Chapter 10
“This possibility exists …”
The system finally responded after some time, reluctant to see its host sad. As it prepared to tactfully present examples of abandonment of sugar babies, Lu Deng’s eyes had already lit up from the system’s response.
The figure in front of him had suddenly stopped. Gu Yuan had opened up a path for him and turned back, waiting for him to catch up. His dark pupils landed on the young man, his gaze gentle.
For the first time, Lu Deng felt an unfamiliar sense of nervousness. He instinctively tore his gaze away and evened his breathing, as his ears started turning heating up into a light pink.
………..
Under such circumstances, the only dampener was probably the fact that he was being sent home to do homework.
The host’s happiness was the most important. It could still execute emergency measures if the situation deteriorated. The system held back its electronic voice, and finally put its foot down to delete the materials that it had just prepared, and generated a new response.
“The possibility of a target falling in love with its host is extremely high. However, the host must always protect his own safety. The sugar daddy relationship is not stable, so the host cannot be too trusting. Don't ...”
The nagging from the system had just started, but Lu Deng had already relaxed and jumped into the figure’s arms.
The forest grounds had already been softened by the fallen leaves and soaked mud, making trekking dangerous. Gu Yuan immediately felt anxious as he quickened his footsteps to catch the young man. However, the young man's warm body ran straight into his embrace.
A burst of emotions was rising in his chest. Gu Yuan intuitively hugged the man in his embrace. He held his breath and looked down at the figure in his arms, his heart beating wildly.
The youth in his arms was looking back at him with clear eyes and a cheerful smile. He wrapped his arms around his neck, and mimicked Gu Yuan’s actions, suddenly giving him a peck on his lips.
A glimmer of light shone from the depths of Gu Yuan's eyes. A warm feeling quickly flashed across the rims of his eyes, as his chest felt full and he choked, unable to speak any further. He opened his mouth, but did not say anything. He only tightened his embrace, and rested his forehead against the young man’s.
If only it was peacetime.
If it was peacetime, he would definitely take his man home, tutor him on his studies, have meals with him, send him to school, and wait for him to grow up. Galileo previously had an outstanding college, but it had been destroyed during the war. If this planet was still in peacetime, they would definitely be more blissful than everyone else.
Peace.
Deathly silence enveloped the forest. There was no one in sight. The emotions that he had held back for long once again surfaced, and his coldness in his bones was melted by the warm feeling in his chest.
Gu Yuan tilted his head slightly and gently kissed the young man’s hair. His voice was hoarse from the overwhelming emotions that he felt. “You have to grow up; you have to grow up properly, and wait for me at a safe place. Wait for me to pick you up …”
He had feigned death in order to escape the assassination attempt today. The news tomorrow might report that the President of Gu Enterprises had passed away in a traffic accident, but the threat of death still persisted.
Once the war began, Guar would quickly realise the truth behind the swapped radium cores. At that time, it wasn’t only him, but everything around him could be destroyed as a result of the invaders’ fury.
He had to send Lu Zhiguang out before that happened. The standard examination was the most suitable opportunity.
He would try his best to stay alive, to bring him back to a new Galileo. At that time, they would be able to do anything they wanted.
In his embrace, Lu Deng raised his head, as unease flashed across his eyes. He also tightened his hold on Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan made no further attempts to continue. He gave the young man a small smile and released him from his embrace, then held his hand and said, “Come, let’s go home.”
There was no more hesitation from the youth as he tightened his grip. Gu Yuan led the youth slowly out of the forest using the faint moonlight to identify a safe landing spot.
Their clothes were almost dry from the long walk. They finally walked into a clearing, and vaguely saw the shape of a hovercar.
He could finally release the tension that he had been feeling the entire day. Gu Yuan heaved a sigh of relief, and smiled as he gently caressed Lu Deng’s head. Just as he was about to speak, alarm flashed across the young man’s eyes.
Before he could decipher that expression, Lu Deng suddenly rushed towards his exhausted body and knocked him over with all his might. The two men rolled into the bushes nearby.
The next thing he knew, a laser hit the trees where he had been standing, and burst into flames. The trees were razed to the ground quickly.
Lu Deng was still hugging him tightly. The vaguely familiar strength of the arms jolted Gu Yuan’s memory. He was reminded of that very same hug that he had once felt in the stairway of a hotel.
As he regained his senses, he finally realised why Lu Deng had rushed forward to hug him.
It wasn’t a hug.
It was to protect him.
His breathing hastened, and he felt heat arising from his chest. Gu Yuan raised his arm to shield the young man, while he pulled out his micro-particle gun with his other hand. He quickly gathered his energy, flipped over and protected Lu Deng with his body.
The lasers swept across his spine, landing at a fixed spot. It didn’t seem like an ambush. Rather, it seemed like a weapon had been triggered.
Gu Yuan held his breath and remained guarded. He only put his guard down when the situation calmed. He ruffled the youth’s hair. “I’ll go and scout the area. Don’t move, and wait here for me.”
As he prepared to stand up, Lu Deng grabbed his arm and shook his head lightly.
The system was scanning their surroundings. The attack previously was from an automated laser weapon. It would attack whenever it sensed anyone passing by. This area was previously a war zone, so this was probably a remnant from that time.
They were already within the trigger zone; any movements would result in another round of attacks. The only way was to use one person as bait to ignite a new round of laser attacks in order to identify the specific position of the weapon, which would then allow the other person to destroy the weapon.
He had the stamina, and Gu Yuan had the gun. Hence, he would be more suitable to take on the bait role.
Gu Yuan quickly caught his intentions. His brows tightened. He was about to speak when Lu Deng raised his head and gave him another light peck on his lips.
The soft and cool touch from the young man’s lips caused Gu Yuan’s heart to quiver, and his reaction was delayed.
Having found the means to get his target to cooperate with him, a smile flashed across Lu Deng’s eyes. He nimbly left their hiding spot and dashed towards the hovercar.
Gu Yuan’s gaze immediately turned anxious, as an incoming gush of pain overwhelmed him. His throat tightened, but this was no time to be distracted. He cocked his gun, quickly identified the position of the laser, and started shooting at it without hesitation.
The faster he was, the quicker Lu Zhiguang would be safe.
The young man was surprisingly nimble. He used the trees as cover, and escaped the attacks from the laser. Gu Yuan’s heart was beating wildly, but his hands stabilised, his shots deflecting the attacks from the laser.
Finally, the air around them stilled.
Lu Deng’s knees buckled, and he knelt on the floor.
His heart was already at its limit, and his chest was trembling in pain. Gu Yuan rushed over to catch him. He turned Lu Deng over and cuddled him, and was met with Lu Deng’s serene smile.
Lu Deng’s own reflexes were well-prepared to deal with these laser beams, but the body he was in could not keep up. The system refused to give him any supplements that would match his own reflexes, out of fear that it might harm his body. The one that he had taken in the last moment could only last for thirty seconds, and he would immediately fall into a deep sleep from fatigue once the effects subsided. However, his body would not be affected once he awoke from his slumber.
Fortunately, they worked well together.
Seeing that the young man was about to faint, Gu Yuan’s heart sank. However, his movements remained gentle, as he lifted him up carefully and quickly boarded the hovercar.
Only a short span of time had passed, but the drowsiness was overwhelming him. Lu Deng blinked, as he grasped Gu Yuan’s sleeves, then said softly, “I’m going to take a nap…”
“Just go ahead and sleep. Be good.”
After setting the return command for the hovercar, Gu Yuan lightly swept the stray strands of hair from the young man’s forehead, then leaned in onto his forehead saying gently, “Have a good rest. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Lu Deng was already exhausted, but he still gave him a small smile, as he relaxed his body into Gu Yuan’s strong arms, then closed his eyes.
Gu Yuan never took his eyes off the young man. He stared at the hand that was tugging on to his sleeves. His gaze softened, as he turned the wrist around and held onto the cold hand.
He had always known that Lu Zhiguang had his own secrets.
A normal student might be smart enough to put on an act with him, but would not have travelled all the way to the forest and found him so quickly in the woods. He would also not have such sharp senses to notice incoming danger, nor have the ability to escape from the laser system that was set up to ambush visitors.
He was full of secrets, but he let his guard down around Gu Yuan, and slept deeply in his arms.
As he looked at the peaceful sleeping face of the young man, Gu Yuan let out a silent laugh, and moved his arm to allow the young man to sleep more comfortably. He then let out a helpless sigh.
Not only did the youth rush out without a word, he still learned to steal a kiss and caught Gu Yuan unawares, shocking him.
He had to set more rules for them.
Completely unaware that he was going to be controlled even more strictly, Lu Deng fell into a deep sleep, snuggling into Gu Yuan’s chest. Gu Yuan steadied his hold on Lu Deng, then lowered his head and kissed the closed eyelids.
He trusted Lu Zhiguang. No matter what hidden identity he had, he would not ask if the other party was unwilling to say. If the secret could enable Lu Zhiguang to protect himself better, or live a better life, then he would only feel assured.
Staying alive was more important than anything else in the world.
The sky slowly brightened, as the hovercar travelled across the end of the night and back to the villa.
==========
Light seeped through the windows with flower carvings; the shadows reflected a picturesque floral image.
The young man who was sound asleep moved under the blankets, trying to turn his body, when a pair of arms caught him firmly, breaking his fall off the bed. The man’s stout figure slowly relaxed as he adjusted the young man back into bed.
Lu Deng was in his arms when he roused. The first thing that he saw was the gentleness in Gu Yuan’s eyes.
“You’re finally awake?”
Looking at the clear, bright glow from the pair of eyes before him, the corners of Gu Yuan’s lips curled up, as he took the chance to land a kiss on the young man’s forehead. Keeping the young man firmly in his embrace, he then passed a glass of water and brought it to the young man’s mouth.
Lu Deng took a few sips, then slowly recovered from his daze. He raised his head and looked back at Gu Yuan.
This was a truly potent medicine. He had to sleep more than thirty hours just to make up for that thirty seconds of energy explosion. However, apart from hunger, the after-effects of the medication and the fatigue from his travelling had vanished, and his body was in a better condition than he had been before he slept.
Gu Yuan was finally relieved to see that the young man was in good condition. He removed the vital statistics system from his wrist, then massaged his head saying, “You slept for so long. I won’t let you stay up overnight again.”
Lu Deng felt very comfortable from the massage, and slowly closed his eyes. A small smile appeared on his face, as he held onto Gu Yuan’s arm. “Did you manage to rest?”
Even though Gu Yuan had almost recovered, his eyes were still bloodshot, and a tinge of fatigue could be seen from his face. He had probably stayed up the entire day to take care of him.
“I’m fine. I feel refreshed just looking at you.”
Gu Yuan smiled as he saw the concern in the young man’s eyes. He leaned on the headboard, still holding the young man in his arms. “Have some food first. I’ve told the kitchen to prepare some porridge with sugar.”
Lu Deng was famished. His eyes lit up from the waft of the porridge, and he tried to sit up.
Gu Yuan’s smile deepened. He intentionally stood up slowly and took leisurely steps to bring the porridge back, then placed it gently on the electronic table in front of the young man. “It’s still hot, eat it slowly.”
The porridge was cooked from silver grains and many nourishing ingredients. It was soft and sweet, and still a tad warm. Lu Deng’s appetite was whetted, as he stirred the porridge with his spoon then took a large mouthful. Almost immediately, a grin appeared on his face.
Gu Yuan watched him from the bedside. He was glad to see that the young man had been revitalized after sleeping for more than a day. “I won’t be going out these days. I’ll stay here to accompany you, alright?”
The news of his death had probably spread, and his ploy would likely not be revealed for some time. Staying in at this point in time was probably the safest choice.
“You won’t leave the house?”
Lu Deng straightened up and held Gu Yuan's arm, as his gaze brightened.
If Gu Yuan stayed in, he would be able to stay by his side to protect him from any accidents. It was really difficult if he had to run more than ten kilometers to search for him.
“Yes, I’ll be here.”
Gu Yuan nodded and smiled, then reached behind and brought out a brand new assessment book. “Your exams are coming up. Since I’ve nothing to do at home, I’ll tutor you for a month. Let’s aim for good results, shall we?”
The glow in Lu Deng’s eyes dimmed. He looked at the wrist that had healed, and almost immediately, the feeling of relaxation that he had felt diminished.
It wasn’t easy for him to bargain about homework. He saw the sense of responsibility in Gu Yuan’s eyes, hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his sleeves and moved towards Gu Yuan.
Lu Deng’s lips were soft and gentle, with a hint of the porridge. Trembling, he carefully placed a kiss on Gu Yuan’s lips.