Chapter 22: The Cat Let the Secret Slip

Li You discovered a secret.

His death had made his brother suffer greatly.

That night, after leaving the Central Experimental Institute late, Li Ye did not return to the palace. Instead, he headed straight for the Imperial Military.

The Imperial Military was located at the center of Prime Star, the heart of the empire. Warships blanketed the docking platform of the massive silver hovering fortress. Li Ye disembarked from the starship, tucked the cat carrier under his arm, and headed straight into the depths of the fortress.

Li You nestled in the cat carrier, constantly monitoring his brother’s condition.

A triple dosage was no joke. Even if his brother was not human, he could not just take it recklessly like that.

Fortunately, after one night passed, Li Ye showed no adverse symptoms. On the contrary, he was eerily calm, as if that brief outburst of emotion on the starship had never happened.

Li You stayed with Li Ye until dawn. Exhausted, his eyelids kept fighting each other. He buried his head and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke again, they were already back at the palace.

The vast outer hall was empty. Li Ye was not there, nor was Little En Butler.

Li You got up and wandered around the front hall. He noticed the door leading to the rear hall was open. He crouched on this side of the long corridor, pondered for a moment, then headed toward the rear hall.

During the day, light in Li Ye’s room was still dim. The dark curtains on the floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides were drawn tightly, completely blocking out the outside light.

The room was gray and hazy, though slightly clearer than at night.

Li You paced like a long-haired lion inspecting its territory. He jumped onto the booth, stood high up to survey the area, and gave his honest evaluation: a very boringly arranged room.

After sitting for a moment, he leaped down from the booth and went to the curtains. He bit the edge of a curtain with his mouth and dragged it to the side. It took some effort to pull the curtains on both sides open, allowing warm sunlight to stream in.

Li You went back to the booth, bit a soft cushion, dragged it down to the floor, and pulled it into the sunlit spot.

He circled around to position the cushion properly, then stepped onto it. He chased his tail in a few spins before lying down. He narrowed his eyes to bask in the sun and wait for Li Ye to return.

Li You had a little plan. He wanted to help Li Ye cure his illness.

But psychological illnesses were not easy to treat.

According to Dr. Kavasha, raising a pet might help alleviate it.

Li You blinked slowly, lost in thought with his worries.

Li Ye was ill.

That guy had suffered greatly because of his death.

Li Ye must miss him a lot…

Li You buried his head into the cushion and let out a muffled “meow.”

He missed Li Ye too…

He really, really missed him.

Sometimes Li You felt quite conflicted. Those ten years of experience made him reluctant to return to life at the Imperial Palace on Prime Star or to be with the people he once knew.

But did he not miss everyone?

No, he did miss them. It was just that deep inside, there was always this acquired resistance pulling at him, telling him—you yearn for freedom; in this life, you should be free and unfettered.

But his brother was sick.

Very seriously sick.

Li Ye did not say anything and showed no abnormalities, but Li You could tell.

No one in the world understood his brother better than he did.

Li You’s mind was a mess. Wrapped in sunlight, he unknowingly fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes, he stood in the center of a ballroom crowd, with a chill on his back.

Li You reached behind him with his hands crossed. His clothes had cutouts there.

“…”

A resplendent golden palace, imperial nobles in gorgeous formal attire, melodious music. Gentlemen and ladies, companions or lovers, danced in pairs.

Li You froze in place. He turned his head and, through a distant floor-to-ceiling window, saw his own attire.

A white ruffled V-neck tie-up shirt, black high-waisted trousers, and a golden half-face mask.

Clearly, this was a masked ball. The palace had hosted many such banquets before, but Li You rarely attended. First, he was not good at dancing; second, he often slipped away. Back then, he was not well-liked anyway, and sneaking out of dances was common—especially large banquets requiring social interaction, which were a disaster if he stayed.

Li You was not used to this formal attire. The front collar opened too low, the back was half-exposed, and the waist-cinching ties were pulled very tight. It offered no comfort whatsoever—worse than the leg rings from the previous two times that had chafed his thighs.

Wait.

Previous two times…

He narrowed his eyes and looked around.

The scene felt very real, but it could not possibly be, because he was already dead and now a cat, not a human. He could not appear here in human form.

It was unlikely to be a dream either; dreams could not feel this real.

So this was most likely an Illusion Realm.

The previous two Illusion Realms had been created by Little Wan Sis, but she was at the experimental institute now and could not create one.

So what was this about?

Li You frowned. In a daze, he spotted a tall figure’s back in the distant crowd, and his heart jolted.

He immediately crouched down. Amid the crowd’s strange gazes, he half-squatted and shuffled toward the edge of the ballroom, moving slowly and stealthily.

Finally reaching the edge of the crowd, he cautiously stood up. He looked back for that tall figure in the crowd but did not see it again, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he turned to step forward, he bumped headfirst into someone.

“Hiss—”

The pain felt very real. Li You was certain this was definitely an Illusion Realm! He rubbed his nose tip and apologized, “Sorry, sorry, are you…”

Halfway through his words, he raised his gaze and met a pair of familiar red eyes. His words came to an abrupt halt.

A full ten seconds of eye contact.

Li You took a step back, his throat bobbing. He asked softly, “Are you okay?”

Li Ye did not speak.

Li You felt awkward and thought, this was bad.

Before, he could still claim to be a “fake,” because Little Wan Sis had created the Illusion Realm then. Now Li Ye surely knew it could not be her. If he claimed to be a “fake” again, it would lack any persuasiveness.

When nervous, Li You had a habit of picking at his fingers. With nowhere to look, he lowered his head and suddenly remembered the mask on his face. His eyes blinked rapidly a few times.

Right, he had a mask. Li Ye might not recognize him.

Li You sneaked a glance at Li Ye.

Black formal attire, gold-trimmed mask. But even with the mask, Li You could recognize that face at a glance.

He glanced again at his own reflection in the glass window…

“…”

This was too recognizable.

Li You clenched the hand behind his back and forced a smile. “Um, hello?”

Li Ye responded with silence.

“…” Li You smacked his lips and tried to struggle. “Did you recognize me?”

Li Ye: “What do you think?”

“Guess I’m pretty recognizable, huh…” Li You gave a dry laugh and added, “I recognized you too, you know.”

“Then you’re pretty good.” Li Ye looked at him, arms crossed in front. “Care to explain?”

“I—” Li You suddenly shut his mouth, pursed his lips, and said nothing for a long while before speaking. “If I said I don’t know why this is happening either, would you believe me?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you could believe it a little.”

“…”

The conversation stalled. Li You looked at his brother pleadingly. He really did not know what to say and could only lower his head to pick at his fingers.

At that moment, a hand extended in front of him.

Li You froze and looked up at Li Ye.

As before, Li Ye wore a glove on his right hand but not on his left.

The mask covered half his face, making his expression unreadable.

Li You guessed there was no expression—his brother’s poker face never smiled anyway.

He looked uncertainly at the hand Li Ye extended toward him and asked sincerely, “Do you want to dance with me?”

Li Ye countered without answering, “What, you don’t dare?”

“Who says I don’t dare?!” Li You was easily provoked. He slapped his palm onto Li Ye’s hand and pinched it mischievously. Seeing no reaction from the other, he said unhappily, “Fine, let’s dance. Who’s afraid!”

Li Ye’s eyes showed no ripple. He pulled the head-tilted youth closer. His gloved right hand lightly rested on the other’s waist, not gripping, just hovering.

Li You kept a straight face as he recalled the steps. He released Li Ye’s hand and placed his on the other’s shoulder instead.

Li Ye’s left hand then dropped and went behind his back, using only one hand to support the youth’s waist.

The music from below swelled gently, and the crowd began to dance lightly again. Li You kept his eyes down, a bit tense. While trying to match Li Ye’s movements, he counted the beats in his head.

One-two, two-two…

Then he stepped on Li Ye’s left foot.

“…”

“…”

Silence between them. Li You pursed his lips and apologized softly, “My mistake. I can dance.”

Li Ye said nothing. His other hand grasped Li You’s, guiding the somewhat flustered youth back into rhythm. His movements were not particularly skilled but flowed smoothly and naturally, even with a hint of laziness.

Li Ye lowered his gaze to watch the youth. He looked into those beautiful blue eyes and saw much tension in them.

Moments later, the right foot was stepped on too. Li Ye’s right hand on the youth’s waist patted lightly. “Relax. It’s just a step-on; I don’t bite.”

“You…” Li You looked down at his feet and muttered softly, “You don’t bite people, but you’re pretty scary.”

Li Ye narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“No reason.” Li You shut his mouth.

The silence lasted a while. Li Ye led the youth in his arms to the center of the dance floor and reminded him, “Head up. Don’t stare at your feet.”

“If I don’t watch my feet, I’ll step on you again.” Though he said that, Li You obediently raised his head. But as soon as he met Li Ye’s eyes, his lashes fluttered rapidly, and he wanted to look down again.

“You can’t dance?” Li Ye asked. “Weren’t you pretty bold just now?”

“I can. I’ve learned.” Li You stared into Li Ye’s eyes. “Besides, who says you have to be good to dance? You’re not that proficient either.”

“Hm, better than you.” Li Ye said.

“What’s there to be proud of? There are plenty of things I’m better at than you!”

“Like what?”

“Like—” Li You stopped short at the words on his tongue. He thought hard, frowning. “Like…”

The person in front of him suddenly let out a soft chuckle—very faint, gone in an instant.

“What are you laughing at?!” Li You instantly bristled like a hedgehog with exploded quills, furious with embarrassment. “I’m not as good as you! You’re better at studies, combat, dancing! But so what? You said yourself I don’t need to try hard; I can just rely on you!”

Li You unleashed it all in one breath, and his pent-up frustration eased instantly. But when he saw Li Ye’s eyes gradually darkening, he suddenly realized he had let the secret slip.

“Yes, I did say that.” Li Ye’s hand on Li You’s waist applied a bit of force, pulling the youth who tried to escape closer. He lowered his eyes to gaze at the stunned blue eyes under the mask and reminded slowly, “Focus. See, from then until now, you haven’t missed a beat.”

“Li You, you’re very good.”

They exchanged no more words. Li You pursed his lips. He and Li Ye stayed close, completing every step and beat smoothly.

The music ended, and the hall fell silent. They stood at the center of the palace.

Li You released his hand and stepped back, turning his head to bite his lower lip in silence.

After a long silence, Li Ye spoke first.

“This is an Illusion Realm. I shouldn’t believe it.” Li Ye looked at him. “But you said I could believe it a little.”

“You’re still alive, right?” Li Ye asked him. “Li You, where are you?”