His shoulder was as hard as stone.
Shen Yangge's face scrunched up.
"Your Highness, he is not a member of the palace. Please allow me to escort him out!"
But the Crown Prince ignored Xue Pingyuan's words and continued walking away, his hand clamped around Shen Yangge's.
Seeing Xue Pingyuan about to follow, Shen Yangge was still angry that he hadn't claimed him earlier, but he didn't want to watch him walk to his death.
He waved vigorously behind him. "...General Xue, given my official duties, spending the night at the Eastern Palace is quite common. Please leave the palace at once!"
If you follow us any farther, you're going to lose your life!
After shouting, Shen Yangge felt the grip on his wrist tighten painfully. Suppressing the urge to grimace, he said with "trepidation," "Your Highness, could you walk a little slower? My feet hurt."
Actually, it was his backside that hurt. Earlier, he had landed on it when he jumped down from the wall. Then he had been nervously ducking and hiding everywhere, and all that jostling had brought on the pain.
The Crown Prince stopped and released his hand. After staring at him for a few seconds, he suddenly reached out and swept him into his arms.
Then, with an air of aristocratic dignity, he said, "So delicate."
Shen Yangge was utterly dumbfounded at being picked up.
What the hell was this move?
The Crown Prince was carrying him?
And in a bridal carry, at that.
Was he having another episode?
[-Why would I rather have this bastard tuck me under his arm than carry me like this?!]
[-I'm a grown-ass man!]
[-And you're the delicate one! Your whole family, all eighteen generations of your ancestors, are delicate!]
Shen Yangge was so angry his teeth trembled, yet he still had to pretend nothing was wrong and maintain a calm exterior.
It was so dark. How did the Crown Prince know the way back?
He wasn't carrying anything to light the way.
Before long, while Shen Yangge was still wondering whether he would be taken the wrong way, they returned to familiar surroundings-the Eastern Palace.
The Crown Prince carried him all the way inside. Whenever they passed maids and servants stationed outside, Shen Yangge instinctively hid his face, but he soon realized none of them dared lift their heads.
Let alone see him.
The Crown Prince carried him into the bedchamber and set him down. "Shen Zhuanxie."
His voice was low, a little resonant and languid, and the sound made Shen Yangge's ears flush before he knew it.
"Huh?" Shen Yangge responded, belatedly remembering that he was no longer that cat.
He abruptly shut his mouth, then opened it again, adjusting his tone to address the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, do you have any further instructions?"
[-I've temporarily given up trying to cure you. Whatever I do, you clearly don't intend to give me a quick death.]
[-So getting along with my superior now will help me later!]
The Crown Prince looked at him for a long moment, then said, "Strip."
Shen Yangge stumbled.
What had he just heard?
This...this bastard had said, "Strip"!
No way. Was this another new form of humiliation?
Shen Yangge really wanted to march over and slap him across the face, but he had to force the impulse down. His whole body shook like a sieve as he said with difficulty, "Your Highness, surely that would be inappropriate."
He resorted to the same line as before. "How could this lowly body of mine sully Your Highness's eyes?"
But the answer he received was:
"It's fine. I don't mind your lowliness, Shen Zhuanxie."
[-You're the lowly one! You really did use the same old line again!]
Shen Yangge stammered, "Your Highness...I, I still think..."
The Crown Prince's unruffled gaze turned cold and piercing.
Fuck, why didn't this man go learn face-changing in Chinese opera?!
Under that icy stare, Shen Yangge took off his prison clothes, leaving only a thin inner robe.
"Keep going."
[-Keep going, my ass! You fucking Crown Prince, don't tell me you actually have some weird fetish?]
[-We're both men anyway. I've got everything you've got. What the hell am I afraid of?]
Having figured that out, the die-hard straight man squeezed his eyes shut and immediately shed his thin inner robe. In the candlelight, a clean, beautiful body was revealed, with elegantly curved collarbones and skin that was not particularly rugged, but as white as fine jade.
His waist was slender, even his navel perfectly placed.
That little waist looked as though a single hand could span it.
And those crimson...
The Crown Prince's gaze grew increasingly deep.
That gaze felt like a blade slicing over his body again and again. Goose bumps rose all over Shen Yangge. He furtively checked the Crown Prince's expression and found that he looked as though he wanted to devour his flesh.
He froze on the spot.
[-He isn't thinking about how to slice my flesh off piece by piece without killing me, is he?]
[-Wait a damn minute. If you're going to cut me, just cut me to death! Be a man about it. Don't be so damn prissy.]
The Crown Prince's throat bobbed. At last, he deigned to speak. "Go bathe and change."
[-What? I've already stripped, and now you tell me this? Come on, just slice me to death with a blade!]
[-Aren't you a sick bastard? I'm standing here bare-chested, waiting for you to get to work!]
Shen Yangge was bitterly disappointed. Gritting his teeth, he swallowed his indignation and forced out a smile. "I obey your decree."
Reclining in the bathing tub, Shen Yangge tipped his head back against the rim and absently wondered why the Crown Prince still hadn't killed him. Even if he was his "pet," surely he should have grown bored by now.
After all, people like him rarely remained attached to anyone or anything for long.
For example, this bastard had claimed he was going out to find his cat, only to abduct Shen Yangge instead and abandon the search altogether. And Shen Yangge had actually thought the bastard liked cats so much.
In the end, it had meant nothing.
As he lay there, Shen Yangge grew drowsy. Afraid he would fall asleep in the tub, he hurriedly stood up, but after soaking for so long, the sudden movement made his vision go black.
With a splash, he fell back in and choked on several mouthfuls of water. Draped over the rim of the tub, he was wide awake now.
Through his blurry vision, he saw a pair of black boots. Bewildered, he followed them upward, lifting his head to look.
The Crown Prince stood a short distance away, watching him with a deep, gloomy gaze. The emotions in his eyes seemed on the verge of breaking free.
That stare made Shen Yangge's scalp prickle.
He wiped his water-reddened eyes, wrapped a strip of cloth around his wet lower body, and quickly dressed.
His movements were almost seamless.
Only once he had finished dressing did he realize that the Crown Prince had moved from his spot nearby and was now right in front of him, staring at his neck.
[-Holy shit, is this fucking Crown Prince about to bite someone again?!]
"Your Highness?" The words emerged from his mouth in a damp, soft voice.
His eyes were red, and so was the tip of his nose.
Even his lips, opening and closing, had taken on a moist pink hue.
His wet hair hung messily over his chest, with a few strands clinging to his cheeks and nearly slipping into his mouth.
The Crown Prince's throat bobbed again, and he raised his hand.
His expression was so frightening that Shen Yangge thought he was going to strangle him.
[-It's finally happening. I've waited so long for this moment. Come on, strangle me. Squeeze until I'm dead!!]
PS: To everyone who hasn't tapped the update reminder or left a review yet, hurry! It all comes down to this! [Bow] [Flowers] [Thank you all for your tips]!
Before you continue