He was unconscious for 3 years.

Bai Liang soon realized how much had changed in those 3 years. Not only Li Ziyang, the world had also significantly changed in his one long sleep.

With Li Shen and Qin Xia-Yu’s effort, as Li Ziyang told him, the entire ocean became clean once again. But not stopping there, Li Shen didn’t want to end the relationship between humans and mermaids just like that. Instead, he wanted to establish Atlantis to be like any other country.

The mermaids weren’t forced to return to the sea since many of them had made their own families on land. Once everything had stabilized, there were also plans of constructing technologies to let humans visit Atlantis in the future.

The humans gladly offered their help to restore the marine ecosystem since it would be beneficial for anyone. There were many aquatic species that went extinct because of the sulfur and the laboratories strived to reproduce their genes.

But despite everything, they couldn’t figure out how or why the three sulfur cores closed. When Qin Xia-Yu and Li Shen were ready to implement temporary measures to block them, the ocean ground was already completely sealed. It almost looked as if there were no cracks to begin with.

All they could figure out was that it had something to do with the week-long earthquake a few months before their discovery.

When Li Ziyang refused to show him his body, going as far as stopping their usual joint bath, Bai Liang knew he was behind it. Although Li Ziyang tried to suppress it, he could hear his pained groans when he was washing himself.

“Ziyang, let me heal you,” Bai Liang asked once again.

Sitting on the other end of the bed, Li Ziyang didn’t stop massaging Bai Liang’s feet as he answered, “You’re not spending a drop of your energy until it recovers at least as much as mine.”

“Even if I recover completely, it’ll never be as much as yours,” Bai Liang protested.

“Then blame that being for giving that much to me,” Li Ziyang flatly said.

Bai Liang sighed, “You always get angry by yourself when you mention him, but you keep bringing him up every chance you got.”

He couldn’t deny it was pretty funny though. Still, the last time he let out a laugh when Li Ziyang sulked, the other became even more upset. he had to hold down his amusement.

Li Ziyang’s lips tightened, “…”

“See? Now I’m the one who has to comfort you,” Bai Liang moved his legs and slid closer to Li Ziyang. He hooked his hands around Li Ziyang’s neck and tilted his head with a smirk, “Or are you doing this on purpose?”

“I rather use a dog as an excuse,” Li Ziyang frowned hatefully.

Bai Liang flumped to the bed and raised his paws with a teasing smile, “Then, do you prefer animal therapy?”

Li Ziyang’s throat bobbed and the heat in his eyes flared. He struggled to look away and calm himself down. When he spoke, his voice was slightly hoarse, “Behave. I’m not done with your massage.”

Bai Liang lightly chuckled and obediently listened to Li Ziyang’s words. Truthfully, Li Ziyang didn’t need to massage his feet every day and he would be just fine maintaining his muscles by himself. Still, the man himself wanted to do it and he couldn’t bring himself to refuse seeing his eyes.

Once Li Ziyang finished, he let him put the massage oil away before taking his hands. He interlaced their fingers and looked at him coquettishly, “My reward?”

Li Ziyang pressed Bai Liang’s hands above his head and loomed over him, “Who’s the therapist, and who’s the patient here?”

“I’m just a puppy wanting my reward treat,” Bai Liang raised his head and kissed Li Ziyang.

Li Ziyang lowered his head, stopping Bai Liang from straining his neck, and kissed him fiercely as they both liked it. The desire he had for his lover could no longer be called hunger. The more he indulged himself, the more he craved for him. It was avarice.

Bai Liang hummed in comfort as Li Ziyang caressed his body lovingly while grinding their heat together. Different from before, Li Ziyang always took his time pampering him one-sidedly before actually making love to him. Since Li Ziyang was doing it because he liked it, almost as if he was worshipping, he didn’t stop him.

With them living in this villa, hidden in a valley of a mountain, they had all the time in the world.

“Ziyang,” Bai Liang stroked Li Ziyang’s head as the other planted kisses down his torso.

“Hm?” Li Ziyang looked up at Bai Liang. “Am I taking too long?”

Bai Liang shook his head, “I’m just wondering if you want to go to the sea someday.”

“No,” Li Ziyang lowered his eyes and continued focusing himself on Bai Liang’s body. He bit down Bai Liang’s navel, “Nothing’s there and the water is cold. Here is better.”

Although he broke Bai Liang’s feet, his tail wasn’t affected. Moreover, it was because of that damn ocean Bai Liang fell into a coma in the first place.

He propped himself up, “If you want to swim, I’ll bring you to the lake.”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Bai Liang cupped Li Ziyang’s face and kissed him in appeasement. “I just want to make sure. I don’t want you to trap yourself here for me. You also have to trouble yourself to work remotely because of me.”

“…” Li Ziyang was silent for a moment before he wordlessly stood up from the bed.

Bai Liang thought he was upset because of his words and sat up to apologize when Li Ziyang opened their walk-in closet. He heard the noise of something being opened and closed and Li Ziyang returned not long after.

“Ziyang?” he watched in confusion as Li Ziyang sat next to him by the bedside.

“That day, when you didn’t wake up no matter how much I begged you, I was ready to destroy the world for you,” Li Ziyang lowly spoke. “But then when I look at that small area of the ocean you sacrificed yourself for, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was the first time I experienced what lost and helplessness felt like.”

Bai Liang quietly listened.

“You gave me two things that I thought I’d never have, two sides of the same coin, and easily play with it with a flick of your finger. But I don't hate it,” Li Ziyang took Bai Liang’s finger and slowly rubbed it. “I’m not trapping myself and I never felt troubled the slightest bit. When I’m with you, all I think about is how I can spend just another second longer with you because time feels as if it rushes the day to end when the sun is up and rushes the night to pass when the sun is down.”

He took out the small box from his pocket and opened it, showing the dazzling silver ring with an iridescent pearl snuggling beautifully between two delicate diamonds.

“Even if you love me unconditionally, I know I’m not the best person in the world. I know you deserve someone better, someone who can love you normally. But I’ve experienced the world without you and I can’t live in it,” Li Ziyang looked at Bai Liang straight into his eyes. “Bai Lun, I want to be together with you until our last sunset and breathe my last in your arms. I promise I’ll become a better person. Will you be willing to marry me?”

Bai Liang’s heart trembled and a lump was stuck in his lungs, making it difficult for him to form any word. In all of the previous worlds, they took the matter of their marriage as something that was bound to happen and did it like the most natural thing. To be proposed like this so suddenly, to be told such words by the man he loved, he was touched beyond words.

Happiness couldn’t even begin to describe it, but no words fit better than it.

“Yes, of course,” Bai Liang bloomed a smile. “I would propose you myself if you took any longer.”

Li Ziyang’s eyes softened in relief. Bai Liang’s smile never failed to overwhelm the sunlight and rival the blooming spring.

He took out the ring and slid it onto Bai Liang’s finger. He wiped Bai Liang’s tears and kissed the corner of his trembling eyes, “Thank you for waiting.”

Bai Liang happily laughed and pounced Li Ziyang to bed.

He made many wrong decisions and regretted some of them, but this outcome wasn’t so bad after all. It was their last world and they would spend it with just the two of them. Of course, Li Ziyang would work from time to time, but even at those times, they wouldn’t be separated.

As mermaids, they lived longer than humans, and with their strength, they lived longer than average mermaids. Yet, although they never said it, both of them knew, every second counted. The more the days passed the more their love grew.

Until the evening their last sunset came.