Chapter 21: Baffling

Chapter 21: Utterly Confused

Midsummer nights are always fiercely hot.

Chen Shuoan sat on a lounge chair in the courtyard, drinking ice-cold sour plum drink.

He could sleep in tomorrow, since there was no need to attend the study hall.

This was a rare opportunity—he had to sneak home to smuggle in the picture books stashed in his room. The ones he'd brought initially were almost finished, and if Zheng Yuanzhi didn't usually hook him up, he'd probably be bored out of his mind.

Chen Shuoan raised his bowl and chugged, squinting from the cold bite. The wine-red juice spilled, clinging stubbornly to the corners of his mouth.

Yuan Rang, all hot and sweaty, striding over on those long legs, stopped beside him. His calloused fingers grazed Chen Shuoan's rosy lips, then he rubbed the glistening wetness between his fingers, over and over.

"How're you spilling like a baby?" Yuan Rang chuckled, whipping a clean handkerchief out of his robe and pressing it to the corner of Chen Shuoan's mouth, dabbing at it gently.

Chen Shuoan caught the familiar scent of sandalwood on the cloth and felt something weird stir in his chest.

What the hell?

Isn't this kid a few years younger than him? How the hell did he turn into some kind of overbearing dad overnight?

Yuan Rang bent down, one hand holding the back of Chen Shuoan's head while the other kept rubbing at his mouth through the handkerchief, like the sour plum juice was some precious paint that, once it got on, could never be fully wiped off.

Chen Shuoan glared at Yuan Rang, who was now half a head taller, taking in his cold, hard features. Pissed off, he shoved his mouth forward and ground it against the cloth. "Bro, are you done yet? Twins could've been born by now."

Yuan Rang yanked his hand back, frowning at Chen Shuoan's now-redder lips. "Cut it out, you're gonna rub the skin off."

Chen Shuoan didn't give a damn—he wasn't some fragile little miss.

"So, done with your training? I'll go get someone to heat up some water for you."

Yuan Rang pushed him back down as he started to get up, shaking his head. "Not yet. I was just out in the courtyard practicing by myself..."

He trailed off, looking embarrassed, and went quiet.

Chen Shuoan got worried, scared he'd pulled something. "What's up? You look all pitiful."

Yuan Rang let his eyebrows droop, shuffling closer. His big hand grabbed Chen Shuoan's waist as he crouched down, dropping his head like he was trying to bury himself in Chen Shuoan's chest. Then he mumbled, "I'm kinda scared."

Chen Shuoan reached up and patted Yuan Rang's shoulder, sighing to himself. The kid was only fourteen, after all—back when he was in middle school, he'd needed to hold hands just to go to the bathroom.

"Don't be scared, big bro's got you. One ghost comes, I slap it; two come, I punch 'em both." Chen Shuoan declared this like a hero, feeling totally badass.

A grateful smile tugged at Yuan Rang's lips, and at that last second, his wolfish intentions slipped out. His voice, still cracking from puberty, leaned in close to Chen Shuoan's ear, coaxing in a low whisper, "I wanna sleep with you tonight."

"That's definitely—?" Chen Shuoan snapped his head up, only to meet a pair of wet, pitiful eyes.

"Hm? Shuo'an doesn't wanna?"

"...Definitely no problem at all." With the Sixth Prince making that face, how could he, Chen Shuoan, ever say no!

Damn it, he really did look pitiful!

Chen Shuoan looked at Yuan Rang with a pure, kind expression and said, "Then let's go to your room. Yours is bigger."

Yuan Rang, still buried in his shoulder, breathed fast, trembling with excitement, swallowing hard. "Okay, okay."

Chen Shuoan was confused, feeling like the kid was about to turn into something else.

Was the Sixth Prince hungry or something?

Yuan Rang let him go gently, and Chen Shuoan sank back into the chair, watching the Sixth Prince practice his sword.

Yuan Rang's posture was tall and elegant—everything he did was a joy to watch.

He held the sword in his left hand, no flashy tricks. Every move was sharp, full of killing intent. His steps looked slow, but they pressed forward relentlessly.

Chen Shuoan watched, mesmerized, thinking his prince was even hotter than the Crown Prince.

Speaking of Crown Prince Yuan Qi, Chen Shuoan couldn't help thinking back to the original story.

Yuan Qi had led his crew out seven or eight days ago, heading to Southern City in Jiangnan. That's where the male lead and female lead would meet for the first time, starting a beautiful romance.

Southern City was the female lead's home, the Wei family estate.

As for why Su Qingwan was there, the book explained that her grandmother had died peacefully, and she'd gone with her mother to pay respects.

And wouldn't you know it, Su Qingwan also ran into the second male lead, He Shu, in Southern City.

That's right—He Shu was Su Qingwan's childhood sweetheart.

Even though He Shu was talented, handsome, and gentle, a childhood sweetheart could never beat the fated one, and he ended up alone in the end.

He Shu had only been in a few chapters, and readers everywhere were already heartbroken for him: why couldn't the female lead just take both? The three of them living happily together would beat everything.

And Yuan Qi and Su Qingwan's first meeting was pure drama—the Crown Prince really lived up to the "domineering" in the book's title.

Chen Shuoan laughed just thinking about it.

After Su Qingwan attended her grandmother's funeral, she was kindly invited by the local noble ladies to Emerald Lake for poetry and tea. As she was happily chatting with her friends on the boat, her jealous cousin shoved her into the lake.

At that moment, she cried out to heaven and earth, but nobody came.

Just when she thought she was a goner, her hero showed up.

That's right—it was the Crown Prince of the Great Rong Dynasty, all handsome and brilliant.

He skimmed across the lake, gliding over the green water like a black swallow.

In a flash, he pulled Su Qingwan out of the water.

After catching a glimpse of her curves, the innocent young man's face turned a little red. He draped his black outer robe over Su Qingwan's shoulders—pretty classy.

But innocent as he was, when it came to being domineering, His Highness didn't hold back one bit.

"Woman, don't refuse me."

Chen Shuoan had nearly shot up in bed when he read that line, collapsing in laughter he couldn't stop.

He'd been stuck in this book for so long now, and Yuan Qi seemed like a totally normal guy—why did his vibe get so weird the second he met the female lead?

Damn, he wished he could've been there!

Chen Shuoan couldn't help laughing out loud.

Yuan Rang, seeing the kid doubled over laughing, couldn't help asking, "What? Did I practice wrong?"

Chen Shuoan quickly waved his hand and explained, "I was thinking about the Crown Prince."

I can't even, this is killing me.

Yuan Rang's motion of raising his sword suddenly halted. He stood there, looking perfectly calm on the surface, but there was a cold, dark look in his eyes.

As if he could no longer bear it, he strode over to Chen Shuoan, gently placed his sword beside the lounge chair, clamped his arms around Chen Shuoan's waist, and with a sudden burst of strength, lifted him entirely off the ground.

???

Chen Shuoan found it utterly baffling, having no idea what had gotten into this guy, and immediately started struggling like crazy.

But before he knew it, Yuan Rang had jostled him right into his arms, with one hand clamped tightly around the back of his knee. Now there was no way he could move even if he tried.

??????

"Sleep."