ISMW Chapter 26

Yu Chen strongly agreed.

 

He could barely distinguish whether it was more unbearable to watch Yun Xunlan take the test in the simulated battlefield or to be teased by Yun Xunlan in reality.

 

Upon hearing Yun Xunlan say they should end the tutoring session, Yu Chen eagerly stood up from his chair, ready to escort Yun Xunlan back to his bedroom, then dutifully stand guard outside the bedroom all night, fulfilling his role as a guard.

 

Unexpectedly, after standing up, Yun Xunlan didn’t walk towards the study door, but instead strolled deeper into the study.

 

As he walked, the silver-haired alpha’s hair shimmered like satin, cold and beautiful like moonlit brocade.

 

However, Yu Chen was in no mood to appreciate this. His deep blue eyes, reminiscent of thin ice over a deep sea, gradually revealed the emotion of “shock” for the third time tonight as the inner room’s door opened. His gaze froze as he watched the silver-haired youth walk to and stop beside a large bed that could easily accommodate three adult alphas lying side by side.

 

“I’m rather tired, so I’ll rest here tonight,” Yun Xunlan’s fingertips lightly moved, smoothing out a few slight wrinkles on the bedcover. Then he turned his body and looked back, “Conveniently, this bed in the study is quite large…”

 

Yu Chen: “…?”

 

Wait, what did it matter if the bed was large?

 

What did Yun Xunlan mean by this?

 

Surely it couldn’t be what he was thinking—that Yun Xunlan’s tutoring wasn’t about flirting with him, but about sleeping with him?

 

What you fear most is what you get.

 

The next second, the silver-haired alpha indeed said to him: “Yu Chen, you’re tired too. Why don’t you just stay here and make do with resting with me for the night?”

 

Yu Chen: “…”

 

Not tired, just unlucky.

 

So unlucky that Yu Chen was about to lose his mind.

 

They were both out of the bedroom now, yet Yun Xunlan could still manage to produce a bed to sleep with him?!

 

At this moment, Yu Chen desperately hoped that Second Prince Mu Xingyu would come to his rescue again, to find some way to persuade Yun Xunlan to change future tutoring locations to the beach outside. Otherwise, given the current situation, if they continued tutoring indoors, he might end up in Yun Xunlan’s bed at any time!

 

“Your Highness, I’m not tired,” Yu Chen’s scalp tingled, and he couldn’t bring himself to call Yun Xunlan by name anymore. He took a deep breath, “I have my own rest periods, and staying alert during duty hours to protect your safety at all times is my most important task, so I can’t…”

 

Yun Xunlan looked puzzled and asked in confusion: “If we rest together for a while, does that mean you can’t stay alert?”

 

Yu Chen: “…”

 

Yun Xunlan continued with his soul-searching question: “Besides, if you sleep right next to me, wouldn’t you be able to protect me better?”

 

Yu Chen: “……”

 

What on earth was Yun Xunlan asking? How was Yu Chen supposed to answer?

 

In Yu Chen’s life, apart from that online pervert called “Novice Fish Keeper,” he had never been so speechless in any conversation. He took two more deep breaths and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, you are a prince, of noble status; I am merely a guard, it’s enough for me to stand by your side.”

 

—Stand, not lie down, Yu Chen emphasized.

 

Oh, Yun Xunlan understood.

 

Yu Chen felt he wasn’t worthy of sharing a bed with him.

 

To prevent Yu Chen from feeling that he was using his status to command him, Yun Xunlan sat on the bed, looked up into Yu Chen’s eyes, and spoke slowly in a gentle voice with sincere emotion: “The ancients often cleared their couch to welcome a kindred spirit, staying up all night in conversation. I have always admired Major Yu Chen, and I also wish to lie foot to foot with you, chatting happily. Is that not allowed?”

 

Yu Chen knew the term “admire” was often used by subordinates towards superiors, or ordinary people towards extraordinary ones, usually with respect.

 

He also knew that in ancient times, when emperors showed respect to talented individuals, they would even go out to welcome them personally, fearing to slight capable ministers.

 

The problem was that Yun Xunlan’s feelings for him weren’t about cherishing talent.

 

Yun Xunlan simply loved him—loved him so much that to trick him into bed, he even brought out the “kindred spirit” friendship shield.

 

Listen, just listen!

 

With such heavy scheming, if Yu Chen got into Yun Xunlan’s bed, could he ever get out? Clearly not.

 

Fortunately, he saw through everything clearly and wouldn’t be fooled!

 

So Yu Chen made up his mind: he would refuse Yun Xunlan one more time, and if Yun Xunlan still wouldn’t give up and invited him again, then he would…

 

“Bang bang bang—”

 

A sudden knock on the door interrupted Yu Chen’s resolve.

 

After knocking, the person didn’t wait for a response before pushing the door open and walking straight into the study. After surveying the room, they finally fixed their cold gaze on the two by the bed.

 

Mu Xingyu saw them very close together.

 

Yun Xunlan was almost completely enveloped by the dark shadow cast by Yu Chen’s tall figure, enclosed in an area he couldn’t reach.

 

“Lanlan.”

 

Mu Xingyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice slightly irritable due to being in his susceptible period: “It’s so late, are you still tutoring?”

 

Yun Xunlan told him: “No, we’re not. We’re about to rest.”

 

“…You? Rest?”

 

“Where are you resting?”

 

During his questioning, Mu Xingyu didn’t spare Yu Chen a single glance, only staring intently at Yun Xunlan: “You’re not sleeping in your bedroom?”

 

Yun Xunlan felt Mu Xingyu was asking a question he already knew the answer to. He patted the bed surface under his palm and said, “There’s a bed here to sleep on too.”

 

Mu Xingyu was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, “Is it because of my pheromones?”

 

High-level alphas have always had a strong sense of territory. Just as they couldn’t tolerate anyone coveting their omega, they also couldn’t bear others invading their territory.

 

And both he and Yun Xunlan were alphas.

 

Suppression, marking, conquest, and domination were all fixed programs written in their genes, innate instinctive reactions, primitive impulses difficult to restrain with reason.

 

They didn’t possess the virtue of magnanimity; they were only tyrannical, selfish, and pathologically possessive of everything that belonged to them, be it people or things.

 

So Mu Xingyu thought the reason Yun Xunlan didn’t want to return to his bedroom to sleep was that he had released his pheromones in Yun Xunlan’s bedroom. He assumed Yun Xunlan felt his private domain had been invaded, and thus resisted going back.

 

As an alpha himself, Mu Xingyu knew very well what that feeling was like, so he explained to Yun Xunlan, “I’ve already cleared the pheromones from your bedroom.”

 

However, the silver-haired youth, still lingering in the shadow cast by another alpha’s figure, shook his head at him. His eyes showed little emotion, and his voice was flat: “It’s alright, Royal Brother. Your pheromones don’t affect me.”

 

Mu Xingyu’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He lowered his gaze, concealing that olive-green color, and smiled without humor: “Is that so?”

 

What else could it be?

 

Yun Xunlan had lived a second life and was part of the royal family. In eighteen years, countless top-tier alphas had come and gone around him, but none of their pheromone pressures could match his. Mu Xingyu wasn’t meeting him for the first time either, so why was he asking such a question?

 

—It seemed they truly weren’t close.

 

Yun Xunlan was about to open his lips to clarify and answer Mu Xingyu with a simple “Yes.”

 

But before he could speak, Mu Xingyu raised his head again, looking directly into his eyes and throwing out a new question: “Then whose pheromones can affect you?”

 

Although Mu Xingyu’s tone and expression were a bit strange when asking this question, Yun Xunlan didn’t think much of it.

 

After all, Mu Xingyu’s question seemed to have no other significance besides further proving how unfamiliar they were with each other.

 

However, they were brothers after all. Adhering to the principle of brotherly affection and respect for harmonious coexistence, Yun Xunlan was ready to answer Mu Xingyu’s question. He was about to say “No one” when Mu Xingyu spoke again before him: “Is it Jian Wenxi’s?”

 

Hearing his childhood friend’s name suddenly from Mu Xingyu’s mouth, Yun Xunlan was momentarily stunned.

 

Because the relationship between those two was very, very, extremely bad.

 

Yun Xunlan only heard Mu Xingyu’s name from Jian Wenxi’s mouth when he was cursing him. As for Mu Xingyu—this was the first time in eighteen years that Yun Xunlan had heard him call Jian Wenxi by his full name.

 

In the past, when in Yun Xunlan’s presence, Mu Xingyu would only refer to Jian Wenxi as “your omega” with a cold laugh, never using any other term.

 

So hearing Mu Xingyu call Jian Wenxi by his full name tonight was unprecedented. How could Yun Xunlan not be stunned?

 

However, in that moment of surprise, seeing that Yun Xunlan didn’t immediately deny it, Mu Xingyu took his silence as confirmation.

 

The green-eyed alpha instantly clenched his fingers tighter, letting out a half-laugh, half-sneer “Heh,” his voice as cold as ice: “Of course, who made your compatibility…”

 

“Royal Brother,” Yun Xunlan frowned, lowering his voice and interrupting Mu Xingyu with a serious expression.

 

An alpha’s temper during their susceptible period is like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Even with suppressants, they might not be entirely rational. Yu Chen understood this well; his emotions had been on a rollercoaster tonight, first raised high by Yun Xunlan’s invitation to sleep together, then slowly lowered by Mu Xingyu’s appearance.

 

But before he could calm down, all of Yu Chen’s nerves were tensed again like fragile strings.

 

The radially arranged ice-blue patterns on his iris began to move and contract, compressing his pupils inward to a needle-point. His shoulders subtly shifted to the left, his whole body displaying a highly focused protective posture, ensuring that if Mu Xingyu were to suddenly attack Yun Xunlan on his right, he could immediately intercept between them, blocking all of Mu Xingyu’s attacks.

 

Don’t blame Yu Chen for thinking this way.

 

Look at Mu Xingyu’s current state—heavy breathing, furrowed brows, bloodshot eyes, tightly clenched fists… every sign pointed to a biological organism in a state of fury. How could Yu Chen not be on high alert?

 

But even though Mu Xingyu was like a bomb with its countdown nearly finished, after being interrupted by Yun Xunlan, he actually closed his mouth. Although his expression remained gloomy, he didn’t say another word.

 

Yun Xunlan, looking at the familiar expressions and demeanor he had seen countless times on Mu Xingyu’s face, lowered his eyes and sighed, deciding to send Yu Chen away first: “Major Yu Chen, I have some private matters to discuss with Royal Brother. Please excuse us for a moment.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Xunlan caught a glimpse of Yu Chen’s figure pausing for an instant in his peripheral vision. However, when he turned to look at Yu Chen, the alpha had already resumed his normal composure, bowing his head and leaving as instructed.

 

Once only he and Mu Xingyu remained in the study, Yun Xunlan raised his face and continued speaking to the green-eyed alpha: “Royal Brother, compatibility is a private matter for citizens. Wenxi has always disliked having the specific value of our compatibility discussed openly. Major Yu Chen was still here just now, you…”

 

Mu Xingyu also interrupted Yun Xunlan, sneering coldly: “Do I care whether he likes it or not?”

 

Yun Xunlan was puzzled: “Then why mention him if you don’t care?”

 

They had nothing to do with each other, so Mu Xingyu bringing up Jian Wenxi in their conversation was very abrupt.

 

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