Late at night, the candlelight flickered in the wind. Chu Yin opened his eyes and rubbed his brow, staring blankly at the red canopy above him.
His hand froze mid-rub as fragments of memory flashed through his mind.
His fingertips trembled slightly. It seemed that in front of her, he had completely torn off his mask, revealing the ugliest side of himself.
After a long moment, he rested his hand on his forehead and let out a self-mocking laugh. Little Rabbit must have been terrified.
Good. This time, the Princess Consort of Yan had been frightened without him even raising a hand.
Yet, why did he feel inexplicably restless in his heart?
The other hand hanging at the edge of the bed seemed to stir slightly.
“Your Highness, you’re awake?” A soft, sweet voice brimmed with joy.
Chu Yin turned his head in surprise. A small head peeked up at him, thick lashes fluttering rapidly.
She hadn’t been scared away?
Suppressing the strangeness in his heart, he looked at her with mild disdain. “Are you blind?”
Yu Jiao pouted. “Your Highness, you don’t know, I was really scared just now. It was terrifying.”
The person on the bed stiffened almost imperceptibly, fingers silently gripping the quilt, veins faintly visible.
As expected, it was all an act.
She was just like the others.
His expression darkened instantly, yet the person beside him could not see it.
Yu Jiao hugged his arm and nuzzled against him, muttering, “You fainted without a word, and you scared me so much! I was worried sick.”
Chu Yin’s mind barely caught up. She was afraid… he had fainted, not afraid of seeing him lose control with red eyes?
A little rabbit seemed to have intruded into his heart. He couldn’t describe the feeling—only that it felt strangely soft.
His face, however, remained calm as he glanced at her. “Hmph, should this Prince, have warned you before I fainted?”
Yu Jiao: “……”
Pouting, Yu Jiao glared at him, then lowered her head and fiddled with his fingers, saying nothing more.
“Admit your mistake,” a low voice suddenly commanded.
“Ah?” Yu Jiao froze, staring at him blankly.
Chu Yin turned his head proudly. “Admit your mistake, and I, the Prince, will forgive you.”
Yu Jiao blinked, then suddenly realized he was talking about her trying to run away. Her lips curved into a small smile, revealing two sweet dimples as she grasped one of his fingers and wiggled it.
“Your Highness~ I was wrong, please forgive me?”
Hmph, admitting a mistake was like flirting.
Enchantress.
Chu Yin lazily lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. Rarely showing such fearless courage, she was reluctantly forgiven.
Next time, he thought, he would just break her legs.
He hummed softly and added, “Promise.”
Yu Jiao immediately understood. She straightened up, holding up three fingers with a serious expression. “I, Yu Jiao, promise our Highness that I will never, ever run away.”
After speaking, she giggled and hooked her pinky with his, pressing their thumbs together. “Sealed.”
“Now is Your Highness satisfied?”
Chu Yin coldly withdrew his hand, pointing at the stamped place with his thumb and forefinger. “Childish.”
Yu Jiao took the medicine she had prepared earlier, looking at it in her hands. Just applying a medicinal patch was difficult enough—how would she get him to drink this bowl?
One hand suddenly reached out, took the medicine from her, and drank it expressionlessly.
“Wow! Your Highness is amazing! One gulp!” Yu Jiao exclaimed as if witnessing something extraordinary.
Chu Yin nearly spat out the medicine.
Wait, something seemed off.
Yu Jiao suddenly realized, “Your Highness usually resists medicine, doesn’t he?”
Their eyes met, and the room was silent for a second.
Chu Yin scowled, set the bowl down, waved to extinguish the candlelight, and said sharply, “Sleep!”
Yu Jiao removed her outerwear and carefully lay beside him, inching closer so as not to disturb him.
Chu Yin frowned, seeing there was still space for half a person in between. His expression was displeased.
“Staying this far away… did you see something this Prince, should not see?”
Yu Jiao drew a sharp breath, feeling a chill down her back, and silently moved closer.
Chu Yin’s expression remained annoyed. He scooped her into his embrace, pressing his face against her shoulder, nuzzling, and closing his eyes comfortably.
Yu Jiao froze. She accidentally pressed against the bite mark, hissing in pain.
Chu Yin paused, opening his eyes slowly. Even in the darkness, he saw the row of obvious teeth marks.
From her earlobe down to her neck, the bite marks had turned a deep purple.
His eyes darkened. Foolish—she didn’t know to keep her distance.
Yu Jiao, having stayed with him for most of the day, had already begun to nod off. Now, lying in his warm embrace, she quickly fell asleep.
Listening to her steady breathing, his black eyes opened. His fingers traced the wound on her neck gently, carefully, over and over.
Even in her sleep, Yu Jiao whimpered softly in pain.
“Fool,” he murmured.
He leaned closer, kissing the bruised area gently, his tongue brushing over the wound. The skin, bitten into slight unevenness, felt delicate under his touch.
He kissed over the uneven surface slowly and lightly, covering the entire bite mark.
The bitten area was damp, and his gaze shifted to her small face, brow furrowed in sleep.
Chu Yin smoothed out the little hills and valleys with soft, gentle kisses.
He applied a medicinal plaster on the wound, then wrapped her back into his embrace. This time, however, he rested his head on hers instead of burying it in her neck.
…
When Yu Jiao woke up, she instinctively touched the wound and murmured, “Strange… it doesn’t hurt anymore overnight.”
She sat before the bronze mirror, staring absentmindedly at her silky long hair. She had originally planned to go out yesterday but had run into Chu Yin’s episode. Ying Feng had mentioned it was related to his past.
In modern times, Yu Jiao was almost an orphan, even though her parents were alive. She had been abandoned from childhood and grew up relying on neighbors’ kindness. One could say she was raised on charity.
Without those kind neighbors, there would be no Yu Jiao today.
She still had good people around her, but what about him?
Ying Feng said everyone had rejected him.
“What are you thinking?” A sudden voice startled Yu Jiao. She looked through the mirror at the person behind her.
He… shouldn’t be someone unwanted.
Yu Jiao raised an innocent, harmless smile and looked up at him. “I was thinking about Your Highness~”
“Thinking about Your Highness is good. Thinking about Your Highness’s face, Your Highness, heroic and extraordinary, unmatched in the world, who wouldn’t say he’s handsome?”
“Is that so?” Chu Yin’s lips curled into a sly smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.
“Yes,” Yu Jiao replied without hesitation.
Chu Yin raised an eyebrow and let out a self-mocking laugh. “Then why do people say this Prince, am capricious and my hands are stained with life?
Why do they tremble when they see this Prince’s face?
Why do they tell their children that misbehavior means being punished by this Prince, and everyone begs me to spare them?
Why do they call me a demon crawling out of hell?”
“Because they’re blind,” Yu Jiao said, resting her head against him, soft and coquettish. “My Highness is the best, the most handsome, no arguments.”
Chu Yin’s gaze on her was unreadable, leaving Yu Jiao a little nervous.
She remembered asking, as a child, why other kids had parents, and when she was told she was unwanted, neighbors would say she was an angel sent from heaven. Compliments made her happy.
She wanted to praise him too—would it make him happy?
Chu Yin didn’t know her little thoughts. He was only curious—whether a mouth that spoke so sweetly would taste sweet too.
He lifted her chin and pressed a kiss to her lips.
Her lips were as soft as ever, and yes, they tasted slightly sweet.
A mouth so eloquent and sweet—apparently, last night’s words had been remembered.
It seemed he would have to remind her gently, instead of threatening to break her legs, next time.
Satisfied, he let her go, twirling her hair around his fingers lazily. “Don’t you think your head is missing some hair accessories? Tell Ying Jue to send some.”
Then he added, “If not, I’ll break your legs.”
Yu Jiao’s eyes rolled. A sudden idea sparked. She tugged his sleeve, pouting. “I don’t like the ones they picked. Will Your Highness accompany me to the shop to choose?”