"It must be another dream," Yi Heye thought. Lately, he kept dreaming that Jian Yunxian had returned in various forms, and he never expected that this time he would even fight with him in his dream.
After figuring it out, he breathed a sigh of relief, then closed his eyes again with a slight disappointment.
Just a second before he let himself drift off to sleep again, a commotion abruptly pulled him back to reality.
"Little Cloud! They only have one cactus in their house, and you're going to throw up?!"
Yi Heye frowned—the voice was too real, unlike the ethereal sound in his dream.
"Baa! Baa—!!"
Then came the sound of hooves rolling over the ground. The solid footsteps made Yi Heye panic. He quickly opened his eyes, afraid that the building would collapse.
It wasn't until he fully opened his eyes that Yi Heye realized he wasn't in the hospital, nor in his hospital bed.
He looked at the gray, unfinished house and the unadorned walls, and belatedly realized that he was now lying in his small house in the D district.
Yi Heye opened his eyes warily. He couldn't remember how he got home or what had happened. His memory ended with him being wheeled into the operating room, and there was nothing more to it.
"Baa! Baa!!" After a panicked bleating, Little Cloud's plump body squeezed into his room with difficulty. Seemingly certain that Jian Yunxian wouldn't dare to cause trouble, it simply hid by Yi Heye's window, with a wilted cactus in its mouth and a few thorns stuck haphazardly around its mouth.
Yi Heye propped himself up to look at it, and sure enough, Jian Yunxian stopped at the door of the room.
"Come out quickly, don't disturb his rest!"
Before Jian Yunxian could finish her whispered warning, she was met with Yi Heye, who had just woken up and looked completely bewildered.
Yi Heye stared blankly at the little cloud behind him, then looked up at Jian Yunxian at the door, seemingly still unaware of what had happened.
Jian Yunxian... Jian Yunxian?
Yi Heye stared at his face for about half a minute, still unable to believe that he was awake.
He glanced at his left arm, somewhat bewildered—a brand-new, familiar prosthesis, already properly installed.
The surgery is complete.
Yi Heye's first reaction upon receiving this conclusion was not to test the compatibility of his left hand, but to pinch his left arm hard with his right hand.
"hiss--!"
The familiar, 2.5 times more intense pain instantly cleared his foggy mind; this time, he was certain he wasn't dreaming.
The arm is back, and Jian Yunxian is back too.
They all came back safe and sound.
Yi Heye looked up at him for a long time, and his red eyes became misty, as if they were filled with the emotion of reuniting with an old friend, or as if they were filled with a handful of glistening grievances.
The two stared at each other for a long time, separated by a door. Jian Yunxian looked into his wet eyes, and it seemed that even his electronic heart, which couldn't be touched by water, was moistened by his gaze.
He couldn't help but walk to Yi Heye's bedside, his eyes crinkling into a smile as he whispered:
"Long time no see, Commander Yi."
Yi Heye parted his lips slightly, as if he was about to speak, when he remembered something.
Jian Yunxian watched helplessly as Yi Heye frowned, his innocent and aggrieved gaze cooling down at an alarming speed. Then, he narrowed his eyes, and the murderous aura he had managed to suppress suddenly began to overflow wildly like a nuclear leak.
By the time he wanted to do something, it was too late.
In a flash, Yi Heye grabbed his wrist and, with almost superhuman speed and strength, pinned him down, kneeling on top of him.
"Did you hold a gun to my head?" Yi Heye interrogated me from his superior position.
Author's Note:
Ye Bao: Settle the score first, then get emotional.
Chapter 125, number 125
Unexpectedly, this guy turned on her faster than flipping through a book. Jian Yunxian was completely restrained and lay helplessly on the bed, unable to move.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Jian Yunxian groaned in pain, "Be gentle, darling."
Yi Heye couldn't stand hearing this guy call him that, and he couldn't stand hearing this guy call him in such a breathless tone. A moment of daydreaming made him lose his focus.
In that one second of relaxation, Jian Yunxian flipped over and forcefully threw him onto the bed and pinned him down beneath her.
Yi Heye had anticipated this the moment he exerted his strength, and almost followed his movement as he lay down, but the instant his back hit the ground, he ruthlessly raised his knee.
He aimed for Jian Yunxian's vital points, using deadly force, leaving him no chance of survival.
Fortunately, Jian Yunxian knew his temperament very well. He concentrated all his energy, jumped off the bed, and narrowly avoided the attack.
"Holy crap, that's brutal?" Jian Yunxian felt the sharp wind brush past his nose and broke out in a cold sweat.
But even at this point, I couldn't help but walk around behind him, lean close to his ear, and say something cheeky:
Is this how you treat someone you like?
It had been a long time since Yi Heye had heard Jian Yunxian act so improperly, and his ears were burning with excitement again.
He blushed and distanced himself from Jian Yunxian, but was too embarrassed to speak. It took him a long time to react:
"...When did I ever say I liked you?!"
He did say he had someone he liked, but he never said that person was him... How could this guy be so delusional?!
Prime Minister Jian Yunxian was magnanimous and didn't take his feeble argument to heart at all; he just smiled and stared at him.
Yi Heye was already thin-skinned, and being stared at like that made him even more annoyed. He sprang to his feet and was about to pounce on her again.
Jian Yunxian couldn't win against him, so she quickly retreated to the doorway of the room: "Stop, I admit defeat! You win."
Yi Heye was competitive and, fueled by resentment, was determined to prove himself right. Admitting defeat was the fastest way to end the war.
The reason Jian Yunxian deliberately chose to intercept him right after his surgery was not only because he was afraid he couldn't beat him in his normal state, but also because he gave him the excuse that he was "unwell and that's why he was kidnapped," thus saving him face.
Sure enough, upon hearing that he had won, Yi Heye stopped his attack.
Jian Yunxian approached him cautiously, like a cat with its fur standing on end, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender: "Want to chat?"
Yi Heye was actually waiting for the other party to give him a way out, and seeing that Jian Yunxian had shown sincerity, he slowly put away his thorns.
The atmosphere suddenly quieted down. He looked up at Jian Yunxian, his gaze flickering for a moment. After thinking for a moment, he turned his head away and refused to look at him: "Speak."
Seeing that Yi Heye had made room for him, Jian Yunxian carefully sat down next to him. After a long silence, he slowly uttered three words: "I'm sorry."
Yi Heye was taken aback when he heard those three words as his opening line for a proper chat. He paused for a moment but didn't look at them.
"What's there to apologize for?" He frowned, looking out at the gray expanse of the window, his tone still relatively calm. "You pointed a gun at my head, just punch me back, that's all. No need for apologies."
Jian Yunxian was amused by him, but quickly said very sincerely, "I mean, I haven't dared to contact you during this time."
So that's what they were talking about. Yi Heye frowned, his fingers nervously clutching the sheets beneath him, but he still tried to sound relaxed and said, "It's nothing, what's there to apologize for? Your son is in my hands, you can't run away, can you?"
“After the trouble was resolved, I thought about coming back to let you know I was safe, but they were tracking my movements very closely.” Jian Yunxian’s voice tightened, sounding extremely helpless. “I’m fine, but you…”
"It's nothing," Yi Heye interrupted him sullenly. "It's good that you're still alive."
After saying that, he seemed to feel that what he said was a bit pretentious, so he added in a low voice, "How am I supposed to catch you if you're dead?"
Jian Yun chuckled. He knew Yi Heye could understand him, so he didn't explain further.
In fact, the "trouble" he casually mentioned almost cost his beloved little cloud her father.
It must be admitted that Song Zhouzhou is indeed at the pinnacle of human cybersecurity attack and defense technology. Jian Yunxian's defense level far exceeds the current top level of human technology, but this Song Zhouzhou, in a very short time, relied on his amazing learning ability to shorten the gap between them to the minimum.
When Yi Heye was trapped in the slaughterhouse, he was being subjected to an unprecedented large-scale attack. He was already struggling to survive, and then he almost lost his life because of Yi Heye, which caused him to lose control of his emotions.
That outburst almost completely exposed his identity. This wasn't a big deal for him, but they knew that Yi Heye and Jian Yunxian had an inextricable relationship—which would directly cause Yi Heye to suffer a crisis of trust.
So this time, he simply kidnapped Yi Heye right in front of them. He knew that Yi Heye would definitely not be able to resist attacking him. After this fight, it would be more effective than any amount of acting they put on together.
After Yi Heye swiftly and decisively ended the conversation, the two fell into an eerie silence once again.
The two sat side by side, yet an invisible wall seemed to separate them. Jian Yunxian looked at Yi Heye, but Yi Heye turned his head to look out the window.
Throughout, he consciously avoided eye contact with Jian Yunxian. Jian Yunxian sensed that they should have a lot to say to each other, but at this moment, they couldn't even find a suitable topic to start a conversation with.
It's like a young couple who just had a fight, wanting to get back together, but neither of them is willing to back down or find a reason to break the deadlock.
Jian Yunxian was the first to be unable to hold back, and he cautiously asked, "Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Yi Heye was looking out the window at a bird that was flying with great difficulty. He stared intently at its fluttering figure for a long time before slowly saying, "...No."
He had a premonition that this person wanted to talk about relationship issues, something that had been troubling Yi Heye for a long time. He had wanted to drag Jian Yunxian over and ask him about it countless times, but now that this person was standing in front of him with a frank and open attitude, he didn't want to ask anymore.
He wanted to ask, but dared not—he knew that no matter what answer the other party gave, there would inevitably be no good outcome between them.
Thinking of this, Yi Heye's emotions, which had finally calmed down, clenched into a knot again.
His mechanical left hand clenched and unclenched repeatedly, seemingly in rehabilitation, but a closer look revealed that he was using all his strength to clench his fist, just to exert excessive force and make his knuckles feel pain again and again. It seemed that only such meaningless repetitive stimulation could make him less anxious.
Jian Yunxian quickly noticed his little action, and hurriedly reached out to grab his stiff palm, then forcefully straightened his fingers one by one.
Yi Heye refused to have any physical contact with him, immediately pulled his hand back, stood up and went to the windowsill, leaving his side.
Seeing his expression, Jian Yunxian felt helpless and a little angry with himself. He also stood up, but he still wasn't shameless enough to squeeze next to Yi Heye.
He simply stood behind him, calling out weakly, "Ono..."
Upon hearing this address, Yi Heye's shoulders stiffened slightly, but he stubbornly refused to turn around: "Hmm?"
"..." Jian Yunxian looked at the back of his back that he had left behind, and suddenly felt extremely sad. She thought of a bunch of harsh words, foul language and unpleasant words to vent her anger, but the moment she spoke them, all she felt was endless humility:
Can you look at me?
This time, Yi Heye didn't say anything, but Jian Yunxian could tell from behind that all of his muscles were tense.
Yi Heye stood frozen in place for a very long time, so long that Jian Yunxian thought he had ignored her request, before she heard a very restrained and controlled sigh.
Although it was just a sound, Jian Yunxian clearly heard him trembling, as if he was trying hard not to break down.
He looked like he was about to cry.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Yi Heye turned around. Just as he had expected, Yi Heye was not as calm as he appeared on the surface.
His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were red-rimmed. At first, he tried to avoid Jian Yunxian's gaze, but when he realized that he couldn't escape no matter what, he gave up and stared fiercely into Jian Yunxian's eyes.
His glare was fierce, but the grievance and sadness in his eyes were impossible to hide.
—Finally, it looked like a long-awaited reunion.