A Feeling Without Strings

They were childhood friends.

One had once been a ruler.

The other had been his subject, and had also served as his general.

His feelings for him were impossible to distinguish: were they a bond stronger than metal, the ordinary relationship between ruler and subject, or something that had long since become something else?

The cold Yangtze brought them an unspoken romance between two women... No, it should be called a romance between two men.

He had weathered countless storms on the battlefield, yet when it came to his feelings for him, even a thousand shields could not protect him from the man charging straight at his heart.

Gongjin, having you is my good fortune. Give me ten years, and I'll conquer the world with you.

He gave him far more than ten years. He gave him his whole life.

I, Sun Ce, may be good at lying and able to fool anyone, but Zhou Yu alone can see what's in my heart. For him, what is a kingdom? What is the Sun family? Whoever dares lay a hand on my Gongjin will feel the fists of Jiangdong's Little Conqueror.

What if the one who fell in love with him was not his older brother, but his younger brother...

What if the one who fell in love with him was not his younger brother, but his older brother...

What if... they both fell in love with him...

Their feelings had gone beyond the relationship between ruler and subject.

Unwittingly, they began to play a melody on a stringless zither.

He had meant to tell him, but chose not to, afraid of getting hurt.

He had wanted to take his hand once more, but stopped halfway, afraid of hurting him again.

There were no words that could describe what they both felt for him. The only thing that could express it was the sound of a stringless zither, its music reaching into his heart.