behind them! Sharp intake of breaths echoed as they witnessed the instrument that had been working since the hospital was built dismantled into pieces of junk metals. 

"What— What is happening? This…"

"Overloaded? It means… their compatibility is more than a hundred percent?"

They sank into thoughts. Could that be possible? Well, in the first place, the machine was created using various data scientists had gathered over the years. It had even been designed to measure a higher index that hadn't been recorded before and now… the same machine had broken because of one pair of sentinel and guide whose compatibility was higher than anything they had witnessed. Eyes turned to Lu Yizhou and Terra full of astonishment and awe.

Terra himself was still reveling in shock. He registered what the doctors were saying but it was as if the sounds around him were muted and all he could hear was his own wild heartbeats. The number was burned to the back of his eyelids. A hundred percent. There was actually a sentinel who had such a perfect compatibility with him. No wonder… it was no wonder that Terra had become a totally different person after meeting him. No wonder that he always wanted the man close to him. No wonder that he had felt such an inexplicable yearning…

They were practically made for each other.

Doctor Wyatt cleared his throat loudly, snapping everyone out of their reverie. Turning to Lu Yizhou and Terra, he stretched out a hand. "Congratulations." He offered sincerely. "You have a perfect compatibility with each other and it is practically a crime if you don't form a bond with each other. I will take care of the paperwork." The doctor's eyes softened considerably when they turned to Terra. "I am really happy for you."

Breathe. Terra had to remind himself to breathe. He nodded dazedly in response to Doctor Wyatt's wishes before turning to look at Lu Yizhou only to find that the man's eyes had been solely focused on him in the first place. Breathe, Terra. Breathe. He mechanically sucked in a breath and exhaled through his mouth, again and again, as if his body had forgotten how to do its basic operation. 

From now on, this man would be his…? Exclusively his and his alone? Different from his parents who gradually drifted from each other and dwelled only in bitterness and pain, their bond would last forever… right?

That's right, a voice inside him spoke, in this lifetime and the next one after that, you will be together forever. It's a promise.

Terra slowly exhaled and reached out to touch Lu Yizhou's cheek and finally… he slowly allowed himself to smile.

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