Chapter Three

Tan Shijie also noticed that something was off with Li Zekun. He instructed the waiter to postpone for a while and comfort the man who had been beaten, while he himself went up to Li Zekun and said, "Kunzi, you need to calm down first."

He took a glance at the young man's face and after a moment of thought, he realized why he looked so familiar. "This is our hostess man in the store, named Tao Ran." he said.

Upon hearing Tan Shijie's words, Tao Ran's face turned even paler. His eyes swept over the crowd, unable to conceal his fear. "No! I'm not Tao Ran...but...who am I?" He suddenly grabbed hold of Li Zekun's clothes, inexplicably desperate. "Please, take me away...I..."

Li Zekun picked up Tao Ran in his arms like a baby and, surprisingly steady despite being drunk, said, "It's okay... come home with me."

Tan Shijie was too lazy to bother with Li Zekun anymore. The man who was just beaten was a senior executive from a newly introduced enterprise from another province. He had connections and a good reputation, so it wouldn't be good to cause a scene. Tan Shijie had no choice but to greet Song Yu and watch over Li Zekun before negotiating with others to resolve the situation.

"Go to the apartment complex near Fourth Ring Road.", said Li Zekun as he sat in the backseat, holding Tao Ran gently in his arms and softly smelling his hair.

Song Yu let out a long sigh, his voice hoarse. "Kun, Cheng Xia has been gone for four years."

"You drive.", Li Zekun seemed to not have heard, but his voice was clear and sober: "I don't need you to remind me."

Tao Ran remained motionless in the arms of Li Zekun, his mind in disarray. After sleeping for a long time, he suddenly woke up to find himself in a completely unfamiliar body. He knew with certainty that he was not Tao Ran, but he didn't know who he was or what had happened. His heart ached as if he was burdened with the sadness of someone else.

When Tao Ran glanced at Li Zekun in the corridor, although he didn't know him and his face was completely unfamiliar, he inexplicably blurted out the man's name, and his chest suddenly warmed up. As Li Zekun took his face in his hands, Tao Ran's heartbeat drowned out all the sounds from the outside world.

Along the way, Li Zekun did not look at Tao Ran's face again but his hand did not let go. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the young man's neck, exhaling a hot breath with alcohol in it: "...don't leave again...I beg of you..."

Tao Ran's heart suddenly tightened with pain. He uncontrollably gripped Li Zekun's hand and spoke softly, "I won't leave you."

Song Yu heard a cold and derisive chuckle, "Don't dream about it. When Kun wakes up tomorrow, he won't let you stay in that apartment for even a second."

Tao Ran's eyelashes trembled slightly, but he did not make a sound.

The car came to a stop downstairs, and Song Yu had to tell Tao Ran, "You help Kun upstairs to that house which hasn't been lived in for four years. Clean it up a little, and make sure Kun doesn't get into trouble. I'm leaving now, call me if you need anything. Also, don't touch anything you shouldn't, and if you need money, just come to me later."

Tao Ran didn't reply and with some difficulty, supported Li Zekun as he got off the car.

After entering the elevator, Tao Ran absent-mindedly pressed the button for the eighth floor. As he came to his senses, he quickly leaned close to Li Zekun's ear and softly asked, "What floor is your apartment on?"

"Eighth floor."

Tao Ran’s head suddenly felt a dull pain, but he held onto Li Zekun’s hand tighter and said: "Be careful not to fall."

When standing at the door, Li Zekun knew to use fingerprint unlocking, and Tao Ran carefully turned aside to let him enter first.

Li Zekun suddenly extended his hand and pushed Tao Ran into the room before fiercely slamming the door shut.

Tao Ran's lower back bumped against the pointed edge of the shoe cabinet, causing him to let out a slight gasp of pain. Surprisingly, he didn't think about how much it hurt, but instead noticed that the house seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time as the areas he leaned against were covered in a thin layer of dust.

Tao Ran was still lost in thought when Li Zekun suddenly leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't a particularly gentle kiss, but unexpectedly, Tao Ran found himself unable to push him away. The man in front of him was too fragile, and his violent actions could not conceal his fear, panic... and sadness.

When Tao Ran snapped out of it, he found himself already softly responding to Li Zekun, who strangely became gentle. At that moment, Tao Ran inexplicably felt like an excellent animal tamer, successfully calling back a wild beast with no rationality back into its cage.

When Li Zekun pressed him into the bed, dust from the sheets flew up and scattered in the light. Tao Ran was choked and coughed a few times, then was oppressed in silence by the scorching kiss. He breathed lightly, wrapped in a familiar and dense sense of security.

He slowly relaxed his body, anticipating the man's possession. However, at the critical moment, he felt everything come to a halt.

Without kisses and caresses, the man's passionate panting also disappeared, and the world became an empty and desolate void.

Li Zekun supported his arm and looked at Tao Ran. There were tears in the corners of his eyes. He seemed to be talking to himself, but also questioning some kind of mysterious power, "They are clearly so alike...why aren't him?".

Although Tao Ran didn't understand, he still felt heartbroken for Li Zekun's sudden and deep sorrow.