“Don’t you think of lying to me,” Zhao Yunlan spoke with a voice as though it was not his own. The clump of pressure in his throat grew. “What did you do to heal my eyes?” he demanded to know.

His Black Cloak Ambassador, his kindred spirit... Shen Wei, the quiet man that he was, would never speak more than he should. But how he had refrained from voicing disclosed more than the uttered words themselves. Zhao Yunlan’s intuition was never wrong. Even before Shen Wei revealed his true identity, he already knew his Dark Knight was the gentle, soft-spoken Professor Shen Wei ---the guardian angel who appeared by his side whenever danger called.

From the beginning, after they used the Longevity Dial, Zhao Yunlan had his suspicion. Yet, he never knew the extent of one’s tenacity.

To protect. To hold. Even to lie.

Shen Wei had hidden his condition from day one. Why else would Shen Wei place a shield around him otherwise? Figuratively and literally. His nature was more controlled. But it was not what gave him away. No. In fact, it was Shen Wei’s vibrant smile with a subtle lining of sorrow hidden within his eyes that drew Zhao Yunlan’s suspicion. Shen Wei, his Dark Knight he had never asked for, was now paying the consequence that was not his to bear. Little did Zhao Yunlan knew how unsettling the price would become.

The price of Zhao Yunlan’s recklessness. His ignorance. His heroic gesture would hurt the one he had grown to care, the one he had held most dear.

Still avoiding his gaze, Shen Wei tried to retreat.

“You used the Longevity Dial,” Zhao Yunlan declared, no longer a question but a fact.

The Professor stopped in his tracks.

He was right. Yet, the truth did not relieve the crushing of Zhao Yunlan’s chest. Nor the anger in his blood.

Zhao Yunlan made his way beside Shen Wei. “You shared your life force with me. You used your power to neutralize my erosion. Didn’t you?” he asked.

“I…I…,” Shen Wei muttered, his eyes now red with unshed tears. “The energy structure in my body has suffered a severe blow,” he tried to minimize the gravity of the situation. Yet he couldn’t lie, “I need to exchange all the energy in my body.”

Zhao Yunlan closed his eyes momentarily. Glancing back, he stared at the scar on Shen Wei’s delicate wrist. His beauty, like a timeless painting, was now stained -- all because of him. Zhao Yunlan did this to The Professor.

“It must have hurt a lot,” Zhao Yunlan pointed out.

“Fortunately...” Shen Wei smiled as he raised his wrist to heal the cut. Such a painful smile was so heart-wrenching, Zhao Yunlan wanting nothing more than to comfort Shen Wei. But at that moment, he could only helplessly watch as Shen Wei held back his strained expression to heal his wound. “Fortunately, I’m used to getting injured,” Shen Wei reassured with a smile.

“I do not deserve what you are doing for me,” Zhao Yunlan stated as he felt the rise of the fury of helplessness. How could he, the designated Guardian, the protector, be this ignorant?

“You’re worth it,” Shen Wei replied, his eyes burned with intensified longing. The Professor had looked at him with the same self-devoted expression before. An emotional attachment Zhao Yunlan still couldn’t understand. Why him? What had he done to deserve such devotion?

“Then what do you want me to do!?” Zhao Yunlan blurted with the anger he couldn’t reign in. His composure shattered as his world collapsed. “Be indebted to you? Bow down to you?” he asked forcefully. “You are not an immortal,” his voice broke. Just the realization Shen Wei could die at any time brought him more fear than facing thousands of demons alone. “Why should I so casually owe you a life?”

“This life…,” Shen Wei took a step closer, his words weaved with hidden meaning, “...is what I am returning to you.”

For the life of him, Zhao Yunlan still couldn’t decipher the code of the man who refused to tell him the truth. He could only return with a dumbfounded expression, followed by a short silence.

“You should rest,” Shen Wei said, shutting off once more. As Shen Wei turned to leave Zhao Yunlan grabbed his arm, reflexively.

“Yunlan?” Shen Wei turned his head with an expression of confusion.

But Zhao Yunlan had reached his limits. His mind told him to let go. Wait for the truth, as the Professor had said many times over. But his heart… His heart which was about to burst, couldn’t wait any longer. Instinctively, Zhao Yunlan’s thumb traced the invisible scar that should be there, where Shen Wei had erased the evidence of his injury, his suffering.

How much had he suffered for staying by his side? How many times had he endured?

Flushing from the intensity of the intimate touch, Shen Wei tried to pull away, but Zhao Yunlan held firmly. Their eyes locked. At a standoff, there was no going back. Zhao Yunlan was tired of being manipulated, sheltered. Protected. Unbeknownst to him. Like some damsel to be saved.

“Tell me how many were there were.” the Guardian demanded as he released his grip on the Professor.

“What do you mean?” the Professor queried with a hint of disappointment when the other pulled back his hand. Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help but to notice Shen Wei unconsciously touch the spot Zhao Yunlan had caressed.

“Your scars, the ones you erased from my views.”

Seeing Shen Wei’s startled expression, his predatory instinct took over. Like a possessed man, Zhao Yunlan began to stalk his prey. “All those times you were injured because of me. All those times you had healed yourself, without a soul in sight.”

Guiding the nervous Professor until the back of his knee hit the corner of the leather couch. “Xiao Lan…,” Shen Wei gasped. With nowhere to retreat, the prey was trapped. The predator didn’t wait to pounce. They fell back with Zhao Yunlan on top of Shen Wei, their legs tangled, intimately so. Blushing fiercely, Shen Wei tried to push Zhao Yunlan off, but to no avail. They both knew Shen Wei couldn’t harm him.

He never could.

Zhao Yunlan lifted his body, his hands on both sides of Shen Wei’s head. His heated, passionate eyes bore into the Professor’s. Since the first moment they laid eyes on each other, the fiery flame began to flicker, spreading like a wildfire that could not be contained.

“The pain you suffered. The tears you shed.” Zhao Yunlan said, his voice lowered with desire and longing. “I want to see every last one of those wounds you had endured because of me.”

“Yunlan, stop.” Shen Wei’s placed his palms on Zhao Yunlan’s chest, asserting only slight pressure of resistance. “Let me up. There are no scars left for you to see!” Shen Wei pleaded, but the Chief would not and could not let him go.

“That’s rather fortunate…,” Zhao Yunlan whispered dangerously, his expression darkened. Not from anger. No… He was beyond angry. Hungry will be a better description for this insatiable appetite. Who knew he had been starving since the moment they first met.

His Professor’s struggle momentarily ceased by the response. “What do you mean?” Shen Wei asked nervously as Zhao Yunlan pulled off the Professor’s glasses and placed it on the table beside them.

Shen Wei’s breath was caught further when Zhao Yunlan closed in. Lips to his earlobes, he felt the Professor nearly jumped from the hot breath on his ear. “Then, I’d have to taste every inch of you until I know I got them all,” Zhao Yunlan whispered.

When those wicked words fell into place, Shen Wei went still until panic sat in. He tried to rise. But Zhao Yunlan tactically straddled his waist and held his wrists above his head. As his gripped tightened, Zhao Yunlan held the Professor down with the weight of his body.

“Xiao Wei,” Zhao Yunlan plead tenderly. Though Shen Wei was still heavily injured, his colors had returned. And they both knew Shen Wei could still escape if he genuinely wanted to. Eventually, Zhao Yunlan released his hold on the Professor, and his hand traveled to cup the side of Shen Wei’s reddened face. The Chief didn’t want to frighten him, but his sanity would slip if he wouldn’t have at least a taste. “Don’t fight this,” he said with a hoarse tone. With his head lowered, barely maintaining his thundering heartbeat, “I…,” his lips paused, a hair breath away. “We need this,” he finished before finally capturing the Professor’s quivering lips.

Like Yin to his Yang, they could not exist without the other. Zhao Yunlan was dark, and Shen Wei was light. He was rough while Shen Wei was delicate.

Not in a thousand years would Zhao Yunlan had thought it was possible -- to hold Shen Wei in his arms, to feel him trembled beneath him. Zhao Yunlan kissed him like he was an innocent, the most cherished precious porcelain that could shatter if he asserted too much pressure. He wanted to woo the Professor, to teach him the pleasure of the flesh. To have him respond to his touch, his kiss, with the same hunger, and desperation.

His lips were softer than Zhao Yunlan could ever imagine as he sucked the delectable nectar, taking in every drop like a delicacy. Once Shen Wei’s lips parted, Zhao Yunlan eagerly investigated with the circular stroke of his tongue. When a groan escaped the Professor’s lips, his nerves screamed for more.

Everything about Shen Wei was perfect, the unimaginable beauty that was now quivering beneath him.

Without reservation, Zhao Yunlan started to reach for Shen Wei’s sweater vest. But a hand caught him when he tried to take it off. The Professor had tensed up again, Zhao Yunlan realized. With eyes of an anxious doe, Shen Wei’s shyness only heightened Zhao Yunlan’s primal need to possess.

“Xiao Wei…,” Zhao Yunlan whispered softly. A voice which couldn’t possibly be his own, a rugged man that he was. “Don’t be nervous. I won’t hurt you. I won’t do anything you won’t like. Tonight,” his breathing caught as though he was running for miles, “...tonight, I just want to hold you in my arms.”

For an agonizing moment, which had felt like an eternity, Zhao Yunlan thought all was lost. Then he felt Shen Wei’s grip loosened and immediately shut his eyes.

******

Warning - NSFW

Just when Shen Wei resigned to surrender fully, he heard laughter from Zhao Yunlan. His eyes snapped open. Zhao Yunlan, with a wide smirk on his face, is now making fun of him! Shen Wei glared up at the Chief angrily.