MVCFO CH70

Footsteps suddenly echoed behind him; someone slowly entered the office.

The person walked very slowly, as if afraid of startling Lin Xiangqi.

But their steps were heavy, deliberately meant for Lin Xiangqi to hear.

Lin Xiangqi was still in a state of mental disarray and spiritual trance. When he heard the sound, his heart panicked, his hand tightened, and he unconsciously clenched his palm.

“Ah… hiss!” The sharp part of the earring pricked his skin, making him gasp in pain.

Lu Cong had approached at some point. He wrapped his arms around Lin Xiangqi from behind, took his wrist, and gently peeled open Lin Xiangqi’s fingers, which were tightly clenched due to extreme tension. He softly soothed, “Relax, if you exert so much force, you’ll hurt yourself.”

“You, why are you back?” Lin Xiangqi asked him.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t find the file, so I came back to check.” Lu Cong said, subtly releasing a very faint wisp of pheromones, which gently enveloped Lin Xiangqi, significantly reducing his perception of pain.

“Oh…” Lin Xiangqi didn’t dare to look at Lu Cong, but he had so many questions he wanted to ask. So he tried to test Lu Cong indirectly, saying, “Then, are you still busy later?”

He often revealed his true thoughts in his eyes, especially when he thought he was being very calm. The tighter his body tensed, the more his eyes darted around.

Lu Cong said he wasn’t going; there was nothing urgent anyway.

Then he took the black earring from Lin Xiangqi’s hand and lowered his head to gently lick his palm.

“Agh!” Lin Xiangqi cried out in a startled gasp, but quickly bit his lip.

Only rapid breathing remained; he dared not speak.

Lu Cong licked away a drop of blood that had seeped from his palm, wiped a hint of red from the tip of his tongue, then looked at him and asked, “Did it hurt?”

“No, no.” Lin Xiangqi blinked, saying, “It doesn’t hurt.”

Lu Cong hummed in acknowledgment, then released his hand.

Lin Xiangqi unconsciously hooked his finger into Lu Cong’s sleeve, as if trying to hold him back.

Lu Cong looked at him, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upwards. He suddenly gripped Lin Xiangqi’s waist, and with a slight lift, he picked him up and sat him on the large office desk.

The two of them, whose gazes were originally at different heights, suddenly met.

Lin Xiangqi inexplicably swallowed.

Why did this atmosphere feel so strange?

“Did you see it?” Lu Cong asked him.

“See…”

Lin Xiangqi paused, then immediately realized what he was asking.

He instinctively wanted to play dumb again, an instinct to resist confrontation always making him retreat at such moments.

But the words caught in his throat, stopping.

He felt there was no need to remain confused this time.

So, Lin Xiangqi, with great courage, looked at Lu Cong and said, “Yes, I saw it.”

He saw his own name on the back of the earring, just as he saw Lu Cong’s ten years.

What a beautiful decade it is, from eighteen to twenty-eight.

For an Alpha like Lu Cong, this decade should have been one of flamboyance and success, with everything going smoothly in both life and career.

He was promoted to Major General at a young age, held great power, and was universally respected throughout the Alliance.

Such a person, standing at an unattainable peak, was meant to enjoy this world.

He had everything.

Money, power, immense strength.

But there was no satisfaction in his eyes.

After their reunion, Lin Xiangqi had once been curious about Lu Cong’s life.

He thought that after his “death,” Lu Cong might have grieved for a while, but he couldn’t grieve forever.

Lu Cong would make many new friends, and perhaps one or two of them would be even closer to him than Lin Xiangqi had been.

Lin Xiangqi, with a self-torturing mindset, tried to inquire about Lu Cong’s past decade, but all he heard were insignificant trivialities.

Lin Xiangqi even thought that Lu Cong was afraid of upsetting him and refused to tell him about any new friends he had made.

Now, upon reflection, he realized that Lu Cong wasn’t unwilling to talk; he truly hadn’t made any.

After Lin Xiangqi was gone, there was never another person who held such an important place in Lu Cong’s heart.

The moment Lin Xiangqi saw his own name, he understood that no matter how much Lu Cong possessed, he could never be satisfied.

Because what Lu Cong sought throughout his life was already gone.

If Lin Xiangqi hadn’t miraculously returned to his side, then he would be a true widower.

He would engrave his departed loved one forever, loving him silently.

And so, he would live out his life.

“Lu Cong.”

Lin Xiangqi took several deep breaths, gathering his courage, and finally decided to speak.

He asked, “Are you…?”

Lu Cong: “Yes.”

Lin Xiangqi: “?”

He had been a little nervous, afraid of saying the wrong thing, or saying it poorly.

But now, a thousand words were stuck in his throat, and he forgot what he wanted to say.

“Yes,” he said, laughing in exasperation, “I haven’t even asked anything yet!”

“My answer is always the same.”

Lu’s meaning was clear. His tone was direct and calm, his gaze earnest and gentle. There was no need for Lin Xiangqi to carefully phrase his questions.

“Yes, I like you.”

“Yes, I’ve liked you for ten years.”

“Yes, this earring was applied for in your name, because besides you, I never intend to marry anyone else in this life.”

Lu Cong didn’t seem to think he had said anything surprising; his demeanor was so casual, as if he were discussing some irrelevant gossip.

“It’s a bit regrettable that back then I had no tangible proof of you being my beloved, so the approval process was relatively troublesome. Fortunately, the Alliance probably thought I was… stubborn, unyielding, and too difficult to deal with, fearing I might smash the pheromone matching center if I didn’t get the widower’s certificate. So, although it took a bit more time, they finally agreed to my application.”

“…” Lin Xiangqi listened, stunned repeatedly, staring blankly at him.

After Lu Cong finished speaking, he waited for a moment, but Lin Xiangqi seemed to have no intention of responding.

Lu Cong was not in a hurry. He raised his hand and hooked Lin Xiangqi’s chin, gently squeezing it: “One thing I said was wrong. Please allow me to rephrase—”

“It’s not ‘like’.” He leaned down and whispered into Lin Xiangqi’s ear, “I love you.”

“Lin Xiangqi, I love you. Did you hear that?”

Lin Xiangqi’s mind was about to explode.

Upon hearing Lu Cong’s sudden yet not entirely unexpected confession, his first reaction was: Darn it, he beat me to it!

But love has no winners or losers.

So, even if Lu Cong said it first, it didn’t mean Lin Xiangqi was too late. 

He hugged Lu Cong’s neck with gusto and said, “I heard it, I heard it, I heard it!”

Lu Cong lowered his gaze, looking deeply at him.

His thin lips were a bit parched, and he unconsciously wanted to lick them.

Lin Xiangqi did it for him, suddenly tilting his neck back and giving him a soft kiss, dampening both their spirits.

“I’ll take that as you accepting,” Lu Cong said hoarsely. “Right?”

“I’m sorry…”

Lin Xiangqi pressed down on his wildly beating heart, enduring a wave of nasal soreness, and very difficultly uttered those three words.

Lu Cong’s eyes were unblinking, meeting his gaze.

For those who love deeply, their eyes carry a burning, fervent fire.

It made one reluctant to extinguish it.

He thought this was a rejection, and his expression suddenly turned cold, but fearing Lin Xiangqi would see his abnormality, he lowered his head and whispered, “It’s okay, if you don’t accept, then…”

“No, no, you misunderstood! My ‘I’m sorry’ wasn’t that meaning.”

Lin Xiangqi realized his words were ambiguous and, in a frantic rush, cupped Lu Cong’s face, forcing his head up, and said, “What I’m sorry for is… if I had been braver before, and admitted that I liked you sooner, maybe you wouldn’t have had to endure these ten years alone.”

Lu Cong’s pupils involuntarily dilated and constricted, revealing his current emotions.

“Yan Yan, what you just said…” He almost pleaded with Lin Xiangqi, “Say it again, hmm? Say it to me again.”

Lin Xiangqi was startled at first, then reacted, pursing his lips a little self-consciously, then said, “I said I actually like… Hey, no, that’s not right.”

Lin Xiangqi was clumsy even when confessing, despite having Lu Cong as an example. He even needed to correct himself again, saying, “Lu Cong, I said I love you, I super love you! The kind of love where I can’t live without you, did you hear that? If you didn’t, I can say it many more times. I’m really very sorry for making you wait ten years. Every day from now on, I can tell you this: I love you, I love you so much!”

Sometimes people are just that strange.

When something they’ve long hoped for actually happens, they don’t react with corresponding excitement and euphoria. Instead, they deliberately suppress their emotions, maintaining a rational and calm state.

As if only then can they better receive fate’s gifts.

After slowly calming his breathing, Lu Cong hugged Lin Xiangqi tightly and said, “I heard you. Yan Yan, I finally… heard you.”