Tomb raiders: You stole my little Qilin?

When I returned to the courtyard, Black Bear was sitting on a stone bench under the pomegranate tree, smoking.

A bluish-white wisp of smoke rose from between his fingers, swirled around the pomegranate tree above his head a few times, and was then gently blown away.

The smoke created an ethereal, indistinct silhouette around him, obscuring his expression.

Wu Wei walked over and sat down on the stone bench next to him, his voice a little muffled: "Give me one."

Black Bear took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette and handed it to him, then pushed the lighter next to him.

Wu Wei took it, lit it, and took a drag. The smoke filled his lungs, making him squint slightly.

He hadn't smoked much before, and his technique was clumsy, but at that moment he needed something to hold in his hand.

A silence spread among them.

Both of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts, and neither of them spoke first.

Black Bear exhaled a puff of smoke and finally asked, "What happened between you and Chief Jie?"

Wu Wei took a deep drag on his cigarette, and white ash fell onto the stone table.

He threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground, then lay face down on the stone table, burying his face in his arms.

Looking at him, Hei Xiazi forgot to flick the ash from his cigarette between his fingers.

He knew he probably shouldn't have asked, but the words were already on his lips and he couldn't take them back.

Black Bear heard his own voice ask, "Does he like you?"

Wu Wei's shoulders twitched, as if he wanted to say something but then swallowed it back.

After a long while, he finally responded with a muffled "Mmm".

Black Bear lowered his eyes, looking at the half-burnt cigarette between his fingers, a long ash piled up, teetering on the verge of falling.

He didn't know what he was feeling when he posed the question he truly wanted to ask:

"And what about you?"

Wu Wei lifted his head slightly from his arms: "What about me?"

Do you like him?

"I don't know." Wu Wei's voice was muffled, as if something was blocking his throat.

As he thought about it, he said, "I think I like a lot of people. I like you, I like Xiao Ge, I like Dad, I like Xiao Xie, and I also quite like Fatty."

"I like you!" These words made Hei Xiazi freeze, and cigarette ash fell on his fingers, but he didn't notice.

Wu Wei continued counting the names, completely unaware of the impact his words had on those around him.

Then one name after another came out of Wu Wei's mouth, and Hei Xiazi's heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, and then slowly loosened.

From disbelief to surprise, from bittersweetness to certainty, these emotions flashed by in an instant.

He gave a mocking laugh, it was unclear whether he was laughing at Wu Wei or at himself.

"You're quite compassionate."

Wu Wei lifted his face from his arms, revealing his eyes.

Those double-curved peach blossom eyes were now filled with confusion. Her lower face was still buried in her arms, and her voice was slightly muffled: "Isn't that wrong?"

Smoke billowed into the lungs through the nasal cavity, and the bitter taste of nicotine spread across the tip of the tongue.

Black Bear slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice deeper than before: "Nothing's wrong. But it's different."

Wu Wei stared at him, his eyes filled with such sincere ignorance that Hei Xiazi felt as if he were dissecting his heart for him to see, while the other man had no idea how sharp the knife was.

"If Xie Yuchen likes someone else, will you feel bad?" Hei Xiazi stubbed out his cigarette on the stone table.

Wu Wei thought for a moment, then honestly shook his head.

Hei Xiazi watched him shake his head, unsure whether he should feel sorry for Xie Yuchen.

"If you really like someone, and they like someone else, you will feel very sad."

Wu Wei stared at him, puzzled. "For example?"

Instead of giving him an example, Hei Xiazi asked a different question: "What if you fall in love with someone else?"

Wu Wei frowned, then shook his head: "Young man, you wouldn't."

I said "if".

"Then... we'll explain it to the young man and make sure he doesn't get scammed."

Wu Wei spoke seriously, as if he were contemplating something with an extremely low probability but which must be taken seriously.

Hei Xiazi was so angry he almost laughed.

He reached out and pressed Wu Wei's head down, pulling those confused yet sincere eyes back into his arms.

Wu Wei struggled for a moment, but couldn't break free, so he simply lay there motionless.

In the moment when Wu Wei couldn't see, Hei Xiazi finally dared to remove the carefree mask from his face.

His eyes were churning with a jumble of emotions.

I envy Xie Yuchen for being able to openly express her feelings, and I envy Zhang Qiling for being trusted by Wu Wei without a second thought.

It's laughable that they don't even dare to use themselves as a test.

Black Bear's voice was soft. "You still don't understand."

For someone who has achieved immortality, encountering someone who moves their heart is an incredible thing.

He had never thought of it before, at least not before.

But he couldn't reveal his true feelings.

Xie Yuchen can pursue him openly and honestly. If he were to pursue her as well, what would that be?

If the mute person found out, would they kill him? Probably not.

But what about Wu Wei? How will Wu Wei view him?

Will she avoid him like she avoids Xie Yuchen?

Will he cause trouble for Wu Wei as well?

Hei Xiazi didn't know, nor dared to try; he just felt that being together every day like this was good enough.

Meeting Wu Wei was a fortunate thing, but this fortune was accompanied by the sorrow of not being able to keep him.

When Wu Wei looked up again, Hei Xiazi had already returned to his usual carefree expression.

He stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and waved his hand: "Think about it yourself."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the room, his steps looking no different from usual.

Wu Wei lay slumped on the stone table, his mind still a complete mess.

He thought Hei Xiazi was right, but he couldn't understand it.

A very faint sound came from under the corridor.

Wu Wei looked up and saw that Zhang Qiling had already sat on the recliner at some point.

Wu Wei also stood up from the stone bench, walked to the corridor, and threw himself into another recliner.

The bamboo chair seat creaked as it supported his weight.

He lay on his back, looking up at the sky above him, looking sullen.

A hand reached out from the side and gently touched his hair across the armrest of a recliner.

The hand was cool to the touch, with long, strong fingers, and gently rubbed his hair.

"Don't be sad." Zhang Qiling's voice came from the recliner next to him, calm and low.

Wu Wei lay on the recliner and suddenly looked at Zhang Qiling: "Brother, do you know what it means to like someone?"

Zhang Qiling withdrew his hand and thought about it seriously.

But the experiences he could recall in his life were far too limited.

Throughout his long life, what he remembered most were responsibilities, tasks, amnesia, and displacement.

Zhang Qiling shook his head: "I don't know."

Zhang Qiling turned her head to look at Wu Wei, and the two looked at each other across the armrest of a recliner.

Zhang Qiling added, "You are very important."

"What about blindness?" Wu Wei asked subconsciously.

Zhang Qiling thought about it seriously for a moment, "That's quite important too."

Wu Wei's eyes crinkled, revealing a lighthearted smile.

"The young man is also very important to us."