Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 120

[Day 120. I wanted to visit your parents’ grave today, but I couldn’t get in. I ended up wandering near the Nine Phoenix family, and I set up a barrier over your home. I don’t want you to see anything bad when you return.

I took back the confession gift I meant to give you. That bracelet turned out prettier than I expected.

It’s cruel—having a rib pulled out doesn’t compare to the emptiness and pain of you taking my heart. I didn’t see that coming.]

[Today is day 220. I finally started my job. So this is what it feels like to be an instructor. But I must be a terrible one. I lack warmth for the students, and I don’t have anything encouraging to say.

If it were you, it’d be different. You’d be the best, the most loved instructor.

Me taking over your dream—it’s just a second-rate substitute occupying a place that isn’t his.

If you think so too, then come back soon.]

Wei Huan’s tears were already falling, but his fingers were trembling. Every word he read seemed to ache.

This was his first time touching Yun Yongzhou’s seven years with his own hands. He had always avoided even asking, because it was too painful—but now that pain was laid bare in front of him, bloody and raw.

Wei Huan felt like he was torturing himself—he was both the blade and the flesh being sliced.

[Day 235. Today is your birthday. I bought a house.

I know if you saw it, you’d definitely tease me, call me “Little Young Master,” mock me. But the money came from dangerous missions I took on in secret. Actually, I had already saved most of it before you left. But after you left…

I thought—since you’re gone, why buy the house? Just like the bracelet—if it has no owner, what meaning is there?

But then I thought, maybe you’ll come back. If you do, I’ll bring you here. If you like it, it’s yours.

Then you can live here with the girl you like. I’ll track down everyone who framed you. I’ll get revenge. You two can live a peaceful, ordinary life.

Happy birthday. As long as you come back, I won’t ask for anything.

But… she better love you more than I do.]

At that, Wei Huan couldn’t help but laugh through his tears.

How could he be with some girl? Every hint, every veiled future he mentioned had been about Yun Yongzhou. He’d talked about kids, about girls chasing him, just to see if that cold guy would react—so he could feel just a bit more certain.

But Yun Yongzhou never reacted. He was always silent.

[Day 365. The weather’s great today.

No—it’s terrible. It poured.

I’m actually glad I never had a single second of you. Otherwise, I’d probably be in even more pain now.

We’ve hugged. The hands you placed on my back left marks that burned through my body—I can still see the ants eating away at my heart inside.

We kissed. So now I occasionally get neurotic urges to destroy every rooftop in the Dark Zone. Or to burn every neon light to the ground.

I’m so dark, paranoid, despicable, cursed and self-destructive. I want to destroy everything related to you.

Why?

Why didn’t I get to have even a single second of you?]

This letter’s handwriting was messier than the others. Wei Huan could tell his emotions were close to collapse.

[Day 400. I feel a little better.

Last night, I dreamed of you again.

You smiled and told me, “Don’t wait for me. I’m doing well. Don’t wait.”

I don’t want to wait either. I want to make peace with my pain.

Tell it to leave me alone. Let me heal. Let me move on from the torment.

But pain…

It’s the last bond I have with you.

I can’t bear to cut it.]

[Day 655. I found an old black shirt by mistake. I went mad with longing for the night we watched fireflies together. So I built a barrier at the bottom of the lake—one only I could enter.

It’s terrifying how precisely I could recall everything about that valley. So I recreated it all.

Even if the Firefly Grove of Shanhai is gone…

I have my own.

I hid all the letters inside the snow-colored begonias in that valley.

I remember how, during the Shanhai Festival, when you drew lots and spoke to the begonia demon of Jiahui Academy, you said—

‘Begonias have no scent.’

Begonias have no scent—it means hidden love.]

So that’s what it meant. Wei Huan had even forgotten why he had chosen to seal all these letters inside the snow-white begonias.

It was because what he wanted to seal away was his secret love.

[Day 1000. Today the Soul-Splitting Needle flared up in my chest. It hurt. After recovering, I thought—thank goodness we were never together. I don’t have a happy family. I don’t have a life of freedom. I’m covered in wounds, silver needles pierce my heart, my ribs are missing, and I only have one eye left. Compared to you, I’m nothing but a pile of broken pieces hiding in the dark. But if you showed up, I would try my best to piece myself together, to appear flawless on the outside. I know you smile when you see beautiful things. I want you to be happy.]

Wei Huan’s tears dropped onto the paper. In his heart, he couldn’t help blaming his past self—for expressing his feelings so vaguely that Yun Yongzhou believed he only liked his outer appearance.

He obviously liked him so much—why was it never noticed? Yun Yongzhou was such an idiot. And so was he.

There were more letters than Wei Huan had expected. So it turned out this was how Yun Yongzhou had waited—relying on this method, never speaking of it, never showing it, because Wei Huan had never asked.

[Day 1830. In the blink of an eye, several years have passed. I’ve searched the entire Demon Realm, and still haven’t found you. I hope it’s that I haven’t found you—not that you haven’t come back. Maybe you’ve already settled in some tiny, nameless town, living the life you want. But I still worry. I hope you’ll give me a sign, so I can give up. Let me catch one last glimpse of you from afar, then I’ll start over. Yesterday I saw a child whining to his mother, crying about scraping his arm while learning to fly. His mom hugged him and gently comforted him. And I thought—if I ever see you again, I want to recount every bit of the pain I’ve gone through over the years. You’re so kind—you’d feel bad for me. Maybe I could even shamelessly earn a hug, or more. …Just kidding. Don’t be scared—I’d never do that. I love your freedom. I won’t ruin it.]

He really hadn’t said a word. The gift forged from his rib, all the wounds he suffered for Wei Huan, all the prices he paid—he never once mentioned them. Wei Huan sometimes felt Yun Yongzhou was scarily ruthless toward himself.

But that’s just how he was. Since childhood, Yun Yongzhou never cried.

No matter what he endured, he never learned how to seek sympathy.

[Day 2545. In today’s Rebels team report, they mentioned they rescued the only successful experimental subject from Lab 137. It’s been seven years, but I still hate hearing words like “only” and “success.” This kind of psychological imbalance is truly ugly. Also, I miss you very much.]

Wei Huan thought, if he knew that he himself was that “only successful subject,” maybe he wouldn’t feel that way. It really was fate—if he hadn’t run into Ah Zu and Leah after escaping, he likely would’ve been captured by the people from 137 again. And it was those two who showed him a path to salvation, giving him the idea to do the impossible: use his human body to apply for admission to Shanhai.

In the end, it was Rebels who led him, step by step, to Yun Yongzhou’s side.

[Day 2555. Today at the gates of Shanhai, I saw a human. He didn’t look like you, but the moment I saw him, I thought of you. Let me be clear—I’m not the kind of person who sees others as substitutes. Not once in these seven years. But he really reminded me of you. Except… he’s human. Why is that? I can’t figure it out. Maybe I just miss you too much.]

Because that was me. Wei Huan sniffled and muttered under his breath, “Idiot.”

[Day 2557. Today I was acting as referee and ran into that human again. Coincidentally, he was paired against Little Ling. His close-combat skills shocked me. Little Ling was trained in melee by Yang Sheng and me, and yet he managed to suppress her. His fighting style was also very much like yours. The most terrifying part—when using demon power in the second half, Little Ling attacked with lotus fire, and it was completely rebounded by the power in his body. That power was fire. If I wasn’t mistaken… Have you really come back?]

[Day 2600. Yun Yang assigned him to Yansui Academy. I’m afraid I’m just projecting my feelings for you onto someone else.]

[Day 2677. You’re back. I’m sure of it. Today was the first team battle. I received an emergency signal and rushed there. I saw the power of the Xihe Eye erupting from your body—there was no doubt. But to protect you, I forced a blood pact on you while you were unconscious. I was afraid that power would devour you. You’ve finally come back. I don’t even know what I’m writing anymore. I’m so happy I’m shaking. But… I also stole your freedom. That makes me sad. I thought about letting you go, letting you leave this place. But you refused me. I knew it—you want to uncover the truth. So if I can protect you a bit longer, that’s fine too.

(Actually, I studied for a long time on how to apply medicine. I hurt you today because I was nervous and my hands were shaking. Next time I won’t.)

Also… furball recognized you faster than I did. I’m not happy about that.]

Reading those words, the corners of Wei Huan’s lips couldn’t help lifting. Yun Yongzhou always looked emotionless on the surface—but as long as he wrote letters, his emotions became obvious. When he was happy, he wrote a lot, said a lot, and sounded just like a child—straightforward and unfiltered.

[Your third day back. Today in class, you said that if we round up, I’m basically your wife. You said the same thing the first time we met. I was actually really happy. So happy I exposed your lie right away— and scared you so badly you called me husband.

The way you act so carefully is ridiculously cute—it makes me want to tease you more. But you might curse me in your heart, so I don’t dare be too mean. I really like you. No matter what you’re like.]

[Your fourth day back. I finally gave you the bracelet, and also gave you my demon power. I’m a bit glad you became human—this way I actually have a reason to give you those things.]

[Your tenth day back. I really can’t stand Su Buyu. Yeah, I know it’s not good, but he hates me too, so we’re even. If you treated me with even half the closeness you treat Su Buyu with, I’d probably hate him a bit less. But you haven’t told him your secret—nor me—that’s fair. I’m satisfied.]

“What’s there to be satisfied about… Are you a kid, Yun Yongzhou…” Wei Huan muttered, flipping that sheet over and pulling out the next one.

The whole valley of forget-me-nots sat quietly with him, listening in on these secret, heartfelt thoughts.

[Your fifty-fifth day back. D*mn it, why did the Embracing Dream Grass end up in my arms?! This is insane. I want to burn all the Embracing Dream Grass in the demon realm. Okay fine—I admit it. I really f*cking want to sleep with you.]

…What?

“Holy—Yun Yongzhou! What the h*ll, what the h*ll—” Wei Huan was so shocked by this letter that he flung it into the air, and all the letters shot up along with it, fluttering like snowflakes and mingling with the fireflies, filling the entire night sky.

“Who let you in?”

A cold voice rang out. Wei Huan whipped his head around in panic—and sure enough, Yun Yongzhou was standing there, expression complicated.

“Well, I…” Wei Huan stammered, guilt already written all over his face. “I didn’t mean to! I was just sitting by the lake, and I kind of… fell in. That’s how I got here. Look, I’m still soaking wet. Look—hey, Yun Yongzhou, what are you doing?!”

Just as he was speaking, flames began to gather in Yun Yongzhou’s hands—he seemed mortified and furious, about to burn all those letters in the sky. Wei Huan scrambled up like a bomb had gone off and tackled him to the ground. “Don’t burn them!”

Yun Yongzhou was slammed onto the grass with Wei Huan on top of him, frowning in pain. Wei Huan blew out the flames on his hands and grabbed both his wrists, pressing them to his own cheeks. He stayed straddled on top, staring down.

“What are you doing?!”

“You had no right to read them,” Yun Yongzhou growled through gritted teeth.

Wei Huan leaned down and kissed him hard. “It was an accident. Really. I swear.”

“I’ll burn them all later.”

“No!” Wei Huan clamped his mouth over Yun Yongzhou’s, speaking against his lips, muffled, “They’re all mine—not a single one can be missing!”

Yun Yongzhou shoved him away. “They’re not yours.”

“Stop lying!” Wei Huan immediately exposed him. “I saw it! You wrote them for me! You were gonna confess! You coward, doing it but not daring to admit it! I read it all—I saw you stole the Embracing Dream Grass and even said you wanted to sleep with me—mmf! Mmm!”

His mouth was sealed by a ribbon of light.

“Shut up.”

“Mmm!”

Yun Yongzhou summoned his spirit power. All the letters gently floated back down.

“Mmmm!”

“I won’t burn them. I’ll seal them back in the flowers.”

As the letters returned to the petals, Wei Huan glared at Yun Yongzhou with an expression full of grievance—and kept it there even after the ribbon was removed.

“Fine! I’m officially announcing that the Golden Crow and Nine Phoenix residence will be planted full of Embracing Dream Grass and Love-Enticing Trees.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, I dare!” Wei Huan declared righteously. “You like me—why didn’t you say so?!”

Hearing that, Yun Yongzhou raised an eyebrow and fired back, “Did you say it?”

“Tch. Whoever’s on top has to say it first. Husband can’t be called for free.” Wei Huan had that matter-of-fact look on his face.

“Then tonight, you’re on top.”

Wei Huan startled. “For real?” But honestly, I only want to be the one under you…

Yun Yongzhou stared at him blankly. “You’ll be on top—I’ll be inside.”

…Holy sh*t. Wei Huan’s eyes widened. “Wow, sounds like you really want to get in my pants…”

Yun Yongzhou’s temple twitched. He gritted his teeth. “Say one more word, and I’ll make sure you can’t get out of bed.”

But Wei Huan, shameless as ever, threw his arms around Yun Yongzhou’s back and whined, “Aiya, then I won’t get out of bed! I’ll just take time off~” He gave him a few smooches on the cheek. “I want to read more—I want to read them all!”

Yun Yongzhou was thin-skinned. Just talking about this stuff made his voice go flat. “There’s nothing worth reading. Not a single one is good enough.”

Wei Huan shook his head furiously. “Nonsense. I love them all.” He looked up at the star-filled night sky. “I’m so lucky. The guy I fell for at first sight actually liked me this much.”

Hearing that, Yun Yongzhou turned to look at him. The moment resembled that begrudging night long ago when they’d wandered the firefly valley together.

Wei Huan reached over through the grass and clasped his hand.

“If I had known back then how much you liked me,” he whispered, “I probably would’ve been so happy I’d forget my own name. I was like an idiot, circling around you, just to get you to look at me more. I was such a fool, and I left you waiting all alone for so long.”

“But even if I could do it over, I’d still fall for you. I guess some things are just in my nature.” He gazed at Yun Yongzhou, eyes reflecting the fireflies in the sky. “Don’t be mad—I’ll tell you a secret.”

He crooked his finger, signaling Yun Yongzhou to lean closer. He looked reluctant, but still did as told.

Wei Huan laid his head gently on Yun Yongzhou’s shoulder and whispered in the softest voice, “It was right here that I first realized… I kind of liked you. Do you remember? We both slipped and fell down into the valley. You landed on top of me. We almost kissed.”

His voice was quiet, still as pure as a teenager’s, but his ending tones always lifted slightly, carrying that mischievous, teasing lilt.

“Actually, I had a dream that night, too.”