Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Everlasting Melody (XVIII)

After taking the photos, they queued in line for the haunted house and patiently wait their turn as they chatted with one another. Once it became their turn to go in, they entered the haunted house and was enveloped in darkness. As they were making their way to the first part of the attraction, Song WuYou wrapped an arm around He LiGe's waist. In response, He LiGe furrowed his brows, "Ah You?"

Song WuYou replied, "It's okay if you're scared, Ah Li. I'm right here."

He LiGe became even more puzzled by their words, he had been through much more terrifying experiences before. He found their reply to be funny, why would he suddenly be afraid of a haunted house? He knew it was all props and humans in this building. He LiGe bluntly answered, "I'm not scared, Ah You."

Song WuYou followed up right afterward, "En, I know that you're not afraid. I'm scared, Ah Li. So let me hold you."

He LiGe let out a chuckle at their ridiculous reasoning but doesn't expose their lie. He just softly hummed, "Mmn."

Lin Jun Kai rolled his eyes in the dark as he listened to their conversation. Scared? He's scared, his whole fam- Lin Jun Kai stopped in the middle of his retort as he is apart of their family and becomes silent.

They went through most of the haunted house with ease, occasionally Lin Jun Kai would laugh at the actors because he found their reaction to be funny. Other times, he was conversing with his parents. The workers inside of the haunted house were bewildered by their actions. They had seen many who were not afraid, but this was a first to see one who would laugh at them or another just smile and nod at them when they came out to scare the others. It was even more bizarre as they saw two men hugging and kissing from time to time. They even had their own kid, who called them 'mommy' and 'daddy' with them! Not to mention that they all had undeniably cute matching clothes. Their pureness created a magical barrier that made the workers hesitant to engage and disrupt the ambiance. They could only shake their heads. Ah, so valiant and bold... They caused the rest of the actors who dared to go scare them to lose their will and falter. They backed off and stood in the background to observe them, until the next grouping of victims came.

Halfway through the attraction, Lin Jun Kai wanted to be in his mother's embrace. He called out in quiet voice, "Mommy... Can you carry Xiao Jun?"

He LiGe took Lin Jun Kai into his arms and they instinctually wrapped their arms and legs around him. Thinking that they might have an upset stomach from eating all those food, he rubbed their back and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Jun? Does your stomach hurt?"

Lin Jun Kai shook his head and snuggled into the nook of their neck, "No, mommy. Xiao Jun is just scared and if mommy holds Xiao Jun, Xiao Jun won't be afraid."

The hand that is gently rubbing his back stilled instantly. He LiGe hadn't thought that his son, who had been mature but clingy would be afraid of ghosts. They had watched some horror films, as suggested by Bao Bao but Lin Jun Kai hadn't showed a reaction to the flims. He pursed his lips and made a mental note to not take Lin Jun Kai to another attraction like this. peeked from the corner of his eye and espied He LiGe's perplexed gaze directed at him. Their voice softened and held a reassuring tone. "It's okay, Xiao Jun. Don't be afraid, mommy and daddy is here. We won't let anything happen to you."

It was Lin Jun Kai's turn to smack his forehead mentally, was this the legendary thing called dropping the stone on one's feet? Song WuYou had to face away to avoid letting the others see the unconcealable smile on his face. After settling down the smile on his face, it turned back to his usual expression.

Lin Jun Kai pursed his lips in his confused state. Why was their treatment so different? He had done almost the exact thing as his father had... But he (HLG) had assumed that he (LJK) was afraid.

As they were walking the last fourth of the haunted house, Lin Jun Kai decided to take a nap in He LiGe's arms. He suddenly felt compelled and turned his head back, to see a familiar figure in the bleak dimness. The hold he had on Lin Jun Kai tightened and the corner of his lips curved down. He wanted to get a better look to confirm what he saw but the moment he blinked, the conspicuous figure disappeared.

Song WuYou naturally noticed the irregularity in their actions and small instability of their emotions. He leaned and kissed their cheek softly as he tenderly whispered their name, "Ah You?"

He LiGe shook his head and gave a gentle smile, as if he was stating that it was nothing. But he had transmitted what he had just seen to Song WuYou telepathically. Song WuYou's eyes flashed with a killing intent and he ushered his family out of the haunted house before contacting Tan Bingyi. He immediately rushed them home once they were out of the attraction.

The chilling aura seeped out of Song WuYou's body the entire car ride. The driver almost pissed his pants. Please spare me, young master Song~! I haven't done anything wrong, why are you so angry? The driver could only clench their butt and pretend that he wasn't sweating buckets.

Once they got home, He LiGe gently laid Lin Jun Kai on the bed and tucked him in. Song WuYou hugged him from behind, "Ah Li, I won't let him hurt you. Stay here, I will be busy and won't come back until late. Don't worry and stay up late, I will be okay."

He would never be able to live with himself if he let history repeat itself. How could he even be able to call himself their lover and father if he failed to protect them? His lover and son had been suffering already and were only able to begin the road to recovery just recently. Especially for He LiGe as his soul was still in a weakened state. They had only been able to fuse two of the red beads back with his soul, and there were eleven more to go. Combining that with the amount of soul force each world is able to nurture his soul with, he had only partially stabilized the small cracked parts.

With He LiGe's soul's current state, it is unable to completely take in its own condensed form at a fast or even normal speed, and had to be absorbed slowly lest they wanted to damage his soul even more. He was still currently integrating the second bead in his body from the previous world and would need another decade before they could have him start on the third bead.

He LiGe placed his hand over theirs and gave a faint squeeze to comfort them, "Mmn. Be safe, me and Xiao Jun will be here waiting for your return."