Chapter 1 You Made the First Move

When Lu Heyang woke up, his whole body ached.

His head hurt the most, and he knew exactly why—a brutal hangover from a near blackout. But the pain in other parts of his body wasn't so clear. His lower half hurt, his legs ached, and his lower back especially felt like it had been pinned down all night.

He vaguely remembered getting wasted at Deep Blue Bar, taking a cab to the cemetery afterward, and then his memory went blank.

He held his forehead and struggled to sit up, pulling the curtain aside just a little. The light poured in, stabbing at his eyes. When he turned back, his pupils dilated—a broad, solid, naked back was in front of him. The blanket was covering the man's waist, hiding the firm waist and hips beneath.

This was his place, and he usually slept alone. One pair of slippers, one toothbrush, even one pillow.

His gaze drifted down, and his heart raced even faster. On this person's shoulder blade was a half-moon-shaped birthmark. It was a deep, plum-like color, almost like a scar. He knew it well. But what made it hard to breathe was that the owner of this birthmark was supposed to be nothing but ashes in an urn beneath a gravestone—a gravestone he'd personally chosen upon returning to the country.

The sudden burst of sunlight woke the man. His back moved, then he rolled over, skillfully sliding an arm over Lu Heyang's waist and resting it on his hip.

"Not going to sleep a little longer?"

Lu Xun's lazy face emerged from beneath the blanket, one side pressed into a soft blush. His half-open eyes, slightly misty, looked at Lu Heyang with a teasing smile.

Those eyes were etched into Lu Heyang's memory—about a quarter of the pupil covered by the eyelid, the ends of his eyes elegantly tilted, often carrying a mischievous smile. But ten years later, the man had changed. His jawline had sharpened, his features were more defined, with strikingly solid muscles.

When he left, he was a sharp, awkward teenager. Now he was a mature, commanding man. It seemed to fill the blank space in Lu Heyang's dream of what the adult Lu Xun might look like.

But...

"Lu Xun?" Lu Heyang's expression turned indescribable as he shrank toward the window. Ten years ago, he had felt an uncontrollable fear and an inner submission to him, and it was still the same ten years later.

"Don't be scared." Lu Xun sat up, his hair sticking up slightly, his expression barely holding back a grin, which only made Lu Heyang even more frustrated.

"I'm not a ghost. You're not dreaming, and you don't have some weird thing about sleeping with corpses." Lu Xun started getting dressed, rummaging through the bedside table, where two pairs of underwear, socks, and crumpled shirts lay tangled together, hastily discarded the night before.

Finally, in an almost casual tone, he summed it up: "I didn't die.

"Lu Xun got out of bed, his bare feet on the carpet as he slid his long legs into a pair of jeans.

"Hungry, got anything to eat?"

Without waiting for Lu Heyang to respond, he acted like he was at home, walked to the fridge, opened the door, and rummaged through it before pulling out a carton of milk.

"You really wore me out last night." He tilted his head back, gulping down the milk, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "You didn't have a boyfriend abroad?"

He clicked his tongue, almost regretfully, and asked, "No sexual partners either?"

Lu Heyang's expression turned sour.

"Yes, I know you came back just to handle my funeral. Too bad I didn't die. You must be pretty disappointed." Lu Xun finally drank his fill and cast his scorching gaze back at Lu Heyang, who was too shocked to realize he was still half-naked, with kiss marks on his collarbone like cherry blossoms blooming in spring. "And then, taking advantage of your drunken state, I slept with you last night. You must be really p*ss*d right now."

"Bro, honestly, I get it." Lu Xun smirked. The word "bro" sounded unfamiliar, so he mouthed it again, rolling it around in his mouth.

"Get what, my *ss." Lu Heyang frowned, irritably pulling on his shirt, fumbling with the buttons, getting more wrong the more he rushed.

"Especially about last night, you can't blame me. I was waiting at your door, and you pulled me inside." Lu Xun raised his hands in mock surrender. "There's a camera at your door. Don't believe me, check it yourself.

"Grinding his teeth, Lu Heyang pulled out his phone to check the camera footage. 12:30 last night, the sound of footsteps lit up the hallway's ceiling light, and he staggered into the camera's view. Lu Xun stood up from the doorframe, seemed to say something, and then before he could finish, Lu Heyang unlocked the door, grabbed him by the collar, and shoved him inside.

Before the door closed, the footage showed Lu Heyang urgently pinning Lu Xun against the entryway wall, kissing his lips, his hand slipping under Lu Xun's T-shirt, and then Lu Xun naturally raising his hands to undo Lu Heyang's shirt buttons and belt.

"..."

Lu Xun sat on the chair, legs spread, leisurely watching Lu Heyang's expression shift from shock to pale, until finally, his earlobes turned pink.

"What the hell is going on?" Lu Heyang couldn't bear to watch any longer and tossed his phone aside.

"You missed me, so we just..."

"Shut up." Lu Heyang took a deep breath, resigned. "I'm asking about you, not about last night..."

Lu Xun caught on, leaning back in his seat, eyes gleaming. "Me? Oh, I just faked my death."

"..."

"If I didn't die, how would you have come back?" Lu Xun's smile grew deeper, and when he smiled, it was like stars fell from his eyes. Lu Heyang had known him for thirteen years and knew he could never escape from that kind of look.

Continuing in a teasing tone, Lu Xun said, "Even though you're the real son, and I'm just the adopted stand-in, you're still my only legal family. You had to come back and handle my funeral, right?"

Lu Heyang didn't understand how Lu Xun could say all this so lightly. He had avoided him for ten years, only to hear news of his death in a car accident. He'd dropped everything overseas to return, only to find a handful of ashes, cold as a nightmare, in a white porcelain urn.

Now this man had come back to life. Lu Heyang felt a mess of emotions, but the idea that Lu Xun had faked his death to lure him back was clearly a joke he couldn't believe.

"You're out of your d*mn mind." Lu Heyang cursed.

Lu Xun walked to the bedside, his long, defined fingers fixing the wrong buttons on Lu Heyang's shirt. Lu Heyang pressed his lips together, instinctively pulling his shoulder away.The suspended fingers froze, then moved up to grab Lu Heyang's jaw, forcing him to look at him.

"I've always been crazy, and you know that better than anyone," Lu Xun's smile faded.

"Besides, I'm a dead man now, an outlaw, and I can do whatever I want.

"You'd better behave, or I won't even bother pretending to be the good little brother."

Lu Heyang glared at him, his pupils clouded slightly by mild nearsightedness. Lu Xun's thumb brushed from his jaw to his lips, lightly pinching his lip before pulling away like a butterfly, finally fixing the third misaligned button.

"Glasses." Lu Xun casually found Lu Heyang's thin gold-rimmed glasses on the bedside table and handed them over.

Lu Heyang wasn't appreciative. "I don't care if you're really dead or faked it. Our parents are gone, and we have nothing to do with each other anymore. This is my place, and I have the right to ask you in and the right to ask you out." Lu Heyang was trying to treat him like a stranger.

Lu Xun smirked, squinting his eyes. "Nothing to do with each other?"

Before Lu Heyang could respond, his phone rang—a strange number, clearly not saved in his contacts.

He shot a warning look at Lu Xun and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Lu." The voice on the other end was a middle-aged man, speaking with careful caution. "The tombstone you urgently requested last night is ready. When would be a good time for you to come and take a look?"

"What tombstone?" Lu Heyang's headache worsened.

You came to the cemetery last night and requested a new tombstone for Mr. Lu Xun."

"Why would I need a new one?" Lu Heyang's expression turned suspicious.

"..." The man hesitated before finally replying, "You asked us to add... add two English words in front of Mr. Lu Xun's name...um, ''my love."

"..."

Lu Heyang's temples throbbed harder, his grip on the phone tightening. He glanced at Lu Xun, whose ears pricked up like he knew something interesting was happening, and his expression was innocent and nonchalant.

"Thank you, and thank you to your supervisor, too," Lu Xun raised his voice slightly, enough for the other person on the phone to hear. "This tombstone was personally chosen by my brother for me. My brother has excellent taste. Please don't change a thing."

Lu Heyang hung up the phone, about to explode with anger. Lu Xun's light tone came from behind, "A brother's grave doesn't need a new tombstone. How about we give you a grave next to me?"

"..."

Ten years ago, Lu Xun had never used such words with Lu Heyang. Back then, his rebellious nature was clear, but he never gave in. But now, this man was so casual, each word dripping with sarcasm.

This was not the Lu Xun he had known.

But that only meant that the Lu Xun of today was scarier than the one back then.

"I'm joking." Lu Xun wasn't laughing at all. He had changed into a T-shirt and was getting ready to leave, glancing back at Lu Heyang. "I'm free tonight, come to Deep Blue Bar to find me if you want to talk."

"I don't have time," Lu Heyang refused.

"But I think you do." Lu Xun gave a half-hearted smile and put on a pair of shades. "Ten years ago, you asked me why I suddenly became so interested in you."

"That's because," Lu Xun paused, his smile deepening, "you made the first move."