Chapter 30: Pain

Chapter 30: Pain

A slender hand parted the bed curtains.

Chen Shuoan, still frozen with his ankle in someone's grip, turned his head to look behind him.

Yuan Rang's cold, sharp features loomed beyond the sheer curtain, his tall frame blotting out the faint light that seeped through.

Chen Shuoan felt the grip on his ankle tighten, and sitting on the dark, soft bed, he felt a strange, inexplicable unease.

He asked, his voice tinged with nerves, "Your Highness, are you looking at me?"

Yuan Rang let go of his ankle the moment he heard that.

The weightless curtain and his leg slid down together, pulled by gravity.

The curtain's soft fabric grazed Chen Shuoan's bare skin, sending a faint tickle through him.

Chen Shuoan curled his toes uneasily and tucked his foot back under the covers.

He heard Yuan Rang's breathing turn heavy on the other side of the curtain and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, do you feel hot?"

Yuan Rang's voice came out muffled, like he was holding something back, and he answered in a low tone, "No."

Chen Shuoan said nothing, only staring blankly at the soft fabric slowly being dampened by water.

After a long moment, he spoke softly.

"Your Highness, if you don't dry your hair before sleeping, you'll get migraines."

"It's fine." Yuan Rang was distracted, savoring the exquisite feel of his skin against his palm from moments ago.

What pissed Chen Shuoan off the most was exactly this attitude of not taking care of his own body.

He got angry and, with a sharp "swish," yanked the curtain open, about to get off the bed.

Yuan Rang, startled, realized Chen Shuoan had gotten down. His soft body brushed past Yuan Rang, stirring a warm breeze laced with his scent.

He inhaled subtly, desperately trying to catch every wisp of that scent in the air, determined not to let anyone else catch a whiff.

And he did exactly that.

Yuan Rang looped his arms around Chen Shuoan's waist from behind, bending down to murmur low in his ear, "Where are you going? Just call for me."

Chen Shuoan peeled his hands off and said, keeping his tone even, "I'm going to get a clean cloth to dry your hair."

And with that, he was gone in a flash.

Yuan Rang had never been able to win against him.

On this already chilly night, he didn't even think to shut the door, silently watching Chen Shuoan's silhouette vanish down the corridor.

He let his eyelids drop, his face unreadable.

Alone in the empty room, Yuan Rang sat at the desk.

He'd be back soon.

He wouldn't leave.

He was just grabbing a cloth.

Yuan Rang's head throbbed with agony. He dug his knuckles into his temples, his nails nearly biting into skin, using the pain to claw his way back to sanity.

Chen Shuoan had been gone barely a moment, and already he was losing his mind with longing.

Yuan Rang's eyes were bloodshot. He slammed his skull against the desk in torment, his fingers on his thighs twitching and spasming.

"Your Highness." Chen Shuoan came rushing in, a few glistening beads of sweat clinging to the tip of his nose from the sprint.

The darkness in Yuan Rang's chest vanished in an instant, like smoke on the wind.

He obediently tilted his head toward Chen Shuoan, letting him roughhouse with his hair however he wanted.

Yuan Rang watched Chen Shuoan's face, like he couldn't hold back a smile, and reached out and wiped the sweat off the tip of his nose.

Then his hand slid down, circling Chen Shuoan's waist, and with one heave, hoisted him clean off the ground.

Chen Shuoan's feet left the floor, and of course he panicked. The Sixth Prince even had the nerve to fake a stumble, like he might drop him any second.

Chen Shuoan's hand, which had been pressing the cloth to Yuan Rang's head, switched to looping around this scoundrel's neck.

They were cheek to cheek, close enough that Chen Shuoan could see the teasing glint in Yuan Rang's eyes. He squeezed Yuan Rang's neck and snapped, "Yuan Rang, stop playing around!"

Yuan Rang arched a brow, gave him a little bounce, and said, "Okay," all obedient-like.

Chen Shuoan got jostled so hard he was mashed right into Yuan Rang's chest, and he couldn't help but want to sock that handsome face.

"Okay" my ass! If you're gonna say yes that fast, then actually do it!

Yuan Rang clicked his tongue, looking mildly put out, but a smile still tugged at the corner of his mouth as he said, "What're you scared of? You really think I'd drop you?"

Chen Shuoan was at a loss for words and just let him part the curtain and set him down gently on the bed.

Yuan Rang knelt before him, gazing up, and leaned in without breaking eye contact: "Shuo'an."

Chen Shuoan resigned himself to playing nursemaid to His Highness, not exactly keeping his mouth shut, and replied, "Mm, what is it?"

Yuan Rang seemed to find his accent hilarious and called out again: "Shuo'an."

"...Mm." Chen Shuoan rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into the back of his head, but he answered again helplessly.

Yuan Rang's voice carried even more laughter, as if he would never tire: "Shuo'an."

"If you keep yapping, I'll slice off your mouth and turn it into knife-cut noodles! Then all you'll be able to do is go 'aaaah'!" Chen Shuoan pretended to be fierce, trying to scare him.

Yuan Rang let out a low laugh and shot back: "Even then, I'd still be able to say 'Shuo'an.'"

Chen Shuoan was stumped and slapped a hand over the guy's mouth: "Please, contestant, shut your mic, thank you."

Yuan Rang felt the soft press against his lips, and the grin in his eyes was impossible to hide.

He spotted a forgotten book lying all by itself on the bed.

Yuan Rang always had a hundred percent enthusiasm for anything and everything related to Chen Shuoan.

Probably because the Sixth Prince was usually so cold to everyone else, the Yuan Rang in Chen Shuoan's memory stood out as especially vivid and alive.

Chen Shuoan watched helplessly as His Highness got up and made a grab for that book, not immediately realizing what was so wrong with it.

He momentarily forgot the storyline that had driven him mad not long ago, and that gut-wrenching, over-the-top drama.

Yuan Rang rested his head on Chen Shuoan's lap, his slender fingers slowly flipping open the booklet, half-heartedly skimming a few lines out of sheer boredom.

Chen Shuoan felt a ticklish sensation from his movements and, instinctively yanked hard, pulling out a few of His Highness the Sixth Prince's precious strands of hair.

Chen Shuoan secretly flicked the hairs off the handkerchief, acting as if nothing had happened.

Yuan Rang noticed his little action and let out a soft chuckle, indulgently letting it slide.

"So this is the kind of book Shuo'an likes to read. No wonder I always catch you dozing off over the books in my study." Yuan Rang teased lightly, watching Chen Shuoan's face turn bright red.

His gaze turned heavy, and he cleared his throat to cover it up, pushing down the heat rising in his chest.

Chen Shuoan, embarrassed by his words, couldn't help but defend himself: "It's fine if I have no ambition—I'm already impressive just for being alive."

Yuan Rang huffed a laugh, as if he wholeheartedly agreed with his point.

His fingers turned to the last page, and upon seeing the words written there, he slowly paused.

Yuan Rang's dark, brooding eyes fixed on Chen Shuoan's flushed face, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "So Shuo'an likes this kind of thing too?"

Chen Shuoan was completely baffled. While vigorously rubbing the nearly dry hairs in his hands, he leaned over to take a look.

"Huh?"

Yuan Rang pressed closer, and suddenly a large hand clamped onto Chen Shuoan's cheek.

Chen Shuoan's mind went hazy from his questioning, and once he realized what Yuan Rang meant, his face went beet red.

He stammered, flustered, trying to explain his orientation: "No way! I've always liked girls!"

"Likes girls..." Yuan Rang buried his whole face in Chen Shuoan's clothes, murmuring to himself.

His whole demeanor instantly turned dark and listless, like a forgotten statue of a god—lonely and despairing.

He was set on tearing open his chest and pulling out his bleeding heart.

He would dig out the love for Chen Shuoan from his heart bit by bit, then fill it back with his shattered flesh, letting it heal and grow.

Love couldn't just fill the heart.

The heart was too small.

He wanted this love to use his body as a vessel, growing wildly within it.

Yuan Rang, as if feeling no pain, stubbornly insisted on making himself bloody and raw, asking again in a dazed voice, "Then what kind of girl does Shuo'an like?"