Shen Zhuo was silent for a long time, his cold white cheek hidden in the shadows.
This question is actually very easy to answer.
Ambiguous relationships, lover relationships, special relationships of trust where one has lived and died together. Shen Zhuo has always been adept at dealing with the admiration of the world, because he has a precise and unshakable rationality, and is accustomed to all the sincere, fanatical, and twisted admiration behind him.
Even if this person named Bai Sheng was different, the current situation was actually easier for Shen Zhuo to handle. A hug, a kiss, some ambiguous comfort, and just the right amount of intimacy could all maintain the addictive and beautiful status quo.
But at this moment, with the vague sound of rising tide coming from afar and facing the clear and burning gaze above his head, he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.
"... I don't want to lie to you," Shen Zhuo said calmly after a while.
"Many years ago, I got used to having to face the worst-case scenario at any time. I had to be prepared to be betrayed by anyone around me, including you."
"I don't know what kind of relationship you hope to have with me, but there is a certain possibility that I will never be able to have this kind of relationship with anyone in my life."
Bai Sheng stared at him, as if even his breathing had stopped.
"If you must seek some kind of public commitment in this life, it's not too late to withdraw now." Shen Zhuo looked up at him and said calmly: "I'm sorry."
Bai Sheng's eyes were deep and cold, showing no emotion or anger. He just stared at Shen Zhuo's pupils motionlessly.
Time slowly settled down, and every confrontation from the first meeting to now, every glance at the moment of life and death, every trace of body temperature entangled in passion, all turned into trickles of sand in the void, slipping silently through fingers.
After an unknown amount of time, Bai Sheng's hoarse voice finally rang out, unexpectedly calm: "It's late, maybe we all need to separate and think about it."
"… "
"have a good rest."
Bai Sheng turned and walked towards the door. His back was straight, calm and dignified, and his movements were as quick and decisive as usual, as if all the familiar hot temperature had been swept away in an instant, and he stretched out his hand to open the door and walked out.
Shen Zhuo withdrew his gaze in time the moment he turned around and closed the door. His fingertips were deeply embedded in his thigh muscles in his trouser pockets, and his drooping eyelashes blocked all expression.
But the door didn't close as expected.
"... Shen Zhuo." Bai Sheng stood in the corridor outside the door, holding the door handle with one hand. He seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before slowly saying, "There is one thing I have never told you directly. I like you."
Shen Zhuo did not move, like a cold stone statue where light and shadow intersected.
"It may be difficult for you to think of me as your lover, but you have always been my lover, and you will always be from now on."
The door closed gently.
A distant tide seemed to sweep in from all directions, squeezing out every bit of oxygen from the lungs to the blood, and the sharp pain of suffocation spread from the fingertips to the throat.
Shen Zhuo closed his eyes tightly and leaned down deeply. Countless scenes were like the fluttering sand on the seabed, drowning him.
"Come and make a deal with me, Shenhai City Inspector."
"Come and help me button up the plane, and I'll hand these three hijackers over to your inspection department, how about that?"