Arthur wandered through the vast ballroom of Buckingham Palace like a headless fly, his heart sinking like a heavy weight.
The champagne had lost its flavor, and the buzzing music in his ears had grown exceptionally piercing.
He couldn’t find him.
Shen Yanzi was nowhere to be found.
Did he really leave?
Did he leave because he was angry at me?
Just because I danced with that Spanish peacock?
Arthur felt a mix of panic and grievance, along with an inexplicable touch of anger.
On what grounds!
Didn’t he chat quite happily with that Duke’s daughter himself?
What right does he have to throw a fit and walk out!
That “closet” iceberg vinegar jar!
Holding back his frustration, Arthur didn’t want to stay in the ballroom any longer. He informed an attendant that he was feeling unwell and slipped out early.
The cool night breeze blew against him, helping him calm down slightly, but the sense of loss and irritability in his heart only became more pronounced. He walked sluggishly toward his private car, where the chauffeur was already waiting by the open door.
With his head hanging low, Arthur was just about to bend over and climb in when the corner of his eye caught something
Parked not far from his own car was a familiar black Bentley.
The window was halfway down, revealing Shen Yanzi’s expressionless profile. He appeared to be looking at his phone, the light from the screen making his jawline appear even colder and harder.
He hadn’t left!
Arthur’s heart instantly felt like a roller coaster, plummeting from the depths only to be thrust violently into the sky!
Without even thinking, his feet automatically took a turn, and he walked toward the Bentley.
As he drew closer, that small sense of grievance and anger resurfaced. He stood outside the window, puffing out his cheeks, his tone a bit sharp: “Hey! Why did you leave early? The ball isn’t even over yet!”
Shen Yanzi slowly raised his head, moving his gaze from the screen to Arthur’s face. His eyes were deep and dark, devoid of readable emotion, yet Arthur felt the surrounding temperature drop several degrees.
“It seems Your Highness was dancing quite contentedly; you still have the spare time to worry about whether I’ve left.”
Shen Yanzi spoke in a flat, monotone voice. It was impossible to tell his mood, but the flavor of his words was as sour as could be.
Arthur was choked by the remark. Just as he was about to retort with “Who was contented?”, he saw Shen Yanzi’s fingers reach out through the car window.
Two tickets were pinched between his fingertips.
Arthur looked closer they were tickets for Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House! And they were for the best private box! The date was tomorrow night!
He froze, staring foolishly at the tickets before looking up at Shen Yanzi’s icy face.
What… what does this mean?
We just watched it yesterday, and we’re watching it again tomorrow?
When did he even buy these?
Shen Yanzi shook the two tickets. His eyes remained devoid of warmth, and his tone even carried a hint of mockery: “It seems Your Highness prefers the passionate dance steps of Spain and has lost interest in such dull operas.”
With that, he made a move to retract the tickets.
“Who says!” Arthur snapped back to reality, blurted out the words without thinking, and practically snatched the two tickets from Shen Yanzi’s fingertips. He gripped them tightly in his palm, as if afraid the man would go back on his word.
The edges of the ticket paper were a bit rough against his hand, but Arthur’s heart felt suddenly filled with something swollen, sour, and sweet.
He lowered his head, looking at the words Don Giovanni on the tickets. The tips of his ears turned red, yet he kept up his stubborn front, muttering softly, “…I’ll go, then. It’s not like… it’s not like I have anything else to do.”
Watching Arthur’s duplicity clinging to the tickets while acting like he didn’t care the frost in the depths of Shen Yanzi’s eyes seemed to melt slightly. He said nothing more, simply unlocking the car door.
Arthur blinked, not quite understanding the meaning of the gesture.
“Aren’t you getting in?” Shen Yanzi turned his head to look at him, a brow slightly arched. “Or does Your Highness wish to go back and find that… dance partner?”
There it was again! That sour tone!
The small bit of awkwardness in Arthur’s heart was instantly washed away by those words, replaced by a surge of inexplicable courage and impulse.
He gave a huff, pulled the door open, and climbed in defiantly, plopping down right next to Shen Yanzi.
With a thud, the car door closed.
The sealed space instantly cut off the clamor of the outside world. Inside the car, there was nothing but their somewhat erratic breathing and the faint, cold scent of cedar emanating from Shen Yanzi.
Only then did Arthur belatedly feel a sense of nervousness and embarrassment. He squeezed the two opera tickets tightly, his knuckles turning white. Not knowing where to look, he could only stare at the back of the driver’s seat.
The chauffeur seemed to have received a silent command; he didn’t start the car immediately, nor did he look back, remaining as quiet as if he didn’t exist.
The air seemed to solidify, permeated by a subtle, hair-trigger tension. Arthur felt his own heartbeat sounding exceptionally loud in the quiet carriage.
He used the corner of his eye to steal a glance at Shen Yanzi.
Shen Yanzi was also leaning against the backrest, his face turned toward the window, leaving Arthur with only a cold, hard jawline. However, the hand resting on his knee seemed to have tightened slightly into a fist.
Arthur remembered the clenched fist at the ball, his sour words just now, and the fact that he had specifically bought tickets to wait here… a bold, almost crazy thought suddenly surged into his mind.
He turned his head abruptly, gathered his courage, and looked at Shen Yanzi’s profile. His voice trembled with nerves, yet carried a hint of defiant provocation:
“Shen Yanzi, are… are you jealous?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Arthur regretted them.
Too direct!
Too shameful!
He wished he could bite off his own tongue!
Shen Yanzi’s body seemed to stiffen almost imperceptibly. He slowly, very slowly, turned his head. His gaze landed heavily on Arthur’s face.
In the dim light of the car, those black eyes were as deep as a bottomless cold pool, swirling with complex emotions that Arthur couldn’t understand. There was annoyance, endurance, and a trace of… embarrassment at being exposed.
Being stared at like that made Arthur’s scalp tingle. He instinctively tried to shrink back, but his mouth refused to admit defeat as he stammered to cover up: “I… I was just asking randomly… if you don’t want to say anything, then…”
Before he could finish, Shen Yanzi suddenly moved!
Without any warning, he lunged out and grabbed Arthur’s wrist!
The force was so great it nearly made Arthur’s bones ache!
“Ah!” Arthur let out a cry of surprise. Before he could react, he was yanked forward by a massive force!
In a dizzying blur, he was roughly pinned against the soft leather seat by Shen Yanzi!
In the next second, a shadow loomed over him.
Shen Yanzi’s body hovered over him with an intense, oppressive weight. One hand remained locked on Arthur’s wrist, pinning it against the backrest, while the other braced against the seat beside Arthur’s ear, completely trapping him within his scent and his form.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
Arthur could clearly see the dark storm swirling in Shen Yanzi’s nearby black eyes and feel his hot, rapid breath against his face, carrying a hint of wine and fury.
“You…” Arthur was scared witless, his eyes wide and round, his heart ready to leap from his chest. He was so stiff he couldn’t move.
Shen Yanzi looked down at him, his gaze as dangerous as a beast that had been thoroughly provoked. His voice was terrifyingly raspy, every word sounding as if it were forced through gritted teeth:
“Jealous?”
He repeated the words, the corner of his mouth curling into an icy, almost cruel arc.
“Arthur Windsor, do you think that because I’ve been indulgent with you, I truly have no way of dealing with you?”
His gaze scraped like a knife over Arthur’s face, which had turned pale from the shock, before fixing intently on those slightly trembling lips that were parted in surprise.
Terrified by the madness and fury in the man’s eyes, Arthur’s body began to tremble uncontrollably. He wanted to explain, to push him away, but found he had no strength at all, able to emit only a faint gasp: “I… I didn’t…”
“Shut up.”
Shen Yanzi let out a low growl, suddenly lowered his head, and kissed him fiercely!
It wasn’t a gentle touch, but a nearly punitive act of plundering and angry biting!
Those scorching lips ground roughly against Arthur’s, the force so great it nearly bruised them. Their teeth knocked together, bringing a slight sting and a powerful shock.
Shen Yanzi’s tongue unceremoniously pried open Arthur’s defenseless teeth, invading brutally and sweeping through every corner of his mouth with an indisputable sense of possession and punishment.
“Mmph…!” Arthur was completely stunned, his mind a total blank. All of his senses were occupied by this sudden, incredibly ferocious kiss.
It hurt… it hurt a little…
But more than that, it was numbing, dizzying a suffocating, overwhelming surge of stimulation.
He made a futile attempt to struggle, but his wrist was only gripped tighter. His body turned as soft as water, leaving him able only to passively endure this kiss fueled by fire and intense jealousy.
Inside the carriage, nothing remained but the sound of labored breathing and the skin-crawling sound of the kiss.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Arthur felt he might black out from a lack of oxygen, Shen Yanzi finally released him.
Their foreheads were pressed together, both panting heavily.
Shen Yanzi’s gaze was still terrifyingly deep, swirling with lingering desire and rage. His thumb roughly wiped across Arthur’s lips, which were red, swollen, and wet from the kiss. His voice was hoarse beyond recognition:
“The way you look when I’m jealous…”
He paused, his hot breath fanning against Arthur’s sensitive skin with a nearly cruel tenderness,
“…is better looking than usual.”
Arthur shivered, and the rims of his eyes turned red instantly whether from grievance or the sheer intensity of the moment, he didn’t know. He looked at Shen Yanzi’s face so close, so full of predatory aura and his heart beat so fast it felt like it would explode.
Having said this, Shen Yanzi seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He suddenly released him and sat back in his own seat. He reached up to loosen his tie with a hint of irritability and turned his head to look out the window, leaving only a tense, cold profile.
It was as if the person who had just lost control, pinning him to the seat and kissing him forcefully, wasn’t him at all.
Arthur remained slumped in the seat, his lips numb and aching, his entire body trembling slightly. He stared blankly at Shen Yanzi’s profile, his fingers instinctively moving to touch his swollen lips.
The man’s overbearing scent and touch still lingered there.
The car fell into a dead silence.
Only their labored, rapid breaths not yet settled intertwined and echoed in the confined space.
Arthur slowly curled his body into a ball, burying his burning face in his knees.
It was over.
This time…
He had really teased out a flame…
And…
This fire…
Seemed to have set him ablaze as well.