Three weeks.
That was how long Du Xulan had been away.
Three weeks of meetings, negotiations, official dinners, long flights, and sleepless nights.
Three weeks of messages between him and Tomoe.
Some were short.
Have you eaten?
I'm still at the hospital.
Get some sleep.
Others were longer.
Sometimes they talked for an hour.
Sometimes neither of them had enough energy to say more than goodnight.
But every night, before sleeping, Tomoe checked his phone.
And every night, there was usually a message waiting for him.
Until one particular morning.
Tomoe woke to the sound of his phone vibrating repeatedly.
Still half asleep, he reached for it.
There were dozens of notifications.
His eyebrows furrowed.
"What happened?"
He opened the first message.
Then froze.
A photograph filled his screen.
It showed him and Du Xulan leaving a private restaurant several weeks earlier.
They were standing close together.
Too close to be dismissed as ordinary colleagues.
And in the photograph, Tomoe was holding Du Xulan's hand.
Tomoe's eyes widened.
"Oh, hell."
He immediately sat up.
The headline underneath the photograph made his stomach drop.
CHINESE DIPLOMAT AND JAPANESE MEDICAL PROFESSOR INVOLVED IN SECRET RELATIONSHIP?
Tomoe stared at the screen.
His heart began pounding.
"No..."
More photographs followed.
There were pictures of them entering restaurants.
Walking through a hotel lobby.
Sitting together at a private dinner.
Even one taken outside Tomoe's apartment.
Whoever had been watching them hadn't simply taken one photograph.
They had been following them.
Carefully.
For weeks.
Tomoe's phone rang.
Du Xulan.
He answered immediately.
"Xulan."
"I've seen it."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Tomoe could hear the tension underneath it.
"Are you okay?"
"I should be asking you that."
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
Tomoe looked back at the photograph.
"I don't know."
There was silence.
Then Du Xulan spoke.
"Don't speak to the media."
"I wasn't planning to."
"Don't answer messages from reporters."
"I won't."
"And don't delete anything."
Tomoe frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if someone is deliberately trying to expose us, we need to know how much they have."
Tomoe swallowed.
"You think this is intentional?"
"I know it is."
His tone had changed.
The warmth Tomoe knew so well was gone.
The diplomat had returned.
Focused.
Controlled.
Strategic.
But Tomoe knew him well enough to hear the fear hidden underneath.
"Xulan."
"Yes?"
"I'm scared."
The silence that followed was much softer.
"I know."
Tomoe closed his eyes.
"What are we going to do?"
"We handle it."
"Together?"
"Together."
By noon, the story had spread internationally.
What had begun as a single article had become dozens.
Some reports were respectful.
Others were invasive.
Some questioned whether their relationship represented a conflict of interest.
Others speculated about private details neither man had ever shared publicly.
The worst headlines suggested that one of them had used his position to influence the other's career.
That accusation was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Tomoe immediately received calls from senior officials at the hospital.
Du Xulan was summoned for questioning by his superiors.
Neither man was accused of wrongdoing.
Not yet.
But suddenly, every professional decision they had made together was being examined.
Every conference.
Every research collaboration.
Every meeting.
Every dinner.
Every photograph.
Their private relationship was being dissected by people who knew nothing about it.
Tomoe sat inside a conference room surrounded by several senior members of the medical institution.
One of them placed a folder on the table.
"We need to ask you directly."
Tomoe looked at him.
"Ask."
"Are you romantically involved with Du Xulan?"
The room became completely silent.
Tomoe's hands tightened beneath the table.
There it was.
The question.
The one they had both known would eventually come.
He could deny it.
He could lie.
He could protect himself.
But doing so would mean denying the man he loved.
Tomoe took a slow breath.
"Yes."
Several people exchanged glances.
The senior official continued.
"When did this relationship begin?"
"Several months ago."
"Did the relationship influence your professional decisions?"
"No."
"Have you ever provided him with confidential medical information?"
"Absolutely not."
"Has he ever used his position to influence your career?"
"No."
"Have you ever used your medical position to benefit him?"
"No."
The questioning continued for almost an hour.
When it finally ended, Tomoe walked out feeling exhausted.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Du Xulan.
I'm proud of you.
Tomoe stared at it.
Then smiled.
Du Xulan's situation was worse.
His superiors were concerned about diplomatic optics.
His position required discretion.
He was questioned about whether the relationship could create a conflict of interest.
Du Xulan answered every question directly.
But when one official asked whether he intended to end the relationship to avoid further complications, Du Xulan became completely still.
"No."
The official looked surprised.
"You're certain?"
"Yes."
"This relationship could affect your career."
"I understand."
"It could affect his career as well."
"I understand that too."
"Then why continue?"
Du Xulan's answer was quiet.
"Because I am not willing to abandon someone I love simply because other people have decided that our happiness is inconvenient."
The room went silent.
The official studied him for several seconds.
"Are you prepared for the consequences?"
Du Xulan nodded.
"I am."
That evening, Tomoe sat alone in his apartment.
The city lights flickered outside the window.
His phone remained on the table.
He hadn't touched it for almost an hour.
Then someone knocked.
Tomoe knew who it was before opening the door.
Du Xulan stood outside.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Tomoe stepped forward and hugged him.
Hard.
Du Xulan wrapped his arms around him.
Neither spoke.
They simply held each other.
After several seconds, Tomoe whispered against his shoulder.
"I hate this."
"I know."
"I hate people talking about us."
"I know."
"I hate that they're questioning everything we've worked for."
"I know."
Tomoe pulled back.
"What if this ruins your career?"
Du Xulan looked at him.
"What if it ruins yours?"
Tomoe's eyes lowered.
"I don't know."
"Neither do I."
That honesty hurt more than reassurance would have.
Du Xulan reached up and gently touched his face.
"But I know one thing."
Tomoe looked at him.
"We didn't do anything wrong."
Tomoe's eyes became wet.
"No."
"We loved each other."
"Yes."
"And we were careful."
"Yes."
"So we won't allow fear to convince us that we should be ashamed."
Tomoe nodded slowly.
Then he laughed through his tears.
"You always know what to say."
"No."
Du Xulan smiled faintly.
"I just know what I believe."
The following morning, another article appeared.
This time, however, something was different.
Instead of photographs, it contained documents.
Private documents.
Tomoe's medical research schedule.
Du Xulan's diplomatic itinerary.
Information that had never been publicly released.
Tomoe stared at the screen.
His expression changed.
"This isn't gossip."
Du Xulan, standing beside him, read the article.
"No."
"This person has access to confidential information."
"Yes."
Tomoe looked at him.
"Someone isn't just trying to expose our relationship."
Du Xulan's expression hardened.
"They're trying to damage us."
"And our careers."
"And possibly something larger."
Tomoe's stomach sank.
"Then who?"
Du Xulan didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
There were only a handful of people who could have accessed the information.
And one name immediately came to mind.
Someone who had been present during their earliest professional collaboration.
Someone who had always watched them a little too closely.
Someone who had recently disappeared from both their circles.
Du Xulan slowly picked up his phone.
"We need to find out who is behind this."
Tomoe nodded.
"But we're doing it together."
Du Xulan looked at him.
"Together."
Tomoe reached for his hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
The world had started watching them.
Their private love had become public.
Their careers were suddenly under scrutiny.
And somewhere in the shadows, someone was deliberately pulling strings.
But neither man let go.
Because their first major crisis had taught them something important.
Their love wasn't fragile because the world could see it.
It was stronger because, even with the entire world watching, they still chose each other.