[BL] After Worshipping the Gods

Chapter 33 - Butterfly

"Out of battery?"

The god's eyes carried a hint of confusion.

The man in grey hurriedly went to find a charger, plugged in the phone, and placed it on the table.

"It's charging now." He stepped back, standing respectfully on the side, not daring to intrude on the god's privacy.

The god stood silently in front of the table, and the man in grey followed suit, standing beside him.

After standing for a good half hour, with no sign of the god making a move, the man in grey cautiously spoke, "Um... you can turn it on now. The battery should be charged enough."

Thinking that the God might not know how to type a reply, he added eagerly, "You can hold down the circular button on the left and speak. Release it to send the message."

The god's voice showed no emotion, "Step back."

The man in grey immediately fell silent, bowed respectfully, and quickly retreated.

The night in Yucheng became quiet.

Perhaps all those filled with desires had gone to sleep, as the only sounds in his ears were the pouring rain and the howling wind.

Like before, Pei Ce silently watched the messages appearing on the screen, his eyes fixed on the words sent to him. The text, changed to traditional characters for his sake, carried the warmth of the youth's greetings and shares, reaching him through the cold and impersonal text.

It was a sunset that Yucheng never had.

Pei Ce felt like his emotions were divided into two halves.

One half was wild and greedy.

He cherished the greetings from Jian Shu, cherished his admiration, and was even selfish enough to want to keep him by his side forever.

Even though he knew that such affectionate greetings might stop as time passed, with the youth growing up, he still selfishly wanted to receive them.

The other half was restrained.

He felt that Jian Shu was too young, hadn't met more and better people, hadn't seen a broader world. It was only because of being sheltered that he relied on him, and because of that reliance, he mistakenly believed he liked him.

In this way, how could he respond to the youth's feelings?

He was so much older than Jian Shu and felt he hadn't done anything for him. The future was uncertain, life and death unknown, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for the young man's affection.

So, the god's cold fingertips only tapped on the screen, reading those lines over and over again, until he could recite them from memory, and until the quiet room plunged into darkness.

June in Wuchengcheng City, outdoor temperatures exceeding thirty degrees.

In the community pavilion, Aunt Zhang fanned herself while watching her grandson playing in the nearby sandpit. The little boy seemed oblivious to the heat, playing energetically with other children from the neighborhood, laughing and joking while building sandcastles.

A black car pulled into the community entrance. Due to its apparent value, Aunt Zhang couldn't help but take a few extra glances.

The car parked in the vacant space below her building.

"Which family bought a new car?" After retiring, Aunt Zhang had gathered information about the residents in her building. As far as her intelligence network knew, no one had a car of such high value.