Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth] Chapter 79

He had repressed it for so long, long enough that the feelings in Yun Yongzhou’s heart had turned into a parasitic vine—twisting around his heart, squeezing until he couldn’t breathe. And now, at last, he let go. He didn’t want to explain. Didn’t want to lay out his reasons.

He just wanted to kiss him. He had wanted to since seven years ago.

The hard tree bark and the crushing hug pressed against Wei Huan from both sides, like a sudden downpour giving him nowhere to hide.

It was just a kiss. And yet it felt like the deadliest weapon in the world. It softly took away all his strength, left him unable to fight, stripped of will.

Feeling Wei Huan slipping downward, Yun Yongzhou suddenly realized what he’d done. He loosened his arms in a daze, quickly pulling away. But with his arms gone, Wei Huan had nothing to lean on—he slid down to a kneeling position against the tree trunk, like a small animal on its last breath. He looked up at Yun Yongzhou, eyes full of moonlight and mist.

Yun Yongzhou froze for a second, then dropped to one knee, reaching to lift him up—but Wei Huan leapt forward instead, arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

And kissed him back.

The balance of power flipped. Just now, Wei Huan had clearly seen Yun Yongzhou’s demon markings spreading—he knew what that meant.

Both of them held the same question in their hearts.

And the same answer.

But neither spoke it aloud—only the kiss revealed the truth.

Lost in the moment, Wei Huan suddenly had a bloody, terrible idea.

He wanted to pull out a rib, grind it into a long, sharp nail. And right now, while he and Yun Yongzhou were locked in such a tight embrace even fate couldn’t pull them apart—drive it through.

Pin them together, forever.

A loud crash sounded nearby, like something collapsing. Startled, Wei Huan jolted, jumping away from Yun Yongzhou like a frightened rabbit, frantically scrambling backward until he was back under the fig tree.

The tree, knocked by his movement, shivered and shed a few leaves. They fluttered gently in the air and landed on Wei Huan’s head, making him look both ridiculous and adorable.

Holy sh*t did I just kiss him?

Wait no no—he kissed me first! I was just responding!

Mind completely scrambled, Wei Huan sat on the ground with his back to the tree, fingers gripping the grass, eyes wide as he stared at Yun Yongzhou half a meter away.

What the h*ll just happened? He was talking—how did it turn into… into that…

Yun Yongzhou tilted his head slightly and looked back at him.

That tiny tilt made Wei Huan instantly blush. It was the exact same way he had tilted his head when he held his face to kiss him earlier. Wei Huan could still picture it with his eyes closed.

Strangely enough, he hadn’t felt this embarrassed during the kiss itself—but now, sitting so far apart, his face was suddenly burning and his heart was pounding like mad.

The two of them just stared at each other, neither speaking. The little garden was quiet, but Wei Huan’s heart was an utter mess.

His heartbeat was way too loud—so loud it was unbearable.

He decided to break the silence.

“Um… my house seems to have collapsed.”

Yun Yongzhou looked confused, his brows furrowing.

Wei Huan instantly wanted to slap himself. What the h*ll are you saying? Try again!

“No, I mean—why… why did you kiss me just now?” He deliberately lifted his chin, trying to look imposing.

He thought that would put Yun Yongzhou on the back foot. But instead, Yun Yongzhou just replied in his usual flat tone, “Didn’t you kiss me too?”

Dead. Absolutely dead. Didn’t even get to the first checkpoint.

“I—I was just… I…” Someone who never let words fall flat, who always found a way out, finally tripped over himself. Wei Huan felt like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, with no one to offer him a hand or a way down.

Yun Yongzhou stood up, walked over, and crouched down in front of him, arms folded over his knees.

“Why did you kiss me?” His voice was low. Just now, his eyes had been looking at Wei Huan’s, but now they had lowered—to Wei Huan’s flushed lips. Realizing this, Wei Huan felt like his whole face was on fire. He couldn’t get out even a single one of his usual flirty lines—he was like a mute lamb in the tiger’s den.

He chose silence.

But Yun Yongzhou saw right through him. Still crouching, he leaned in and gave Wei Huan’s lips a peck.

He kissed me again!

Wei Huan hadn’t expected that at all and reflexively covered his mouth. Yun Yongzhou smiled. Moonlight curved around his figure, casting a beautiful silhouette. He leaned in again and kissed the back of Wei Huan’s hand.

Wei Huan quickly brought up his right hand to add another layer of defense and mumbled through his hands, “Are you possessed by a ghost or something? Why do you keep kissing me?!”

Yun Yongzhou didn’t reply. Smiling, he kissed Wei Huan’s right hand too. Then kissed the golden mark at the center of his brow, then his nose tip, then the point of his chin, and finally, his left eye.

Wei Huan was completely stunned. It was like something intoxicating had mixed in with the flower-scented air, making his head spin. Going by that sequence… the next kiss should be on his right eye, right? Thinking this, Wei Huan instinctively squinted it shut.

He looked absurdly cute like that, like a small animal half-asleep. Yun Yongzhou watched him quietly, unmoving.

Wei Huan waited for a while and still didn’t feel a kiss. He opened his eyes completely and lowered his hands. “Why’d you stop? Done now?”

“I don’t feel like kissing my own eye.”

“No way,” Wei Huan leaned in defiantly. “You gave it to me, so it’s mine now. You have to kiss it.”

Yun Yongzhou finally let out a soft laugh. Wei Huan was like a fish that fell for taunts the quickest—just a few words and he’d bite the hook, refusing to let go, even feeling proud of himself for it, tail flipping up to the sky.

But Yun Yongzhou still didn’t kiss him.

Wei Huan leaned closer again—and then stumbled and fell into Yun Yongzhou’s arms. A wave of numb tingling surged up from his calf, and he grabbed onto Yun Yongzhou’s arm, cursing under his breath, “F*ck, my leg’s asleep.”

Not romantic at all. And as soon as he said it, he regretted it.

But Yun Yongzhou looked down at his bare feet and asked with some annoyance, “Why are you barefoot again?” His tone had a hint of scolding. Wei Huan wanted to laugh it off, but Yun Yongzhou hooked an arm around him, picked him up, and let his feet step onto his own. They leaned against the tree, in nearly the same posture as when they kissed earlier.

Now they were even closer.

Wei Huan thought he might have some kind of intermittent tension syndrome, and it was acting up again. Same symptoms—heart racing like mad, ears burning, breathing totally off.

“What are you looking at me for?”

That line felt very familiar. Wei Huan thought, You used to snap at me like that in your past life too.

“Well, you kissed me,” he muttered, with nowhere to put his hands except around Yun Yongzhou’s neck. “Why?”

Yun Yongzhou’s right eye was still covered with a white gauze patch, but it didn’t dull the power of his eyes—in fact, it made them even more intense.

“Because I think you like me.”

“I—” Wei Huan was so mad he almost threw hands. “I think you like me! What kind of logic is that—”

“I do.” Yun Yongzhou suddenly admitted, straight out. “I like you.”

The sheer straightforwardness of the confession hit Wei Huan like a hammer. His chest heaved up and down, and Yun Yongzhou’s words echoed endlessly in his head.

He should say something back now, right? Like I like you too? No, no, that’s too boring. Maybe I knew it all along? Doesn’t feel right either. Or maybe…

You’ve got excellent taste, my guy!

…

Not great.

“You don’t have to answer right away,” Yun Yongzhou loosened his hold slightly and, for once, spoke at length. “I’m not doing this expecting anything in return. I’m doing it because I want to. You might not be thinking clearly right now—you might feel like I’ve sacrificed a lot, and that’s creating some kind of illusion, but I’m not hoping for anything…”

“Shut up,” Wei Huan cut him off suddenly and even stepped on his foot, stunning Yun Yongzhou into silence.

“You’d better be thinking all kinds of things. Otherwise I’m gonna be pissed. Illusions, my *ss—I’ve known I liked you for a long time, alright? You didn’t know, did you? I already had a whole confession plan set up, just didn’t get the chance to use it. Do I look like the kind of person who kisses someone on a whim, just because of a misunderstanding?”

Yun Yongzhou had been listening in silence, but at that line, he suddenly looked up. “You are, actually…”

“Wh—what do you mean I am?!” Wei Huan was stunned. “Hey wait, when did I ever kiss —”

He cut himself off mid-sentence. His eyes darted around—and suddenly remembered a long-forgotten memory from under the sea.

Yun Yongzhou said with a perfectly serious face, “You absolutely kissed me on a whim.”

“They’re all lies!” Wei Huan started stammering. “Th-that was to save you! Can you not have a little conscience?”

Holy sh*t—he was awake back then?! Wei Huan was internally panicking.

“Save me?” Yun Yongzhou frowned. “Are you sure it was you saving me, not the other way around?”

Huh?

Wei Huan looked baffled. “What did you help me with? Who was it that was in the Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion? The mermaid scale didn’t even work there, I nearly drowned in that d*mn spiral valley. I gave you my own mermaid scale, and dragged you all the way up myself, okay? I was basically a modern-day Little Mermaid—saved someone and now they’re stealing the credit. I’ve never been more wronged in my life.”

“Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion…” Yun Yongzhou seemed to recall something, though still unclear on the details. Even so, he was determined to get his part across. “I helped you when you got drunk in the Dark Zone. I was the one who brought you back.”

“I know that,” Wei Huan let go of his neck and folded his arms, “but what’s that got to do with kissing?”

Yun Yongzhou, face calm and tone flat, replied without hesitation, “You got drunk and pinned me to the rooftop and forced a kiss. Then forgot all about it the next day. That’s real impressive.”

“What?!”

Wei Huan couldn’t believe his ears. “You can’t just make stuff up because I blacked out!”

Yun Yongzhou mirrored him, arms folded. “If you don’t believe me, we can have Jing Yun use eye-sharing. Everyone can watch the playback.”

Oh god, he said it so convincingly. Wei Huan panicked completely, his brain spinning like mad trying to recall if he’d done anything out of line that night.

But Yun Yongzhou didn’t give him time to think. “And what does the Yunsheng Jiehai Pavilion have to do with kissing?”

“You were in shock and barely breathing. I passed air to you underwater—saved your life.” Wei Huan blurted it out without thinking. Only afterward did he realize how weird it sounded. He cleared his throat. “Technically, it doesn’t count as a kiss. I wasn’t trying anything, and you weren’t in any position to say no. It just… happened. Driven by my saintly compassion, that’s all.”

After hearing this, Yun Yongzhou let out a long “Mmm…” The trailing sound turned over and over, full of layered meaning, making Wei Huan squirm with embarrassment.

“Mmm what? Anyway, we’re even. No one owes anyone.” Wei Huan’s voice dropped so low it was barely audible, like a mosquito mumbling. “So much for my first kiss… I even planned out a bunch of ideal scenarios…”

Demons always had sharp hearing.

Yun Yongzhou kissed his right eye. “Whatever you imagined, I’ll give it to you.”

That was just how he was—always throwing out the most direct, most fervent responses when you least expected them. A sun at heart, blazing away even when buried in ice. Wei Huan’s little rabbit heart was overjoyed, pounding like crazy. He couldn’t stop grinning and instinctively looped his arms around Yun Yongzhou’s neck, smiling up at him.

Then he saw the blindfold covering Yun Yongzhou’s eye. His joy twisted a little into ache—a sunshower falling in his chest. He reached out and gently touched it. “Does it hurt?”

Yun Yongzhou only shook his head, saying nothing.

“Your eye… you really gave it to me?” Wei Huan couldn’t name the emotion—maybe regret, maybe heartache. “Can you take it back?”

Yun Yongzhou shook his head again, smiling gently. “I dug it out myself and had it burned by witch-fire. It’s already ash.”

Just a few words, but Wei Huan could somehow feel the pain of that moment—how much it must’ve hurt to gouge out your own eye, to watch it be destroyed before your very eyes. What he didn’t know was that by that point, Yun Yongzhou had already given up everything. Doing this gave him a sliver of hope instead.

Wei Huan’s eyes turned red. He was a little angry. “You maniac. Crazy and dumb. Still tried to trick me. I didn’t even realize anything was wrong with your eye at first.”

“I didn’t want the Golden Crow family to find out, so I went around asking after I left Wuqi. Heard there was a demonized golden-throated bird causing havoc in Nanmang, killing children. That bird had pale irises just like mine, so I killed him. Dug out his eye.”

He said it so lightly, but Wei Huan still felt awful. “Wouldn’t using someone else’s eye cause problems?”

“It was fine. At first, the demonic energy in it kept triggering forced transformations. But I purified it with spiritual power. It got better over time. Better than an empty socket.” Yun Yongzhou’s eyes lowered as he smiled. “I figured if you ever came back, I didn’t want to scare you.”

Wei Huan’s hand slid down from the blindfold. “So your right eye now is that bird demon’s eye?”

“Yeah.” Yun Yongzhou asked, “Not good-looking?”

“That’s not the issue.” Wei Huan looked at him. “I just think it doesn’t match you.”

The one and only white-feathered Golden Crow in all the demon realm should be paired with the one and only Xihe golden eyes.

“It doesn’t matter.” Yun Yongzhou stroked the side of his face. “If my eye is used to match you, then it’s worth it.”

Wei Huan’s hand rested at his waist, like a child who couldn’t take compliments—head down, toes lightly pressing into Yun Yongzhou. “I woke up today just wanting to see you. But you never came. I was so miserable. And then you… you actually ran to my place.” He looked up again. “Tell me, what were you sneaking into my house for?”

Yun Yongzhou’s expression shifted slightly, like he was embarrassed. “Wanted to tidy up.”

“Tidy?” Wei Huan recalled that when he came up earlier, he had seen Yun Yongzhou messing with a hammock. “You didn’t come see me, but ran to my house to clean up my mess?”

“There were already a lot of people looking after you,” Yun Yongzhou said softly. “But this was your home. I didn’t want to see it in such a mess.”

“Even so,” Wei Huan grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the hammock, “how were you going to clean all this up on your own?” He picked it up and unfolded it. “Especially when you’re such a clumsy little young master.”

Yun Yongzhou couldn’t argue back. He thought he would have that hammock set up in no time and then move on to tidy up other areas, but who would’ve thought Wei Huan would already arrive while he was still stuck struggling with it.

Wei Huan got it set up in a few quick moves, clapped his hands. “But this place is a mess. Why’d you start with this?”

“You once said your home had a really nice hammock, made by your dad. You liked lying on it to stargaze, sleep, eat,” Yun Yongzhou recalled the way he’d said those things, a soft light surfacing on his face.

“I was just talking casually,” Wei Huan sat down on the hammock, swinging his legs.

Actually, he remembered saying that. Even though he always said it in front of everyone, deep down he’d hoped to invite Yun Yongzhou over, using this little hammock as bait to hook him in. But after all these years, this clever and aloof golden crow still never took the bait.

He tilted his head back to look at the night sky. “You can see the moon from here. Every day the moon looks a little different.”

As he spoke, he swung his legs and tapped Yun Yongzhou with his toes. “Come up.”

In the vast Nine Phoenix estate, the two of them squeezed together on a small hammock in the floating garden. Yun Yongzhou took off his uniform jacket and draped it over Wei Huan, who was only wearing a hospital gown, then sat down beside him.

“I want to see fireflies,” Wei Huan said. Yun Yongzhou waved a hand, and golden specks of light rose and floated in the air—brighter and more beautiful than any firefly.

So pretty.

Wei Huan happened to glance down and saw the golden bracelet on his wrist. He suddenly remembered something. He held out his hand in front of Yun Yongzhou. “Right, this thing. This was the gift you gave…”

To me? He still didn’t finish the sentence.

“Mm.” Yun Yongzhou gave him a definite answer right away.

“Your rib…” Wei Huan stroked the bracelet and muttered, “You actually believed that kind of nonsense legend, really didn’t expect that.”

But Yun Yongzhou shook his head. “You once said you preferred a more serious confession… I’ve thought about it for a long time.”

Hearing that was completely unexpected for Wei Huan.

His voice was low, like he was telling a story that had nothing to do with himself. “Then I realized…”

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