In Shen Xihan's life that was constantly stagnant like water, a huge boulder named Shen Liangxi created a ripple which became more of a tide that swept his calmness away.

[32 missed calls. 19 messages. 11:45 am]

He was about to put down his phone when it rang again. This was the 33rd time ... the 33rd freaking time today! and it has been for days!

Should I just block him? (￣-￣╬)

He played smart and didn't hang up, waiting for the call to die by itself. If he ended it too quick, Shen Liangxi on the other side would know that he was deliberately ignoring him and was sure to call him back to get his attention.

His phone finally went quiet so he sighed in relief. Because of his little brother, it took him twice the amount of effort to concentrate and focus on work. 

Why was it so hard ... ah, Shen Liangxi that annoying fool. He did this to him. Not only because he never dropped the subject but also because his request was hard to ignore.

"- and Ge, I would want you to participate in this. E-Even just once!"

There wasn't a good enough reason for him to go through hell again trying to fix what couldn't be fixed, this fact did not change.

But walking ... even for just a short while ...he can't deny that from time to time, especially since he came back home and realize how tall his family looked from his wheelchair. Their silhouettes could easily cover him with their shadows when the light hits them from above, making him look so small. This feeling didn't exist till now ... before he reunited with them.

In the inside, the young Shen Xihan was still there.

The trauma still existed. There was no way around this problem and now another opportunity that was made possible by his little brother was sent directly in his hands yet still, he hesitated, afraid of the disappointment that was sure to come afterwards.

If he could really walk in that makeshift world ... would he even want to wake up? This question made him wonder.

Why was he even struggling about this? It was just walking, walking was nothing special and even most who could do not appreciate this ability. What would change if he did walk? height? he could live like a short person. A person can continue to live without walking. Sure, his future changed, destroyed his dreams, twisted the entire plot of his perfect life into one that was constantly being looked down on-

"Don't think ..." Shen Xihan was drowning into his thoughts again so he grumbled, blaming all of what was inside his head onto Shen Liangxi.

That stupid little brother, fool, troublemaker. (￣-￣╬)

If he was the river, he imagined his little brother as a child on top of a cliff who would jump down while hugging his knees to do a cannonball all over again. His little brother was this disruptive. 

"Ge! Ge!" 

Ah ... was he hallucinating now too? to suddenly hear his little brother's voice in empty air? 

This is bad, he really needs to see the psychiatrist ASAP.

"Ge! Why didn't you open the door?!" The door that he slammed opened creaked from the force. Shen Xihan's secretary was surprised at the second young master's enthusiasm and politely closed the door for him, leaving the siblings inside.

"Leave." (ᄑ_ᄑ) Damn it, it wasn't an illusion. 

"I bought lunch~ Mom's cooking~" (￣▽￣)

"Leave it here and go." (ᄑ_ᄑ)⊃

"Let's eat together!"(〜￣▽￣)〜

"..."(ᄑ_ᄑ)

"I'm hungry." Shen Liangxi impolitely dragged a chair and made a place for himself on Shen Xihan's work desk. He closed all the files he saw and put them aside, replacing the open space with containers filled with appetizing food. He felt the atmosphere around him turn dark as he recklessly handled the important contract papers without care but brave as he was, Shen Liangxi even used a file as  a place-mat.

For f*cks sake Shen Liangxi ... for f*cks sake ...

"Ge, so about the project, when are you coming over?" Shen Liangxi unpacked the utensils and gave it to his older brother ignoring the deep frown on his brother's face.

"Forget it." Shen Xihan himself was hungry and accepted it. He was too exhausted to lose his temper at the moment.

"Why are you being so stubborn about this? Couldn't you just do it for me?" He picked up some meat and put it into his brother's food.

Shen Xihan stopped his chopsticks from moving. Silence suddenly filled the room as his little brother stopped talking. It was only after a while when he heard his voice again.

"Ge, can't you let me be selfish for once ... when you left, I never asked you to come home ..." Shen Liangxi knew that him saying this was forcing his brother to do it. But his heart was determined for it to happen. He didn't know how the result would turn out and even he himself felt ashamed for bringing this up ... it's just that what if ...

What if he could be of some help by doing this. He was at lost how but he was just desperate.

As the older brother, Shen Xihan could clearly sense this and this was another reason why he was close to agreeing to it. He hadn't been an older brother for him and if he were to agree, at least he felt like he had done something for his little brother's sake.

"I'll stop annoying you for the day so eat." Shen Liangxi was starting to dislike the solemn atmosphere within the office.

"Liangxi answer me this. Is the work you're doing now is because of me?" He was wondering if he chose to pursue this with him as the reason. If it was, Shen Xihan didn't feel that it was right to do so.

"Ge .... are you a narcissist?" (￣-￣)

"Answer me seriously." He didn't want his little brother to live his life for him.

"Of course not!" Shen Liangxi rolled his eyes at him. "Sure you were the trigger but the thought of creating something that could save people's lives is something remarkable and it's been fun. I should thank you for it."

"I like what i'm doing. It was only when we realized the further prospects of the project did I thought of you." The door opened and old Mo entered. He smiled at the siblings who were sharing the table and took his seat on the sofa unwilling to disturb them.

"Uncle Mo, i'll be leaving the containers here since brother isn't finished eating yet and I need to leave. Sorry but clean up after him will you?" He quickly moved his chair back and headed for the door.

"Ge! i'll be waiting!" He came like the wind and left like a breeze.

Shen Xihan was blankly staring at the door so Uncle Mo cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, young master, Did I interrupt you?"

"No." Shen Xihan went back to focus on eating. Looking at him, it was like neither rain or storm could move this man however unlike his looks, his mind was working overtime.

"Young master. You have been sleeping well recently, is it because of the second young master?"

"He exhausts me."

"He really loves his big brother."

"..." His hands didn't even flinch and he continued eating in an even pace.

Uncle Mo went to prepare him tea. When he came back, Shen Xihan had already left his food and was looking outside the window. He gave him the tea and also looked outside, blind to what his young master was looking at.

"Uncle Mo, call my secretary."

"Yes?"

"Ask the vice president to cover me for a while. Also, ask for the address of Liangxi's lab. We're going tomorrow."

"I understand." A happy smile bloomed from uncle Mo's slightly wrinkled face.

-

When he heard from his parents that Shen Liangxi was working on a project, he didn't hesitate and generously invested on it so him entering the lab uninvited didn't cause too much trouble.

They led him to where his little brother was working at and for the first time, Shen Xihan was able to see his little brother's serious face. Through the transparent glass, Shen Liangxi was having a discussion with fellow engineers and were reading through papers that were spread on the wide desk.

As he was bounded on a wheelchair, waiting didn't trouble. He and uncle Mo patiently waited for him to notice and when Shen Liangxi did, his smile reached the corner of his eyes and sprinted to his side.

"Ge you came! Damn i'm so f*cking happy!"

"Language."

"Whatever! This way! This way!" Shen Liangxi took control of the wheelchair and Shen Xihan couldn't help but tightly grip the arm rests from the speed.

"Ta-da! welcome to my personal laboratory~" When the visiting party walked in, there were two things that caught their interest.

One, the wide screen tv on the wall.

two, the snacks and crumbs left on the floor as if they were part of the floor itself.

"Second young master, will you allow me to clean this place?"

"Liangxi ... have you been goofing off?"

"Woah, I do take my work seriously!" 

Uncle Mo and Shen Xihan: (ᄑ_ᄑ)

"Really, I do!"

On the tv was the image of a person who was busy working.

"Ah, that's the author of the story where the world is based off. We are testing first how long it would take for him to forget that he was currently inside MEMORY by recreating daily life. When we asked him questions about it we were speechless on how much he worked in a day. No wonder he came to work with us."

"When he's fully convinced that the inside of MEMORY is his reality would be the time when we'll be moving him into the first world. You'll have the pleasure to try the first world first before he could so be honored."

Shen Xihan didn't look for too long and looked away, uninterested.

The monitoring room and the lab were separated by a glass wall. Shen Liangxi explained to his brother at what point the project was currently at, what to be wary of and also what to look forward to. This step was important that it took almost an hour for Shen Liangxi to feel assured and ready to start.

Memory was in a form of a helmet device that was connected to a capsule bed. The capsule bed was a type of medical bed  where the patient's health were to be monitored and regulated while unconscious providing the best comfort to the patient. The capsule bed was originally a stand alone device but for long term use of MEMORY, they suddenly thought of this idea of combining the two. 

This was a new experience for Shen Xihan and even Shen Liangxi felt funny after seeing his older brother inside it. Uncle Mo and him carried his brother in it but the funny bubbles in his stomach made him weak and he almost dropped his brother onto the floor.

"Ehem ... Ge, do you still have any question to ask before we start?"

"Liangxi."

"Mmn?"

"That function where you could block a patient's memories, try it on me."

"W-Why?" This suggestion was too unexpected that Shen Liangxi stuttered.

" To make sure that i'll wake up after this."

"... I understand ..." His brother didn't need to explain as he vaguely understood what he meant by it. 

His brother was a person who hid his thoughts. The type who always remained as a strong person in any given time, formidable no matter what he was facing. Because of this, he didn't know to what extent his brother felt when he told him that he could make him experience walking again.

Now, Shen Liangxi felt like backing out thinking that maybe his brother wasn't ready for this.

"I already came here ... so let's begin."

"Ge ..."

"Hurry." 

"..."

Shen Liangxi roughly shook his head and started it up. Backing out, it was too late to do it at this point.

Years later, whenever he would be reminded of this moment, Shen Liangxi's nose would sour as he hold in his tears.

"They're lucky that I didn't stop and missed the chance to pair them up." Often, he would praise himself this way.

_

Shen Xihan opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the bountiful leaves of trees that gleamed under the sunlight's rays.

Where am I? He asked himself. His surroundings was too unfamiliar and new, it didn't feel like he had been there before.

The clothes on his body was strange too, he didn't remember wearing it. His long hair that danced with the wind felt weird ... how it would stick on his lip and accidentally chew on it felt weird.

What was weirder was his legs. He doesn't know but it felt strange.

Weird strange, weird and strange, strange and weird...

A blue screen suddenly blocked his sight that made him jump back. His leg subconsciously pushed his body backwards and the feeling of it hitting the ground was new? 

It was an unfamiliar feeling ...

Rather than the blue screen that appeared out of thin air, Shen Xihan was more fixated at the body part that was called legs.

 He leaned on the tree and used it to pull himself up. He raised a foot and raising it felt odd ... he took a step and his legs gave in making him fall which was again, odd. 

He stood up again and and ever so slowly did he walk forward. His leg was unsteady but this didn't stop him from taking another step.

When he started walking he couldn't help but wonder why he thought that he couldn't walk when his legs were working fine.

At first he was walking ... then he wanted to walk a bit faster. Suddenly, he started sprinting off the woods like a bunny being chased, slightly out of breath.

Running ... had running ever been so exhilarating?

Shen Xihan who remember nothing stopped caring and sped off with a wide grin on his face.

-

The blue screen was filled with writings that consisted of information that seemed to be about him.

Guo Li Jun. This was his name.

After reading through it, the screen disappeared as if it had done it's purpose. Later on, his people found him and he confessed how he did not remember anything at the moment leaving hem worried and devastated yet when he slept at that very night, he felt as if his consciousness was taken some where else and he was suddenly standing in a scene of a bloody, merciless massacre.

Nobody could see him, he couldn't touch anyone either but what played out before him was sure to be Guo Li Jun's memories. This explained everything for him now. He had so much power but all this time he did not know why and for what reasons they were for.

So he took action, learned how to fight from scratch, used whatever knowledge he had to conquer all.

He was passionate about it and the challenges he faced made his blood boil.

But later on everything didn't felt quite right ...

It really didn't and this feeling was so heavy that during a mission that he undertook himself, he got distracted by his thoughts and was wounded, forced to run.

And then he met him. Someone who felt real ... Ming Yu.

It was as if in this world, what existed was only Ming Yu and himself.

At first he was simply drawn by interest but as time passed with him observing the person from afar, his heart sped up telling him that there was something more behind it, behind everything.

"Ming Yu, i'll be honest with you." he stated. "I've taken an interest on you." he bluntly admitted.

"Ming Yu, I'm a straightforward and decisive man. As long as i'm interested in something, I'll keep them close and let no one touch it. Even if its just a tiny amount of liking, I want to grasp my hand and hold on to it." he confessed.

"So until i'm clear of what I want from you. . ." He grabbed a few strand of his hair and kissed it. "Don't think of leaving."

(a/n: excerpt from chapter 1.7)

He wanted to figure out why everything other than Ming Yu felt fake. This was how it started.

Yet later on he abandoned his curiosity and was puzzled by something else ...

What is love?

When his eyes would rest on that person's face, he couldn't help but smile.

When his hand were to hold that person's face, he couldn't help but bless it with a kiss.

When his skin were to brush the other's skin, a commanding heat overtook him, taking control of his rationality.

With him he could forget revenge, with him he felt at peace, warm, happy ... like he never did before.

When did it start. Why him? What changed? When did he change? Even important thoughts like this were easily blown away with one smile from that person named Ming Yu.

There were questions left unanswered but then it didn't ... seem to matter anymore.

It didn't until he woke up...

-

Shen Xihan groggily sat up in a state of confusion.

"Where ... Ming Yu?" The room was familiar yet unfamiliar. Where were the trees? The valley of flowers and the morning breeze?

A young man walked up to him and when he saw his face did reality dawned into him.

Everything ... was a lie?

"Ming ..." Anger. Shen Xihan never felt such anger in his entire life.

"Ge ..."

"Back. Off."

"Ge, listen to me-" Shen Xihan pulled himself off to bed only to face the floor face front.

Crippled. Ah, he was a damn cripple and how the f*ck did he forget that?

He held in his groans and crawled up to his wheelchair eager to leave the place. It didn't f*cking matter how. All he needed was to leave this damned place.

His body jumped forwards as his wheelchair was pulled back. The anger in his stomach spiked adding to the fact that he didn't have enough power to fight back.

"LET GO." His eyes red and clouded.

"Just listen to me for a second-"

"SHEN LIANGXI!" He screamed out his name.

His brother wasn't able to make it far and he was able to stop him right infront of the door of the room beside them. With difficulty he was able to reach out for his card to swipe open the door and push his brother inside.

Shen Liangxi didn't even explain and hurriedly turned on the lights.

"Ming Yu." When Shen Xihan heard his name from his little brother's mouth, he subconsciously frowned and closed his eyes.

"He's behind you."

"Stop it."

"He's behind you."

"Just stop."

"ARGH! SO FRUSTRATING!" He forcefully turned his brother around and pushed him close to the capsule bed that was identical to one his brother was in.

"It's not a lie. Brother, he's real. You were right, he's really real."

"..."

"I-I really didn't expect that you two uhh ..." Shen Liangxi didn't even know where to start with his words.

"..."

"B-But yeah, you weren't tricked. He's the author remember? Ge?"

Because his brother was quiet, Shen Liangxi moved beside him and what he saw made him bit his lips to keep his mouth shut.

His brother was silently crying.

Shen Xihan raised his hand to caress the glass surface... the face was different, entirely different yet his heart throbbed wildly when he laid his eyes on the sleeping figure.

"Is it really you?" His question came out as a whisper, afraid to wake the person up.

"Liangxi ... is it really him?" 

"Ge, it really is Ming Yu."

"I see ..." Shen Xihan was at loss. There were so much at once, he doesn't know what to believe at the moment but one thing was clear to him.

He didn't want to leave ... he wanted to stay and engrave the person onto his heart.

There was no signal but Shen Liangxi understood that his brother needed time to calm down. And this time was better spent without him.

Love was beautiful and drives a man crazy. He knew this but never understood.

For the first, Shen Liangxi witnessed this in person.