348: 7.38 I'm Sorry

7.38 I'm Sorry

"No, no, no!" Kaede hastily denied lest his head went flying in the next second. "With me, the Poison Blade here, how can he die? What I mean to say is… I have flushed almost all of the drug in his system but the residual is still clinging to his body. He will be able to endure it until the antidote comes. On the other hand…" Kaede peeked at his boss and said carefully. "You're sure that he said this is a sex drug?"1

Moshe nodded somberly.

"Then to relive some of the effects…" Kaede coughed. "...you know what ought to be done, right Boss?"

Lu Yizhou could no longer follow the conversation. All sounds and colors were distorted and he felt as if he was flying. His body was heavy, but at the same time, he felt strangely excited like he could run a marathon. How frustrating! He clenched his fists and pushed against the binding around his wrists, and the chains actually issued a resounding crack. 

"Woah, woah, woah Boss! He's —"

"Sshh." The familiar presence came closer, followed by a gentle touch on his trembling knuckle. All of his nerve points instantly zeroed in there and the sensation magnified indefinitely, sending shivers throughout his whole body. "It's okay, Aiden. You're safe here with us. With me. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore. Open your eyes and see."

Previously Lu Yizhou felt tormented even as if only cracked his eyes open a bit. But with this command said in a voice closest to his heart, a strong force compelled him to open his eyelids. His vision blurred before coming into focus and his lover's beautiful face appeared in front of his eyes. 

In the next second, it was as if he was transported back into that chaotic hallway. Regius' twisted face, the vial flying in the air, the sweet sickening smell… Then everything disappeared and he was back in the previous world, reaching out desperately toward his bleeding lover whilst his own body was disintegrating. He had to go… had to save his lover before everything was too late… But the chains were securely restraining him, holding him back, preventing him from getting to his lover…

Fear gripped his heart in a vice grip and his breathing quickened. The heartbeat monitor's beeps intensified. "Have to… protect you…" His body convulsed, and the chains on his limbs rattled wildly. "Can't let you… get hurt… anymore…"

"Boss, he's having a seizure!" Kaede's urgent voice sounded. "It seems like he's hallucinating about something! Wait a moment, I will inject him with a small dose of tranquillizer!"

Lu Yizhou snapped his head toward Kaede's direction and pulled his lips back into a snarl. Danger! One of his hand was reaching for his lover whilst the other was preparing to attack— The chains snapped and Lu Yizhou was suddenly free! He sprung up from the bed… except his knees chose to give up on him in the next second, causing him to land into a familiar warm embrace. 

"Boss!" Kaede looked at the broken chains, horrified. What kind of monstrous strength was this?! He pulled out his gun and aimed it at Lu Yizhou. "Get away from him right now!"

Lu Yizhou struggled to his feet and pushed his lover behind him, baring his teeth at the unknown source of danger. The muscles on his entire body tensed, ready to attack at any moment—

"Aiden." A pair of arms came around him from behind. Gentle and warm. The firm voice pierced into the fog of his mind and resonated with his soul. He trembled from the sheer numbness that traveled down his spine as that voice sounded right beside his ear. "Aiden, it's okay. The danger has passed. You have protected me very remarkably. My good, obedient pet." As he talked, Moshe slowly went around Lu Yizhou and his fingers reached out to trail the line of his jaw. "Look at me. I am perfectly fine all because of you."

Behind his back, Moshe gave a signal to his men to retreat. Kaede's mouth opened to protest but Moshe's threatening glare shut him up. Kaede stared at Lu Yizhou warily. What kind of good obedient pet was this? He looked more like a rabid beast! Grumbling, Kaede lowered his gun. "Let's go." He told the others in a quiet voice.

Only when Lu Yizhou could no longer sense others' presence did he finally loosened up. With his whole body still high on adrenaline, he sought his lover's eyes. "You're awake…?" 

Moshe blinked, confusion in his eyes.

Lu Yizhou extended a hand toward Moshe's face but he paused midair, fearing that his touch would make the scene in front of him disappear and he would wake up from this beautiful, unreal dream. But then he startled when his lover suddenly grabbed his hand before bringing it to cup his own face. And oh, Lu Yizhou blinked dazedly, he's warm, he's real… this wasn't a dream. 

"If you want to touch then go ahead." A slight smile appeared on Moshe's face. "You have had a long day. You deserve at least this—" His words hadn't finished yet when he was suddenly yanked into a suffocating embrace. Air was knocked out of his lungs.  "A—Aiden?" Even though Moshe had often touched his pet, it all limited to sexual acts of chasing each other's pleasure. But this… this felt strangely intimate in a way that shook Moshe's impenetrable heart. "Aiden, you—"

Moshe closed his jaw with an audible click. His eyes were perplexed… because there was no mistake about it. The dampness that seeped into his shoulder, the minute tremble of his pet's shoulders, his shallow, uneven breathing…

—He was crying.

"I'm sorry…" Lu Yizhou said in a voice so quiet as if whispering a secret. "I am so sorry. I didn't want to leave you behind… I'm sorry I could only watch when you were going through something so horrible…" The regret, guilt and remorse that he had shoved to the corner of his heart burst out uncontrollably, seizing Lu Yizhou's chest in a painful squeeze before melting into warm, hot tears. 

He told himself that he was going to rectify his mistake but deep inside, he hadn't stopped the self-blame, the loathing and derision. He placed all of these unnecessary emotions inside a jar and shut it tightly, willing himself not to acknowledge it as there were more important matters in hand he had to do. 

But now under the influence of the drug, the jar tipped forward and the repressed feelings poured out, clouding his vision and constricting his throat. He had no idea that the wound had festered like this after being ignored and untreated. It had pervaded every corner of his heart and only when exposed to the light of the day… did he realize how horrendous it had become.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" He repeated again and again.

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A/N: Oh, the first time LYZ openly cries...

Someone has commented before but I forgot who (sorry QAQ) that LYZ will def blame himself again for what happened in the previous world. Yes, he will. He has no time to dwell on it because he is too focused on the mission but now, everything erupted like volcano duarr!! He needs to let it all out and most importantly, he needs to learn that there are some mistakes you can't fix and all you can do is learn from it :)

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