674: I Am Here

I Am Here

It was Dr. Xiao who first snapped back to her senses. She threw herself on Zeke and tried to grab his wrists, preventing him from tearing at his hair. But Zeke's strength was too strong and she could not move him at all. With tears in her eyes, she snapped at the dumbfounded Dr. Feng. "Help me hold him down!  0

Dr. Feng blinked and immediately worked together with Dr. Xiao to restrain Zeke's movements.

"Zachary, wake up!!" Dr. Feng shouted at him.

"Zachary…" Dr. Xiao sobbed as she begged. "Please… don't be like this!"

However, the man continued to struggle like crazy and he was so powerful that he almost overthrew the both of them. It was as if Zeke had withdrawn into himself, into a world which held nothing but misery and darkness. With his arms in the other two's death grip, he faced the overcast sky and kept screaming, screaming and screaming. His eyes were so red as if blood was going to drip down from it. But no tears. 

…He did not even have any tears left to cry.

"Lu… Lu Yizhou…" he finally uttered his first words, his voice was rough and filled with nothing but pain. His eyes were so lost, so empty as if the only source of light within him was being extinguished bit by bit until nothing remained. Not even a drop of it. "Lu Yizhou… Lu Yizhou…" he called out his beloved's name again and again.

Yet all that answered him was the fierce whistle of blizzard, the rain of snowflakes and the pungent smell of the exploding crystal ball.

Dr. Xiao bowed her head and bit her lips to muffle the cry, tears falling down from her eyes in pitter patter. The explosion had been too terrifying and Lu Yizhou was too close to the source. Even if he was still alive, he might as well be hanging on the thread of life and death right now…

Still holding onto Zeke's struggling arm, she whipped her head up and hollered at Dr. Feng, enraged. "Do something!!"

"Like what?!" Dr. Feng shouted back, anxious and agitated.

"Anything! Just do anything—" Dr. Xiao's reddened eyes suddenly focused on something behind him and the words were abruptly jammed to her throat. She sucked in a sharp breath, and her pupils shook in disbelief. "L–Lu…"

Dr. Feng's eyes grew wide in shock. It couldn't be—

Just as he was going to turn around, someone suddenly brushed past him, carrying with him the distinct scent of blood, gunpowder and minerals. Then, the figure crouched down beside him and gently brought the writhing Zeke into his arms.

"Sweetheart…" Lu Yizhou pressed their cheeks together and whispered softly into his lover's ear, distressed. "I am here. It's okay. Everything is okay now…"

Zeke had been struggling like mad, trying to vent the monstrous ball of anger and sorrow in his heart to no avail. The veins on his forehead was bulging and in that moment, he truly felt as if he was going to explode and take everyone down with him. The entire world. A world without Lu Yizhou in it. 

Yet all of a sudden… a pair of arms caught him. The strength and the feeling it brought forth was so achingly familiar, he would not have mistaken it even if he was turned into ashes. It was a pair of arms he thought he had lost. 

Then Lu Yizhou's voice reached him, breaking through the seams of solid darkness in his world and bringing with it a light so blinding and soothing. "Sweetheart… I am here," the voice murmured, coaxing him with its immense tenderness and warmth. "Everything is okay now. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, I won't leave you anymore, okay? Come back to me…"

For a split second, Zeke could not believe his ears. He thought that he had truly gone insane and he was hallucinating because he could not accept the reality in front of him. After all, he could also discern that… to survive in that kind of explosion was nearly impossible. However… Lu Yizhou's voice flowed into his ears again and again, and the arms around him tightened in strength, followed by soft kisses which landed on his face like the brush of spring after a prolonged winter.

Everything was so vivid… so real and loving that Zeke forced his pupils to focus once again. What appeared in front of him was a stretch of overcast sky, the dense snowflakes and then… a very attractive man with messy blonde hair who peered down at him.

It was so damn familiar he thought he had been brought back to that very moment he met this person, three years ago…

In the end, it was the concern, hope and distress in those silver eyes that brought Zeke back to the present. 

Memories abruptly rushed back to him like a tidal wave, almost making his veins burst from the overload. Yet he gritted his teeth to bear through it and kept his eyes wide open to stare at the man above him, tracing every nook and cranny of his gorgeous features as if this was the first time he had seen him. 

His throat moved and his voice was no different than a mosquito buzz. "Lu… Yizhou…?"

Lu Yizhou's silver eyes lit up in renewed hope and a watery sheen appeared on them. "Yes…" he answered hoarsely and pressed their foreheads together. He tucked Zeke closer to his chest to the point where not even a single sheet of paper could come between them. "Yes, it's me, sweetheart. I am here… I have fulfilled my promise. From now on, I won't leave you anymore, okay…?"

Zeke was breathless, whether due to the tight embrace or the surge of delight in his chest, he was uncertain. "You… Are you real?" 

Lu Yizhou pressed his lips to his temple and murmured, "As real as I can be…"

"But how…" As much as Zeke wanted to believe the sight in front of him, he knew very well the destructive force those crystal balls contained. Lu Yizhou had been in the middle of the enemy camp when the ball exploded. So… how could he still be here in front of him now? He was just too afraid to believe it. Afraid that he would receive twice the blow when he woke up and found that everything was nothing more than a pipe dream…

Lu Yizhou had just opened his mouth to explain when he caught a suspicious movement from his peripheral vision. Everyone was either too busy trying to recover from the fright, crying themselves silly in the corner or staring at Lu Yizhou in amazement. Yet only this sole researcher was slowly creeping his way to the rooftop door, trying to escape…

Dr. Feng keenly caught the changes in Lu Yizhou's expression and as soon as he saw the researcher, he immediately gave chase and hollered, "Stop right there!!" 

The researcher flinched in shock. Knowing that he had been busted, he instantly picked up his speed and rushed toward the door with all his might!

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