The bright moonlight shone through the window, casting hazy shadows of the furniture in the dark palace chamber, making everything look indistinct. A few strands of breeze drifted in from outside, lifting the fine gauze canopy and adding a touch of allure to the atmosphere.
The oil lamp had been extinguished for a while before Wei Xicheng finally adjusted to the sudden darkness.
He tilted his head and looked at the person lying beside him.
“Yan Bei.”
Hearing his name, Yan Bei also turned his head. Even in the darkness, his eyes were bright. This was the first time the young emperor had called his full name so calmly.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, just calling for fun,” Wei Xicheng said with a smile, revealing a set of small white teeth.
For Yan Bei, this amount of light was enough for him to see. Plus, with such a short distance between them, he could clearly see the way the young emperor’s eyes curved as he smiled, as well as the delicate fine lines at the corners of his eyes.
He reached out and covered those eyes with his hand. “Sleep.”
“I can’t sleep.” Wei Xicheng adjusted his head, staring absentmindedly at the canopy above, whose colors were now indistinguishable in the dark. He had thought about too many random things during the day, and now his mind couldn’t quiet down.
His past memories were already blurred, but the time spent with the person beside him remained exceptionally clear. Every world he had lived through was made more enjoyable because of this person’s presence.
Wei Xicheng knew he wasn’t someone who liked to stir up trouble, and he also understood that liking someone simply meant liking them. But he had fallen into the same emotional trap as many others—fear of gaining and losing.
“What are you thinking about?” Yan Bei’s voice came, brushing against Wei Xicheng’s ear. It was so close that Wei Xicheng felt that if he turned his head, he would be able to kiss his lips.
Wei Xicheng shook his head without making a sound. He knew Yan Bei could see him.
After a moment of silence, Wei Xicheng shifted slightly. “Are you asleep, Yan Bei?”
“No.”
“If you liked someone, would you take the initiative to say it?” Wei Xicheng felt like he was breaking character. This was a question he was asking as himself, not as the young emperor.
“Since ancient times, marriages have been arranged by parents and matchmakers. If one were to rashly confess to the person directly, wouldn’t that ruin their reputation?”
Wei Xicheng was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond. He had thought that the Yan Bei of this world, who had lost his memories, wouldn’t be affected by what happened in the previous world. That should have been a good thing. But unexpectedly, this Yan Bei was much more distant toward him than before.
His gaze dimmed, so he didn’t notice Yan Bei’s hand clenched into a tight fist at his side, the veins on his arm bulging as if he were exerting immense restraint.
“Why are you suddenly asking this?” Yan Bei tried to relax himself, afraid that if he lost control, he might do something irreversible.
What happened in the bathhouse and outside was already his limit. The young emperor was still too naive; he had no excuse to act recklessly.
“Why are you so tense? Don’t tell me… you have someone in your heart?”
Lying so close together, their bodies inevitably touched. Even though Wei Xicheng couldn’t see Yan Bei’s expression, he could sense his tension from the taut muscles in his arm.
“No,” Yan Bei exhaled softly, deliberately slowing his speech. However, in the next second, a faint scent of dragon musk enveloped him, filling his senses.
“Yan Bei, I have always known exactly what I am doing.” Wei Xicheng propped himself up over Yan Bei, his gaze serious. His dark hair cascaded down on either side of his face, blocking out the light.
Yan Bei felt the world darken for a moment. The moonlight behind the young emperor traced a silver outline around him, making his silhouette distinct.
“Even now?” Yan Bei gently brushed aside the strands of hair that had fallen onto his face, his eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity.
Just like Wei Xicheng’s teasing actions, the strands of hair twisted around Yan Bei’s fingers before brushing against his face again—ticklish, but as if the sensation came from deep within his heart.
“Mm.” Wei Xicheng nodded, bending his arm slightly so he could rest his face near Yan Bei’s ear, taking full advantage of every opportunity to increase their connection. “From the first time I saw you, and every moment after that—it all counts.”
The next instant, the world spun as their positions reversed.
“Does His Majesty wish for Yan Bei to be by your side as…?” Yan Bei trailed off, but the meaning was obvious. He nudged Wei Xicheng’s nose with his own, their breaths intertwining—intimate, yet tinged with detachment.
Wei Xicheng shook his head. He was beginning to lose his grasp on how to handle his relationship with Yan Bei. Originally, all he had to do was move through each world carefree, waiting for the day someone would appear to accompany him until the end.
But then he realized he had fallen for someone. And with that love came anxiety.
If, in this endless journey through worlds, that person suddenly disappeared—he wasn’t sure he could bear the solitude.
In the last world, when they had finally met and truly come to know each other, Wei Xicheng had been both overjoyed and restless. He had thought he had grown used to his lover’s frequent “memory loss,” but now he realized—when he wanted to share his heart, the person in front of him only saw him as a stranger they had just met.
That powerlessness nearly drowned Wei Xicheng.
Maybe it was Yan Bei’s attitude in this world that had shaken his confidence, or maybe it was his own unstable emotions making him lose his judgment.
Either way, Wei Xicheng felt that before he could regain his patience, he shouldn’t do anything foolish.
“I already said, I don’t have to be the emperor.” Wei Xicheng forced himself to remain calm. “But I don’t know if you’re willing. Let’s just sleep—we can talk about it later.”
He tried to push Yan Bei’s hand away, using some force, but the arm braced beside his face didn’t budge an inch.
Yan Bei chuckled, his slightly hoarse voice echoing in the silent palace, carrying an inexplicable allure. “Not willing to do what, Your Majesty?”
That “Your Majesty” was a reminder—just because he was emperor, did he think he could do as he pleased? Wei Xicheng’s expression darkened. He refused to meet those increasingly intense eyes. After all, he was merely a puppet emperor.
Wei Xicheng felt exhausted in this world. Their differences in status, deep-rooted traditions—the chasm between them was enormous. Even asking simple questions never yielded satisfying answers.
The next second, he glanced at Yan Bei with a strange expression.
“Your Majesty still hasn’t told this minister—what exactly am I unwilling to do?”
Wei Xicheng’s legs were forcefully parted, and he felt Yan Bei’s weight press down on him. He covered his forehead with a sigh.
Troublesome.
Why did he find Yan Bei’s thoughts harder and harder to understand?
If Yan Bei held military power and didn’t care about him, the so-called emperor, then he wouldn’t have restrained himself this long. But if Yan Bei truly cared about him, why did he always hesitate at the final moment in their relationship?
Men—such complicated creatures.
What Wei Xicheng forgot was that, in Yan Bei’s eyes, he was just as complicated. The young emperor was unpredictable—sunny one moment, stormy the next—leaving Yan Bei equally bewildered.
Not to mention, Yan Bei still hesitated because of Wei Xicheng’s age. Did the young emperor even understand what true love was?
And what if he changed his mind later?
At that thought, Yan Bei’s gaze darkened. If that happened, he would never let him go so easily.
Wei Xicheng shivered at the sudden chill, looked up at Yan Bei, and hesitated before finally saying, “You’ve been holding back for so long. Aren’t you tired?”
“No.” Yan Bei pressed his hips forward, satisfied when he saw the young emperor’s expression change. “I can hold on even longer.”
Yan Bei’s thoughts were equally tangled.
In front of others, he always followed the rules of the world. But inside, it was as if a wild beast roared, longing to break free from its cage—yet unwilling to shatter his carefully maintained life.
Looking at the person beneath him, he knew—this delicate, sheltered emperor would never survive the chaos he wished to unleash. He could only be carefully kept within this luxurious palace, protected and cherished.
Hearing his words, Wei Xicheng suddenly smiled brightly. “Then why don’t we do something fun instead?”
A reckless youth, meeting a man finally unleashing his restraints.
—
At dawn, Yan Bei was the first to wake up. He instinctively moved to get up, but the smooth skin beneath his fingers immediately brought him back to reality.
He looked down at the person in his arms. The young emperor’s delicate shoulder blades were covered in deep purple kiss marks, trailing downward and disappearing beneath the soft silk blanket.
His fingers brushed against Wei Xicheng’s waist, making the sleeping man hum softly but not wake up.
Wei Xicheng couldn’t manipulate energy to improve his physical state, but his original body had been pampered in the deep palace. He had never suffered hardship, making his skin as flawless as if he had been bathed in milk since birth.
Yan Bei had never seen a woman’s body, but this morning, he was certain—even the most delicately raised noblewoman could not compare to his emperor.
Yan Bei had never been one to linger in bed. He pressed a light kiss to Wei Xicheng’s nape before getting up.
Wei Xicheng stirred at the noise, overhearing Yan Bei instructing Xiao Taozi—likely to prevent the servant from entering and seeing the marks on his body.
Then he remembered the marks.
His hand trembled as he opened his system interface to check his energy panel.
Still at zero percent.
What?!
Wei Xicheng was in shock. How could he not have gathered any energy?!
What about him and Yan Bei?!
