Li Xian finally finished telling his story and let out a long breath. Reliving the past had been painful, but sharing those memories aloud had brought him an unexpected measure of relief.
Silence settled over them. Ji Xie said nothing for so long that Li Xian began to wonder whether he had fallen asleep. Only when Li Xian sneaked a glance up at him did he speak:
"The latter? You killed yourself before entering the Instance?"
Ji Xie's tone was different from usual, as though he were suppressing some emotion. Li Xian failed to notice it in time and answered plainly:
"Yes. I used a knife to cut my carotid... artery."
Li Xian's voice trembled on the last word.
Ji Xie had laid a hand against his neck and begun stroking it slowly, his touch gentle.
The touch tickled again. Li Xian shrank back, trying to evade Ji Xie's palm, when a quiet voice reached his ear:
"Don't move."
For some inexplicable reason, Li Xian stopped. He endured the tickling and the strange tingling sensation at his neck, letting Ji Xie continue.
After stroking twice, Ji Xie's fingertips came to rest against the side of Li Xian's neck, silently feeling his pulse.
He had cut this spot open to enter the Instance.
Ji Xie repeated the thought silently.
The movement also brought them closer together. Ji Xie's arms enclosed Li Xian's small body, and after lingering at his neck for a while, his fingers moved down to his chest.
Li Xian stiffened and wanted to tell him to stop, but this time Ji Xie's touch was unusually proper. There were no irritating little tricks; he simply rested his palm against Li Xian's skin through the layer of fabric.
*This spot had been pierced so he could fake his death and