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“I just think it’d be best if we never met.”
Lu Jinghe’s purple eyes widened as those words escaped the android’s lips. The incubus tries not to panic, and walks closer to where the other presence is sitting, a novel in his hands. Lu Jinghe crouches down, bringing his hand to cup the android’s cold cheek where he could see the part where Zuo Ran’s artificial skin glows as he’s charging.
“Why do you say that, my dear?”
Lu Jinghe delicately caresses Zuo Ran’s cheek, silently wishing he could feel some warmth from there. The 29-years-old android leans into his hand, closing his eyes while nuzzling into Lu Jinghe's hand like a big cat. (Lu Jinghe tries so hard not to just wreck the android there and now.)
“Because I will leave you alone, eventually.”
Back then Lu Jinghe didn't understand what the android meant. So the only response he gave was a nervous, weird, laugh, and he had clinged to Zuo Ran the whole week after that. Zuo Ran had been very patient with him, obeying to almost every single of Lu Jinghe's pleas. (Including the one where Lu Jinghe asked Zuo Ran to read a book for him. The incubus thinks that even the most boring book in the world could be interesting to him if Zuo Ran is the one who reads it.)
He never thought of Zuo Ran’s words much after that. Not until the day he came back from his ‘meal’ to Zuo Ran plugged to his charger, the glow on his temple indicating Zuo Ran had not been fully charged yet. Lu Jinghe thought it was weird, since he was pretty sure he had charged Zuo Ran less than 5 hours ago.
He wants to curse himself in the past now for not realizing it sooner.
He began to find Zuo Ran charging more often. At first Zuo Ran was charging for two hours every five hours, before it changed to three for every four hours, to four for every three hours, and until someday Zuo Ran just stopped moving at all. (Lu Jinghe still remembers vividly how sad Zuo Ran looked every time Lu Jinghe had to leave the house, but unable to move from his charging port.)
He felt it was not that long ago when one day he found Zuo Ran with his eyes closed, still plugged into that damn charging port. Lu Jinghe was panicking, and he tried to call for someone to fix Zuo Ran, somehow. (But they couldn’t. Zuo Ran’s model is outdated apparently, how he managed to live for almost 20 years past his supposed lifespan of 10 years.)
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“Zuo Ran, how are you today?” Lu Jinghe walks closer, a smile on his face as he holds Zuo Ran’s hand. There is no response. Lu Jinghe's smile tightens, just like his grip on the android’s hand. The incubus inhales. “My name isn’t Lu Jinghe anymore. It’s Marius von Hagen now.” The smile on his face is almost sad , if someone looks closer, but Lu Jinghe quickly shakes his head.
“Time is moving forward, my beloved. But you’re still as beautiful as the day we first met.”
Zuo Ran doesn’t stirs, in the dark room where the only light there comes from his temple. The purple-haired incubus grits his teeth. “Someday I promise I will show you how much you have missed, truly.” He stands from where he was, turning to look at Zuo Ran’s peaceful face before walking towards the door.
“I will come back tomorrow,” Just like always , Lu Jinghe almost added. He briefly wondered if he had gone crazy after spending so much time mourning for Zuo Ran, for someone who doesn’t even have a real heart. But funnily enough, Zuo Ran is the only one who had gotten into his heart. Lu Jinghe turns towards where Zuo Ran has been sitting still for almost ten years.
“Please wake up soon, I miss you.” He can only hear his own words echoing back to him, and Lu Jinghe clenched his fists. The incubus then turns around once again, closing the door behind him.
(Lu Jinghe failed to notice the way the white glow in Zuo Ran’s temple has dimmed, before it turns off completely .)