The next morning, when Lu Wuming opened his eyes, there was no one beside him.
It used to be like this, and he used to be most afraid of waking up to find someone beside him.
Because that meant he would have to endure another round of abuse, another wave of pain. He feared and loathed the presence of others the most, but this time, as Lu Wuming looked at the empty space on the bed, he felt a pang of panic.
His sun was gone.
Where had he gone?
Had he abandoned him?
Hadn't they promised to always be together?
He…
An endless fear and despair engulfed him once more, like the darkness that had just been torn open, rapidly sealing itself shut in that instant.
The light in his eyes vanished, and his fingers by his side slowly transformed into claws. Only one voice echoed in his mind—
If light does not exist, then nothing else needs to.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Wuming raised his hand.
Just then, with a soft creak, the wooden door of the guest room was pushed open from the outside. Liu Buli entered with a basin of water. Seeing Lu Wuming sitting there, he immediately displayed his usual smile and said, "Wuming, you're awake? I was thinking of sneaking out quietly without waking you. I didn't expect to be so careless and disturb you. I'm truly sorry."
He spoke smoothly, his expression natural, with no hint of a lie.
The moment Lu Wuming saw him, he immediately hid his hand.
His claws reverted to human fingers. He lowered his head and, mimicking Liu Buli, offered a faint smile.
Sunlight pierced the darkness, and his world brightened once more.
It turned out that what he had longed for for so long was such a simple thing.
As long as his master was by his side, even the night was filled with light.
If his master were not there.
The sunlight he had once eagerly anticipated would also become meaningless.
So they had to be together, always.
Never to be separated.
Lu Wuming thought silently, while Liu Buli had already brought the basin of water before him.
He found a stool, placed the basin down, wet a towel, and then used it to wipe Lu Wuming's face. Following his own habit of washing his face, he cleaned the young man thoroughly. He then examined him from head to toe before nodding with satisfaction and saying, "Although you didn't bathe yesterday, washing your face is still very important. After you brush your teeth, I'll comb your hair for you."
Lu Wuming smiled and nodded.
Whatever his master arranged was fine.
As Liu Buli instructed, he brushed his teeth like him and obediently sat in front of the bronze mirror.
While styling Lu Wuming's long hair, Liu Buli reached out and pinched his cheek. Shaking his head, he sighed, "Wuming, you must eat well and grow up well. You have a good foundation and good skin. When you're a bit more robust, you'll definitely be very handsome."
Lu Wuming looked into the mirror.
In the mirror, he appeared so thin that his skin seemed to cling to his bones like paper. He had seen skeletons, and he felt that he now resembled a skeleton with human skin.
Especially his eyes, which appeared overly prominent due to the hollowness of the rest of his face.
This was not handsome.
It could even be said to be very ugly.
Why could Liu Buli be so sure that he would become handsome in the future, looking like this?
Lu Wuming quietly clenched his fingers and hesitantly asked, "Master, do you like beautiful people?"
"Of course, I do," Liu Buli replied quickly. "Everyone appreciates beauty; it's a very normal thing. Don't you like beautiful people, Wuming?"
Lu Wuming blinked.
After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Yes."
But in this world, the only person he found beautiful was his master.
Whether it was his fair skin, his slender waist, or his long, dark, lustrous hair, it all captivated him.
Of course, the most important and most beautiful were his eyes and his smile.
No one could compare to him.
He was unique in this world.
But he himself was not beautiful. Compared to his master, he was so ugly that he shouldn't even be standing beside him.
So would his master, who liked beautiful things, truly like him?
His master said he would become beautiful, but what if he didn't?
Master…
Would he leave?
Lu Wuming felt as if two little figures were inside his heart, wielding stones and relentlessly carving and etching.
One was writing "Master," the other was writing "Like."
They wrote with great force.
Each stroke, tearing flesh and blood, constantly cutting, constantly carving.
As if they knew his wounds would heal, they struck harder with each blow. This made him constantly feel the throbbing in his heart, and it was the first time he realized that his heart could ache like this even when he wasn't injured.
He didn't know that the name of this pain was actually called low self-esteem.
Liu Buli was unaware of Lu Wuming's thoughts and simply styled his hair in a way he deemed pleasing.
Admiring his handiwork, he noticed the young man was still looking down, his eyes reflected in the bronze mirror filled with profound sadness.
This reaction startled Liu Buli. He quickly asked with concern, "Wuming, what's wrong? Why the expression? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Lu Wuming shook his head.
He didn't want to share his thoughts with Liu Buli, but the pain in his heart grew heavier.
After a long silence, he couldn't bear Liu Buli's concern any longer. His lips trembled, and Lu Wuming asked in a voice as small and faint as a mosquito's hum, "Master, if I don't become beautiful, will you still like me?"
As soon as the question left his lips, Lu Wuming's heart rate surged.
He had never been so afraid.
Not even when the former Liu Buli had filled him with despair and malice, had he felt such terror.
He was afraid Liu Buli would say "no."
Yet, he also hoped Liu Buli would say "no."
Because he was a monster meant to live in darkness, he shouldn't step into the sunlight. Especially now, he felt so ugly that he was defiling this sunlight, and he had never before wished to retreat into darkness so strongly.
But to his surprise, upon hearing his question, Liu Buli suddenly chuckled. As if he had heard a very funny joke, he laughed with his eyes crinkling, then, as usual, gently stroked Lu Wuming's head.
Liu Buli said, "Wuming, you seem to have misunderstood. Master does like beautiful people, but that's for others. If other people are beautiful, I'll look at them a bit more. If they're ugly, I'll just ignore them. But you are different. No matter what you look like, even if you don't become beautiful in the end, so what? Master likes you for who you are, and it has nothing to do with your appearance. Didn't you say you liked Master before, and it wasn't like this?"