388: 7.78 Eight Years Ago

7.78 Eight Years Ago

"I can find my way there," Lu Yizhou appealed again when he sensed Moshe's defense started to crack. "I will do it tonight. Don't worry, I will be back before you can miss me."1

Moshe's expression twisted into one of incredulity. "What did you say? Miss you? Who, me? Ha!" He scoffed and rolled his eyes for good measure. "I think you knocked your head when you fainted earlier, pet. We should have had your head checked too."

Lu Yizhou quietly smiled to himself. There it was, the usual Moshe he knew. "From now on, feel free to ask me anything and don't keep it to yourself. There are a few things I can't answer but… other than that, I will try my best to clear your confusion."

"So… your real identity is off-limits but other than that, I can ask anything?"

Lu Yizhou nodded.

"What about the bomb earlier, then?"

"Ah, it's the system I have told you about, 666. It has a certain degree of… control in this world. For example…" Lu Yizhou cleared his throat. "For example, the incident of your kitchen exploding a few months ago, it was 666's doing."

[666: *gasp* Host, how can you slander 666 like that?! Wasn't it you who told 666 to make an explosion somewhere?!]

Lu Yizhou continued seamlessly, "And it was also 666 who stopped the bomb. I was afraid that we couldn't make it in time hence I asked 666 to do that." He carefully observed Moshe's perplexed look. "...I know it's quite hard to believe."

"Of course," Moshe said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that the world I live in is only a… simulator? A fake world? And then you're telling me that there's an… invisible entity living inside your head who is powerful enough to stop a ticking time bomb?"

[666: Hmph, Moshe has good taste. 666 is indeed very, very powerful!]

Lu Yizhou nodded sagely. [You should prove yourself to him so he will believe that you're even more powerful than just being able to stop a bomb.] Like a dumb system it was, 666 was so easily duped.

[666: Alright, 666's in! Hehehe… let 666 show its might! What should 666 do, Host?]

"You're right," Lu Yizhou replied to Moshe's question. "It can do a lot more. For example…" Lu Yizhou swept his gaze around and landed on the large window behind Moshe's table. An idea popped up inside his mind. He pointed outside. "Look."

Moshe turned to follow Lu Yizhou's sight and saw nothing but a vast expanse of green forestation and clear sky. "What are you—" 

BOOM!

An ear-deafening thunder suddenly hammered down the towering tree in the backyard and the sky opened up in an intense downpour. There was a chorus of curses and loud barkings. "Hell, why is it suddenly raining?! Ahh, quickly run inside!"

Moshe: "..." What the fuck.

[666: OHOHOHO~ how is it? Have you had a taste of 666's power yet?]

Lu Yizhou coughed into his fist. [That's enough, 666. You might scare him off at this rate.] 

In the next second, the rain subsided and the sky cleared up again as if the previous storm was only a mere fatamorgana. 

"That's another example of what 666 can do. Do you believe us now?" If Lu Yizhou didn't go to such lengths, he feared that Moshe would truly lock him up tonight and forbid him from going anywhere. At least with this, he would be slightly convinced that Lu Yizhou had a golden finger at his disposal.

(Even though anyone with eyes would know that 666 was no golden finger.)

  Moshe gave a little harrumph, but anyone with eyes could see that he was still a little shaken from the new revelation.

"Enough about me." Lu Yizhou mercifully switched the topic. "Have you taken care of your business?"

"Oh," Moshe blinked as if reminded of something. "Now that you mentioned Cruz, there's something I'd like to confirm with you. I haven't met Hector yet because I wanted to ask Ezra the reason why he is so desperately wishing to kill me. If you remember, inside the car earlier he said something about some heinous acts I have done to his wife and son…" Moshe's face darkened into a scowl. "But I can swear on my honor that I have never touched ordinary citizens before. The matter is bugging me, so I decided to do a deeper background check on Ezra."

Lu Yizhou tightened his hold on Moshe's hand. Moshe was too preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn't notice the murderous intent brewing in Lu Yizhou's eyes at the mention of the incident. He should have known that something was off about Ezra's circumstances. Moshe was a principled man. He wouldn't hesitate to admit his dirty deeds and if he said that he didn't do something, then it was without doubt the truth. 

"Did you find something?" Lu Yizhou asked.

Moshe stood up to get to his table and grabbed a thin document. He handed it over to Lu Yizhou before sitting back down beside him, this time until their shoulders and thighs were closely pressed together. 

At Moshe's nod of approval, Lu Yizhou flipped the document open to see a few old newspaper articles dated eight years ago. It was the scandal about Cruz's inhumane research. 

"I was eighteen back then, not long after my father died. I remember that the scandal broke out when The Void's status was a little shaky due to my father's death. I was young and a lot of the members didn't trust in my capability to reign. Every single day, there would be at least a dozen assassins coming my way. If I didn't have Kaede with me, I wouldn't have been alive to talk to you right now. " Moshe's expression was so flat as if he was reading a text. It was disconcerting. 

Lu Yizhou couldn't help but picture a young Moshe. He was undoubtedly a heartthrob who could charm anyone with a single blink. A handsome teenager at the peak of youth, right at a time when he was supposed to enjoy many things in life… But instead he already had to cope with his father's death, shouldered the legacy the man left behind and faced many cunning men twice or thrice his age who wanted to drag him down…

If only Lu Yizhou had appeared much earlier… he could have stayed by young Moshe's side and supported him along the way. Lu Yizhou would get rid of anyone with malicious intentions and present the bloody throne under his feet. If only…

Looking at Moshe's cold expression as if he was recounting someone else's thorny upbringing, Lu Yizhou couldn't resist putting down the document on the table so he could gather Moshe in his embrace and squeezed him particularly tight, wishing he could mold this man into pocket size so he could bring him everywhere. 

Moshe was startled out of his dark memories at the sudden warmth that enveloped him. The ice thawed from his heart, melting and spilling out of his lips in the form of loud, unrestrained laughter. 

"What are you acting like this for?" Even though he said that, one of Moshe's arms reached out to wrap around Lu Yizhou's broad back and the other patted his head. "It's been eight years. Of course they didn't succeed in killing me. I had to teach them a few lessons before they learned not to underestimate my age."

"Still…" Lu Yizhou groused as he hooked his chin on Moshe's shoulder. The cluster of scars on Moshe's body… did it come from that year? 

"Wait– wait a second. Let me look at you." Moshe suddenly pulled away to take hold of Lu Yizhou's face between his palms. His eyes rounded in disbelief and laughter. "Are you seriously sulking right now, Lu Yizhou?" He looked too gleeful for his own good. 

Lu Yizhou made sure to roll his eyes especially hard.

Somehow it caused Moshe to laugh even harder, his whole body was shaking. "Heavens… I wish you could look at your own face right now." He cooed softly and rubbed their noses together, eyes curving in happiness. "You're so adorable. How can you be so adorable and hot at the same time?"

Lu Yizhou deadpanned, "I can also be fierce. Do you want to try it out?"

That earned him another bark of laughter. Geez… look at him looking so happy after making Lu Yizhou's heart ache to death. The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched and his impassive face slowly morphed into a soft smile. Right, this was how his lover was supposed to be. Carefree, happy and free. Now that Lu Yizhou was here, he would make sure it happened.

Lu Yizhou grabbed Moshe's hand that was cupping his face and couldn't resist dropping a kiss on the inside of his palm. Moshe's smile froze and his golden eyes darkened in meaning. "You–"

Before the man's mind could take a dive down the gutter, Lu Yizhou forcibly dragged the topic back. "So, what does this scandal have to do with Ezra's family? Don't tell me…"

Moshe gave him a look that promised dark threats but still relented in the end. "You're right. He had a daughter, Hera. Seven years old. She suffered from leukemia. She was one of Cruz's unfortunate victims. Instead of providing treatment, Cruz was using the therapy session to inject various untested drugs on her. In the end, she died of drug overdose, but in the official document, it's stated that the cause of her death is leukemia."

"Unable to cope with the grief of losing her daughter, Hera's mother and also Ezra's wife, started to suffer from depression after that. She had been working a lot to cover Hera's medical expenses and her own health was deteriorating. After Hera's death, she succumbed to her illness less than a year later. By that time, Ezra was already a member of The Void. He seldom came home in order to earn more money. Losing her wife and daughter in the span of one year, and the guilt of not being there with them… I guess it had dealt him an irreparable blow."

Lu Yizhou's brows knitted. "Then he should have taken his grudge to Cruz." 

Moshe closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "This was where I came in. The hospital his daughter was treated in was one of The Void's properties. I was afraid that my enemies would catch wind of it and use it as a leverage to drag me down, thus I pressured the media to stop publishing the news. I blacklisted Cruz from the medical field and settled compensation money for the bereaved."

Understanding dawned on Lu Yizhou. "But Ezra wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted to avenge his family personally. Because of your acts, he misunderstood that you were on Cruz's side, or worse, you're his backer, sponsor or something. Gradually, his hatred shifted from Ezra to you, the one who obstructed his path to revenge."

"That's right." Moshe pinched his brows. "You got the gist."

Cold glint flashed through Lu Yizhou's mind. It's the bug again… If it wasn't for Cruz, then Ezra wouldn't lose his family and he wouldn't become the traitor who sold Moshe out to the Cobalt Fang. That one incident years ago had cost Moshe everything in the end.

Now Lu Yizhou knew what he should do with the bug, this scummy bastard. Taking hold of Moshe's shoulders, Lu Yizhou said in a firm tone, "Leave this matter to me."

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