Chapter 54
Chapter 54
The instant Xie Chengze’s tongue swept across his palm, Shen Yuan went rigid. When he recovered, he snatched his hand back in a fluster. The lingering wetness in his palm drained all strength from the entire arm, leaving him unable to lift it again.
A tide of shameful color swept over his cheeks and ears. He lurched to his feet and demanded, “Xie Chengze! You – ”
Xie Chengze propped his head on one hand and stared at him with a contemptuous, vicious smile. “What? Am I forbidden to lick you? Being licked by me is an honor! You should kneel and give thanks!”
I meant to disgust you and teach you a lesson. Maybe next time you’ll remember your place!
Shen Yuan hid the arm behind his back, both embarrassed and furious. His eyes darted away, and an indescribable awkwardness entered his voice. “Since Your Highness is willing to surrender the formula, I have nothing further to say. It is late. You should eat and rest soon.”
With that, he fled through the door in disordered steps.
The room remained silent for a while. Then Xie Chengze’s stifled laughter escaped. He pounded the table and laughed beyond control until tears gathered at the narrow ends of his eyes, making his incomparable face even more radiant, seductive, and soul-stealing.
Yet as he laughed, more and more tears streamed down his face. He scrubbed them harshly from his cheeks and eyes with the already rough fabric of his sleeve, bit his lip, and scoffed, “Shen Yuan, you aren’t likable in the slightest.”
…
That night, Shen Yuan slept restlessly.
He seemed caught in a nightmare. Darkness surrounded him, utterly devoid of light. Dressed in the thin white underrobe he had worn before bed, he wandered without purpose, unable to see any end to the dream.
At some point, his bare foot stepped into a pool of wet, viscous liquid. It held a familiar yet strange warmth, and clearly visible ripples spread across its surface. The warm liquid rose around him like a rapidly advancing tide, covering his ankles, his knees, his waist, and finally his chest. He could not stop walking. His body only grew heavier, as though he would drown in this endless warm sea.
Just as the sultry mire reached his neck, two long, slender hands suddenly pulled him free. Water pattered around him. A burst of brilliant light flashed before his eyes, too bright for him to keep them open.
When he opened them again, the scene had completely changed. He seemed to have returned to his sleeping quarters. He still wore the same underrobe, but his body lay immobile on the bed. He struggled desperately to rise, yet nothing worked.
Then a moist, smooth warmth brushed gently across his palm, a sensation familiar from earlier that day. Only then did one of his hands finally move.
He instinctively turned his head and met a pair of wet phoenix eyes gazing back at him. Large smears of red colored their narrow corners, as though their owner had endured merciless ravishment, making him look pitifully delicate and unbearably alluring.
Their owner wore not a single undergarment. Only the fine, translucent red-and-gold robe of Shu brocade hung loosely around him. He had a face identical to Xie Chengze’s, and the warm tip of his tongue licked across each of Shen Yuan’s fingers.
Every finger it touched slipped free of the dream’s restraints and regained its movement.
Sensing that the man had awakened, the beautiful young man narrowed his smiling eyes. His clear yet irresistibly bewitching voice sounded beside Shen Yuan’s ear like that of a fox spirit luring away a man’s soul. “Young Master Shen~ You’re awake~”
Shen Yuan’s eyes darkened and flickered. “Your Highness… why are you here?”
“Lord Shen is ill. How could I sit by and do nothing?” The beautiful young man lowered his eyes. His pale fingertip danced along Shen Yuan’s arm like the graceful hand of a stage performer, raising waves of tingling, ticklish pleasure wherever it passed and making the heart tremble.
Shen Yuan felt dizzy again. He could not remember how he had fallen ill, nor whether this was dream or reality. The beautiful young man beside him seemed to lose interest and moved on, pressing a palm to Shen Yuan’s chest and tracing the smooth lines of muscle with free, playful strokes, sending shivers of tingling pleasure through him.
At last, those fingertips came to rest on the man’s firm, powerful thigh. Seeing him remain completely still, Xie Chengze suddenly furrowed his brow and complained, “Lord Shen truly is dull. How disappointing.”
With that, he rose to leave.
Panic seized Shen Yuan. He instinctively reached out to stop him, and only then realized he could move again. He hurriedly climbed from the bed and blocked Xie Chengze’s path. Meeting the young man’s bright gaze, which looked both puzzled and expectant, Shen Yuan suddenly had no idea what to say.
The beautiful young man smiled, apparently pleased by his reaction. He returned to the bed and reclined. The Shu-brocade robe carelessly draped around him half concealed and half exposed his pale, tender body. Beneath it, the long, slender line of his waist remained clearly visible, dangerously seductive…
Shen Yuan looked away instinctively, his throat moving. “Your Highness, this is my bed.”
“All beneath Heaven is the sovereign’s domain, and surely that includes its beds…” The beautiful young man propped his head on one slender arm and stared directly at Shen Yuan. Pale fingers idly circled the coarse blanket beneath him. He looked like a precious little cat placed by its owner on ragged burlap, such a waste of beauty that it inspired outrage. “Am I not allowed to sleep in Lord Shen’s bed?”
At some point, a gold-threaded fan appeared in the elegant red-robed young man’s hand. He waved it playfully, and the cool breeze lifted the Shu-brocade robe that barely clung to his body, exposing a broad expanse of enticing skin. At last, Shen Yuan could bear it no longer. He stepped forward, intending to arrange the clothes of this shameless little cat who loved the cool air too much.
Instead, the young man’s arms took the opportunity to loop around his neck. A mysterious force shoved Shen Yuan violently onto the bed, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around Xie Chengze’s lower back and rolled, protecting him from injury.
The candle flame wavered, and their positions reversed. Their overlapping shadows tangled on the wall. The beautiful young man straddled Shen Yuan, kneeling astride his body. Looking up, Shen Yuan saw wet eyes fixed upon him from that magnificent face. Their owner seemed to have suffered a terrible grievance, making a person want to fulfill his every desire. “Lord Shen, I don’t like these clothes.”
The beautiful young man pressed his cheek gently yet firmly into Shen Yuan’s broad, elegant palm and rubbed against it. The corners of his lovely eyes rippled with affection and provocation. “Use this hand to take them off for me. All right?”
Shen Yuan had never seen Xie Chengze display such seductive grace. His mind exploded, and his entire body seemed flooded with blood, leaving him unable to think or move.
When Shen Yuan failed to act, the beautiful young man frowned and brought his full crimson lips to Shen Yuan’s ear. His fragrant breath brushed the skin. “Lord Shen, this is only a dream. What exactly are you afraid of?”
The word “dream” shattered the last of Shen Yuan’s reason and defenses. The beautiful young man above him swayed his waist. Unable to restrain himself, Shen Yuan reached for the loose sash. The red robe cascaded away like a waterfall, revealing a broad expanse of snow-white skin reddened by the sun. The lightest touch drew an uncontrollable murmur from the young man – half muffled pain, half temptation, half feigned resistance.
“Young Master Shen, my waist hurts…”
The beautiful young man’s voice was soft and delicate as a cat’s quiet reproach. Shen Yuan swallowed, his eyes growing darker and more obscure. He knew he should not continue, yet his hands could not resist desire. Burning fingertips kneaded the pale, supple lower back. The fallen red robe barely concealed every secret below, constantly tempting his gaze and fingers to drift, to explore further…
Just as his fingertips approached, the young man’s cold, disgusted voice sounded above him. “Lord Shen, what are you doing?”