"You're mine" [Revised]

When Chu Qingjiu opened his eyes again, he was back in his own bed.

Almost instinctively, he looked beside him. Qi Wu lay there, his chest rising and falling steadily, looking as though he were asleep.

He gently stroked Qi Wu's face, and the wooden puppet tucked against his chest fell out.

Seeing the little wooden puppet with Qi Wu's features land right beside Qi Wu, facing him, Chu Qingjiu felt inexplicably guilty.

He carefully placed the little wooden puppet, which now had Qi Wu's features, in its wooden box and hid it beneath the bed.

Although Qi Wu was already his Puppet, he did not want Qi Wu to know.

Whether because of his own selfishness or the difference in their identities, he had to keep it hidden.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was half past two in the morning, and Qi Wu had yet to wake. Chu Qingjiu wondered whether it was because Qi Wu had become his Puppet at the end and lost consciousness while under his control.

Under the instance's rules, only those who were conscious counted as "alive," so the instance might well have deemed Qi Wu dead.

But Chu Qingjiu soon ruled out that possibility.

Because Qi Wu woke up.

The instant he opened his eyes, Qi Wu's mind was still dazed, because an inexplicable gap had appeared in his memory.

The last thing he remembered was Chu Qingjiu saying, coldly and with certainty, "Neither of us will die."

After that, he remembered nothing, as though he had passed out.

He turned his head toward the window.

Chu Qingjiu stood there with his back to him, his smooth, long hair falling loosely around him. Moonlight shrouded his figure, making him look hazy and impossibly distant.

The only light in the room was the moonlight spilling through the window, dim and misty, as though everything had been draped in a soft, mysterious veil.

"Gege..."

Qi Wu's voice was still a little hoarse. Hearing him, Chu Qingjiu turned to look at him.

Perhaps the moonlight was too gentle, because Qi Wu thought the gaze Chu Qingjiu turned on him was tender beyond words. Yet that tenderness, too, seemed beyond his reach.

Because he always felt that Chu Qingjiu was so far away.

Chu Qingjiu walked toward him, then suddenly threw himself into his arms and hugged him.

"Qi Wu, welcome back," he said softly.

Qi Wu froze, his hands still braced against the edge of the bed from sitting up. Surrounded by Chu Qingjiu's scent and the warmth of his embrace, he found himself at a complete loss.

This was the first time Chu Qingjiu had hugged him so affectionately. He had already grown used to Chu Qingjiu's cold, passive disposition.

He slowly raised his hands, wanting to rest them against Chu Qingjiu's back, but hesitated. As he listened to Chu Qingjiu breathing, his heart pounded fast and loud as a drum.

What was going on? Was he really not dreaming?

And what had those words meant?

Qi Wu's mind was a tangled mess. For the first time, Chu Qingjiu's actions made him blush, revealing an innocent shyness entirely unlike his earlier glib manner.

"G-Gege... what's gotten into you?"

At last, Qi Wu worked up the courage to wrap his arms around Chu Qingjiu's waist. Even his words trembled. This was the first time he had felt nervous speaking to Chu Qingjiu.

Then he heard a soft laugh that sent a tingling numbness through half his body.

He lifted his eyes, and his heart quivered as those purple eyes, brimming with tender amusement, swept into his vision without warning.

He saw the unrestrained curve of Chu Qingjiu's lips-a warm, eager smile Chu Qingjiu had never shown him before.

That single smile left his mind utterly blank.

"Qi Wu."

Chu Qingjiu's thin lips parted slightly, his voice as light and alluring as mist.

Perhaps the night was too intimate, making Qi Wu feel that the way Chu Qingjiu looked at him was different from before.

His whole body burned, hot as though he were being simmered in warm water. Dizzy and breathless, Qi Wu could only give a slow "Mm," gazing dazedly into those eyes, tender as autumn waters.

"You're mine."

Still dazed, Qi Wu answered, "Mm."

"...Huh?!" Qi Wu abruptly tightened his arms around Chu Qingjiu's waist. "What did you say? Say it again?"

But Chu Qingjiu merely smiled faintly and said softly, "I'm sleepy."

Qi Wu checked the time. It was almost three, and they really should go to sleep, but...

Chu Qingjiu had teased him until he could no longer think straight. Asking him to sleep now was more unbearable than killing him.

Besides, if he had heard correctly, Chu Qingjiu had just confessed to him, hadn't he?

"You're mine" was clearly a declaration of possession. It had to be a confession, right?

"Gege... say it again. Please..."