Does This Count as... a Date?

Shi Sheng's first step toward "doing something" was asking Yumian out for afternoon tea.

Yumian had been bottling up his anger all night and couldn't help spilling everything to Shi Sheng, embellishing the story as he went.

Of course, he hid the crucial information about the curse.

"I just don't get it. What's so bad about the Crown Prince?" Yumian took a huge bite of cake. "Isn't that better than marrying some random Alpha?"

[Looks like Yumian really is obsessed with the Crown Prince.]

[No wonder he became a vicious villain.]

[He must really like him.]

Yumian: "..."

That wasn't really the reason.

Shi Sheng put on the air of someone having a heart-to-heart with Yumian and set his voice device on the table. "If, you, really, like, him, then, talk, to, Elaine, properly."

Yumian fell silent for a moment. "No. I don't like him."

Shi Sheng's eyes widened slightly, unable to understand. "Then, why, do, you, insist, on, marrying, him?"

When Yumian remained silent for a long time, Shi Sheng had no choice but to press his voice device again.

"Yumian, don't, you, want, to, marry, someone, you, like?"

He had thought Yumian would say he had no one he liked.

But after a long silence, the beautiful young master suddenly shifted his sitting position.

Elegantly, he picked up a sugar cube from the plate and dropped it into his teacup.

A soft clink sounded as Yumian said lightly, "I can't marry the person I like."

"Then wouldn't it be better to marry someone useful?"

Shi Sheng fell silent for a while too. Hesitating, his fingers hovered over the buttons before finally pressing one.

"Elaine, hopes, you, will, be, happy."

Yumian paused, then smiled faintly. "As if you know that."

"I, just, know." Shi Sheng looked at Yumian seriously.

[Being the Crown Princess isn't that easy!]

Just as Yumian was about to speak, he heard Shi Sheng's thoughts again.

[This little idiot insists on charging headfirst into the royal family. Wouldn't that make him Noah's number one thorn in the side?!]

[The Crown Prince's birthday banquet is coming up. This is probably the banquet where Yumian drugs Noah and gets counterattacked.]

[No, I have to go with him. I can't let our Yumian get tangled up with that nasty old man!]

"..." Yumian couldn't respond to the content of Shi Sheng's thoughts, so he could only put on an act and cough.

Shi Sheng snapped out of his inner world. He felt that Yumian might have been possessed to insist on marrying the Crown Prince, but after thinking it over, he decided to take a more indirect approach.

He pulled up the Star Network gossip forum he had been browsing before and opened its hottest post in front of Yumian.

Yumian focused his eyes on it and frowned.

"Beautiful Beta by His Side Day and Night—Crown Prince's Good News May Be Near."

"Full Breakdown of Popular Dance Partner Candidates: Commoner Beta Soars Overnight to Become a Phoenix..."

"What kind of nonsense is this?" Yumian leaned back in distaste.

Shi Sheng then showed him photos of Noah beside the Crown Prince. Noah had appeared at every one of Ning Zhao's recent public appearances.

Yumian narrowed his eyes and looked for a while. Then he suddenly gave a cold laugh, downed his tea in one gulp, and set the cup on the table with a click.

"You should worry about yourself first." Yumian stood. "The military academy has assignments for the start of term. Even if you took leave, you still have to hand them in."

With that, he left behind a dumbstruck Shi Sheng and walked away.

He wanted to see what would happen at the birthday banquet.

Drugging someone? He wouldn't do something as low as Lanreese.

And as for being forced to marry an old man? Impossible!

Yumian's route had failed, so Shi Sheng decided to turn to Elaine.

But Elaine clearly wasn't someone Shi Sheng could win over through conversation. After a quick turn of his little brain, Shi Sheng came up with an idea.

When Elaine returned, he saw Shi Sheng sitting on the carpet with his back to the door, doing something at the low table.

He walked over, bent down, and placed a sunflower on the low table where Shi Sheng was leaning.

Shi Sheng looked up in delighted surprise.

Elaine explained, "The florist said the sunflowers were blooming especially well today."

His gaze fell upon the low table, and he paused. "What is this?"

Shi Sheng shyly held up the drawing in his hands and offered it to Elaine.

If he hadn't watched Shi Sheng scribbling away at it himself, Elaine would have thought it was some kindergarten assignment.

But Shi Sheng seriously pointed to the tallest stick figure in the picture, then pointed at Elaine.

Elaine laughed. "Me?"

Shi Sheng nodded, then pointed to the red stick figure beside it.

"Yes, that's you," Elaine said cooperatively.

Shi Sheng wore an expression that said, "You can be taught," then pointed to the yellow stick figure beside it, which was the same height as himself, and looked at Elaine expectantly.

Elaine lowered his gaze to look. "Yumian?"

Before Shi Sheng could speak, his long fingers pointed at the remaining two stick figures beside it. "Izel and Lindsay."

Satisfied, Shi Sheng turned the drawing around and handed it to Elaine.

Elaine reached out to take it. "For me?"

Although he had originally meant to use the drawing to subtly hint something to Elaine, Shi Sheng was honestly a little embarrassed by how it had turned out.

But Elaine's eyes were gentle as he solemnly accepted it. "Thank you. I'll treasure it carefully."

Shi Sheng stared in shock as Elaine opened his safe and placed his kindergarten-style stick-figure drawing inside. Before he could react, he heard Elaine ask—

"The military doesn't have anything tomorrow. Do you want to go out with me?"

Shi Sheng forgot everything else. His heart was filled with wild joy—[There's something this good?!]

The next day, Shi Sheng got up early. He had planned to ask Yumian to come along so he could take the opportunity to save the fragile brotherly bond between him and Elaine.

Who would have thought Yumian wouldn't come to the dining room at all?

Half regretful and half secretly delighted, Shi Sheng began his first date with Elaine—or at least, what he considered a date.

The day was a little chilly. Shi Sheng wore a hat in the same color palette as his sweater, and the whole outfit had been selected from his wardrobe by someone Elaine had instructed.

Shi Sheng was a little shocked that Elaine actually knew how to coordinate clothes.

Then came blind admiration—Elaine really could do anything!

Their main purpose for going out that day was to buy Shi Sheng some clothes and, while they were at it, choose jewelry for the Crown Prince's birthday banquet.

But Shi Sheng never expected their first stop to be a shop that sold anti-bite collars.

"I said before that I would bring you to choose a new one, but I haven't had time until today." Elaine paused here. "I had one custom-made before, but it isn't important. My taste has never been particularly popular with Omegas... Let's see whether there's anything here that you like first."

The moment Shi Sheng heard that Elaine had custom-made a collar for him, he had no mood to look at anything else. He pressed his voice device rapidly.

"Want, to, see, it, first."

Elaine rarely seemed hesitant, but under Shi Sheng's expectant gaze, he still had the clerk bring it out.

An exquisite, expensive box was solemnly placed on the table, and the clerk carefully opened its lid.

Before Shi Sheng lay a collar carved from black beast bone.

The originally rough beast bone had been polished smooth and soft. Bone after bone had been entwined and woven into a precise, intricate design.

At the center of the beast bone was a clear amber gem.

Shi Sheng was instantly captivated. He carefully touched it, then turned to look at Elaine.

An unfamiliar expression appeared on the cold, stern Alpha's face. "It's fine if you don't like it. It isn't anything important."

Shi Sheng hurriedly shook his head hard.

The clerk gathered his courage and smiled. "Madam seems to like it very much."

Shi Sheng nodded in wholehearted agreement.

The clerk took out the collar for him. Shi Sheng accepted it carefully, then suddenly stood on tiptoe, held the collar in both hands, and brought it before Elaine.

Elaine paused in surprise. Then he saw Shi Sheng smiling as he pointed at the bite guard he wore today, then at the collar in his hands.

Even if they had not been custom-made at the same time, with the same black beast bone, anyone would think they were a matching pair.

Elaine's expression softened. He took the collar from Shi Sheng's hands and bent down to put it on him.

As Elaine drew close, Shi Sheng reached out as if possessed and touched the metal chain on the bite guard.

Elaine's movements paused. With only a slight turn of his head, he met Shi Sheng's crescent-shaped smiling eyes.

Just after fastening the clasp around the Omega's neck, they both heard a familiar name from another corner of the shop—

"Sorry, these were reserved by Young Master Carlos."

Immediately afterward came a man's voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

"Which Carlos? Thanatos, or—"

A tall Alpha leaned against a counter not far away. He didn't look particularly young, but his features were handsome and dangerous. A jacket hung carelessly over his black shirt, bearing the emblem of the Security Bureau.

He held an unopened electronic cigarette between his fingers. As he spoke, he spun it once and tossed it back into his jacket pocket.

"—Yumian?"

When he said Yumian's name, his tone was languid.

Shi Sheng watched curiously.

The clerk over there was still explaining, "Yes, Young Master Yumian. These earrings were custom-made by him, and he'll be coming to collect them soon. Would you like to look at something else?"

The Alpha only glanced at them casually. "Fine. You can't exactly snatch something belonging to that young master."

His gaze casually flicked over and landed on Elaine. One eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly, and then he walked toward them.

"Marshal." The Alpha held his hat in one hand and extended the other. "What a coincidence."

Elaine shielded Shi Sheng behind him and briefly shook the Alpha's hand. "Director Hovis."

Seeing how curious Shi Sheng was, he lowered his head and introduced him. "The director of the Capital Police Bureau, Hovis."

The Alpha named Hovis seemed only then to notice Shi Sheng. "This must be your Omega. A pleasure."

He spoke politely enough, but Shi Sheng noticed he had the classic brow-over-shadowed-eyes look, which gave him the air of a desperate criminal.

Shi Sheng knew about the Capital Police Bureau. It was responsible for security throughout the capital.

Beyond that, Hovis was also the head of the Huo family.

The Huo family's reputation was scarcely better than Carlos's. They were the sort of presence that thrived in both the underworld and respectable society.

Shi Sheng quickly greeted him and retreated back beside Elaine.

"Rare indeed, seeing the Marshal accompany his wife shopping." Hovis's voice was somewhat rough, languid in a way that differed from Izel's refined, playboy-like tone. "I won't disturb you any longer. Farewell."

Elaine gave a slight nod. Hovis placed the police cap in his hand onto his head and left just like that.

Shi Sheng looked at his retreating figure, then at the pair of gemstone earrings on display.

They were indeed Yumian's style.

At the same time, they were a very "Omega" style that most Alphas would not like.

Hovis's taste was actually this type?