Chapter 16 Wanting to Keep Him Close, Teasing Him

Chapter 16: Wanting to Keep Him Close, to Tease Him

Luo Yunchen looked at the face before him, brimming with anticipation, with a trace of caution hidden in the depths of his eyes.

Luo Yunchen opened his mouth but found he couldn't utter a single word of refusal, finally nodded, saying, "I am willing."

Su Zheng's eyes crinkled with a smile: "Alright, it's a deal."

"Mm."

Su Zheng picked up a piece of lily pastry, raised it slightly, and asked, "Want a bite? Oh, I washed my hands—they're clean."

Luo Yunchen let out a low laugh: "Your Highness doesn't mind me, so how could I have a problem with your hands? Then I'll trouble Your Highness to feed me."

Seeing he wanted to eat, Su Zheng brought it over and offered it to him.

But Luo Yunchen didn't reach out to take it; instead, he lifted his head slightly and parted his lips, the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Su Zheng: "..."

Kid, your lack of manners is getting way too practiced!

Su Zheng had no choice but to indulge him and feed him himself.

But as long as the male lead could guarantee his happiness in this life, he really didn't care about these small things now.

The lily pastry was small; Su Zheng held it with two fingers and popped the whole thing into Luo Yunchen's mouth.

When Luo Yunchen closed his mouth, he caught Su Zheng's fingertips, and when he pulled them out, his fingertips still felt warm.

Su Zheng unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together and asked Luo Yunchen, "How is it? Is it to your liking? Want another?"

"Alright."

So Su Zheng started another round of patient feeding, though it didn't go on for long—Luo Yunchen still had to be careful with his diet.

That night.

Before bed, Su Zheng helped Luo Yunchen take care of another bodily need.

After that, he seriously warned Luo Yunchen: "Don't move around at night! If you need anything, just call for me. If you can't wake me, call for Guard Xu—he's right outside the hall, just speak up and he'll hear. Got that?"

Luo Yunchen nodded obediently: "Got it. I'll behave and not move a muscle."

Su Zheng nodded in satisfaction, picked up Luo Yunchen, and settled him back down.

Going back to the daybed, he lay down, and Su Zheng told the system: "System, keep an eye on the male lead's condition at all times. If there's any sign of danger, wake me up right away."

"Okay, host!"

Su Zheng had no idea how long he'd been asleep.

Half-asleep, he heard a voice calling him.

"Host, host, wake up! Something's up with the male lead!"

Su Zheng jolted awake and sat up, looked over at the bed, and while pulling on his boots and getting off the daybed, he asked the system: "System, what's up? What happened to the male lead?"

"I have no idea!"

Su Zheng: "..."

Su Zheng: "System, can you be any more useless?"

"Host, I really have no idea what happened. The male lead's been asleep, but his darkening value suddenly spiked. Even though it's a small shift, it's still flirting with death! We can't take any chances! So host, go check on him and calm him down as soon as possible—the darkening value can't go up any more!"

Hearing this, Su Zheng didn't dare waste any time. He walked to the bed and pulled back the gauze curtain.

Luo Yunchen was still lying flat on the bed, eyes shut tight, brows deeply furrowed almost into a knot, lips moving as he murmured something unintelligible.

His arm would occasionally swing up fiercely, as if striking someone with ruthless determination.

Su Zheng immediately realized—Luo Yunchen was having a nightmare.

He reached out and touched Luo Yunchen's forehead; it wasn't hot, so he probably didn't have a fever.

Likely, today's medicinal broth lacked the calming ingredients, and combined with the stimulation from earlier in the day, it had triggered the nightmare.

Su Zheng didn't dare let him keep moving like this—it might aggravate his wounds.

He quickly took off his boots, climbed onto the bed, sat on Luo Yunchen's thighs, and leaned down, using all his strength to pin Luo Yunchen's arms and stop him from moving.

To prevent Luo Yunchen's fingers from straining and reopening the wounds on his palms, Su Zheng moved one hand down, slowly smoothing out Luo Yunchen's palm and interlocking their fingers, palm against palm.

Up close, Su Zheng could also make out the fragmented words coming from Luo Yunchen's mouth.

"Die! Die!"

"Don't..."

"No..."

"Can't..."

"Die! You all... deserve to die..."

Su Zheng didn't know what he was dreaming about, but from the ruthless, trembling whispers, he could sense the immense grief, despair, and helplessness in his heart.

The despair and desolation of this powerless struggle stirred a faint emotion in Su Zheng's long-numbed feelings, even causing his heart to ache.

Su Zheng savored it—the soul trapped in some nightmare hell before him actually made him feel a pang of pity.

Su Zheng softened his voice and coaxed gently: "Luo Yunchen, those who deserve to die—they will all die."

"Luo Yunchen, don't be afraid. I'm here. It's okay."

"Luo Yunchen, don't worry. No one will bully you anymore."

"Luo Yunchen, rest easy. It's fine. Nothing will happen."

"Luo Yunchen..."

The young man's voice was clear and pure, driving away the haunting demons and shattering the dark abyss.

Luo Yunchen seemed to be soothed, gradually calming down, his brows slowly relaxing.

Before falling asleep, Luo Yunchen murmured softly: "Grandfather..."

Su Zheng heard it and replied with a tender tone: "Alright, good grandson, sleep well."

Sliding quietly out of bed, Su Zheng still didn’t let go of their interlocked fingers.

He slumped onto the footboard, his head resting against the edge of the bed, one hand pressing Luo Yunchen’s palm to his own chest, the other gripping Luo Yunchen’s other wrist, and closed his eyes to sleep.

The sky was just about to lighten, but not yet.

Luo Yunchen opened his eyes, sensing something unusual beside him. Turning his head, he saw the young man sleeping soundly by his pillow.

His loose, ink-black hair covered half of the boy’s face, making his skin look even paler and cooler.

A few strands of flowing black hair curled over the boy’s long, thick eyelashes, brushing against his rosy, soft lips.

Luo Yunchen’s gaze shifted, landing on those slightly parted lips, staring deeply.

The more he looked, the more they looked delicious, downright tempting.

Luo Yunchen licked the corner of his mouth, his eyes darkening to a deep crimson, flickering with a strange emotion.

Luo Yunchen had already figured out that this person was not that Crown Prince—neither the one from before nor the one after.

Some things are etched into your bones, impossible to discard.

The original crown prince could never have taken care of him and served him like this.

Luo Yunchen wasn’t sure who this person was or what their intentions were.

But what he could be certain of was that he was interested in this person.

He wanted to keep him by his side, to mess with and play with him.

In that case, the future would surely be interesting!

He didn’t know why he felt such a strong interest in this person, nor did he need to.

He only needed to be sure that he wanted this person, wanted to keep him by his side.

No matter the form, he wouldn’t allow any chance of this person leaving him!