Campfire Confessions

"I told you to not let the old man interfere!" Liu Sha yelled at the staff.

"But, sir--- He's really getting impatient to have results. We thought he only asked for access to the server because he wants to check the progress, so we let him. We didn't know he would manipulate the UToP---"

"Idiot! Of course, he's going to manipulate it! He meddled with my entire life, why wouldn't he waste the opportunity to meddle with our experiments!?" He shouted. "Get out, I don't want to talk to idiots like you any longer. And tell him to leave the matters be to me!"

The staff bowed their head and left. "Y-Yes, sir."

Liu Sha sat on his chair and sighed. He took his mug of bitter black coffee and swallowed it all in one gulp from fury. He opened the screen again at the deserted island, two figures sitting closely to one another.

"A whole 'stranded in a deserted island' scene. How unfair. I would do anything to have that." Liu Sha sighed pettily. "And to have a man such as Mo Aini to perform CPR on you and give a kiss of life....."

"Ah! This is seriously pissing me off." Liu Sha grumbled. "I want him out of the experiment."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as if hesitant to do something. Then, he gave up, and picked up his phone.

The other line picked up the call.

"Hello, Father. I need to discuss something with you." Liu Sha massaged the bridge of his nose. "I know you are desperate for quick results, but please hear me out first..."

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"What!?'

Mo Aini can't believe the situation they are in. This kind of thing only happen in movies, and now it happened to him.

"What do we do then?" He looked up and realize that the sun is setting. They're both dripping wet and it's going to be so cold at night. Not to mention wild animals....

(Man, if only I paid more attention to survival shows!) He thought.

"There's only one thing to do, Da Ge." Hu Chuntian stood up, taking off his shoes and socks and walking towards the rocky shores. "I can't waste another second of staying here when Mo Jiagei is stuck in Liangyue with that horrible cowboy."

He ran straight to the sea where he almost drowned!

Mo Aini immediately caught up to him and tackled him from going farther into the dangerous sea. "Are you crazy!? You're really going to swim your way to my sister just right after you almost died from drowning!?"

"Well, it's better to die trying to get Mo Jiagei not trying at all!" Hu Chuntian struggled from his grip, not holding back his punches. "Let me go, Da Ge! Mo Jiagei needs me!"

"Get yourself together, you brat!" Mo Aini put all his strength to pin him down. "Have fucking mercy on me! I just did all I could to take out all the water you swallowed, I almost thought I would lose you! And now you're getting suicidal over my fucking sister!?"

He punched a hole in the white sands. "If you don't care for your life, at least care for mine! Because I seriously don't know what I'm gonna do if I lose you!"

His tears full of anger fell on Hu Chuntian's cheek, and this caused some of the insatiable Tiger Emperor's senses to return a bit.

"What do you... mean by that, Da Ge?" Hu Chuntian can feel that his grip was too strong, but he ignores it.

Mo Aini gave a bitter laugh, pushing his tears away. "You know what I mean. Don't pretend you don't."

His face went closer and closer, and the modified emotional stats caused Hu Chuntian to panic.

Is he really going to??? He knows he doesn't like him, is he going to force himself on him.....?

Mo Aini was in a daze when he started moving his face closer and closer to Hu Chuntian's, but once he saw the fear in those blue eyes, like a prey faced with a predator, he immediately let go.

He stood up, eyes cold and stern. He ran his fingers on his own hair, and tried to clear his mind.

"I also want to escape this island like you. But I'm not going to do it in a stupid way." He offered his hand to help Hu Chuntian up. "Let's make a boat from twigs and wood or whatever tomorrow. Right now, we should focus on making fire and food for ourselves, and a place to sleep. That's the reasonable course of action, not all this unnecessary drama."

Hu Chuntian hesitantly took his hand, but found himself agreeing with his Da Ge. That really would be the smarter decision.

They went to work to find some kindling, and set up a camp. Luckily, Mo Aini is a paranoid guy, and he did bring a tent with him, though it took a while to fry it along with their other stuff. It was another lucky thing that their things washed up with them, and they washed up with each other, instead of getting separated in different islands.

He was quiet the whole time and did not share these thoughts though, still feeling wronged by his beloved.

Hu Chuntian felt awkward too. He assisted him in settling for the night here on this abandoned island without saying anything too. Mo Aini used the Swiss knife he brought with him to make a makeshift spear to catch fish, and with his luck, he managed to catch two.

He did the cooking, the setting of the fire, the setting of the tent with such finesse that Hu Chuntian was impressed by it. He wondered if Mo Aini had prior knowledge to these kinds of things.

But the truth is, Mo Aini just becomes 1000% more efficient when he is angry, because then, he is too furious to worry over the small details and little decisions he makes!

Hu Chuntian ate his roasted fish in somber silence. Mo Aini did not finish his and kept busy collecting as much wood as he can. Once he sat on a log to rest, Hu Chuntian felt the urge to say something.

Perhaps the right thing would be to say. "Thank you."

But just as he was about to say that, Mo Aini spoke first. "You have dirt on your face."

"Where?" Hu Chuntian touched his cheek, and ended up making it even messier.

Mo Aini went closer to wipe it out, but still kept a very noticeable distance. "There. If you want to sleep, you can sleep in the tent. It's dry now."

"What about you, Da Ge."

There was only one tent, Hu Chuntian is not as meticulous as Mo Aini to prepare for this kind of unforeseeable event after all.

"Here. I need to keep watch too, you never know if these islands have tigers or wolves or all sorts of dangerous beasts." Mo Aini answered succinctly. He went back to sharpening a new spear. "And I have to look out for rain, since it would put out our fire....."

"Then... Let's have shifts, Da Ge. I don't want to rely everything on you." Hu Chuntian offered.

"No." Mo Aini said, deadly sanpaku eyes showing.

Hu Chuntian was immune to the effect of those eyes. "Why not?"

"You need to rest your body. You almost drowned, remember?" Mo Aini said. "Go on to the tent and sleep. I can handle all the work by myself."

Hu Chuntian frowned. "I don't want to."

"A-Tian, don't test me. Go to the tent."

"I don't want to!" Hu Chuntian yelled. "Who are you to tell me what to do!?"

Mo Aini's eyes widened at this, then they dropped back to look at the ground forlornly.

"No one. I don't mean anything to you." He gave a sad smile. "At least, not anymore....."

"What do you mean by that!? Why can't you just explain everything to me!?" Hu Chuntian exasperatedly clutched his head. "You're making me so confused. This morning, you took advantage of me, then you save my life, and now you're speaking in riddles! I don't know what to think of you anymore!"

"Again, I did NOT take advantage of you. Yes, it was my fault that you get drunk, but my intentions are pure!" Mo Aini snapped. "You puked on my shirt! I cleaned us both up, then the moment I brought you to your bed, you wouldn't let me go, and I fell asleep! I never planned for any of that to happen either, I just wanted you to shut about Mo Jiagei!"

He gave another bitter laugh. "Which is stupid, because you simply wouldn't shut up about her even when you're drunk! I just made a fool of myself, and now you're also accusing me of violating you! Isn't that just fucking great!? Hahahaha!"

Hu Chuntian's blue eyes widened as belief when he learned the truth. He did not like Mo Aini's laugh at all.

It sounded so hurt and broken.

"Is.... Is that so? I....." Hu Chuntian looked down, flustered. "I'm so sorry..... And thank you for taking care of me. But why would you do all that.... you shouldn't have gone through so much trouble because of me..."

Mo Aini went silent for a while, dark shadows over his face.

He simply said. "A wise friend of mine once said that between lovers, there's no need for 'sorry' or 'thank you'. I thought that was silly. But now I realized..... when you love someone, you become so stupid that all sins would be forgiven, that's why there's no need for them to apologize, and you would do anything for them without wanting anything in return, not even a simple 'thank you'."

Hu Chuntian realized what he was implying. "So you ... do have feelings for me after all."

"Yes. It was as obvious as a big black stain over a white wall, you just can't see it because your eyes are glued to my sister's back."

Hu Chuntian felt sheepish. "Even so, you know I like Mo Jiagei already. Why won't you just..... give up?"

"Hu Chuntian, I'm not someone who gives up halfway." Mo Aini sighed. "I made a promise that you don't remember, but I'll keep at it anyway no matter what the outcome."

A silence passed over them.

"What.... do I don't remember, Da Ge?"

Mo Aini's expression was unreadable, then he stood up. He walked over to his luggage and pulled out something.

It was the photo album.

He gave it to Hu Chuntian, who took it confused and open the pages. His eyes widen in shock.

"Does this make you recall anything?" Mo Aini looked at him hopefully. "You gave this to me. Don't you see how much you mean to me just from these pictures?"

The album was full of photos of them together or of each other. One was with a selfie-like picture with Hu Chuntian kissing his cheek. One was of Mo Aini sleeping in Hu Chuntian's bed, taken by the Tiger Emperor himself, because there were marked scribbles on his face that reads: 'Property of Hu Chuntian. Do Not Disturb'.

There was so much that if this was all made up and edited, Mo Aini sure would have spent a lot of hours and effort into it.

"I don't.... remember of any of this." Hu Chuntian covered his mouth. "It makes sense now. The extra toothbrush..... extra boxing gloves.... It was you!"

"Yes." Mo Aini's eyes lowered in disappointment. "But you still don't remember the memories themselves?"

Hu Chuntian scrunched up his eyebrows for a while. Then, he shook his head.

"No."

Mo Aini inhaled deeply, then let out a heavy breath.

"I see." Mo Aini said. "You don't believe me then?"

"I do believe you but...." Hu Chuntian frowned. "It's different from remembering it myself. I..... It makes me even more confused..... How did I forget.....?"

A cold breeze came, and Mo Aini was reminded how deep the night was already. He gave Hu Chuntian's head a pat. "... It's ok. You can take your time, don't sweat over it. Right now, what you need is rest."

"But Da Ge---"

"No buts. If it would make you sleep easier, forget about it for now." Mo Aini snatched the album from him. He led Hu Chuntian inside the tent, and closed the flaps.

Hu Chuntian still opened the tent and peered over. "But Da Ge, I really can't sleep with a revelation like this! And what about you!? You must feel so bad that I don't remember, and I feel bad about that---"

"I'm willing to wait as long as it takes, A-Tian. I'll be fine." Mo Aini forced a weak smile, ruffling his hair. He kissed his forehead. "Good night. Put your mind out of it and sleep well."

He gently but firmly pushed Hu Chuntian back inside, then left.

Hu Chuntian reluctantly obeyed him, but he can't get a wink of sleep that night. His Da Ge really was saying the truth from the start, they really were lovers!

He has so many questions, but Mo Aini looked too disappointed and hurt to answer them. This gives him an uncomfortable feeling. He feels so lost. On one hand, he is still obsessed and madly in love with Mo Jiagei. He once thought that his love for her was the greatest and most powerful in this world.....

But on the other hand, Mo Aini's kind of love, this selfless love that is willing to wait for him no matter what it takes and sacrifice everything... seems to be far more greater than that.

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