Chapter 20 – Livy vs. Leslie

Translator: Lucia Rose

Livy only felt something tugging at him with an irresistible force and pulling him towards the light.

Then, his eyes were filled with a vast expanse of blue, as if he had reached that critical point between the sea and the sky.

“Ah—” There was something filling up his lung cavities, and Livy, who had been brought back from the dead, breathed in vigorously.

When his eyesight finally regained its focus, he realized that piece of blue……was Claude’s eyes.

Livy stared at him without blinking, even as an oxygen mask was laid over his mouth and nose.

He couldn’t speak, nor did he know what to say.

He watched as the creases in Claude’s eyebrows slowly smoothed out, like a gathering of clouds being blown apart by the winds.

The corners of Livy’s lips quirked up.

Slowly, he raised his left hand, miming a “yo”.

Shaking his head, Claude snorted.

Whether he was ridiculing himself or just exasperated with Livy, no one knew.

※※※

It wasn’t the first time Livy had been admitted to the ICU. 

However, for him, the acridity of the hospital disinfectant felt a thousand times fresher than the mustiness of the hot and stuffy sealed cabin interior.

After all, it was a smell that reminded him he was still alive.

During this period, Claude stood quietly in front of the control room’s massive monitor, looking over the mine which had been turned into a desert. It was unknown what he was thinking.

“You acted calmer than I’d imagined; I thought you’d go out in the Pure-Hued Lady to save Livy.” Maurice sat in the swivel chair behind him, spinning around in a circle.

Claude was silent.

“I’m curious; did you ever think that the water in Livy’s body would evaporate from the heat before we could get there? After all, none of us were 100% sure that the sealed pods would actually be able to withstand the force and temperature of the particle cannon.”

Claude was still looking out at the desert, and when he leisurely turned his head, Maurice suddenly felt a cold pressure.

“Lieutenant Colonel Maurice, if you have time to spare now, why don’t you go and debug the Pure-Hued Lady’s systems?” Claude’s hands were in his pockets; it was the exact same posture Livy typically liked to partake in, except when Livy did it, it looked lazy and casual, but when Claude did it, it was full of oppression.

“Ah……that…of course, Livy has come back alive and well……it’s obvious that you do not intend to change the pilot, either……” Maurice got up from his swivel chair; he knew if he didn’t go to work now, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep his head.

※※※

Lying on the hospital bed, Livy was unable to sleep. Once again, he was shrouded in darkness: it was the hospital’s rules. After 10PM, all of the wards’ unified lights went out.

In the past, Livy used to like the solitude that could be found in the darkness — that is, the feeling of being at ease and not having anything to hide, but, after experiencing the darkness that was in the sealed cabin, Livy only felt that the current darkness now held a fearful color.

He couldn’t see the future nor could he find a way out.

The door of the ward slowly slid open, and someone stepped inside.

The lights in the corridors wavered.

Livy turned his face but only caught a glimpse of his visitor when the ward door closed again, and his surroundings were once again enshrouded in darkness.

“Hey, I didn’t think anyone would come in to see me this late.” Livy’s voice was a little hoarse.

“Why.” A cold voice pierced the air, and the whole night turned refreshingly cool.

Such a voice, it could only belong to Leslie.

“What do you mean by ‘why’?” Livy smiled and propped himself up. He leaned against the head of his bed.

At times like these, he would have liked to see the other party’s expression, but he knew that to see any expression similar to “gratefulness” on Leslie’s face was no better than pure fantasy.

“There’s no point in you protecting me like this; I’m not going to like you anyway.”

Hearing this declaration, Livy suddenly understood why Leslie had come to visit him at such a time; it was because he required the cover of darkness more than himself. Such cringeworthy words could only be said under the cover of darkness.

“From the time I knew you were a man, I didn’t think about liking you for a second. Incidentally, the reason why I saved you wasn’t because we were comrades-in-arms; I’m not that noble.”

“Then, why?”

Livy, whose eyes had finally adjusted somewhat to the darkness, was now able to see Leslie who was leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

Livy couldn’t remember when — or which lady, for that manner — but a woman who he had dated in the past told him that this posture usually meant resistance to accepting others’ views and/or excessive self-protection. For Leslie, it should be both.

“Because……I’m bewitched by your beautiful face.” Livy deliberately replied in a coquettish voice, as the direction of their conversation was making him feel extremely uncomfortable. He would’ve rather had Leslie throw a few cold and sarcastic jabs at him and then leave.

“Don’t try to anger me.” Leslie prowled over with deliberate and measured steps, and the air slowed like raw silk unraveling from a cocoon. Reaching Livy’s bedside, Leslie sat down beside him and leaned over.

Other than vision, Livy’s other senses had become uncannily sharp; he seemed to hear Leslie’s faint breathing, the sound of his hair sliding through the air… and when he felt Leslie’s palm hovering over his ear, Livy suddenly felt inexplicably oppressed.

“What are you doing so close to me all of a sudden?” Livy was about to push him away when the other party snatched his wrist and pressed him onto the bed.

“Do you think you’re a hero? It’s not the same as when we were kids anymore.”

Leslie was nearly face to face with Livy; his breath ghosted over Livy’s half-parted lips, which made Livy not know how to speak anymore.

“Your enemy is no longer the seniors who bullied me or those weird uncles. Even if you want to protect me, please consider whether or not you are qualified to do so first.”

Livy’s wrist hurt, and although he had long known Leslie’s strength didn’t match his looks, this feeling of being at a disadvantage in front of another man made him feel exceedingly uncomfortable.

“I advise you to let go.” Livy coldly lowered his voice; even if Leslie was his first love, it was a first love that had already been broken.

“Why? Aren’t you supposed to be happy that now I’m finally willing to hold you?”

Leslie’s sarcastic voice still carried that mocking air which matched his tone……and evoked deep disappointment in Livy’s heart.

Suddenly, heaven and earth were flipped upside down; Livy twisted Leslie’s wrist, swiftly rolled over, and fiercely pinned Leslie beneath him.

“I used to like you; so what?” Livy sat on top of Leslie’s waist. His hands held the other party’s wrists to the bed.

“I protected you from those seniors and weird uncles because I wanted to. Not because I wanted to become a laughingstock in your eyes. And the fact that I liked you shouldn’t have become your reason to deceive me.”

“When have I ever deceived you?” Leslie, after all, was still a guy; with a shake of his wrists, he easily broke away from Livy’s control and sat up. There was a strange intensity in his questioning gaze.

Because of the force of his movements, Livy had to sit up as well. The two were locked in a strange position, with Leslie sitting on the bed and Livy straddling Leslie’s waist.

“What, you don’t remember?” Speaking about that incident, Livy’s hair was about to explode in frustration, “That time, you asked me to meet you at the entrance of Luna Park, saying you had something important to tell me, and then I ended up waiting from eight in the morning until my mom pulled me home at night; where were you?!”

“How dare you mention that to me! Who the h*ll was stuck to me like a slug, huh? And on the day I asked to meet you, you were nowhere to be found! How dare you say you were waiting for me in front of the park! I waited from morning until…… for a long time, and I didn’t even see you!” Leslie’s slightly cold eyes suddenly looked like a volcano about to erupt.

“You? Wait for me? Someone with princess disease like you would wait for me? Just look at the day I asked you to swim together; I also waited for you from morning until noon!” Livy grabbed Leslie’s collar; he almost couldn’t suppress the desire to beat him up.

Suddenly, the whole room descended into silence once again.

Two people stared at each other, as if trying to glean the truth from each other’s eyes.

After a long time, Livy cracked first, holding his stomach and laughing, “I……I suddenly remembered something……Luna Park has two doors……which door were you at?”

Leslie looked at the laughing Livy and frowned, “The door with the castle.”

“I was at……the door with a lot of cotton candy stalls.” Livy finally stopped laughing and said with a straight face, “Then, you just said you were waiting for me, so how long did you wait?”

“Not long.”²[Lucia]: This wasn’t what you said before, my friend.

Leslie turned his head and was about to get up when he finally reacted to the fact that Livy was currently sitting on top of him, “Beat it right now.”

“Gee, don’t be in such a hurry; where will I get another opportunity to see my beloved little princess up close like this?” 

Livy once again put on a frivolous and somewhat smug smile, like a cat who got the cream, “Then, was the reason you asked me out to the park to confess your love for me?”

Pulling out a cold smile, Leslie instantly pressed Livy down onto the bed. The collision of Livy’s head against the mattress made him feel a little dizzy, and when he finally came back to his senses, Leslie’s face was already very close to his.

Even in the dark, Livy had to envy Leslie, whose genes came from Vivian Lucrécy, the dream girl of men all over the world. His features were delicate but not effeminate, glowing with a cold and sharp beauty.

“I was trying to tell you that I was really a guy and ask you to stop pestering me, slug.” Leslie gritted this out word by word through clenched teeth.

“Hey, how long did you really wait for me anyway?” Livy was still smiling. Leslie’s indifference and anger rolled off him like water off a duck’s back.

“I was waiting for you to die.” Leslie let go of Livy and stepped away from the hospital bed. He had his back to Livy, seemingly about to leave but stopped, “You still haven’t told me why you blocked that missile for me.”

Livy sighed, “Alright, come over here and I’ll tell you.”

Just as Leslie was about to turn around, Livy unexpectedly appeared behind him like a ghost and energetically kissed him on the cheek.

“Of course it’s not because I have a crush on you — you’re so obsessed with this issue. It couldn’t be because you have a crush on me, right? Well, don’t worry, I’ll treat you well!” Livy wore an exuberant expression, while Leslie froze in place.

Two seconds later, Leslie grabbed Livy by the neck, “I’ll kill you—”

Livy was strangled until his eyes rolled to the back of his head; until the nurse on duty found them and pulled the two enemies apart in horror. Had she not done so, instead of being killed in action by the particle cannon, Livy would have died under Leslie’s fury.

※※※

The next day when he woke up, in addition to the doctors and nurses who were on duty, within Livy’s room also stood Miller. Underneath the sterile lights, the other party’s glasses glinted with a slight chill.

No doubt, Livy driving the Blue Crisis out into battle must have made this neurotic mathematician angry enough to burst!

T/N: Uh oh, I think Livy will be getting an earful from Miller in the next chapter, hehe. (*>艸<)

Important Announcement

Everyone, I hope you’ve been well! Previously, I mentioned that an urgent matter came up two weeks ago, and I also wanted to thank Cherry and theeggmonger for their sweet comments. Unfortunately, it looks like this chapter (Chapter 20) will be the last chapter that I will be posting for the time being. I’m so sorry! It’s related to that important matter, and I’m so sorry to disappoint everyone again. I’m so sorry to leave things unfinished, and I’m so sorry for going on hiatus so soon after deciding to pick up this story once again! ┗( T﹏T )┛Making this decision was so difficult and painful for me, but I don’t know if I will have the time and energy to make regular updates with all of the things going on in my life right now. (๑•́₋•̩̥̀๑) I’m not sure when I can return, but I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of the readers of this story. Thank you so much for reading this story, and I’m so sorry. Please take care and stay healthy and well, and please feel free to reach out to me on Discord if you ever want to be friends! ❤

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  Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
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  [Lucia]: This wasn’t what you said before, my friend.