Lin Yue could still feel Feng Lihan's warmth, steady and real, as if it had quietly settled into his heart. The night was cold, yet standing so close to him, Lin Yue felt an unfamiliar sense of safety. For a fleeting moment, he thought that maybe—just maybe—this closeness meant something more than silence.
Then lin yue spoke, breaking the fragile calm.
"Don't you find it strange," he asked softly, "when two men fall in love?"
Feng lihan stiffened.
lin yue looked ahead, his voice calm but heavy with thought. "Since I came here, everyone around me has been female. Wherever I go, there are women—companions, followers, even mates. In this world, that kind of bond feels natural. Expected." He paused, then turned his gaze to feng lihan. "And yet… when it comes to you, I can feel something different."
feng lihan heart clenched.
"You like me," lin yue continued quietly. "I can sense it. And I think… you can feel that I care for you too. But tell me honestly—doesn't it feel strange to you?"
feng lihan lowered his eyes for a second, then slowly shook his head.
"No," he said.
Feng Lihan looked surprised.
"It doesn't feel strange at all," Lin Yue said, his voice soft but firm. "What feels strange is being told that love needs permission—from gender, from rules, from the world."
He took a breath, then spoke again, as if drawing courage from somewhere deep inside. "When I was younger, I heard a legend. Maybe you've heard it too."
Lin yue didn't interrupt. He never heard because he come from another word
"They say there was once a Beast King," Lin Yue continued, "stronger than any before him. He ruled all clans, feared by enemies and worshipped by his people. Everyone believed he would take countless female mates to strengthen his bloodline." Lin Yue smiled faintly. "But instead, he fell in love with one man."
Feng Lihan's eyes darkened slightly.
"The legend says the world rejected them," Lin Yue went on. "The elders called it unnatural. The heavens were silent. But the Beast King didn't abandon his feelings. He said that if love was a sin, then he would carry that sin alone." Lin Yue looked up at Feng Lihan. "In the end, he lost his throne—but he never regretted loving that person."
Silence spread between them.
"They still tell that story," feng lihan said quietly, "not as a warning—but as a tragedy born from fear."
lin yue exhaled slowly. "Legends are just stories."
"Maybe," feng lihan replied. "But stories are born from truth."
He stepped closer, his eyes unwavering. "You ask me if it's strange. No, it's not. What's strange is how easily warmth turns into doubt. How you can hold me, make me feel seen, and then ask if my feelings are wrong."
lin yue looked away, conflicted.
"I'm not rejecting you," he said.
"But you're not accepting me either," feng lihan answered. "And that hurts more."
He stepped back, creating distance where warmth once lingered.
"If you believe it's strange," feng lihan said softly, "then don't let me feel like I belong at your side."
Turning away, he walked into the darkness, leaving lin yue behind—standing between a legend he dismissed as a story .