After their long-awaited reunion, Chu Qingjiu's kiss unleashed everything they had held back.
Qi Wu rose and pressed Chu Qingjiu down onto the Throne, kissing him deeply, every cell in his body thrilling at their reunion after so long apart.
Suddenly, Chu Qingjiu felt a trace of moisture against his cheek, making him open his eyes.
"Aren't you happy to see me?"
Chu Qingjiu reached up and wiped the tears from Qi Wu's lashes, his touch gentle and his voice very soft.
"It's not that..."
Qi Wu sniffled, his nose and eyes reddened from crying.
He wasn't crying out of sadness. The fear of losing Chu Qingjiu had finally been soothed in that moment, and there was nothing feigned about his tears.
Chu Qingjiu could still sense Qi Wu's emotions, so he knew Qi Wu truly cared for him, right down to his bones.
"Gege," Qi Wu said, resting his full weight on Chu Qingjiu and burying his face in the crook of his neck. "I missed you so much."
Chu Qingjiu gently patted Qi Wu's back. "I missed you too."
Every moment, I was thinking of you.
Every day without you felt like a year.
Chu Qingjiu had never thought sitting on the Throne could be lonely, but only after experiencing companionship had he come to truly understand what loneliness meant.
So much so that he had to live in his memories to lessen the toll of waiting.
Yet the more he immersed himself in those memories, the lonelier he felt when he came back to himself. Thankfully, he no longer had to live in the past.
"Gege..."
Qi Wu lifted his head to find Chu Qingjiu gazing at him with the utmost tenderness, a faint smile in his purple eyes. Simply seeing him was enough to make Chu