Chapter 241: Faith

Yin Huaiyu was indeed as busy as he had claimed; after parting ways with Ling Wu, he flew back to the Empire without a moment's rest. Compared to his hectic schedule, Ling Wu enjoyed a very leisurely time, and Chu Yi's pursuit was also put on the agenda.

Ling Wu was preparing to go for a morning run; just as he turned the doorknob, he saw a bouquet of carefully wrapped daisies standing quietly by the door, their soft colors giving off a feeling of freshness and innocence.

He didn't know how many bouquets Ling Wu had received this month; it seemed like there was one every day, just like the daily resets in a game at midnight.

Yesterday it was sunflowers, the day before it was eustomas...

What would it be tomorrow?

Ling Wu picked up the handwritten card on the daisies; the content was—I can't think of any sweet words, I just want to tell you, I like you.

From Chu Yi.

Ling Wu carried the flowers into the house, and the rich fragrance filled the entire living room. Some of the flowers Chu Yi had sent previously had been placed in beautiful vases, while others had been made into dried flowers to serve as keepsakes.

The lifeless apartment was decorated with vibrant colors, gaining vitality and energy.

"Ring-a-ling!"

Ling Wu answered the phone: "Hello?"

"Do you like today's flowers?" Chu Yi's voice came through.

"The daisies are very pretty, I like them very much, and thank you." Ling Wu's fingertips touched the daisy petals, his expression gentle: "Chu Yi, if you keep sending them... I'll be able to open a flower shop in my house."

On the other end of the line, Chu Yi chuckled: "Then I'll send something else."

"Alright."

Ling Wu returned to the Research Institute, still serving as the director. He left early and returned late, living a very fulfilling life. Occasionally he went out to eat with Chu Yi, while Jin Shaoyu continued to run back and forth between the Empire and the Federation.

Time quickly arrived at September 29th, Ling Wu's birthday. He was called back to Dongwan Manor by Qin Zhonglian, and Pei Ziying specifically made time to come back to spend his birthday with him.

Qin Zhonglian had specifically sought out a Drip Guanyin that could bless one with peace: "A-Wu, just like every other year, as long as you are safe, healthy, and carefree, that is enough."

"Thank you, Teacher." Ling Wu lowered his head, and the beautifully colored Guanyin statue was placed around his neck by Qin Zhonglian.

Qin Zhonglian: "You are not allowed to take it off."

"It cost a lot of money." He then stroked his white beard, covering his mouth, and pointed unobtrusively in Pei Ziying's direction: "It's his."

Ling Wu looked at Pei Ziying, who was rolling up his sleeves to cut the cake.

Senior brother's money?

Ling Wu also covered his lips and whispered: "I understand... I'll keep it a secret."

Qin Zhonglian laughed heartily and patted his back in approval: "The child is teachable."

Pei Ziying, not yet knowing that the teacher he respected and the junior brother he cherished had joined forces to "steal" his money, cut the cake and served it into paper plates.

"Brother! What are you all talking about?" Jin Shaoyu carried a piece of cake: "Come over and eat cake."

He shoved the portion in his hand into Ling Wu's grasp: "Our birthday boy eats first."

Ling Wu didn't actually like eating cake much because it was simply too sweet and cloying; he usually didn't want any more after one small bite, but eating cake on one's birthday was a ritual.

Just as Ling Wu was about to dig into the cake with a spoon, a pair of slender hands reached over. Pei Ziying took his portion of cake and replaced it with a new plate: "Eat this one instead; it has more fruit and isn't as cloying."

His voice was like ice cubes soaked in whiskey, mellow and crisp, rippling in his ears.

Ling Wu looked up: "Thank you, Senior Brother."

The way the two of them interacted was still the same as before; it hadn't changed in the slightest because of that kiss that night.

Pei Ziying gave a soft "Mm," wanting to stroke his head like he did when Ling Wu was a child, but when he met those clean eyes, his hand suddenly paused in mid-air, and he simply pulled it back.

Ling Wu keenly captured his surging emotions.

Ever since that night, the emotions Pei Ziying had been suppressing at every moment seemed to have collapsed, falling from a high mountain and washing away all his defenses. His feelings for his junior brother Ling Wu were very complex—so complex that if he crossed the line even slightly, the situation would spiral out of control.

He had always been restrained; his reason warned him not to go any further.

Pei Ziying placed his hand on Ling Wu's shoulder like an older brother and said: "Since it's your birthday, you should be a little happier."

"If there's anything you like, just tell me or the teacher."

He used a spoon to dig up some cake and put it into his mouth.

Ling Wu nodded: "I understand."

Pei Ziying set down the cake tray and reached out his long arm to grab his suit jacket from the sofa, clearly looking like he was about to leave: "A-Wu, there is a temporary meeting at the Administrative Office. I'm very sorry I can't continue to spend your birthday with you."

He left in a hurry, almost as if he were fleeing in panic.

Ling Wu didn't even have time to say "It's okay." He curled his fingers; he knew he couldn't ask Pei Ziying to stay, and he couldn't take that step either. The way people interact and their relationships are often better off when they know when to stop.

Maintaining the status quo was the best state.

One step further, and there would be no turning back.

One step back, and his heart would be filled with reluctance.

Xi Huaizhi and Pei Ziying were naturally incompatible; seeing him leave, he felt full of energy: "A-Wu, what's wrong with your senior brother? Who upset him? Why is he unhappy again?"

Ling Wu was concise: "A temporary meeting."

"Tsk." Xi Huaizhi didn't think it was that simple: "That doesn't look like a temporary meeting; it looks like he caught his wife cheating with someone else and fled in a panic because he couldn't handle the blow."

Ling Wu: "..."

Xi Huaizhi stroked his chin and said: "Otherwise, it wouldn't be like this. Pei Ziying treasures you so much; when has he ever left your birthday early... Hmm, he doesn't have a little lover outside, does he?"

He let his imagination run wild, pinching his voice: "Brother Ziying~ the power is out at home, I'm so scared, please come back quickly."

Ling Wu: "..."

Qin Zhonglian and Jin Shaoyu didn't know when they had started standing behind him, their expressions indescribable, their foreheads covered in black lines.

Shi Yu, biting her spoon, tapped on an audio file, and the villa immediately played—

"Brother Ziying, the power is out at home, I'm so scared, please come back quickly."

"Damn it!"

Xi Huaizhi was so startled his body shook. He turned around fiercely and saw the culprit's gloating expression. He roared: "Shi Yu! You despicable person! Damn you, how dare you secretly record me behind my back! Give me the audio!"

Shi Yu was agile and dodged his hand as he tried to grab the phone: "What a great piece of leverage this is."

"I'll send it to Pei Ziying; guess whether he'll wipe you out or not?"

Xi Huaizhi tried both soft and hard tactics: "My dear ancestor, please quickly withdraw your divine power; this little one can't take it anymore."

In the chaos, someone threw a cake, which hit Jin Shaoyu in the face; a great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

The villa was in complete disarray.

Amidst the "flying war flames," Ling Wu answered a phone call, hunched over, and slipped out successfully.

"Hello?"

Chu Yi: "Ling Wu, I am outside Dongwan Manor now."

Ling Wu said: "I'm coming out right away."

The butler opened the door, and Ling Wu got into Chu Yi's car and left the manor.

Under the dim streetlights, the neon lights were shattered by the rippling river surface; the water shimmered like scattered diamonds, and the sultry evening breeze carried moist water vapor across his entire body.......

Ling Wu and Chu Yi were taking a walk by the river; on the benches by the road, there were passionate young couples kissing, their shadows spread flat on the ground.

"Chu Yi, there is something I have always wanted to ask you." Ling Wu rested his hands on the carved railing and tilted his head slightly: "The person who anonymously sent me birthday gifts every year is you, right?"

His tone could be described as certain.

Chu Yi did not hide it: "It is me."

"Those gifts...... do you not like them?"

Ling Wu shook his head: "I like them."

"You have a kind heart."

Ling Wu was very clever; he clarified the twists and turns inside: "The news that I didn't die, did Ming Tan tell you?"

"Mm, he is the one who said it," Chu Yi said.

Ling Wu: "Did he tell you anything else?"

This sentence sounded more like a probe.

Chu Yi was very sincere and did not hide anything: "No, he only told me the news that you didn't die. I know everyone has secrets; it's not every secret that I need to know."

His voice was very soft.

When facing Ling Wu, Chu Yi was always completely unreserved.

A slight buzzing sound suddenly came from the sky; Ling Wu subconsciously looked up and saw drones flashing with lights flying in from afar, quickly arranging themselves to weave gorgeous patterns against the pitch-black night sky.

A line of text appeared in the sky, as if it were a love letter spelled out by the stars—"Happy Birthday!"

The sound of a guitar drifted from the covered bridge, and a hoarse male voice hummed a romantic tune.

Chu Yi looked at Ling Wu: "Happy Birthday."

Fireworks suddenly bloomed, and Ling Wu also turned back to look at him, his eyes tempered with orange-red light; the figures of the two were rendered into gentle silhouettes by the brilliant sky, and together with the swaying neon light shadows in the heart of the river, they were embedded into the long, long night.......

After his birthday, Ling Wu began to get very busy again; the Gene Research Institute had made a major breakthrough in gene research, and as the director, he began to disappear for half a month at a time.

During this period, Yin Huaiyu went to the Federation to look for him several times, but did not see him.

Ling Wu lived his life diligently, and while cooperating with his treatment, he realized his self-worth to the greatest extent possible, contributing his meager strength to human civilization.

Camera flashes crisscrossed into a net, the hundreds of seats in the audience were packed, capitalists and politicians in suits and leather shoes in the front row were whispering to each other, and reporters in the back row carrying long lenses and short cannons aimed their cameras squarely at the podium.

Ling Wu picked up the microphone and gave a simple self-introduction.

Holographic projections flowed in the middle of the venue, constantly switching between images of successful cell division from gene editing.

Ling Wu started from a professional perspective and concisely expounded on the scientific research achievements of the past few years; he stood under the spotlight with ease and spoke eloquently, his entire aura being that of the refined and easygoing nature tempered by accumulated, rich knowledge.

No one would have thought that the director of the Gene Research Institute was not a pot-bellied, balding man, but a tall, handsome young man.

It really broke stereotypes.

A pale blue halo fell on Ling Wu's slender knuckles.

Ling Wu raised his hand and pressed it virtually; the gene chain suddenly split and recombined, and the virtual embryo in the projection stretched its limbs in the Nano Culture Chamber; his voice was steady: "Through Quantum-level Gene Editing, we have achieved precise repair of mitochondrial defects; not only can we cure hereditary diseases, but we can also reverse cellular aging."

A sound of gasping came from the front row, and the shutter sounds of the reporters in the back row were as dense as a rainstorm.

On the big screen, the developmental process of the gene-repaired embryo cultivated in the laboratory was playing; those transparent cell clusters stretched into tiny human shapes in the culture medium, and golden fluorescence representing successful repair flickered between the rib gaps.

Ling Wu pulled up the holographic data panel, and those jumping gene maps were presented before the audience's eyes: "This is the autonomous repair process of the experimental subject's mitochondrial DNA within 72 hours."

Pei Ziying sat in the main seat of the audience.

His gaze swept over the officials silently recording beside him, and a certain multinational pharmaceutical executive clenched his fists slightly.

Everyone understood that once this technology was implemented, it would completely rewrite the hundred-billion-dollar hereditary disease treatment market.

"This is a milestone in humanity's fight against genetic defects."

"This technology will rewrite the upper limit of human lifespan."

The venue's dome began to simulate the gene maps of different races.

Ling Wu's voice was translated into different languages in real-time and broadcast all over the world: "But compared to these, we are more concerned about its social significance....."

Next were questions from many councilors and reporters from the media; Ling Wu was prepared for battle, smiling as he dealt with those sharp topics.

Yu Shixue saw this global live broadcast.

His pupils trembled violently, and then he suddenly smashed the teacup in his hand; the water stains on the ground reflected that pale face.

Yu Shixue stared fixedly at the man standing under the spotlight in the screen speaking eloquently—that cold and aloof face had not changed at all, overlapping with the image in his memory.

"Ling Wu."

"Ling Wu......."

Yu Tingyun naturally saw it too, and all his rationality collapsed with a bang: "....... He actually didn't die."

The news that Ling Wu did not die was like a sharp sword piercing through a fantasy, releasing everyone who had been shrouded in this nightmare, allowing them to take off the giant stone pressing on their hearts and catch their breath for a moment.

His throat felt sour, and his heart was very complicated.

Five years ago, Yu Tingyun was truly too young, fresh out of the nest, and ignorant of love, yet he met someone like Ling Wu; just when he hadn't figured out whether it was liking or a perverse hobby, this person had, through a series of coincidences, become his sister-in-law in name.

Even now, Yu Tingyun could not tell the difference.

On the screen, as Ling Wu's voice fell, applause surged like a tsunami.

Pei Ziying felt genuinely proud of his junior sect brother.

Ling Wu welcomed the applause and flowers; his heart was filled with an inexplicable conviction, no longer empty. The darkness he had once thought bottomless was filled by the fragmented lights flying in from all directions. Faith pieced together a meaning more brilliant than the stars, transforming into nourishment.

【Author's Note: Those who want to read a non-CP story can end here (The End, throw flowers). Childhood trauma cannot be cured; I believe faith is the meaning that supports a person in living on. The one-sided crush has officially ended; what follows is the process of the little couple dating and adjusting to each other. The main gong is Chu Yi. Those who ship the CP can jump right in!】