The Parting Fire
The kitchen bar was silent, broken only by the ticking of the wall clock and the sound of the night wind penetrating the large window glass.
Li Yuan Bo lifted his glass again, sipping slowly. His gaze was steady, his face calm, yet there was a heaviness behind his eyes.
"Yu Chen, three years is not a short time. We have lasted this far… but I cannot keep postponing this."
Yu Chen twirled the ring on his finger, a thin smile gracing his face. A smile that looked more like a shield than happiness.
"You speak like this as if I don't know what kind of world we are dealing with."
Li Yuan Bo leaned forward slightly.
"You know more than anyone. You live with the camera spotlight every day. Do you think a relationship like this can be hidden forever?"
Yu Chen lit a new cigarette, inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly into the air. His gaze remained cold, full of authority.
"I have never cared about the world. They can guess, write, judge. But I remain Yu Chen."
"Yes." Yuan Bo smiled faintly, there was admiration in his voice.
"That is what kept me by your side. Your arrogance… your coldness… everything is real. But the world does not belong only to you. There is my family. There is the future they demand of me."
Yu Chen turned, looking straight into Yuan Bo's eyes. His eyes flashed sharply, but his lips remained silent. He would not lower himself by pleading. He was the alpha; he knew the pain, but he chose to contain it.
Li Yuan Bo lowered his voice, softer.
"I don't want to end this with regret. I want you to know… that being with you for these three years is the most honest thing I have ever experienced."
Cigarette smoke drifted, Yu Chen only offered a thin smile.
"You speak as if this is a farewell."
"Isn't it?" Yuan Bo countered, his tone calm, but his eyes wavered.
Yu Chen placed the cigarette in the ashtray, then sipped his wine once more. A cynical smile was etched on his face, though his gaze was full of bitterness.
"If you want to leave, then go. But don't think I will say goodbye."
A long silence enveloped them. Two adult men, two equally solid egos, sitting side-by-side yet knowing a chasm was widening before them.
The wine glasses were refilled, then emptied again. Cigarette smoke filled the air, faintly obscuring both their faces. Both were drunk not just from alcohol, but also from the feelings pressing on their chests.
Li Yuan Bo slammed his glass hard onto the marble table. The sound of the crystal clinking broke the silence. His gaze changed, no longer just calm, but inflamed.
In one swift motion, he pulled Yu Chen close, his lips pressing savagely without leaving any space. The kiss was wild, full of anger yet longing.
Yuan Bo's hand pressed Yu Chen's nape, as if rejecting the possibility of loss.
Yu Chen was briefly surprised, but immediately retaliated with equal savagery. The alpha fire inside him exploded, demanding dominance. Their bodies pushed against each other, pressing onto the bar table, glasses almost tipping over, wine spilling onto the marble surface.
Their breaths grew ragged, the kiss shifting from lips to neck, from jaw to chest. Every touch felt like the final fire trying to burn down the night.
They didn't care about the world, didn't care about rumors, didn't care about Canada or the cameras. All that existed were two adult men who both knew this might be the last time they let desire take over everything.
The usually cold luxury bar turned into a witness of forbidden love's heat, where ego, passion, and the fear of loss mixed into one unforgettable nightly explosion.
Their bodies burned against each other on the bar table. Li Yuan Bo, with a gaze full of embers, pressed Yu Chen's body into the cold marble. His hands held tightly, his kiss ravenous, as if wanting to devour every inch of the arrogance of the man before him.
"Don't think you can always control me…"
Yuan Bo whispered hoarsely, before kissing him wildly again.
Yu Chen allowed himself to be dominated for a moment, his eyes half-closed, his breath ragged. But in that cold gaze, something was clearly visible: an alpha never willingly loses.
With a single forceful movement, Yu Chen reversed the situation. Now it was Yuan Bo's body that was pressed, his back hitting the bar shelves. Haughtily, Yu Chen looked down at him, his lips curved into a thin smile cold, deadly, yet seductive.
"Never forget," his voice was low, heavy, almost a growl, "I am always on top."
The next kiss was an explosion. Hotter, wilder, more full of ego.
Their bodies fought in a rhythm of passion, dominating each other, demanding each other, until the boundary between love and battle was almost invisible.
That night belonged to them a final night filled with fire, where sigma and alpha tested each other, controlled each other, and surrendered to each other in a turmoil that would never be repeated.
It was 4:30 a.m.
Li Yuan Bo woke up in a silence that was almost piercing. The bed was still warm, his body naked, entangled in the arms of Wei Yu Chen, who was sound asleep with regular breathing. For a moment, Yuan Bo just remained still, listening to the heartbeat amidst the early morning stillness.
Slowly, he detached himself. Every movement was careful, as if afraid of waking the man still sleeping soundly beside him. His hand reached for the trousers lying on the floor, then the white shirt that had been hastily discarded last night.
One by one he put them on, covering the traces of intimacy they had just shared.
Before leaving, his gaze fell upon Yu Chen's face. His eyes were deep, lingering, as if wanting to etch every detail into his memory—the sharp jawline, the firm eyebrows, and the tranquility that only appeared when the man was asleep.
Yuan Bo's lips moved slowly, almost silently. "Why is it that every time I want to leave, I end up wanting to stay? You are not just an addiction, Yu Chen… you are a shackle I can't break."
With firm, though heavy, steps, he left the room. The door closed softly behind him, leaving Yu Chen still asleep in a world unaware that someone had just left with a heart full of doubt.
Li Yuan Bo opened the door of his black car, getting in with a swift yet burdened motion. The aroma of the leather interior mixed with the cigarette smoke still clinging to his fingers.
He sat down, closed the door, then took a deep breath as if needing space to breathe.
His hand reached for the dashboard drawer. Click. The box opened, revealing a passport and a plane ticket to Canada a sign of a long-held intention he always postponed. The intention to leave, to disappear, to cut off everything
But his eyes froze when he found something that should not have been there.
A couple's bracelet, simple silver with a small engraving that only two people possessed. One was on Wei Yu Chen's hand… and the other was now in his grasp.
His fingers trembled slightly. He stared at the object for a long time, so long that his chest felt tight.
"Damn it…"
The word escaped his lips, hoarse and full of bitterness. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, then slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
"Why are you always everywhere, Wei Yu Chen? Even when I want to leave, you still hold me back."
And for the first time, Li Yuan Bo, the sigma who never allowed himself to be bound, felt unable to determine where he should go.
The silence inside the car intensified. The ticket in his hand felt like an exit, but the couple's bracelet seemed to pull him back. Two worlds battled within him the freedom he adored, and the attachment he hated yet could not let go of.
Finally, with a long sigh, Li Yuan Bo grabbed his ticket and passport. He tossed the couple's bracelet back into the drawer, but its silver gleam still stabbed his eyes, as if mocking his own resolve.
"Enough. I have to go…" he murmured softly, his voice cold but trembling slightly.
He started the car engine; the sound of the engine roar broke the morning silence. The tires turned, leaving the apartment, leaving all the warmth he had just felt hours ago.
The city was still asleep, only the streetlights bearing witness to his steps away.
Arriving at the airport, his steps were firm, full of resolve. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, as if wanting to hide the turmoil still raging inside.
Every step was an assertion to himself: a sigma must not be tied down, a sigma must not be defeated by feelings.
But behind the hard chest, a small whisper continued to echo
"Wei Yu Chen… will you forget me in the end?"
As the plane to Canada took off, Yuan Bo closed his eyes. From the window, the light of dawn began to illuminate the sky. But for his heart, that dawn felt instead like dusk—a sign of a separation he might never be able to take back...