LONTANO

Lontano: distant. Far away.

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Yang Liu decided to skip class today. There were two reasons why he chose to commit the despicable act. The first reason was the incident that happened in the classroom this morning when Ren Weisheng told the story about his inhuman behavior six months ago to Zhou Yongliang. He accidentally overheard their conversation, but it was enough to cause pain in his heart.

Yang Liu did not intend to leave the kid and let him end up in the hands of the Angel of Death. At that time, Yang Liu was forced to quickly leave the scene because he could not stand the smell of blood coming out of the victim's body, which was badly injured. If he stayed there, the monster within his body would immediately attack the victim and drain his blood. That was why he chose to quickly leave.

At that time, he also told the bloody story to his friend. Even though his expression was flat, he actually felt guilty for letting one life be lost.

The friend, who was the place where the grievances were released, was the number two reason Yang Liu ditched today's lesson. Hwang Jihyuk was the best friend he had for a very long time. He was the one who had not hesitated to provide a lot of money for him, giving him whatever he wanted and needed. In fact, not only money, but he was also willing to supply red blood to feed the vampire's needs.

This morning, his best friend sent him a text, saying that he wanted to meet him somewhere. The text came at the right time when he also didn't feel like going to school today.

And here they are now, in a stretch of grass by the river. The place was very quiet, very inversely to the atmosphere of the city of Beijing in general.

"Why are you skipping class? You are already in your last year. You shouldn't be like this."

Actually, Yang Liu did not call Hwang Jihyuk with 'gege' all the time. Sometimes, he refused to be polite and left the word 'gege' behind. Perhaps, it was because the relationship between the two of them was too close that Yang Liu did not hesitate to negate the respectful attitude.

At this moment, Yang Liu glanced sadly at the handsome figure beside him. Somehow, the figure looked a little chaotic today, completely different from his usual composed and calm figure.

He had known Hwang Jihyuk for a very long time, so he knew that Hwang Jihyuk's current situation was not okay. The older guy, who had done so much for him, was fragile now.

"I'm confused," Hwang Jihyuk answered while playing with the weeds he had pulled out earlier. "What should I do, Yang Liu?"

Hwang Jihyuk's confusion suddenly spread to Yang Liu. He didn't understand what the older figure meant.

"Yang Liu, do you like Zhou Yongliang?"

The word 'confused' seemed no longer suitable to describe Yang Liu's current condition. Compared to being confused, he was now shocked. He did not expect that Zhou Yongliang's name would be carried over to their conversation.

"Do you know Zhou Yongliang?" Instead of answering, Yang Liu asked back.

Hwang Jihyuk nodded in response. "Huang Bo introduced him to me some time ago. He's an interesting kid, right?" His thin lips suddenly formed a smile. "Unfortunately, that kid has fallen for you."

Yang Liu was once again stunned. His best friend apparently knew a lot about his story with Zhou Yongliang.

Suddenly, Hwang Jihyuk threw the weeds that he had been playing with, then turned to stare at Yang Liu. "I will ask you once, Yang Liu. Please answer me honestly." His eyes suddenly turned sharp. "Do you like Zhou Yongliang?"

The cat got Yang Liu's tongue. He was speechless after he heard his best friend's question. His eyes stared back at Hwang Jihyuk's sharp eyes. The eyes were usually soft and loving, but today was different.

Yang Liu was confused. He couldn't interpret his feelings for Zhou Yongliang, but on the other hand, he secretly wished that the other boy could help him in the future.

"Gege, is it possible that Zhou Yongliang can be my medicine?" Instead of answering the question, Yang Liu asked back.

For a moment Hwang Jihyuk looked shocked at the question, but soon he laughed out loud. "What's wrong with you, Yang Liu? Why are you suddenly talking about medicine? Haven't you been reluctant to believe that there would be a medicine for you?"

Yang Liu was silent. His friend's words were not wrong. All this time, he did not believe in the existence of medicine. To Yang Liu, medicine and poison were the same things. If it had a positive effect, then you could call it medicine. But, if it had a negative effect, then you should call it poison. He didn't have the grips for being able to label medicine or poison on something—or maybe someone.

There was no guarantee whether something—or someone—would become medicine or poison to him.

"Regardless of your paradigm about medicine, do you feel yourself worthy of Zhou Yongliang, Yang Liu?"

The question seemed to corner the young vampire. In all the years he had known Hwang Jihyuk, never once had his best friend pushed him into a corner and kept pressing him.

All this time, his best friend had been his number one supporter. He was always behind him to encourage him. He never left him alone in any situation. Even when he changed over a year ago, Hwang Jihyuk was the only person who was willing to accept his new form.

"Zhou Yongliang, that kid is very cheerful and charming, giving a positive aura to everyone around him. As for you…" Hwang Jihyuk's narrow eyes peered at Yang Liu. "You are just a cold-hearted vampire who is very arrogant and doesn't care about others. Do you think you deserve to be side by side with someone as good as Zhou Yongliang?"

There were no wounds, but Yang Liu's heart ached terribly. It didn't bleed, but it was very painful inside. Was he that low and dirty? Had Hwang Jihyuk been looking at him as a lowly creature all this time?

His best friend was physically right beside him, but his soul was far away from him. Yang Liu wanted to cry, but he knew that his tears had dried up for a long time. No, he could never cry even though he wanted to.

"Yang Liu ..." The call from the side made the owner of the name turn around. "I really love you as my best friend, but..." Hwang Jihyuk looked at Yang Liu intently. "I love Zhou Yongliang more as a special person. Are you... willing to let him go for me?"