Chapter 52

Chapter 52

A night of intimacy.

It wasn't until noon the next day that Lan Yexing slowly opened his heavy eyelids. The deep crimson at the corners of his eyes still lingered, and even his pale irises shimmered with a hazy, watery sheen.

Fluff Ball remained nestled at the head of the bed, guarding its owner. Lan Yexing, as if by muscle memory, extended a fair, slender arm from beneath the comforter and gently stroked its head.

His temples, however, throbbed and buzzed with a dull hum. He was still in a state of disoriented confusion, not yet fully processing the events of the night. Just as he instinctively moved to rise and prepare for the day, he froze—a powerful, muscular arm was draped possessively around his waist, holding him captive, pressing him firmly against the warm, broad chest of the person behind him, rendering him almost immobile.

Lan Yexing stiffened as a flood of embarrassing memories from the previous night washed over him. His eyes snapped open, and his face flushed a deep, undeniable red.

Only then did he belatedly register a subtle discomfort in his body, though it wasn't truly painful. Even if Qiao You had been utterly dominant, overbearing, and mischievously relentless, not releasing him even when he eventually cried, he had also been consistently gentle. Thus, his body wasn't genuinely in much discomfort.

But it was truly… incredibly humiliating.

And he found himself utterly speechless, unable to utter a single sound.

Lan Yexing felt as though he would spontaneously combust if he remained in bed any longer. Unable to speak, he simply nudged the other person with his elbow, signaling for them to release him.

Qiao You remained languidly relaxed, eyes still closed, yet he tightened his hold on the boy with a forceful, almost mischievous grip.

It wasn't until Lan Yexing struggled, his entire body growing hot, on the verge of a full-blown tantrum, that the young man slowly opened his eyelids. His gaze, devoid of any lingering sleepiness, was one of profound satisfaction as he smiled, looking directly down at the boy nestled in his arms.

Lan Yexing glared back, his face still crimson. Being scrutinized like that made him so acutely embarrassed that his toes instinctively curled. Pushed to his limit, he truly elbowed the young man hard this time. Qiao You winced with a soft "Hiss," before slowly, unhurriedly releasing his grip.

Lan Yexing practically fled the bed, striding purposefully towards the bathroom to wash up.

Qiao You simply propped himself up, his beautifully sculpted, dangerous abdominal muscles partially exposed. He smiled, watching the boy's retreating back and the tips of his red ears peeking out from his disheveled black hair. Finally, he couldn't suppress a soft chuckle, but his green eyes still swirled with an intense, palpable possessiveness.

The cat at the head of the bed awoke with its owner. It bared its claws and let out a series of loud meows at the one who had bullied its master, putting on a brave but inwardly timid front. Qiao You, in an unusually good mood, merely cast a cool glance at the feline and sneered.

Fluff Ball's curses grew even more colorful.

When they descended for lunch after freshening up, the flush on Lan Yexing's cheeks had yet to subside. Qiao You, however, elegantly and nonchalantly helped Lan Yexing cut his steak, as if nothing out of the ordinary had transpired.

The elderly man opposite them seemed unfazed by the young man's natural gestures. He simply looked at Lan Yexing with a hint of concern: "A fever? Is it from the burns?"

......

Lan Yexing's eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head like a kitten whose tail had been accidentally stepped on. When his gaze met the old man's worried eyes, he immediately ducked his head as if scalded, causing even the exposed nape of his neck to turn red.

Qiao You then placed the cut steak before the boy. He glanced at Lan Yexing with an almost doting possessiveness, as if surveying his own property, then turned to the old man opposite him and stated calmly, "Grandpa, he's fine. Don't worry about him, let him eat."

Before their meal, he had insisted on taking Lan Yexing's temperature; there was no fever. His current state was simply due to his… thin skin.

The old man, oblivious to these details, was about to voice further concerns when he froze. He noticed the unmistakable, possessive, grotesque tooth marks on the back of the boy's neck, and the terrifying yet ambiguous imprints that spread extensively along the side of his neck and disappeared beneath his shirt collar—those marks were so starkly hideous and terrifying, as if they had tried to consume the boy. The person who left them in such an obvious place was truly too brazen and inconsiderate.

Immediately grasping the situation, the old man cast a reproachful look at Qiao You. Qiao You, meanwhile, forcefully yet ambiguously urged the boy to eat by placing the knife and fork into Lan Yexing's hand, all while winking at the old man—an expression that clearly conveyed no intention of repentance.

He wished everyone knew Lan Yexing was his; he only felt that the scent and marks he left on Lan Yexing were still insufficient.

The old man's eyebrow twitched. A rare flicker of disdain crossed his face. After a silent sigh, he averted his gaze, choosing to say nothing more to spare Lan Yexing's feelings.

Lan Yexing finally exhaled in relief and began to eat the lunch Qiao You had prepared for him.

The midday meal concluded in a surprisingly warm atmosphere.

In the afternoon, the old man and the dog settled down for a nap. Lan Yexing sent Qiao You off to the study, while he himself settled onto the living room sofa.

Without the young man by his side, the flush on Lan Yexing's cheeks finally began to recede.

...

He finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to open the new phone Qiao You had bought for him, replying to the messages that had almost overwhelmed him—all from Jian Si, Yang Qing, Zhou Yanqiu, and Jiang Xiaozhou.

The school fire had raged for an entire night, finally being extinguished in the early hours of that morning.

According to official reports, there were no casualties except for one missing student. Only over a hundred civilian students, evacuated last, suffered mild burns, but they were promptly treated by the medical volunteer team stationed there and sent to nearby public hospitals based on the severity of their injuries.

Officials stated that an urgent search and rescue operation was underway for the missing student whose fate remained unknown, and simultaneously, an investigation into the fire incident, of unknown nature and significant impact, was being conducted.

Yang Qing later learned he was safe and even asked a senior to treat his burns, so no further messages were sent from him.

But Jian Si and the others seemed to believe he was dead.

Zhou Yanqiu and Jiang Xiaozhou's subsequent messages still maintained a semblance of rationality, but Jian Si's final message bordered on hysterical despair. He vowed to avenge him at all costs, no matter who was responsible, and then to die with him. He implored Lan Yexing to be good, not to be afraid, and promised to come for him immediately.

Lan Yexing stared blankly at those messages, so utterly unlike his usually rational friends—wild, uncontrollable, their emotions so intensely desperate they seemed to burst through the screen. Only then did he belatedly realize his friend's unusual behavior…

Jian Si…

The image of the usually arrogant and aloof omega being overly intimate with him gradually surfaced in his mind—he had always dismissed it as normal friendly interaction…

Lan Yexing closed his eyes and sighed helplessly:

Just how oblivious was he?

After a long moment, he bit his lip, yet cruelly chose not to acknowledge the unspoken affection that was so clearly on the verge of being expressed.

Fearing that the other party would genuinely be in trouble because of him, he replied to the message like a perfectly standard friend:

"Xiao Jian, I'm home now, I'm fine. Someone saved me. My phone burned out last night, so I couldn't reply to your message in time, I'm sorry. Don't worry about me, take care of yourself."

The call came back almost immediately. Lan Yexing couldn't speak at the moment due to his throat, so he hung up directly and replied with another message: "My throat is burned, I can't speak now."

A message quickly came back. Jian Si also tacitly avoided mentioning those messages: "Okay. Then we'll meet another day. Take care, Xiao Xing."

The last one was a very cute emoji.

Lan Yexing replied with an "Okay."

After that, he began to seriously reply to messages from other friends and called the police station, school, and hospital to report his safety.

Finally, he touched the watch face on his right wrist, his eyes curving gently as he murmured, "I'm sorry for making you worry too."

The system's voice was still mechanical and indifferent, but it carried an incongruous sob: "It's wonderful that the host is safe." This time, it had truly been terrified.

Lan Yexing sighed with a pang of heartache and softly said, "I'm sorry for making you worry. It won't happen again."

As if infected by the warm yet melancholic atmosphere, Fluff Ball hopped onto the boy's lap with its short legs, rubbing affectionately and contentedly in his embrace before closing its eyes.

Lan Yexing gently stroked its small head, and at this moment, he finally fully understood what Qiao You had endured last night.

He bit his lip, feeling a faint, spreading ache in his heart.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he abruptly looked upstairs:

The tall, handsome young man stood casually and elegantly at the railing of the second-floor corridor. In the interplay of light and shadow, he gazed down at him expressionlessly, having been watching for an unknown duration.

Lan Yexing froze, then offered a soft smile, waving his new phone and the attached golden star, mouthing the words, "I like it very much."

Through the newly installed plugin, Qiao You had almost seen all of Jian Si's messages alongside Lan Yexing, and then personally watched Lan Yexing reply to them. At this moment, a flawless smile finally appeared on his face, but his green eyes were filled with an obscure and dangerous light. While manipulating the boy's phone with his fingers to delete all those messages, he turned and went back to the study—he couldn't go to Lan Yexing now,

Otherwise, he would definitely make Lan Yexing's already uncomfortable body hurt even more due to jealousy and other base emotions.

Lan Yexing watched the young man's tall, straight back from afar, a soft, nostalgic, yet helpless smile gracing his face.

After a long while, his mood slowly settled, and only then did he bother to catch up on more current events.

With a fire of this magnitude, the beloved king naturally had to personally appear to stabilize public morale.

Lan Yexing watched the benevolent old man on screen, kindly comforting the injured civilian students in the hospital, and a cold expression slowly settled on his face: The one who instigated Song Wen to set this fire was clearly him, yet now he could so hypocritically appear before the victims, condescendingly offering them greetings…

This person had coldly intended for countless people to perish in that fire, and all of it was merely to teach a lesson to those nobles attempting to seize the next "Precognitive"…

This old man, in his relentless pursuit of family power, was treating the entire world as mere pawns on his chessboard.

The old man on screen continued to amiably and benevolently reassure the extremely uneasy and agitated populace: "I am deeply saddened and disturbed by such a large fire in Xingdu University. Fortunately, there were no casualties. And I have just received news that student Lan, who was missing in the fire, is safe."

The King: "I assure everyone that the authorities will thoroughly investigate this fire, and all subsequent matters, including campus reconstruction, will proceed in an orderly manner. The entire Central County will subsequently conduct a thorough inspection for fire hazards, and the Royal Guard will assist the police in continuously strengthening urban security to maximize the safety of citizens' lives and property."

The King: "Furthermore, I know that the young students of Xingdu University cannot halt their studies. In three days, they will resume their daily classes. The school, with the support of the authorities and the royal family, will orderly coordinate and arrange the academic and daily lives of all teachers and students. During the reconstruction period of the damaged areas of the school, the royal family is willing to provide all assistance, including classroom venues, to affected teachers and students free of charge. For example, those young students are always welcome to come to the Royal Palace and transform the rigid and solemn palace into a vibrant and lively classroom."

The King: "And my frail second son will also return to the Xingdu University School of Business during this particularly challenging period to complete his studies. He will represent me, the royal family, and all teachers and students in overcoming this challenge."

The bullet screen scrolled frantically. The public, somewhat appeased, continuously flooded the screen with messages expressing their adoration for the king, while also condemning those selfish nobles who routinely exploited the populace and, at critical moments, only knew how to monopolize medical resources.

Lan Yexing watched this scene, his expression growing even colder: the king's hypocrisy and cold-bloodedness were truly chilling.

At least one-third of the students at this university were descendants of nobles. Even if this fire caused no casualties, the king would still ensure those nobles understood its deterrent effect. Even if those great families dared not openly defy the king for the time being, they would harbor resentment over their children almost dying.

...

Now, the relationship between the nobles and the royal family should be at its most tense point, yet the king still sent his child to the campus to bear their anger and the potential for veiled retaliation…

The image of the king and the royal family certainly grew more majestic in the eyes of the public, but the second prince would undoubtedly face a difficult time on campus.

What's more…

Lan Yexing frowned slightly: Leon had said that in order to conquer Qiao You and keep the next "Precognitive" under royal control, the king had conducted human experiments on his younger brother…

That was a very pitiful child…

And since he had already obtained Leon's information, he would do his utmost to save him…

Lan Yexing tightly gripped the phone, which was still live-streaming, and an expression of unwavering determination appeared in his pale eyes.

Three days later, as the King had promised the public, Xingdu University sent out resumption of classes notices to all students.

Lan Yexing and Qiao You returned to campus.

After the fire, many parts of the originally beautiful campus bore ugly burn marks, and many green plants were destroyed, leaving numerous areas bare. Fortunately, the campus was vast, and the buildings of various departments were relatively spread out, allowing most students to quickly resume normal life.

......

Football Field No. 1 and the Department of Literature building were completely reduced to ruins. The students from that department were dispersed and housed by the school, and their classrooms were temporarily borrowed from the School of Business building.

Upon returning to school, Lan Yexing, following the guidance of the school and department, went back to his dormitory, which had been cleared of danger, to inventory his damaged belongings. After reporting to the school, he could receive a subsidy.

The dormitory building, though still structurally sound, was marred with scorch marks everywhere. Lan Yexing looked regretfully at his marshmallow comforter: he had rarely found a comforter that he was so accustomed to and comfortable sleeping with, but unfortunately, it was too burned to be used.

Jiang Xiaozhou paid no mind to his own belongings. He simply looked at the boy and softly said, "It's truly wonderful to know you're okay."

Lan Yexing froze, then turned to look at him, his eyes curving gently as he said, "Thank you for thinking of me. I'm sorry for making you worry."

Jiang Xiaozhou shook his head. He still looked at Lan Yexing, but a strange premonition arose that they would no longer live together and would soon never see the boy again. So he looked at him seriously and gently said, "Xiao Xing, I'm genuinely happy to have met you. Although I know we're not from the same world…"

Lan Yexing harbored many secrets, and Jiang Xiaozhou had known for a long time that he and Lan Yexing would not have much in common in the future.

For instance, students in their department often discussed their futures. In the future envisioned by an ordinary person like himself, he would become a civil servant, start a family, and live a stable, mundane life; other students also had their own plans, and even the usually aloof Jian Si would speak with anticipation about how he wouldn't abandon literature even if he inherited the family business.

But Lan Yexing had never once discussed this topic. It was as if this remarkable young man had never envisioned a future for himself in this world…

From the very beginning, he had a strange feeling that Lan Yexing would one day go very far, but he was incredibly grateful to have become friends with him.

Lan Yexing, completely unaware of the other's thoughts, smiled helplessly: "Why are you suddenly talking about this?"

Jiang Xiaozhou, with a sense of release and sincerity, extended his hand to him: "Nothing. Just, no matter where you go one day, take care."

Lan Yexing blinked, full of doubt, but still returned the handshake: "You too."

After simply packing the usable items, Lan Yexing bid farewell to Jiang Xiaozhou and headed to the School of Business dormitory building with his canvas bag.

He didn't know what Qiao You had done behind the scenes, but before the new dormitory building was completed, he had been assigned to Qiao You's dormitory. Qiao You was now waiting for him by the King's Lake.

Thinking of the young man's face, Lan Yexing couldn't help but quicken his pace, but as he approached King's Lake, his steps suddenly halted.

...

The watch face on his right wrist subtly lit up, and the system's voice sounded: "The Host has sent a new mission."

Lan Yexing's eyes turned cold: "Tell me."

System: "The Host requires the host to assist the second prince, Noang, in conquering Qiao You."

"Now, Noang is heading to King's Lake. He will imitate the scene when the host first met Qiao You, and give Qiao You pudding bread. The host's task is to assist Noang in successfully completing this conquest event and making Qiao You accept the bread."

Lan Yexing frowned slightly: "What if I refuse the mission?"

Will there still be electric shock punishment like before?

But he had always found it strange that he hadn't completed the "Extract Syringe" injection mission, nor had he completed the mission to help Yan Min get close to Qiao You, yet he hadn't received any electric shock punishment. Why?

Just as he was about to ask further, the system answered Lan Yexing's previous question: "The Host says there's no penalty for refusing this mission. However, if you complete this long-term mission and help Noang completely conquer Qiao You, the host will gain all mental power except 'Precognition'."

So, this wasn't a punishment mission, but a reward mission.

Lan Yexing's eyes widened abruptly: all mental power except "Precognition"... wasn't that the King's current state…

What exactly was the Host? What did it want to do?

With sufficient information, he could clearly discern the motives of that most hypocritical and cold-blooded king, but he couldn't comprehend the Host at all…

Lan Yexing took a deep breath, pursed his lips, and continued to stride forward: It's okay, he's not in a hurry, one day, he'll bring that guy to the forefront…

Just then, a panicked scream came from the King's Lake nearby, mixed with a questioning "What are you doing?", and then the sound of someone falling into the water. Lan Yexing's eyes turned cold, and he strode towards the place where the water splashed.

But by the time he got there, the person who had fallen into the water had already been rescued by someone.

The rescuer was Yan Min, and the rescued was a brown-haired boy sitting on the grass in a disheveled state, breathing heavily with his eyebrows lowered. He was tightly clutching a bag of water-soaked pudding bread in his hand.

The boy's demeanor was aloof and pitiful, making it impossible to feel any ill will towards him.

Yan Min was patting the boy's back to help him catch his breath. The person who had pushed the boy into the water had long since disappeared.

Lan Yexing stared blankly at the bag of pudding bread in the boy's hand: He was Noang…

The prince entrusted to him by Leon…

At this moment, Qiao You, who had already spotted Lan Yexing, was walking towards him from beneath a tall walnut tree.

And Yan Min also noticed Lan Yexing. He suddenly looked up at him and called out blankly, "Xiao Xing…"

As if provoked by the words "Xiao Xing," Noang, who was sitting on the ground, trembled slightly. He slowly raised his head, revealing an overly pale face. He looked seriously at the boy who was completely bathed in light not far away.

Qiao You had already stood still behind Lan Yexing. His tall, imposing shadow completely eclipsed the light from Lan Yexing, possessively enveloping him.

He stood right behind Lan Yexing, looking at Yan Min and Noang with a cold expression, his eyes dangerously narrowed.

Noang had already gotten up, holding the bag of bread, and walked towards them, soaking wet.

His dull red eyes showed a blank confusion, and he mechanically muttered, "I want to give it to the person I admire, Qiao You…"

Yan Min stood behind him, watching this scene with a pained expression.

However, when Noang finally stood still in front of Lan Yexing, Yan Min's eyes widened abruptly—

After standing still, Noang simply tilted his head and looked at Lan Yexing with those dull red eyes. A gentle smile appeared on his face, and he struggled to hand the bread in his hand to Lan Yexing: "Xiao Xing, my friend, long time no see…"

In that precious moment of temporary self-control, Noang glanced at Qiao You, a hint of cold numbness flashing obscurely in his expression. When he looked at Lan Yexing again, his expression was full of nostalgia. He feigned pitifulness and looked at the boy, softly saying, "Here… for you to eat."

Lan Yexing watched this scene in shock, his eyes widening abruptly. The next moment, the young man's powerful, muscular arm possessively wrapped around his waist.

Qiao You smiled coldly. He elegantly raised his hand and, with a sharp "smack," almost cruelly knocked the pudding bread out of Noang's hand.