CH 80

Exactly one week ago.

Liao’s residence.

After finishing playing basketball with the Alphas in the neighborhood, Lin Yuheng returned home sweating profusely. As he opened the door, the aroma of braised beef filled the whole house, making him hungry.

Liao’s mother carried a box out of the cramped storage room, her smile brightening, “You’re back?”

“Mom, what are you doing?”

“The storage room is too crowded, so I’m organizing it and getting rid of things we don’t need.”

She opened a box and took out a few old items.

Lin Yuheng came forward to help and unintentionally glanced at a certificate. Due to its age, the paper had grown moldy, and he could only make out the words “Orphanage.”

“What’s this?”

“Don’t you remember?” Liao’s mother picked it up and smoothed it out, reminiscing, “This was when you were seven. We took you to the orphanage to do a good deed, and your dad got you this certificate.”

Lin Yuheng cleverly found an excuse: “I was so young at that time, I can’t even remember.”

Liao’s mother sighed with regret and wiped the certificate with a tissue, reminiscing about the past: “At that time, you made friends at the welfare home. When you had to separate, you cried so much. But it’s understandable you didn’t want to leave; you were like…”

Before she could finish, the sliding door of the kitchen opened.

Liao’s father, wearing an apron, interrupted Liao’s mother’s nostalgic talk and asked her to come to the kitchen to help. He also urged Lin Yuheng, “Hurry up and take a shower; dinner is almost ready. Tonight, Dad will showcase his cooking skills for you!”

Liao’s mother pretended to be reluctant and got up, jokingly complaining, “Your father, boasting so much just for cooking once, acting like he’s a five-star chef.”

Since their son’s recovery, their relationship as a couple had improved, and they returned to their previous way of getting along.

Lin Yuheng enjoyed the warm family atmosphere and admired Liao Yan from the bottom of his heart. But he knew that all of this didn’t belong to him, so he cherished every day he spent at Liao’s home.

He took a deep breath and went back to his room to prepare for a shower.

However, it seemed that today, Liao’s father had brought in the laundry from the balcony, and he mistakenly placed Lin Yuheng’s bath towel in the wrong room.

Since he was not their “biological son,” Lin Yuheng thought it would be best to announce his presence before entering the “parents'” room to get his bath towel.

As he was about to do that, the noise from the kitchen’s exhaust fan was too loud, and Liao’s parents didn’t hear his approaching footsteps.

Consequently, Lin Yuheng overheard a conversation that he should not have heard.

Or perhaps it was a conversation Liao Yan shouldn’t have heard either.

The couple stood with their backs to Lin Yuheng, each busy with their tasks.

Liao’s father said while cutting vegetables, “Liao Yan has changed a lot. I remember he used to hate playing basketball, always staying in his room playing video games.”

“Maybe because the people here are kind, and the boy next door always calls him to play basketball,” Liao’s mother said, then sighed, “But Liao Yan has changed so much, not only his preferences but also his personality.”

Her hands slowed down as she peeled garlic, “Sometimes… I,” she looked away, avoiding eye contact, “I always feel like he’s not Liao Yan, like he’s someone else.”

“Stop talking nonsense, you’re just overthinking,” Liao’s father said.

Liao’s mother also felt she might have overthought things and reassured herself, “No matter how much he changes, he is still our son.”

Hearing this, Lin Yuheng felt even more apologetic to Liao Yan.

His personality was too strong, preventing him from fully playing the role of the introverted Liao Yan.

However, what was meant to be a heartwarming conversation suddenly took an unexpected turn in Liao’s father’s words.

He took some chili from the basket and roughly chopped it, saying, “I think he’s better this way.”

Liao’s father recalled the previous Liao Yan and felt like he had gone through a nightmare. He said with a deep voice, “He is doing well now. It’s good that he has changed; he was a bit weak before.”

Liao’s mother fell silent.

Since Liao’s mother didn’t respond, Liao’s father reluctantly stopped talking for a moment, then added, “Let’s pay more attention to it as the doctor said. Our good relationship will have a positive influence on him. Before… you and I were exhausted and constantly argued, I don’t want to go back to those days.”

At first, Liao’s mother remained silent.

Liao’s father continued, “What matters most is that the child is alive. He has become stronger and changed, and that’s a good thing. We can’t let him go back to the way he was; that won’t do, it’s not good, he’s an Apha!”

The word “alive” touched Liao’s mother’s heart, and she responded after a while, “Yes.” She slowly raised her eyes, and the fatigue in her eyes seemed undiminished, “As long as he’s alive, that’s what matters, nothing else.”

Lin Yuheng turned around and almost ran away.

He wished Liao Yan hadn’t heard this conversation.

At the moment when Liao’s parents had finished talking, his heart was gripped by an invisible hand. He clutched his chest, ignoring the sweat on his body, and lay down on the bed. He breathed heavily, fearing that he might suffocate and die, even though he had experienced two near-death experiences before.

He could feel Liao Yan’s pain.

Lin Yuheng had no intention of taking over Liao Yan’s life; he could only apologize sincerely, “I’m sorry.” He looked up at the ceiling, speaking to himself, “Liao Yan, if you can hear me, please let me have your body for a little longer?”

In the room, the silence was so profound that one could hear a pin drop.

Lin Yuheng closed his eyes in distress.

That night, the moonlight was dim.

Lin Yuheng, who usually found it hard to fall asleep, unexpectedly fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning, when he woke up, the computer on his desk was turned on. Lin Yuheng didn’t remember using the computer before going to bed, and he was surprised that it hadn’t automatically gone into sleep mode. Had it been like this all night?

He yawned and walked to the desk, feeling exhausted.

On the computer desktop, a document page suddenly appeared before his eyes with the words:

[“My life, why do you need it?”]

Lin Yuheng was almost frightened, his face turning pale. He staggered back two steps, looking around in panic. In the room, besides him, there was no one else.

He rushed to the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror for a long time, “Liao Yan?”

In the mirror, his reflection showed no change at all.

He waited for a while, finally tensed his nerves and returned to the computer. He stared blankly at the words on the screen.

After about half an hour, his fingertips wandered on the keyboard, typing and deleting many words.

In the end, he only typed this one sentence: [“Liao Yan?”]

Once again, Lin Yuheng closed his eyes and opened them, as if only a second had passed, but the clock in the bottom right corner of the computer showed that two minutes had passed.

On the screen, someone answered him.

[Yes, I am Liao Yan. Long time no see.]

Lin Yuheng ignored the phrase “long time no see”; his emotions were in turmoil, and his fingertips felt a chill. His fear wasn’t about death, but about whether Liao Yan’s awakening would make him leave this body.

Where would he go then?

Could he still meet his brother?

With all the anxiety in his heart, Lin Yuheng tried his best to steady his emotions. He took out his phone and placed it in front of him, then pressed the start button for video recording.

Then, he typed his most important question on the screen: “Can you take back your body whenever you want?”

By the time he came back to his senses again, there was a new message on the fifth row.

Liao Yan: “Yes.”

Lin Yuheng took a sharp breath and quickly grabbed the phone to stop the recording. He hesitated before clicking on the video. He saw the “himself” in the video whose expression suddenly changed at a certain moment, and his vacant eyes looked at the camera.

“He,” the real Liao Yan, spoke to the camera, “I can see and hear everything you experience, including all your memories.”

Just like how Lin Yuheng could see some of Liao Yan’s past memories.

Liao Yan knew what he wanted to ask, so he pointed to his heart and said expressionlessly, “This is my body, and our souls coexist within it. However… time is running out.”

As he finished speaking, Liao Yan closed his eyes in the video.

When he opened his eyes again, it was Lin Yuheng.

The video ended.

Lin Yuheng couldn’t care less at this moment; he used the computer to type again to communicate with Liao Yan.

Lin Yuheng: “Have you always been here?”

Liao Yan: “Yes.”

Lin Yuheng: “If that’s the case, why didn’t you show up?”

Liao Yan: “Avoidance.”

Lin Yuheng: “What?”

Liao Yan: “I deeply detest being an Alpha, and I can’t forget that painful past.”

Lin Yuheng: “So you hid away and allowed me to use your body? Then what did you mean by ‘time is running out’?”

Liao Yan didn’t answer.

Lin Yuheng: “Liao Yan, answer me.”

Liao Yan still didn’t answer.

Lin Yuheng: “Please, I want to know how much time I have left. I’m scared.”

After a few minutes, several lines of text appeared on the screen.

Liao Yan: “I once wished for someone with a completely opposite personality to replace me . It was a dying wish, and it came true. But your arrival pushed my soul back into this vessel, causing an unfortunate mistake.”

He referred to his own body as a vessel, devoid of any attachment in his words.

Liao Yan: “A vessel cannot hold two souls at the same time, and the side effects will become more severe. You won’t be able to leave C City and you’ll frequently lose consciousness, those are side effects.”

Liao Yan: “Only one of us can remain.”

Looking at the absurd words, Lin Yuheng was not surprised. He also didn’t think that Liao Yan’s words meant he wanted to completely give up his body.

Only after experiencing death once did he truly understand the meaning of living.

It wasn’t impossible that Liao Yan had changed his mind and wanted to live again.

Lin Yuheng pessimistically asked: “So, does that mean I will disappear soon?”

But Liao Yan replied: “My parents have made a choice, and I have no reason to exist.”

So, “not much time” referred to Liao Yan himself.

Lin Yuheng was shocked and finally understood what Liao Yan meant.

He couldn’t help but type quickly to ask: “Why do your parents have to make the choice for your own life?”

But as soon as he asked, he regretted it.

Lin Yuheng was not a selfless person. He wanted to stay with his brother, and that required Liao Yan’s body. His words were undoubtedly digging his own grave, and he regretted wanting to delete them, but he was sure that Liao Yan had already seen them.

He didn’t want to waste his efforts and nervously closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, Liao Yan didn’t answer any of his questions or appear in that form again. Lin Yuheng rubbed his temples in pain and looked at the time; only half an hour had passed.

Due to the frequent soul exchanges in his body, he felt dizzy, and his head was heavy. He got up, took a few steps, and then passed out on the ground.

When he woke up again, it was already two hours later.

If it weren’t for the full page of conversation on the screen, he might have thought it was just a dream.

But Lin Yuheng didn’t expect that, a week later, when he faced Lin Yuxing in person, he finally made his decision.

“Liao Yan, I need your life. I promise you, I will live it well and make your parents proud of ‘you.'”

He just wanted his brother’s happiness to last a little longer, even if it was just one more second.

That was his most genuine thought at the moment.

He couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye to his brother.

He admitted that besides being reborn through the grace of heaven, at his core, he was just an ordinary person. He had greed and desires, knowingly making choices that were not right.

Lin Yuheng was never perfect.