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They succeeded. This attack on the System, after years of looking for bugs, creating plans the most discreetly possible, they had succeeded.
Inside the core of the System, You Huo and Qin Jiu thought they were going to fail. Qin Jiu was hurt, and You Huo was losing his sight. You Huo was not sure which measures the System would take. It had already tried to take Qin Jiu’s memories once and punished A, but that was not enough. But at that moment, what was the most important to You Huo was to take one last glance at his beloved before his vision went completely dark.
The next time he opened his eyes, his first thought was that the whiteness of the ceiling would assault his eyes. With the comfort of the bed and his last memories, he quickly understood that he would be lying in a hospital room.
But when he opened his eyes, actually he saw nothing but pitch-black. There was soft but thick gauze over his eyes.
However, he was not sure of what made him the most anxious at that moment: that he was blind or that he did not know where and how Qin Jiu was. He was going to press the button to call a nurse, but someone opened the door first.
“Oh, you are awake sir!” the feminine voice was coming closer. “Let me introduce myself first, I’m Hen Bin, the nurse taking care of you. How are you feeling?”
“…” You Huo did not know what he should answer, because he was not sure how he was feeling. Emotionally, anxious – physically, still weak.
“Well, I never know by what to start, it depends on the person. So, let me explain everything then.” She then proceeded to explain what had happened while checking on him. First, his eyes: he had been operated on because there was a device in his eyes related to the System that had been implanted when he was a child. Even though the blindness would remain for some time, he should be able to see anew in some months.
For the System, their mission had finally succeeded. They had released a part of the System that it considered as ‘garbage’; basically, it was the only human-like part of the System. Since the System learned thanks to studying a human throughout his growth, it was evident that it would have developed some kind of empathy. And while this ‘garbage’ part had been released, it finished what You Huo and Qin Jiu had tried.
At the mention of the other man, You Huo’s ears perked up.
“What about Qin Jiu? How is he?”
“He’s still recovering. He woke up only a few days ago. He spent way less time in the system than you, but his injuries were heavy. He still spends a lot of time sleeping because of his medication and the wounds. But he’s not in danger anymore.”
You Huo almost sighed out of relief.
“What about Chu Yue?”
“In the same state as you, minus the few wounds you have. She had to be operated on too, but she woke up almost a week ago. She had the time to take news of everyone since, I’m sure she will report everything to you. I can tell her to come if you want to?”
You Huo simply nodded. The nurse exited the room. A moment later, You Huo could hear two pairs of footsteps and the sound of a walking stick.
“A! Finally! I had enough to come and just hear you breathing.” Of course, this was Chu Yue.
“Would you prefer if I stopped breathing?” You Huo’s voice snapped a bit, but Chu Yue knew he was not genuinely upset.
The woman chuckled and took a seat near You Huo’s bed. The nurse left them, saying she would come back later.
“Looks like you got used to being blind,” You Huo calmly continued.
A few seconds after, Chu Yue spoke again. “Are you okay?”
“I think.” A silence. “I should have told the nurse to wait and asked her to guide me to Qin Jiu’s room, I’m not sure you can.”
“Oh, wait. I wanted to quickly give you news about everyone before. Invigilators of the gentle faction are all okay. They are all awake, and most of them have already left the hospital. But the second group … the ones who had already had their minds much modified by the System have some memory issues. And… it’s the case for Qin Jiu too. He remembers things related to the System because the first time he went it was to destroy it. But he doesn’t seem to remember anything from his time inside.”
Chu Yue did not need to see You Huo’s eyes to know that the man was disappointed and hurt learning that. He had a lingering sense of déjà-vu.
“But he hasn’t been much awake, so maybe memories will come back when he’ll be better! Some affected invigilators haven’t forgotten everything!”
“When I asked about him to the nurse, she didn’t say anything about that,” You Huo finally said.
“Because I asked her not to. I wanted to be the one to break the news to you and to be here.”
Both of them knew each other well, so they did not need to see each other to understand them well.
After a moment, You Huo moved his legs out of the bed. “I want to go to his room.”
He looked for the button to call the nurse, but Chu Yue interrupted him. “Don’t worry, I’ve made the way many times since I’m awake, I’m gonna guide you.”
You Huo forgot about calling the nurse, and gently but quickly took the infusion needle out of his arm. But when he stood up, he almost fell – he had not walked for a long time. Chu Yue supported him, “Are you sure you can walk on your own?”
You Huo steadied himself and took a few steps to try. “Yes.” The support of the wall would be enough.
Chu Yue took her walking stick again and exited the room, followed by You Huo.
A few slow minutes later, the duo arrived in front of Qin Jiu’s room. Chu Yue knocked on the door, in case the man was awake or a nurse was there. And both were the case.
They heard Qin Jiu’s voice telling them to come in, and the nurse, the same taking care of them, asked them what they were doing there.
“To see Gin, of course!” Chu Yue smiled.
“Ok, I’ll be over soon,” the nurse replied.
Chu Yue and You Huo remained silent for a few minutes, waiting for the nurse to be done. Chu Yue would have let the two lovers alone to enjoy finding the other again, but she was not sure it would be such a rejoicing reunion.
When the nurse left, Chu Yue got closer and brought You Huo closer too. Even if the latter could not see, he could still feel Qin Jiu’s intense stare at him. Since he could not see him, he wanted to grab his hand, but did not dare since Qin Jiu most likely did not remember him.
“You make a great pair together,” Qin Jiu joked because of their current blindness.
Chu Yue chuckled and then proceeded to introduce You Huo. “You may not remember him, but this is…”
“Invigilator A,” interrupted Qin Jiu with a polite smile.
“You remember him?” Chu Yue sounded surprised.
But You Huo was not, because he heard that Qin Jiu did not remember him. Except for their first meetings, Qin Jiu never called him like that. It was always ‘Big Invigilator’, and not with that so polite tone.
“I’ve been told about him. I know we’ve already met since we worked together.”
You Huo remained quiet. Like most of the time, his face was closed. With his gauze over his eyes, his expressions could even less be seen.
Chu Yue and Qin Jiu talked a bit, but soon Chu Yue said that she would leave to let him rest.
You Huo added, “If you have questions about what happened and what you don’t remember, don’t hesitate.”
“Okay,” Qin Jiu softly replied.
You Huo turned to the door and went out.
He went back to his own room, thanks to Chu Yue. Once You Huo reinstalled on the bed, Chu Yue cautiously asked, “What are you gonna do about him?”
“Let him rest.”
“And then?”
You Huo did not answer immediately, remembering another scene from some time ago. It was two weeks after Qin Jiu had come back as an invigilator in the System. You Huo and Chu Yue had to go to the core of the System together. And as always in these moments, as the System had no eyes there, they enjoyed some peaceful time there once they had done what they had to do. It was nice for them both not to have the feeling of being watched as usual.
Chu Yue, worried about her friend even if You Huo never showed everything, finally asked, “Are you not going to tell him anything?”
You Huo answered a few seconds later, “Not for now. It’s still too soon to know if he’s going to agree with our ideas. Let him some more time.”
“Hm,” Chu Yue nodded. “But, what about you two? Your love story?”
You Huo lowered his gaze.
“Are you really going to let that in the past?”
You Huo still did not answer, and Chu Yue sighed but did not push further, she knew it was useless.
Right before they left the core to go back to the city, You Huo spoke again, “Once we’ll be out, I will look for him.”
Chu Yue nodded. She was satisfied with this answer, it would be more convenient that way.
Now out of the System, You Huo still had the same idea in mind. “I’ll try again. We made it two times, why not once again?”
Chu Yue nodded. She was happy that You Huo was not planning on letting their story go, and she understood that he still wanted to wait a bit because of the circumstances.
•••
The two first times You Huo and Qin Jiu met, at the beginning it had always been tense between them. Qin Jiu thought the Head Invigilator was his enemy, and You Huo thought Qin Jiu was too uncontrollable to really trust him.
But now that they did not have a mission anymore, there was no more reason to be unfriendly toward each other.
During their stay in the hospital, You Huo and Chu Yue often went to see Qin Jiu when he was awake. But Chu Yue always ended by letting the two men alone together. By now, You Huo was comfortable enough to move on his own, knowing the way between his room and Qin Jiu’s by heart.
You Huo talked a little bit more than usual because often Qin Jiu would ask him about his lost memories, and also because Qin Jiu could not read into his eyes since they were still covered with gauze. But anytime You Huo spoke about the System he never mentioned their true past relationship. He did not want to let Qin Jiu feel pressured to act a certain way because of that.
And yet, because Qin Jiu was a smart bastard, he once asked, “The way people and you made it show, we were enemies both times I went in it. Then how did we manage to get close enough for you to trust me with your plan?”
You Huo simply answered, “Chu Yue.” It was not the truth, he had been the one convincing Chu Yue that Qin Jiu could be trusted. But for now, he preferred to lie.
Qin Jiu hummed. Even if he could not see him, You Huo heard the smirk Qin Jiu had on his lips when asking again, “And yet, you’re at my bedside more often than her.”
“…” You Huo was slightly annoyed by the way Qin Jiu teased him and he did not know how to answer at first.
“I can leave if you want to,” he finally said.
“I didn’t ask you to leave,” Qin Jiu said, still smiling.
‘What an asshole’ thought You Huo. But he was not genuinely annoyed. He had gotten used to Qin Jiu’s teasing by now, and his chest even felt warm every time Qin Jiu did so.
•••
Four months went that way, enough time for You Huo’s and Chu Yue’s eyes to be completely healed. Finally, they were able to remove their gauze and recover their sights. You Huo finally reopened his eyes. At first, it was uncomfortable, but he quickly got used to it.
When You Huo’s eyes got used to seeing again, the first thing he clearly saw was Qin Jiu’s smirk. The man had wanted to be there for that moment. His wounds had almost completely healed and he could move quite how he wanted, but the doctor wanted to keep him a bit more because he was afraid Qin Jiu would be too careless and reopen the wounds.
You Huo could not tear his eyes away from Qin Jiu’s face – it was the sight he missed the more during these past months.
When the nurse got sure that everything was ok with You Huo’s eyes, she left them.
Finally, Qin Jiu stepped closer to You Huo who was sitting on his hospital bed. They looked into each other’s eyes for a while, before the older one eventually said, “My Big Invigilator’s eyes are very, very beautiful.”
Qin Jiu was still too far from You Huo to know that You Huo’s heart started to pound quickly in his chest at these words. During the last months, and after everything You Huo told him about the System, Qin Jiu had naturally started to call him again with this sobriquet. At first, You Huo had thought that Qin Jiu had recovered some memories, and he did his best to hide his disappointment when he learnt that it was not the case.
Soon enough, You Huo looked away – he still did not like to maintain eye contact for long, old habits die hard.
“I’ll be discharged tomorrow,” You Huo evenly said instead.
“It will be boring without you, Big Invigilator. I still have to stay here for three weeks.”
“I’ll come and pick you up.”
“Oh?”
“And we’ll go to eat somewhere after.”
Qin Jiu smirked and slightly bent over to ask in a lower voice, “Is that a date, my Big Invigilator?”
A beat passed before You Huo looked up and answered, “Yes.” He thought after that he really did miss Qin Jiu’s grin.
•••
When Qin Jiu was discharged from the hospital, three weeks later, You Huo was there to pick him up.
You Huo had come to visit him a couple of times since his own discharge. And for the meantime, he stayed at his uncle and cousin’s place, which was in the suburbs of the city. Old Yu had been really surprised to see You Huo. And for once, he was not drunk for an evening – because Yu Wen had threatened him to break all his bottles, and if he knew Yu Wen would not dare to do it, he knew that You Huo would.
Because the System was top-secret military, You Huo first said that he just had been released from the hospital and that he would not be authorised to go back to work in the military for some time because of that. But he learnt, when Yu Wen went to sleep, that his uncle knew about the System, and asked how You Huo could be withdrawn from the project. Both men learnt a lot that night.
During You Huo’s visits to Qin Jiu, nothing much had changed, except that Qin Jiu allowed himself to be more tactile. You Huo still had trouble not fleeing from it, because though he did not feel watched all the time anymore, he could not forget so easily years of habits. But when he reminded himself that they were safe to do all they wanted together, he really enjoyed Qin Jiu’s touches.
That night after their first real date ever, when they entangled inside Qin Jiu’s new flat, he not only enjoyed his touches but even look for them.
•••
A few days later, You Huo and Chu Yue decided to spend the afternoon together. Just enjoying time in each other’s presence was a thing they had not really done for years, since before entering the System for the first time.
Though You Huo was speaking way less than his friend, the conversation was smooth between them. After some time, Chu Yue asked, “How is it going with Qin Jiu?”
“We’re dating,” You Huo casually answered.
Chu Yue smiled, happy for her friend, “Does he remember all your past then?”
You Huo lightly frowned, “No, he barely has any memories at all. But he doesn’t need his memories for us to date again.”
“Oh?” Chu Yue seemed surprised. “It was so quick I thought it was because he recovered his memories. Wouldn’t you want him to remember?”
You Huo shrugged. Of course, it would be nice that Qin Jiu remembered all their moments together, but it was not an utmost necessity in order to date.
“And I thought even more that he would remember since the other former invigilators have recovered most of their memories.”
You Huo frowned deeper. How could it be the case for them but not for Qin Jiu?
“Ah, let’s forget it for now!” Chu Yue finally said and started to talk about something else, seeing that it upset her friend.
Later that day, You Huo had slightly shortened his afternoon with Chu Yue. He had something on his mind he was not able to forget. So he went unannounced to Qin Jiu’s place. He knew the man would be there, and if not, he would wait for him.
He rang the bell. When Qin Jiu opened the door, he first was smiling seeing his beloved here, but soon stopped because You Huo did not seem in a great mood.
“Are you ok?” Qin Jiu asked.
“What were you waiting to let me know you recovered your memories?” You Huo replied, genuinely annoyed.
The times when Qin Jiu was trying to make You Huo spit something out about their time in the System, the fact that he perfectly knew how to hold You Huo, where to touch him, how to annoy and tease him, and how he seemed to never waste or hide any moment with You Huo. It was not like the first time Qin Jiu had forgotten, and it was too much unlikely for Qin Jiu to have picked up that with the short time they had spent together until now.
Qin Jiu sweetly smiled, “I would have told you soon, after having gotten properly back together.”
You Huo arched an eyebrow, still upset. “Because am I not already your proper boyfriend?”
Qin Jiu chuckled softly, “You are.”
You Huo then saw Qin Jiu’s smile turn more devilish. Qin Jiu grabbed You Huo’s hand and pulled him into his flat. He closed the door and pushed his beloved against the door, caging him between his body and the door.
He slightly looked down to look into You Huo’s eyes. “I just wanted to see and enjoy how my Big Invigilator was wooing me. You wouldn’t have if you knew I remembered.”
You Huo was looking defiantly at Qin Jiu, ignoring his strong heartbeat in such proximity. “Satisfied?”
“Hm,” Qin Jiu bent over more, and caressed the side of You Huo’s neck with his nose. “Definitely.” He straightened a bit, and finally said, “I will make up to you, I promise.” He then kissed both of You Huo’s eyelids.
It was You Huo’s turn to hum. He grabbed Qin Jiu’s shirt and raised his head to kiss him. His anger had almost vanished. But he broke the kiss before going any further, “Do you remember everything?”
“Hm, I think I still have some memories missing, but I remember the most important. Is there something I should remember that I don’t?”
You Huo shook his head, he only wanted to know. He then let Qin Jiu bring him into the room.
Even if You Huo had previously thought that it did not matter so much if Qin Jiu did not remember them as long as he still fell in love with him again, his heart was utterly content that he was not the only one to remember all their love story.