Upon waking up, Shen Zhiwei hadn’t even given himself time to adjust to this world. He had been working tirelessly to save Yun Ruifeng. Now Yun Ruifeng was awake and seemed to have suffered no psychic damage. The physical and psychological evaluations that followed would be undertaken by specialists; there was no need to trouble Dr. Shen for every particular. Dr. Shen, exhausted to the point of collapse, practically floated back to his room, toppled into bed, and fell asleep at once without even getting undressed.

Strange to say, though he had been working hard the last few days, he hadn’t felt the least bit tired. But the moment Yun Ruifeng opened his eyes and sat up, wearines overcame him. The taut thread in his mind snapped, and all his exhaustion surged up. His brain could no longer force his body to work. Making it to his room was the utmost limit of his capabilities; Dr. Shen certainly couldn’t permit himself to keel over and go to sleep on the floor of the server room. He insisted on holding himself to this standard.

The exhaustion Shen Zhiwei was experiencing now came not only from two days and nights of work, but also from his decade and more in the game world. There was too much information; the mental load was immense. This exhaustion caused Shen Zhiwei to sleep for a full seventy-two hours. During that time, he got up occasionally to use the toilet, but he was so sleepy he didn’t even remember it.

As for the fact that each time he got up, there was someone sitting at his bedside, like a scene from a horror story, since both the face and the circumstances were so familiar, Shen Zhiwei didn’t even notice! Not only did he not notice, when he was asleep, he unconsciously shifted closer to this person. Surrounded by this person’s smell, with his arms on that person’s firm thighs, he slept more soundly than before.

Yun Ruifeng kept still.

All right, this meant that young Dr. Shen trusted him implicitly, and that he still had the young emperor’s memories from before.

When he realized this, strong man that he was, Yun Ruifeng nearly burst into tears.

He had already given up. He had thought that his illusory romance had ended. He had thought that he would be alone forever, spend the rest of his life longing for the young emperor.

But heaven had given him the greatest possible gift. The young emperor had woken up before him, and had even rescued him.

The instant he learned the truth from Marshal Shen and his own subordinates, Yun Ruifeng, who had never believed in any gods, was almost ready to go burn incense in every temple in the galaxy. How good must he have been in his past life to possess such happiness in this one?

He forced himself to be patient and complete the evaluations. When the experts gave the verdict that everything was normal, that he had recovered better than all the other beta players, Yun Ruifeng went in wild pursuit of Shen Zhiwei and at last learned from Marshal Shen that Shen Zhiwei was resting.

He couldn’t contain himself any longer, so he abused his authority and, in the name of safety, obtained the passcode to the doctor’s room and snuck in, even if just to see his sleeping face.

Even though the face was completely different.

This face was very unfamiliar and very youthful. The average human lifespan was a hundred fifty years, and at thirty many people were still attending university. The young doctor was already the nation’s greatest genius, and he was several years younger than Yun Ruifeng, who was thirty-eight.

The unfamiliar countenance gave Yun Ruifeng pause, but when he saw the young doctor frowning uneasily in his sleep, just like the young emperor, he couldn’t resist smoothing Shen Zhiwei’s brow. This gesture not only failed to wake Shen Zhiwei, it sent him into a sounder sleep. With his brow smoothed, the young doctor seemed more comfortable. He rubbed his cheek against Yun Ruifeng’s hand very sweetly.

Yun Ruifeng froze. A long while later, he quietly said, “I’m sorry…”

His young emperor had never slept badly. Shen Junrui had nothing on his conscience. He trusted the people he worked with and didn’t work with people he didn’t trust. He had always been open and forthright. In dealing with fractious ministers at court, he had always used overt plots that were impossible to oppose. His actions were open and aboveboard, never anything he needed to feel guilty over. At night he slept soundly till daybreak, rarely becoming restless.

Yun Ruifeng himself, however, before they had started having intimate relations, had been in turmoil every time he shared a bed with the younger emperor; he had never slept well, tossing and turning, wanting to touch the young emperor.

Why would Shen Zhiwei be sleeping poorly now, when he was utterly exhausted?

Unless he hadn’t been sleeping well all these years.

Because that reassuring person was gone from his bed, and he was tormented with longing, his brow knit all through the night. Emperor Jingren had known he had to sleep; without a healthy body, he couldn’t handle the complex affairs of state that he faced every day. So even if he slept poorly, he still forced himself to sleep.

This was a man with harsh expectations of himself. He never revealed his weaknesses before others, never allowed his emotions to get in the way of his work.

Emperor Jingren had been like this, and Dr. Shen was like that now.

What a psyche, what a will it must take to wake up after a seventeen-year career as emperor and immediately become Dr. Shen, lead the development of a program, rescue a person. Remembering how he had heard him say “Imperial Father” and “General Xiao” earlier…the young doctor must be having a hard time adjusting.

As he watched Shen Zhiwei’s sleeping face, he thought of the past and the future. Gradually, the countenance in his memory merged with Shen Zhiwei’s. They were the same person, with the same unchanging personality—the same young doctor, resolute, brave, and responsible, able to suppress his emotions and keep himself from acting on them without consideration, unbearably well-behaved.

Though the face had changed, the soul was the same. Whether it was the young emperor or the young doctor, this was the only lover he would have in his life.

The more he looked at Shen Zhiwei’s face, the more he liked it. Yun Ruifeng couldn’t resist bending his head to peck his lips. Just as in his memories, when Shen Zhiwei was kissed, he smacked his lips, rolled over, and went on sleeping.

When the empress had first fallen in love with Emperor Jingren, he had often snuck kisses like this while he was sleeping. The young emperor had done just the same then, smacked his lips and rolled over to keep sleeping.

This showed profound trust and love for him.

Dr. Shen’s bed was very large, with plenty of space for two people to sleep. Yun Ruifeng had also only just woken up after mentally spending many years in the game. He was also exhausted. Now the young doctor was next to him; they would sleep together in the modern world too.

He reached out and pulled Shen Zhiwei into his arms. Sure enough, the young doctor obligingly leaned his head against Yun Ruifeng’s chest, just like before.

How wonderful to have him in his arms. How wonderful that he didn’t need to worry about whether they would have a future. How wonderful that they would always have the present.

How wonderful to exist under the same sky as you.

Holding Shen Zhiwei, Yun Ruifeng drifted off into sweet slumber.

—

Shen Zhiwei had slept for so long that his blood sugar was a little low when he woke. He saw nothing but darkness when he opened his eyes. He lay still for a while and finally came to himself.

He needed to eat something.

But as soon as he thought of the imperial kitchens’…the cafeteria’s nutritional paste, he felt a headache coming on. Dr. Shen’s memories told him that was what this world was like: for the sake of speed and convenience, the task of cooking had been relegated to machines. Human resources were more often used for the inventiveness of their brains rather than pure physical effort. Of course, high-class restaurants still served handmade food, but in the cafeteria of a big company like theirs, that caliber of food was unavailable.

Of course, Shen Zhiwei had money. Any one of his patents was enough to keep him supplied with ingredients for life. But in a fast food world where everyone was busy with work, where would he find the time to cook? It was a waste of both time and resources.

Was he supposed to eat paste for the rest of his life? Shen Zhiwei sighed lengthily. He reached for his communicator, ready to yield and ask the cafeteria for another tube of paste.

But when he extended his hand, it came in contact with a living, firm body lying beside him.

Another person in his place would have jumped out of his skin. But Dr. Shen remembered this. In his memories, during his romance with the empress, even on the nights he was so worn out from the empress’s antics that he didn’t want to go to Qifeng Hall and slept alone in Zichen Hall, the empress would still find his way in to lie down next to him. Shen Zhiwei was used to having this person lying beside him every morning when he got up.

In the real world and in the game, Yun Ruifeng had always used his own face and body. There was no feeling of wrongness in any setting. Shen Zhiwei gave him a very casual shove. Seeing him blearily open his eyes, he frowned and said, “Who allowed you to sleep in our bed?”

Yun Ruifeng had still been half dreaming. Hearing this, he let out a laugh. “Heh! Your Majesty, your subject wife is your empress. Naturally I ought to serve you in bed.”

Without the laugh, this answer would have been identical to his manner in the game. But the addition of the laugh made Shen Zhiwei embarrassed and angry.

Unlike other people’s anger, Shen Zhiwei’s anger had always been cold. He only got out of bed, looked down at Yun Ruifeng for a while, then pressed the communicator beside the bed.

“Hello, Dr. Shen, this is Xiao-Li from reception. How can I help you?”

“First, deliver a meal with absolutely no added flavoring. Second, an assassin has entered our sleeping quarters. Dispatch the palace guards!”

After a pause, Xiao-Li said, “Excuse me, Doctor, could you repeat your second request?”

Shen Zhiwei flushed slightly. He was about to repeat himself in modern language when Yun Ruifeng quickly interjected, “Second, this is Major General Yun Ruifeng. I have come to the doctor’s room for a discussion. Please send me an unflavored meal as well.”

“All right, Major General Yun,” said Xiao-Li. “Two meals, coming right up.”

Yun Ruifeng turned off the communicator, took Shen Zhiwei’s hand, and softly said, “That was wrong of me. You absorbed the game’s data entirely, and it’s very hard for you now to get used to having two sets of memories. I know you aren’t having an easy time. I shouldn’t have laughed at you.”

Shen Zhiwei wasn’t in the habit of making trouble out of nothing. Hearing Yun Ruifeng say this, the flush in his cheeks faded, and so did his anger, but he remained chilly as he said, “Who permitted you to enter our…my room? When did you come?”

“I came when I was done with my evaluations. As for who permitted it… Didn’t Your Majesty do that?” Yun Ruifeng pressed his forehead against Shen Zhiwei’s. Pressing extremely close, he said, “Your Majesty and I are husband and wife. Your Majesty said before that your subject wife shouldn’t feel restricted.”

After a pause, Shen Zhiwei said, “The food is here. Go get it.”

He’d known the young emperor wouldn’t accept his advances in such a hurry. Yun Ruifeng was a little disappointed, but he was still glad. He went to the door to get the meals. They were delivered by Dr. Shen’s personal assistant. The assistant saw that the person who came to the door was a rumpled Major General Yun, and moreover, the room was in night mode, with a single dim lamp burning while Dr. Shen sat indolently on the bed, his clothing also in disarray.

The personal assistant, realizing that he seemed to have happened upon a secret, didn’t say a word. He handed the meals to Major General Yun and tactfully left.

Yun Ruifeng was very pleased with this attitude. He went to the bed and gave one of the nutritional tubes to Shen Zhiwei.

Shen Zhiwei frowned slightly as he accepted it. The gesture was minute and had gone unnoticed by his colleagues in recent days, but Yun Ruifeng, who was used to being constantly attentive to Shen Zhiwei’s expression, noticed at once that he didn’t like this thing.

“Tastes awful.” Yun Ruifeng swallowed a mouthful of nutritional paste and found that he also found the flavor a little off-putting.

Shen Zhiwei said nothing. He ate in silence, endured in silence.

Yun Ruifeng felt rather bad watching him. This was the sort of person the young emperor was. In Mobei, he had lived alongside the soldiers and the people. He was a pampered young emperor, yet he joined Mobei’s army in eating hard bread and washing it down with cold water, leaving the finer grains and meats for the sick and the elderly, and the women and children.

He could have had the best of everything in the world, yet he was never picky.

“We can’t put up with this taste for a single day,” said Yun Ruifeng. “I’ll learn to cook and make food for you every day.”

Shen Zhiwei had finished his tube of paste. Hearing Yun Ruifeng, his hand paused momentarily. Then he said calmly, “Major General Yun is this nation’s youngest general. Surely you belong on the front lines.”

“I submitted a request before I came to your room,” Yun Ruifeng said earnestly. “Dr. Shen has the greatest brain in the nation and merits military protection. I requested to be made captain of your bodyguard squad and constantly protect you.”

Regarding Yun Ruifeng tranquilly, Dr. Shen said, “Only on the front lines can a soldier defend the nation and win promotion. Becoming a guard is cutting off your hopes of advancement.”

“This is a peaceful era. There aren’t so many wars to be fought. Even if I step back from active duty, there will be no impact on military affairs. Looking at the bigger picture, if there is a war one day, I’ll still fight in it when the time comes. But now there’s no need.” Smiling, Yun Ruifeng said, “As for promotion, that isn’t important to me. I have a new mission and a new faith now.”

Yun Ruifeng looked earnestly at Shen Zhiwei and said, “You are my faith, and spending my life with you will be my greatest happiness.”