They walked until the stairwell opened into the quiet of the third–floor corridor. Students passed them in pairs, laughter echoing against the walls, the ordinariness of it slicing through Ren's daze.
Li Wei let go of his hand at last. "Go," he said softly. "Live your morning. I'll stay close."
Ren nodded, though the word close still echoed like a chain. He sat through two classes, his notebook empty, the mark on his shoulder thrumming every time he tried to forget. The teacher's voice blurred into the background hum of a world that was already slipping away from him.
By lunch, he couldn't bear it. The air in the hallway felt too thin, his chest too tight. He grabbed his bag and slipped out through the side door, running until he reached the edge of the sports field where the wind smelled of rain and cut grass.
"Running again?"
Li Wei's voice came from behind him—calm, inevitable. Ren turned, breathless. "I just needed to think."
"You think," Li Wei said, stepping closer, "but the bond feels. That's why you can't escape it."
Ren backed against the fence, fingers curling into the metal links. "I don't want to lose myself," he whispered.
Li Wei stopped a pace away. "You won't. You'll only find what you've always been."
The words trembled in the air between them. For a moment neither moved. Then Li Wei reached out, brushing his thumb over Ren's pulse—a touch that burned and soothed all at once. Ren's knees nearly gave way under the rush of heat and confusion.
"Stop doing that," Ren breathed.
"Tell me you don't feel it, and I will."
Ren couldn't answer. The silence was an admission; Li Wei's hand fell away, but the warmth stayed.
The sky had turned the color of ash, the promise of another storm gathering. Li Wei's voice softened. "I would destroy this world before I let it take you again. But the choice is still yours, Ren."
Ren looked up at him, heart pounding, caught between the pull of fear and the ache of desire. The wind rose, whipping their hair into chaos, as if the heavens themselves were waiting for his reply.