Chapter 58
That night, Shen Qi didn't sleep. He waited until the wee hours of the morning, his eyes wide open, waiting for Qin Huan to return.
Staring at the time displayed on his computer, he noticed the single door to the glass house crack open at exactly 3:43am. Qin Huan stepped in from the outdoor grassy area.
Instead of waiting for him in the room, Shen Qi had settled on a reclined massage chair near the door of the treehouse. Catching sight of Qin Huan's silhouette, he broke into a smile and greeted, "You're back?"
Qin Huan seemed surprised. He halted suddenly, a touch of shock flickering in his eyes. Somewhat at a loss, he stammered, "You..."
Shen Qi pressed a button on the chair armrest, tilting the backrest upright as he sat up. His smile faded, and he said firmly, "Stay where you are, I have something to ask you."
Raising his hand, a box of pine nuts appeared on the table in front of him. Although a machine could peel them, he preferred to do so himself.
Crack! A pine nut split apart. His face turned cold. "Speak," he demanded. “Who is it?”
Qin Huan looked bewildered, not understanding what he meant.
Although Shen Qi seemed calm, his eyes reflected clear suspicion, as if he was looking at a faithless man. "For a month, you've vanished every other night. Don't tell me you've been dedicating yourself to national service. I've admitted that I tricked you into this marriage, and I understand if you're upset..."
He pursed his lips, evidently distressed. "I know you fell for the fake, innocent me. But I'm not innocent at all. I'm very calculated, very wicked. I manipulated you, and understand if you don't like it..." His voice hitched, swallowing back the bitterness welling up, "If you've fallen for someone else, just tell me. I'm willing to let you go, to not hold you back from finding happiness."
His last few words were obviously spoken out of spite.
When he finished speaking, he cracked another pine nut and popped it into his mouth.
Qin Huan looked dumbfounded. He thought Shen Qi had uncovered his hidden secret, but instead, he assumed...
Upon reflection, he could understand how that could be the conclusion. Disappearing at midnight and reappearing at dawn…
Nevertheless, relief could be felt from within. "Don't overthink. I'm not in love with anyone else. I only love you."
Shen Qi scoffed. "Alright then, tell me, where have you been going at night these past days?"
"I…" Qin Huan couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth. His words choked in his throat.
"I knew it." Shen Qi assumed a look of resignation, his face clouding over. His eyes turned red, "As expected, I forced it. I know you hate being deceived. I did wrong, and I deserve this."
Qin Huan found it somewhat amusing and ridiculous. He approached, "I really haven't fallen for anyone else, you're overthinking…"
"Stop!" Shen Qi halted him with an outstretched hand, signaling him not to come closer. His face was filled with frustration, "You don't need to explain. An explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up isn't the truth. I understand."
"You understand what?" Qin Huan was helpless, never expecting the situation to escalate like this. Taking a big stride, he stood in front of Shen Qi and quickly came up with a reason, "I went out at night because of some matters. Last month, our spies in the Dark Realm from Vick's team received some news. I went out at night to help Vick eliminate space pirates, not for the reason you imagine."
Seeing Shen Qi's skeptical expression, Qin Huan gritted his teeth, "If you don't believe me, I'll call Vick and have him tell you."
"Don't!" Shen Qi grabbed his hand, "Vick is your subordinate, who knows if you all have planned this together. He would definitely stand by your side."
Qin Huan tried to hug Shen Qi, but his attempt was swatted away, "Things are not as you think…"
"Then what's the truth? Show me evidence!" Shen Qi looked up at him, his emotions running high. His eyes welled up with tears, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall. Despite his hardened expression, he looked wronged, "I'm trapped here anyway, unable to go anywhere or connect to the Skynet. I don't know what's going on outside, and you have the final say. How would I know if you've taken a liking to someone else, yet don't want to let me go? You might want to keep me like those aristocratic families do, nursing me until you're older, so I can help you with your spiritual power. Tell me the truth, I can bear it…"
Qin Huan facepalmed, "You've really misunderstood."
Shen Qi coldly snorted, "I only believe in evidence. Who knows if you're just saying you went somewhere when you were actually flirting with someone…"
In his life, Qin Huan had never encountered such an incident. Back when he was with Alice, she didn't like him and only pretended to be gentle, upholding the demeanor of the Princess. She never showed jealousy or lost her temper. Using her physical condition as an excuse, she kept him at arm's length and even graciously arranged for concubines while feeling remorseful. He hesitated to make things difficult for her, considering their long-standing relationship, and didn't immediately agree nor inform his mother and concubine. Little did he know that later…
So Shen Qi's sudden outburst left him both astonished and at a loss, unsure of what to do.
"Eliminating space pirates is a secret operation. How could there be evidence left behind? But you wouldn't believe even if I let Vick testify."
"Of course, I don't believe it, Vick is your man!" Shen Qi persisted with his point of view. Blinking his eyes, tears fell down, "Forget it, don't say anything more. It would make me look bad. I have no other thoughts. If you have someone you like, just let me go. For the sake of the Shen family, just let me leave. You can rest assured that I won't ask for a single cent from you and will never appear in front of you again to annoy you…"
Qin Huan felt like he didn't start the conversation in the right way today. He really didn't understand how it had spiraled to this point. Hearing Shen Qi insisting on leaving, the tension in his mind snapped, his face darkened, and he scolded, "Rubbish!"
Shen Qi suddenly widened his eyes, stunned. The next second, tears welled up even more, "You're yelling at me? You're actually yelling at me? You…"
Qin Huan frowned, "Let's talk properly, don't make a fuss."
"I'm making a fuss? I'm making a fuss?" Shen Qi could hardly believe it, as he suddenly stood up. Standing too quickly, the table in front of him couldn't be taken away in time, and a plate of pine nuts fell overturned on the ground, rolling all over.
He clenched his teeth, shook off Qin Huan's hand, and his tears fell down without pause. There was no sound, no choking, and no sobbing, just the silent fall of the tears.
Qin Huan was immediately stunned, especially seeing the hint of despair on Shen Qi's face, his heart filled with panic. Realizing that he probably just made the biggest mistake moments ago, he hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him, "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's all my fault…"
Ignoring Shen Qi's resistance this time, Qin Huan held him tightly, not letting him struggle. He kissed Shen Qi's face and gently wiped the tears off one by one, "It's all my fault, don't be upset. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. But I really don't like anyone else. Look, I don't even have time to take care of you, let alone others."
With a resolute look, he proposed, "If you don't believe me, I'll take you with me next time, alright?"
Shen Qi wiped away his tears, avoiding Qin Huan's gaze, "No, I'm not going. Who knows if your 'next time' is just a performance for me."
Helplessly, Qin Huan pivoted Shen Qi's head, compelling him to look at Qin Huan, "Then you tell me, what can I do for you to believe me?"
Shen Qi's eyes flickered, "I can trust you, there are two ways. First, starting from today, you can't go out at night anymore, you can only stay with me. I don't believe that the army can't eliminate space pirates without you. You are the crown prince. What would happen if something happened to you? Even if you don't consider me, you should also consider the entire empire."
Qin Huan didn't respond, signaling him to continue.
"The second..." Looking at Qin Huan's expression, Shen Qi finally revealed his ultimate goal, "To prove if you are lying or not, there's actually a very simple way. Let's form a spiritual bond."
Qin Huan's expression subtly changed.
Upon seeing this, Shen Qi's face also immediately changed: "As I thought, I knew you were hiding something from me. If you had nothing to hide, what's wrong with forming a spiritual bond?"
As he spoke, the light in his eyes dimmed completely, and despair quickly spread across his face.
"I...," Qin Huan hesitated, and his grip on Shen Qi loosened.
Shen Qi pushed him away, took a step back, wiped away his tears, and took a deep breath, "You don't have to say anything, I understand. Love is mutual, there's no need to make it so unbearable. I was the one who insisted from the beginning." He pretended to be nonchalant, "We're both men, neither of us owes each other anything. Anyway, you enjoyed when I did, and there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Maybe I'll quickly find true love again. Maybe in a few years, I can even marry someone else and have children..."
Qin Huan's persistence broke, and he gritted his teeth, "I won't allow it!" His gaze was gloomy and frightening.
The light in Shen Qi's eyes brightened at his reaction but then dimmed again, "So do you want to hug left and right?" After he said this, he paused and suddenly laughed bitterly, "Look at me, you're the crown prince, you have the right to take multiple spouses. You can have two concubines once you become king, and the whole empire will be yours. You can like whomever you want, what does that make me?"
He murmured, "I was wrong, so wrong, right from the start..."
Watching Shen Qi's despair, Qin Huan's internal panic couldn't be suppressed. He finally understood that locking someone up was pointless, losing love was what was truly terrifying.
Two voices were wrestling in his mind, one saying, "See, no one in this world will ever love you. What use is love? Power is what's most important."
The other was arguing, "That's not true, happiness is just at your fingertips, if only you'd reach out."
"Stop kidding yourself. Once you form a spiritual bond, your dark thoughts and deeds will be instantly exposed. Think about all the people you've killed. Who would love a murderous maniac, let alone a maniac with mental issues?"
"Xiao Qi won't care about all these things, he truly likes you, and you must believe him!"
"You can't believe him! He's a liar, don't forget he was deceiving you from the beginning!"
"No, Xiao Qi has been honest with you, it's you who've been lying to him!"
Shen Qi looked at Qin Huan's distorted and changing gaze, knowing that he was struggling. Seeing his eyes getting redder, seemingly more and more in pain, he worried that he might suddenly lose control and hurriedly said, "I know that suggesting the spiritual bond was sudden. How about we both calm down and think things through? Let's rest first, and then decide by noon. How about that?"
Qin Huan finally came back to his senses after a long time of struggling, and deeply looked at Shen Qi, "Alright."
For the first time ever, the two didn't sleep together or do anything at all. Shen Qi wasn't sure if Qin Huan slept, but he himself didn't close his eyes for even a moment. Lying on the bed, he carefully reviewed their previous interactions. Qin Huan's every gaze and the curve of his lips at every moment were brought forth by Shen Qi for detailed analysis.
As noon approached, the bedroom door opened, and Qin Huan walked over, squatting down by the bed, gently caressing Shen Qi's cheek. His gaze was calm and still, "I agree to form a spiritual bond with you."
Shen Qi heaved a huge sigh of relief.
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