A Dream to Live For

But the happy life Fuyuki wished for so much was still out of reach. They needed to find a way to end any law that would essentially constrain people in their everyday lives.

However, the most pressing issue for Fuyuki right now was how not to think about what he had just seen and read. He didn’t think it had such a big effect on him, but it clearly did. How could he explain otherwise that he suddenly found anything meat-related disgusting, especially when he smelled it? And now his sudden distaste spread to grilled fish as well, which he especially liked eating before but now couldn't even look at it.

“It’s alright, not your fault,” Liwei told him when he couldn’t even take a bite out of the delicious breakfast he made with Mengxi because its smell made him retch again.

Mengxi hurried to turn on the ventilation system to quickly change the air in the dining room so that he could breathe freely without the urge to throw up.

“Is the food I cooked not to your liking, Sir?” Mengxi asked concerned.

“No, it’s not that.The food actually looks... Delicious,” Fuyuki said while forcing himself to smile. “It’s just that I don’t really have an appetite.”

“But you have to eat something. You can’t begin the day with an empty stomach,” Liwei insisted.

“I know. Give me some rice. I can handle that.”

“Plain rice?” Liwei asked, then he put some eggs and vegetables before him making sure that he could eat enough and he wouldn’t become hungry.

“So, do you think your father is behind all that?” Fuyuki asked after a while to divert his attention from the food before him.

“I don’t think so. He might be strict and want to have power but he isn’t cruel.”

“Maybe there’s a side to him you didn’t know about.”

“If it was like that I would know about it already. He doesn’t know I’m against this latest upgrade regarding the wristband after all,” Liwei said between two bites.

“And why doesn’t he?” Fuyuki asked suddenly. “You are his successor. When you take his place, you will make the decisions. Well, we’ll have to vote first but if you are really against something, you will be able to veto it directly.”

“Nothing is that simple. And before you paint him as a villain, those people you saw took part in those experiments willingly.”

“Yeah, because they probably didn’t know what they’ve gotten themselves into,” Fuyuki said putting down his chopsticks since he no longer had the appetite to continue eating anymore.

“No, you’re wrong. They were told about the risks and the possible consequences if the procedure fails but they still agreed to participate because they wanted something more than anything and it was worth the risk for them.”

“Are you condoning those...,” Fuyuki asked bewildered but Mengxi interrupted him.

“Master means that everyone has a dream, a goal they want to achieve and they are willing to fight for it even at the cost of their lives.”

“She is right,” Liwei agreed. “And I’ve shown you those because I wasn’t sure if you are for or against the gender reversal law and I wanted to make sure that you won’t ever choose to side with those supporting it,” he said seriously.

“If it’s so dangerous then how could it even reach such a stage that we even had to vote about it? And why no one else is informed about its consequences except me?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t us, who did that. We were just as surprised as you are.”

“Then you’re done for. If you tell the public that it’s dangerous and show them the proof, they’ll be outraged because of the human experiments. If you don’t tell them, all those ministers will vote in favour of the law and then people will want to pay for undergoing that procedure not knowing that it will make them turn into a monster,” Fuyuki said in one breath, his voice rising with every word he uttered.

It was now his turn to be outraged. The calmer Feng Liwei seemed to be, the more anger he felt rising in him. And the probability of the ministers voting against it referring to all the global and societal problems it might evoke was so low that Fuyuki wouldn’t even want to bet on it. It might have worked just this once but it won’t work forever.

“Don’t worry! We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Liwei said in an attempt to comfort him only to manage to do the complete opposite.

“How would I not worry? I can’t even eat in peace since I saw that.”

As he heard this, a concerned expression spread across Feng Liwei’s face, and reached out to stroke Fuyuki’s cheek with the back of his hand.

“I’m really, really sorry,” he said in a low voice full of sorrow. “If I had known the effect it would have on you I would’ve only shown you the written reports and not the photos.”

“Whatever. Maybe it’s for the best. After all, seeing it with one’s own eyes is more persuasive than reading about it.”

“Shall I reheat the food?” Mengxi spoke for the first time after a long while.

“No, thank you. We’re done for today,” Fuyuki replied and got up to help her, even though he knew full well that everything was automatic and it didn’t even require them to do much because the washing machine was built in the kitchen counter top making washing the dishes a lot more convenient, quicker, and effortless.

And with that, he went into the kitchen following Mengxi and thought that perhaps Liwei is right. Perhaps they only need to get to the bottom of it and when they do reach it they will find what they have been looking for all along.

As for Fuyuki, he didn’t want much. He only wanted to live in a free world happily with someone by his side.

He already had the latter, so now it was time to do something about the former.