Chapter 102: The Nameless Little Lover
Mo Yin strode forward, wanting to follow the two, but Hong Que waved him off with a task. “Mo Yin, go to the storage area and find tents and food for our camp.”
The youth in black seemed to turn a deaf ear. He lowered his head and said to Xie Qiang in his wooden voice, “Brother goes. I stay with you?”
Xie Qiang was about to say something when Hong Que quickly poked her waist with his finger, winking and grimacing. “I have something to tell you!”
Xie Qiang remembered there was still a misunderstanding between them that needed to be cleared up, so she said to Mo Yin, “Go find the tents.”
Only then did Mo Yin turn and leave in silence.
Forget it. Must give… Brother and her space.
Seeing Mo Yin leave sensibly, Hong Que breathed a sigh of relief. He then familiarized himself with the girl’s waist, lifting her onto his forearm with practiced ease.
Seeing her hook her arms around his neck in fear, the corners of his lips couldn’t help but curve up. “What are you afraid of? You think I’d drop you?”
Xie Qiang glared at him slightly. “I can walk by myself!”
“No, I want to carry you.” Hong Que lifted his head proudly, like a male bird showing off that he had gained the favor of a beautiful female. He boasted, “I have to let a certain someone know that the person you like in your heart is me! I’m the Sentinel you want to be marked by!”
“? Who likes you?” Hearing this, Xie Qiang was speechless. “Have you misunderstood something? I only think of you as…”
“No need to explain; I understand.” Hong Que interrupted her, his handsome, rakish face full of knowing. “You used to bully me all the time, but now that you’ve suddenly fallen for me, you’re naturally unwilling to admit it out loud.”
He gave a light cough, his face turning slightly red. “But I can see the love in your adoring eyes. You love me.”
Xie Qiang looked at the red-haired youth with utter bewilderment.
This was getting more and more ridiculous. It was “like” a moment ago, and now it had become “love”?
“I really didn’t expect you to love me so much that you were willing to risk your life for me.” With that, Hong Que lowered his head shyly, his earlobes turning red. He whispered a hint to the girl, “The conditions for the Zhu Que family to accept a proposal are very simple. As long as you promise me a position as an Imperial Consort…”
“Of course, the First Consort position would be best. At the very least, it has to be the Second Consort.” Hong Que babbled as they walked. “I’m telling you now, once I marry into the Imperial Family, you can only be good to me—wait, no, you can only be good to me and Mo Yin, and you have to be better to me than to Mo Yin… Hey! Are you listening!”
Seeing Xie Qiang spacing out, shielding her eyes with her hand to look into the distance, Hong Que grabbed her hand and pulled it down, his tone dissatisfied. “I haven’t even married into the family yet, and you’re already giving me the cold shoulder!”
If I actually let her sleep with me, what would happen? She wouldn’t just cast me aside like a used shoe, would she!
Xie Qiang looked down and blinked. “Are you finished?”
Hong Que indignantly pinched her soft palm, thinking to himself how good it felt to touch while saying crossly, “I’m not finished!”
“Then don’t say any more.” Xie Qiang sighed, finally finding an opening to explain. “Da Hong, I need to make an announcement. I don’t like you, and I don’t love you.”
Hong Que froze, then looked at her with a face full of complete disbelief. “How is that possible? Back in the wormhole, you clearly risked your life to save me!”
“That was because… anyway, even if it were someone else, I would have gone to save them.”
Xie Qiang said seriously, “I don’t know what I did to make you misunderstand so deeply, but I must clarify: I am not what you think. I won’t have Imperial Father propose to your family, and you won’t become my Consort.”
Her expression was too serious. Hong Que stopped in his tracks, staring at her blankly.
His eyes were filled with a sadness that seemed ready to shatter at any moment. Because of his stubborn and proud nature, he refused to show the pathetic state of a loser. Just as Xie Qiang was beginning to feel a bit of pity, she heard him ask in a raspy voice, “So, you want me to be your nameless little lover, kept outside the palace?”
Xie Qiang: …
Xie Qiang: ?
Wait, brother! How on earth are you interpreting this???
Xie Qiang was about to go crazy. “That’s not what I meant!”
If it’s not what you meant, then why refuse a proposal and a Consort position? Doesn’t that mean you want me to follow you without status or title?
And saying you’d risk your life for others… simply put, your heart is too big, and there are too many Sentinels you want to fit inside, so there’s no room for me!
It felt as if his heart were soaked in the sour fruits she had fed him; the acidity made it hard to breathe. Hong Que gritted his teeth and asked with a stiff face, “What about Mo Yin? Will you marry him as a Consort?”
If that kid could become a Consort, it wouldn’t be too bad. At that time, he’d just have Mo Yin whisper in Xie Qiang’s ear every day…
“This…” Xie Qiang was stumped. She actually liked Mo Yin quite a bit, and her relationship with him was indeed much more intimate than with Hong Que.
But if she married Mo Yin, every time they did that, wouldn’t Hong Que feel it too?
Xie Qiang finally realized that Hong Que and Mo Yin were an inseparable pair. If she wanted to marry Mo Yin, she had to bring Hong Que into her harem as well. If she didn’t want to marry Hong Que, then she would have to give up Mo Yin too.
Thinking of the quiet youth in black nuzzling her face on the stone bed, and then thinking of Hong Que preparing to sacrifice himself to save her, Xie Qiang wiped her face and compromised. “Fine, I’ll give you both status.”
Hong Que’s mouth instantly curled up in joy, but he quickly pressed his lips down and snorted, “Wasn’t it better to just say that in the first place?”
He sneakily looked around to ensure Mo Yin wouldn’t suddenly pop out from somewhere before saying toughly, “My status must be higher than Mo Yin’s, you hear me?”
“…” Xie Qiang found it a bit funny. “I hear you.”
“Hmph.” The red-haired youth gave a satisfied snort. Remembering something, he hurriedly added, “Right, that defective product named Sen while you were asleep, he secretly bit a permanent mark on your back!”
At the mention of this, Hong Que’s face darkened with rage. “Under Imperial Law, that’s enough to merit a death sentence! He took advantage of the fact that he could deal with the Zerg Empress to mark you without permission. Such audacity! Xie Qiang, you must break off the engagement as soon as you get back!”
As long as Sen Ji is kicked out, I’ll be the First Consort!
“Um…” Seeing Hong Que’s righteous indignation, Xie Qiang said in a weak voice, “The mark was with my consent; Sen Ji didn’t bite it secretly.”
Hong Que’s words stalled. He looked at her and glared, saying unhappily, “You’re actually shielding him?”
“No…” Xie Qiang’s gaze drifted slightly as she avoided the main point. “After he was interfered with by the Zerg Empress’s pheromones, he had to be… through a permanent mark or whatever, to save his life.”
Hong Que froze. His mind quickly replayed the events of that day. Realizing something, he shuddered, his eyes widening in disbelief. “So, that night after I left, you were marked by him?”
“Mm…”
“Dammit!” Hong Que was so angry he kicked a passing pebble. Thinking that it was because he had given Sen Ji the opportunity, he was both furious and regretful. “What right does that defective product have!”
“Can you stop calling him a defective product?” Xie Qiang corrected. “It’s really disrespectful.”
“Why are you always siding with him? I won’t allow you to side with him!” Hong Que’s mood was incredibly stifled. Seeing her defend Sen Ji, his heart was full of bitterness. He couldn’t help but bite her thigh. “I’m the Consort you sincerely and proactively want to marry! He’s just a cold tool of an Imperial marriage! You should be better to me!”
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