When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 44

Lu Zhe detected some strangeness in Shen Qiao's tone. He had originally been hugging Shen Qiao from behind, but now he couldn't help wanting to shift and get a closer look at Shen Qiao's expression and condition.
But Shen Qiao had closed his eyes. He didn't want Lu Zhe to see that a tiny hint of sorrow had seeped into his gaze, so he tightened his grip on Lu Zhe to keep him from moving.

Lu Zhe gently nudged Shen Qiao with his forehead and whispered, "Qiaoqiao."

In that soft, gentle voice, filled with warm, he added, "Are you crying?"

Shen Qiao's throat bobbed. He instantly released Lu Zhe and faced the laptop in front of himself again, blinking fiercely to suppress the heat that was rising in his eyes. He schooled his voice into a calm and even state again and curtly answered, "No."

But Lu Zhe didn't buy it. He took hold of Shen Qiao's arms and tried to turn him around to get a better look at his face. Shen Qiao froze up, refusing to budge. Lu Zhe was afraid of hurting him if he used too much force, so he decided to stick his head closer instead.

Shen Qiao stubbornly turned his face in the other direction and ground out through his teeth-

"Lu! Zhe!"

Judging by Shen Qiao's intense reaction, Lu Zhe guessed that Shen Qiao had suffered more than he could ever imagine during the dark days of his past. Lu Zhe's heart constricted, crumpling into an anguished lump. He bowed his head and pressed a soft, reverent kiss to the nape of Shen Qiao's neck. There wasn't the slightest hint of provocativeness in that kiss; it was like Lu Zhe was worshipping his most treasured gem.

He wrapped his arms around Shen Qiao from behind again. His feather-light kisses continued to fall on Shen Qiao's ears and throat and cheeks. He didn't want Shen Qiao to sink any deeper into those memories of despair.

"It's all in the past now," Lu Zhe murmured. His voice was extremely soft, and he spoke carefully, as though afraid of spooking Shen Qiao and scaring him away.

Every spot Lu Zhe kissed started to itch faintly, but Shen Qiao felt his heart grow lighter. It was as though balloons had been affixed to the heavy stones of the past that had held him down. They drifted away, leaving him feeling much lighter and freer.

Shen Qiao should have felt relaxed, or relieved.

However, when those dark shadows and heavy stones were lifted away from him, he felt tense and on edge. Like he was at a breaking point.

Back in his darkest days, Shen Qiao hadn't felt like he was suffering all that much. After all, he'd had no choice but to grit his teeth and weather any difficulties that came his way. He'd had to survive from one day to the next, then the next. He'd had to advance step by step, day by day, until he finally struggled free of the dark and walked into the light.

Since his dreams had come true in the end, he never felt like he'd suffered too much.

But now, he had someone at his side. Someone was walking next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder. That someone was teaching him what true sweetness and warmth could be. When Shen Qiao looked back now, he finally realized how bitter and miserable those days of his past had been.

Maybe he was being pampered and spoiled too much these days. Maybe that had caused him to become fragile and sensitive. He'd obviously built a tall, formidable wall around his heart in previous years, thinking it would protect him from anyone and anything that would try to wriggle into his life. But in the end, all it had taken was a soft, simple reassurance from Lu Zhe-

It's all in the past now.

-to shatter that wall, knocking it down and crumbling it into dust.

Shen Qiao had been isolated inside that fortress for so long. He felt as though he were in a trance, looking around at this brand new world with tears in his eyes. It was like he'd been waiting to hear those words for a very, very long time.