Chapter 3225: Saving Zero Egg Bai Ze's Love Story 26

Yi Qi dreamed all night last night, still not having slept enough; after breakfast he was utterly exhausted, his steps soft as he went upstairs, he rushed into the bedroom and flung himself headfirst into the blankets, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

A few minutes later, Yi Qi sat up irritably and discovered a cruel fact.

Whenever he left Bai Ze's side, Yi Qi couldn't help recalling how Bai Ze had almost fallen off the cliff with both himself and his vehicle last night; the pain he had suffered in Thirteen District years ago triggered a stress response, Yi Qi clenched his fists tightly, and only after a long while did he regain control of his breathing as his stiff shoulders gradually relaxed.

Yi Qi leaned against the headboard, feeling wistful, thinking that Bai Ze had no idea the X agent was gone, and despite all this time he still hadn't acted, still protecting him.

What's done is done; bringing up the past is pointless now.

What matters now is the present and the future, right?

But he was still angry—why hadn't Bai Ze come to find him? Yi Qi angrily punched the pillow, shook the blankets, burrowed in, covered his ears, and tried to sleep, able to sleep well even without Bai Ze!

Elsewhere.

Jin Chen returned to the Study and sat down; the terminal screen in front of him lit up, a faint blue glow flickering at its edge—that was the cross-timeline communication signal coming online.

Jin Chen's spirits lifted and he immediately answered.

"Honey!"

From the other side of the screen came Chenshu's voice, tinged with static, soft and affectionate: "Did I wake you?"

Jin Chen glanced at the time; it was around ten in the morning.

He sighed, "I've been awake for a long time. Guarding an empty room is like this, honey—I find it hard to sleep."

Chenshu laughed softly, her voice dropping even lower, a hint of intimacy: "Alright, I miss you too."

Jin Chen gave a reluctant hum. He leaned back in his chair and raised the terminal before him.

Chenshu cautioned carefully, "There's a new development in the upcoming plot... but... you need to be prepared before you watch."

"You must be ready, okay, sweetie." Chenshu, who had already finished watching, emphasized again.

Jin Chen: "……" Unbelievable—could there be something even more melodramatic and explosive than before?

Jin Chen sat up straight, alertly pinching his own philtrum, then pulled a small portable oxygen canister from some corner of his space.

He placed the oxygen canister at his side, composed himself, and said, "Alright, I'm ready."

"Good." Chenshu didn't waste words: "You can tell me after you've watched."

This time the plot turned out to be an impactful segment.

Jin Chen opened it and saw a dark image that looked like some underground space; even through the video he could feel the damp, chilly sense of suffocation.

Jin Chen's gaze swept across the whole picture, his brows gradually furrowing.

This was a prison cell; a huge iron cage stood in the room, its chains dangling to the floor, inside a person curled up, their exposed arms covered in intersecting wounds.

Bai Ze leaned against the corner of the cage, seemingly oblivious to any movement around him, completely still.

Just as Jin Chen was about to inhale oxygen to steady his shock, he had been about to mutter a couple of remarks—what the hell was this Zero Egg? Was it another punishment game…

At that moment, footsteps sounded from the video.

The instant Jin Chen saw Yi Qi, his oxygen canister nearly slipped from his hand, and the remarks he'd been about to make died on his lips.

Yi Qi bore a deep, through-and-through knife scar on his face.

Jin Chen: "……"

He drew a weak breath of oxygen and decided not to voice any opinion until he finished watching.

In the video, Yi Qi walked to the iron cage, gently opened the door, pulled the curled-up Bai Ze out of the corner, and dragged him into his own embrace.

Bai Ze, half-leaning in his embrace, pressed his forehead against Yi Qi's shoulder and tentatively relaxed.

Yi Qi's voice was low as he raised his hand to stroke Bai Ze's scars, his fingertips gliding slowly over the old and new marks: "Brother, it's raining outside again. I keep dreaming lately about being back in Thirteen District."

"I've been thinking, if at the very beginning I had told you my Chinese name," Yi Qi said word by word, "would you have never taken me in at all…"

"Brother, do you regret it?"

Bai Ze's eyelid twitched; he lifted his hand, trembling slightly as he touched the scar on Yi Qi's face, his fingertips lightly grazing the edge of the scar—so much that even looking at it a second longer felt like burning pain.

He wanted to draw near, to feel Bai Ze's warmth again, to kiss his lips—but they could no longer return to the past.

Yi Qi looked at the origin of that scar, his eyes holding no hatred, his scarred face rubbing against Bai Ze's fingers: "Brother, it hurts so much."

In Bai Ze's long-dead eyes, a sudden surge of intense pain welled up.

He even wanted to vomit blood, preferring to endure the world's utmost pain to soothe his beloved; the urge to self-destruct seeped back into his thoughts, his fingers sliding down from Yi Qi's cheek toward his own arm.

Yi Qi, quick-eyed and quick-handed, seized Bai Ze's hand in a tight grip, the knuckles on the back of his hand standing out starkly.

Each of the fresh wounds on Bai Ze's body was self-inflicted, yet Yi Qi had no wish to let him continue doing that.

"I know you don't want to hurt me, but Brother, I can't stand by while you push me away to seek revenge…"

Yi Qi shut his eyes tightly.

He raised his hand and switched off the basement light.

Darkness instantly swallowed the room, leaving only the sound of their breathing, close enough to feel.

Yi Qi leaned in and kissed his beloved.

That kiss was tender and intimate, as if it sought to melt all pain and affection into this moment.

"Brother," he whispered against his lips, "you must hate me. But if you dare to kill yourself, I'll die with you."

"We'll stay entangled like this for a lifetime."

In the darkness, Bai Ze's dulled eyes flickered with struggle and anguish, too many unspoken feelings ultimately resigning into a near‑submissive calm.

After a long, long while, he voluntarily wrapped his arms around Yi Qi's waist, pressing their bodies together so close they could feel each other's heartbeat.

The picture suddenly went black.

Just as it seemed something restricted was about to play, the image cut off here.

Jin Chen: "………………"

In the screen's black reflection appeared a face weathered by storms, having seen all manner of melodrama, yet still drenched in a great basin of someone else's love‑drama—a complex expression.

This time, it wasn't a case of escaping death; those who died remained dead, and it certainly didn't improve.

He raised his hand, pressed his brow, and exhaled a long, slow breath.

"... Zero Egg," Jin Chen forced out a few words from between his teeth, "You're really something."

Jin Chen sat there, clutching the half-used oxygen bottle in his hand, turning over in his mind the thought from earlier in the restaurant: "As long as Zero Egg is happy, we can't be dictatorial," and then he buried it deep in his mind.

If he doesn't act now, it'll be too late!