Chapter 11
Ming Shiyu chuckled breathlessly: “X-rank psychic powerâhave you ever seen it?”
When he received Little Guanâs distress signal, Mason was on the road. Hearing the piercing, specially set alarm, his heart skipped a beat.
He immediately called the warden, but before he could speak, the other man cut him off: “I received Envoy Mingâs distress signal. But today is the shift change for the security team and the Royal Guard. Itâs hard to guard against internal theftâthese sons of bitches are putting on a show for me.”
“I apologize, Envoy Mingâs flight path has been tampered with. They keep making excuses that they can’t locate him.”
The annual shift change dayâthe fact that Ming Shiyu ran into trouble exactly then was too coincidental for anyone to believe.
Mason made a split-second decision: “Iâm in the vicinity. Restore the voice-print access I left behind. Iâm heading there now. They are at a decommissioned parking garage.”
Before hanging up, he took a deep breath: “You have security loopholes from your systems all the way to your oversight. I don’t care what your excuses are; from today on, I will station my own people at the Interstellar Prison.”
When Mason walked into the garage, this was the scene that greeted him:
His beautiful wife was sitting on the back of a stranger, reaching out to pick the manâs pockets. With an absolute lack of combat awareness, he lost his footing and was flipped over by the man.
Yet, despite the manâs sturdy build and high combat awareness, the moment he stood up to lunge at Ming Shiyu, he seemed to lose all will, as if heâd suffered a lapse in concentration. Ming Shiyu gave him a light kick to the chest, and the man collapsed to the ground.
Wait, is he faking it?
Mason walked closer and discovered that the man, bloodied and battered, was actually the current captain of the Royal Guard. He was rumored to be the heir-apparent to the next military commander and, as one of the Emperorâs famous thugs, even held legal rights to summary execution.
At this moment, he was lying on the ground, silent and still, while his delicate, soft-bodied wife didn’t seem to have lost a single hair.
Unable to care whether the man was dead or not, Mason pulled Ming Shiyu, who was still trying to reach for the man’s pockets, into his arms and held him tight.
Ming Shiyuâs nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He had never been in a fight in his life, and the sudden embrace startled him, nearly earning Mason a psychic-enhanced slap.
But as he caught the familiar scent of the person holding him, his raised hand faltered, eventually landing gently on Masonâs face, leaving only a faint fragrance.
Mason was terrified, clutching him as if he had just been found again. He didn’t care about the slap and instead pulled Ming Shiyuâs hand to his lips, planting a trembling kiss there.
“Hiss…” It was the very hand Kevin had twisted.
Mason quickly let go and checked him all over: “Whatâs wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“Stop touching me. Why are you here?” Ming Shiyu asked, watching him quietly.
Before the star pirate incident, he hadn’t seen Mason for a month. Heâd said he was busy preparing for next yearâs council elections, too busy to even come home.
It seemed that even after his faked death, he wasn’t injuredânot even a hair on his head was out of place, and he exuded a pleasant, fresh scent.
Masonâs frantic worry faded, and he realized Ming Shiyuâs reaction was not quite right.
He cupped the emotionless face and kissed the corners of his lips lovingly: “You knew I was alright all along? I’m sorry. I had my own reasons for keeping it from you.”
Afraid of further questioning, Mason turned, fished the pressure-net release button out of Kevinâs pocket, and left Lu Fang trapped in the distance for the time being. He put on a glove, picked up the launcher, and fired a “pop” at the unconscious Kevin, binding him tightly.
Ming Shiyu kept his head down as Mason shoved the release button into his hand, then lifted him securely by the waist and carried him back to the shuttle.
Once Mason had set the flight path to take him home, he turned to see Ming Shiyu still looking down.
“Still shy? I really haven’t kissed you in too long.” He pinched Ming Shiyuâs chin, forcing him to look up, and stared at him for a long while.
His expression was cold, but his face and ears were flushed a faint red. What a treasure. He blushes just from a kiss.
He glanced at his communicator. The prison security was warning that they couldn’t reach Kevin and were heading toward their location. It would be disastrous if he ran into the guard.
Ming Shiyu sensed he was about to leave from his movements and reached out to gently grab his shirt sleeve:
“If I said I really missed you, would you still have to go?”
Mason was stunned, a tingling sensation in his chest and a sweetness on the tip of his tongue: “I…”
Shiyuâs shuttle didn’t have anti-satellite locking systems. If he went back with him, heâd have to get Lin Lin to find an excuse to pick him up…
It was too obvious. He would be dragged into the Crown Princeâs mess and then end up hated by the Emperor.
“I have to go, but itâs absolutely not because I don’t love you,” Mason said, struggling with the words.
Ming Shiyuâs face was still red, but he said heartlessly: “I don’t care about that. I like marriage; if you leave, Iâll just find a new husband… Mmm…”
Mason pinched his chin with two fingers, forcing his lips to part, and blocked them with his own. He sucked on them forcefully before letting go, satisfied with the two red finger marks heâd left on his cheeks.
Ming Shiyu couldn’t help but close his eyes, feeling the gentle, loving kisses falling on his face, his eyes, and his brow. The man he hadn’t seen in so long was still murmuring instructions:
“After Iâm gone, release Lu Fang from the gravity net and let him send you back. Little Guan will put medicine on your hand.”
“Iâll take Kevin away and make him suffer. Just pretend you never saw him.”
“Don’t be afraid. Before you come to the Interstellar Prison next time, there will be people there to protect you at all times.”
Mason said with a sigh: “If you really want to accept someone else… when I return, will you still blush for me?”
When Ming Shiyu opened his eyes, the space in front of him was empty.
Chapter 10: Jump
Ming Shiyuâs wrist was wrapped in a small therapeutic device. He rested it on the armrest, staring vacantly as Little Guan bustled about, chattering on about how he needed to nourish his body.
Even though it was just a sprained hand, he didn’t see what there was to “nourish.” If anything needed nourishing, it was the finger marks still lingering on his chinâthat bastard Mason.
The little robot was currently completely devoid of Masonâs psychic signature.
Ming Shiyu thought of this and unconsciously touched his lips, pulling his hand away in shame once he realized what he was doing.
He stood up and, for the first time since Masonâs accident, opened the door to Masonâs bedroom. Yes, he had even requested to sleep in separate roomsâwhich was one of the reasons Ming Shiyu had been so certain that Mason wasn’t interested in him.
The room had been dutifully maintained by Little Guan and still carried Masonâs scent.
During the time Mason had been masquerading as the robotic butler, he had ignored Ming Shiyuâs own wishes and focused entirely on making his room warm and soft.
But his own room was cold and minimalist, the wardrobe filled mostly with Council uniforms and formal wear. Interestingly, while he had prepared dozens of different types of quilts for Ming Shiyu based on material, his own room only had standard, spare bedding sets.
The display cases were filled with high-end photography equipment. Apart from his fanatical obsession with collecting cameras, it was clear that Mason had poured all his energy into fighting his political enemies in the Council.
Ming Shiyu looked at the room full of carefully collected cameras in silence.
He had previously thought Mason had abandoned him, just like these collections. He had even harbored malicious suspicions about Mason’s purpose in marrying him two years ago.
Ming Shiyu had never imagined that Mason had feelings for him. Even Masonâs childish behavior of using Little Guan to push Owen aside had been attributed to a strange sense of male pride, the desire not to be “cuckolded.”
But today, because he had been attacked, Mason had risked appearing in the heavily guarded Interstellar Prison, and then…
Not only that, shortly after Masonâs “star pirate” accident, a lawyer had visited to discuss the inheritance of his assets.
Effectively, all of Masonâs assets, through a will he had signed himself, had gone through the legal process and now belonged to Ming Shiyu. Even if he were to “come back from the dead” now, he would inevitably be a penniless pauper.
Could someone do that for a partner they only respected out of duty?
Does he love me?
The thought suddenly appeared in Ming Shiyuâs mind, a mind that was otherwise utterly clueless about romance.
He stood in Masonâs room without a word until the sound of Little Guanâs specialized “cutesy” rolling wheels sounded behind him.
[Iâve been looking everywhere, and Shiyu is actually in my room?]
Mason was back.
Ming Shiyu thought of Masonâs reluctance to leave in the garage and a sudden mischievous impulse took over: “Little Guan, come here.”
He squatted down until he was eye-level with the half-height robotâs screen. Looking away, he feigned embarrassment: “You don’t need to make the bed for me. I… I want to sleep in Masonâs room tonight.”
The little robot looked shocked: “O-o-okay, Master.”
Mason: [I… you, no, I…]
Ming Shiyu couldn’t help but laugh at the robotâs reaction. With his pale skin and dark hair, the contrast held an icy, heart-melting charm that left Masonâs already-overloaded brain spinning.
He didn’t stop there. He leaned in closer: “Goodnight.”
He actually pressed a kiss to the robotâs head, and right there in front of the robot, he crawled into Masonâs bed wearing nothing but his pajamas.
Mason stood frozen by the side of the bed, watching as Ming Shiyu pulled the quilt up to his chest, burying his chin into it with a look of longing.
It was as if he were a widow missing a husband who died in his prime, unable to bear the longing, finding solace only in the scent of the room he once lived in.
Mason: [My cooling oil seems a bit hot. No, waitâam I smoking?]
Mason knew Ming Shiyu was always a loner, but even after they married, despite the lack of a deep emotional foundation, Ming Shiyu had always enjoyed being clingy and close.
