Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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Ye Qingyun could hear his heartbeat.

One beat after another, louder than Gu Shenyuan’s heartbeat, as if it was about to leap out of his chest.

Ye Qingyun could distinctly feel his ears burning.

It was so incredible—Gu Shenyuan, who had always remained single and never paid attention to how others sweet-talked, could say such romantic words?

Ye Qingyun’s mind was in a whirlwind, but even so, he could discern that what Gu Shenyuan said was not just empty flattery. Every word came from the heart.

He wasn’t a cold, unfeeling stone. Under such sincerity, to say that he felt no stirrings at all would be a lie.

Moreover, over this time, he had seen Gu Shenyuan’s kindness towards him. Feelings had slowly accumulated, eventually reaching a tipping point that began to shift the scales in Ye Qingyun’s heart.

He wasn’t sure if he truly liked Gu Shenyuan or felt the same fervent emotions for him, but why shouldn’t he try to explore things with Gu Shenyuan?

Previously, he wanted to leave simply to distance himself from the plot and live a peaceful life, not wanting to invite trouble.

But now, he didn’t want to shy away from the story. He was willing to face it together with Gu Shenyuan. Wasn’t that a good thing? As for the system’s prediction of death in three months, he could try negotiating with the system to stop this plan, or simply die and reincarnate to find Gu Shenyuan again.

If they were together…

Ye Qingyun suddenly recalled something, his expression sharpening. He reached out and patted Gu Shenyuan’s shoulder, not directly expressing his thoughts but reassuring him, “Stop overthinking; I’ve always been watching you.”

Gu Shenyuan said nothing and held Ye Qingyun tighter.

For Gu Shenyuan, that response was already enough to satisfy him.

It was enough—so long as Ye Qingyun was willing to look at him and willing to direct some of his attention toward him, his goal had already begun to materialize.

Apart from him, Ye Qingyun would have no contact with anyone else.

Gu Shenyuan felt a pain in his head; the bloodline confinement was preventing such thoughts, clearly deeming them as intentions to harm Ye Qingyun.

But this pain did not deter Gu Shenyuan’s thoughts; instead, they grew more radical.

With all of Ye Qingyun’s attention on him, there would come a day when this focus would accumulate, making Ye Qingyun completely accustomed to his presence. He would integrate into Ye Qingyun’s life like air, becoming ubiquitous.

Gu Shenyuan wouldn’t let Ye Qingyun go; he embraced him and carried him back.

The bedroom where they had previously slept had already become uninhabitable after someone had died. Gu Shenyuan turned and took Ye Qingyun to another room.

This new room was no less decorated than the previous one, but it had only one large bed placed in the center.

Ye Qingyun held back for a moment but couldn’t help but point out Gu Shenyuan’s earlier lie: “Didn’t you say there was only one room available to sleep in? Was that why you wanted to share a room with me?”

“Mm.” Gu Shenyuan replied nonchalantly, “At that time, there was only one room. There’s still only one room. There will always be only one room.” After a pause, he added, “And now there’s only one bed left.”

Ye Qingyun: ‘…’

That was a rather careless lie! Who would believe that?

He wondered how much separation agent Gu Shenyuan had taken; he hoped Gu Shenyuan would return to normal tomorrow. Otherwise, facing this strange version of Gu Shenyuan for too long might be more than he could bear.

Ye Qingyun lay down on the bed in frustration and felt the other side sink.

Gu Shenyuan’s hand reached over, hesitated in the air for a moment, then finally descended to grasp Ye Qingyun’s wrist.

“I’m holding onto you,” Gu Shenyuan said in the darkness, his tone grim. “You can’t escape.”

Ye Qingyun had no choice but to tell Gu Shenyuan, who looked completely unwilling to sleep and seemed intent on keeping a constant watch over him, “Alright, just go to sleep quickly. If you get dark circles under your eyes, you won’t look handsome anymore, and I won’t look at you.”

Gu Shenyuan fell silent. He didn’t let go of Ye Qingyun’s wrist, but ultimately closed his eyes.

---

The next day, Gu Shenyuan had returned to normal.

Ye Qingyun was so moved when he saw that Gu Shenyuan’s face was no longer dark and frightening but back to its usual calmness that he felt like crying.

Ye Qingyun quickly assured Gu Shenyuan that he understood what he had said before about wanting him to stay on a planet forever and never leave—it was just nonsense induced by the agent. He wouldn’t mind, and he hoped Gu Shenyuan wouldn’t take it to heart.
.
Gu Shenyuan handed Ye Qingyun a glass of juice, paused for a moment, and said softly, “It’s not nonsense”

Ye Qingyun: ‘???’

Gu Shenyuan: “It’s my true feelings.”

Ye Qingyun’s hand trembled, nearly spilling juice all over himself.

Gu Shenyuan helped Ye Qingyun move the glass away and wiped his hand, which had a bit of juice on it. He lowered his dark eyelashes, hiding the emotions in his eyes, and said softly, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll try to respect your feelings.”

Ye Qingyun was successfully calmed down, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Of course, everyone has dark thoughts; it wasn’t a big deal. The normal Gu Shenyuan should be able to control himself and wouldn’t act on them.

Ye Qingyun finished his breakfast and headed to the laboratory.

This time, he was going to solve a major problem.

He already had some clues before the experiment, so he was making rapid progress. Ye Qingyun was prepared to deliver the antidote to Gu Shenyuan soon.

However, after yesterday, Ye Qingyun found himself wavering in his desire to hand the antidote over to Gu Shenyuan.

Everyone inevitably has a dark side, and he was no exception.

After discovering his feelings for Gu Shenyuan, Ye Qingyun’s mindset subtly shifted when he thought about this research.
If he handed the antidote to Gu Shenyuan and the confinement on Gu Shenyuan was lifted, what if one day Gu Shenyuan no longer liked him and simply left?

If he stopped making the antidote, then… Gu Shenyuan would have no chance to leave on his own.

All the initiative was in his hands; he could easily wait until the day he no longer liked Gu Shenyuan before handing over the antidote, and then leave without any psychological burden.

Ye Qingyun opened the laboratory door and saw the equipment arranged inside. He sat down on a chair, slowly reaching for the experimental tools, yet he didn’t start today’s research.

Yesterday, he hadn’t directly told Gu Shenyuan that he wanted to try being together with him, and that was because of this concern.

Currently, he and Gu Shenyuan hadn’t had any real intimate contact, so he could still make rational judgments. Once they kissed or had physical contact, facing this issue might change his mindset.

Should he continue the research? Should he give the antidote to Gu Shenyuan?

The door creaked open slightly, and when Ye Qingyun turned around, he saw Gu Shenyuan quietly watching him from behind the door.

Ye Qingyun jumped in shock, his hair standing on end, and shouted, “What are you doing?”

Gu Shenyuan didn’t speak. He seemed to have only come to confirm Ye Qingyun was still there. After seeing that Ye Qingyun was safe, he quietly left again.

Ye Qingyun was startled, and his tangled thoughts were straightened out by the shock. Once he regained his senses, he almost slapped himself for what he had been thinking.

What was he even contemplating? Romance was romance, and the antidote was the antidote. What if Gu Shenyuan didn’t want to pursue it anymore? Could he force him to stay by his side? That would be so inappropriate! Moreover, the bloodline confinement was a coercive contract that made Gu Shenyuan obey him. If he unfortunately died early, dragging Gu Shenyuan along as well—how could that be justified?

Ugh! As a good young man raised under the red flag, a model of morality, he was harboring so many thoughts that contradicted Marxist-Leninist principles.^[1]An interpretation of Communism It was truly a disgrace after all the party lessons he had attended!

This wasn’t love; it was merely to satisfy his selfish desires. He couldn’t do that.

He decided that after he developed the antidote, he would watch Gu Shenyuan drink it and see its effects before confessing to him. As for whether he could keep Gu Shenyuan around, that would depend on his capabilities!

With renewed determination, Ye Qingyun threw himself into the research.

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Throughout the entire research process, Gu Shenyuan had no idea what he was doing, thinking he was studying some love potion. Occasionally, he would ask Ye Qingyun if he had enough research materials and offered more if he needed them.

Ye Qingyun declined Gu Shenyuan’s offers while pondering a recent difficulty he had encountered.

He had heard that a certain master had researched this issue and even written a book about it. If only he could find that book as a reference.

He wondered if Gu Shenyuan had it… but then again, he had heard that book was extremely rare. It was unlikely that someone who wasn’t genuinely interested in potion-making would just happen to possess it.

Seeing Ye Qingyun’s frowning face deep in thought, Gu Shenyuan asked, “Have you run into some trouble?”

Although Ye Qingyun didn’t hold much hope, he casually mentioned, “Do you know where I could find “Potion Making” by Leo Randolph?”

Gu Shenyuan instinctively replied, “I have it here.”

After saying that, Gu Shenyuan immediately realized his mistake and quickly shut his mouth.

…He did indeed have that book, but it was filled with his notes. What if Ye Qingyun suspected him because of those annotations?

For instance, he might wonder why Gu Shenyuan was interested in potion-making and why he hadn’t continued any research on it since then.

If Ye Qingyun discovered that Gu Shenyuan had come on board solely to find him and get him to teach him how to make the antidote for bloodline confinement or even to teach him how to create a potion that severed emotions, what would Ye Qingyun think?

Would Ye Qingyun feel hurt by his ulterior motives and angry at his desire to use him?

Gu Shenyuan understood that even if Ye Qingyun didn’t care about him now, in terms of their situation, from the moment he fell in love with Ye Qingyun, he had already become something that belonged to Ye Qingyun.

He had researched this psychological aspect more, so he knew that when a person discovers that a particular object around them was once intended to be used for their advantage, they could easily feel angry and dissatisfied, perhaps even think that the person had ulterior motives, making it impossible to trust them and requiring constant vigilance.

Ye Qingyun’s attitude toward him had only just started to ease; he couldn’t let such a small matter ruin everything.

Ye Qingyun’s eyes lit up. “Really? Quick, let me see!”

Gu Shenyuan coldly rejected him, “No, I misspoke. There isn’t such a book here.”

“Hmm?” Ye Qingyun glared at Gu Shenyuan in dissatisfaction. “Who are you trying to fool? I was detailed with the author’s name and book title. You say you misremembered? If you didn’t remember it clearly, how could you respond so quickly, given your personality?”

Gu Shenyuan once again declined, “There isn’t. My memory isn’t that great.”

Ye Qingyun didn’t believe Gu Shenyuan. He stood up and rushed toward the study that Gu Shenyuan had mentioned before. Suddenly remembering something, he stopped and warned Gu Shenyuan.

“Don’t you dare use your abilities to secretly destroy it! Do you know how precious that book is?” Ye Qingyun said seriously, attempting to intimidate Gu Shenyuan. “If I find out, I’ll… I’ll ignore you forever! I’m not joking!”

Ye Qingyun turned and left, leaving Gu Shenyuan watching his retreating figure.

Gu Shenyuan painfully shut his eyes.

Ye Qingyun’s threat was effective; he genuinely couldn’t ignore such a threat and destroy the book. He could only watch helplessly as Ye Qingyun walked away.

It was over; he was going to be found out.