Sneak Peek

The early morning air carried the freshness of nature and the faint trace of last night's candle wax. A'Xian fluttered his lashes, his mind still swimming between dream and reality while his body was still warm from the presence beside him. This wasn't any usual wet dream.

His rubbed his eyes gently as he turned his head slightly, gaze falling upon the man sleeping next to him. Ji Haoyu.

The man was still in deep sleep, his bare back left completely unguarded. His headband had come loose, letting his long, dark hair spread across the silk sheets. The deep, steady rise and fall of his breath made A'Xian hesitate.

A'Xian felt another soft sheet over his lower body- or rather wrapped around his waist.

Oh fck- did I steal the sheet from him?

Ji Haoyu was a little too vulnerable beside him. He had no clothes on, no sheets covering him. A'Xian felt a secondhand embarrassment on his behalf.

His gaze caught onto something.

An intricate lotus mark bloomed just above Ji Haoyu's lower spine, in the mid of his slim waist. The skin was pink against his pale complexion, it's texture slightly rugged, curling in elegant strokes, its petals forever in bloom.

A'Xian's gulped as his hand moved before he could stop himself, fingers tracing over the delicate mark. The moment his skin touched the blooming lotus, something inside him stirred- that same memory, same whispers of something long buried.

It was really that mark. Always the same man.

Ji Haoyu was oblivious to his inner turmoil. He would never know A'Xian was the one he used to love in their past lives. That their fates were linked to each other's in every life they had lived.

He slept peacefully, when there was so much A'Xian could do in rivalry due to their identities now that he had his guard lowered. Did he trust him this much? What made him so stupid to trust an enemy as a crown prince of a kingdom?

A'Xian had a reason to trust. To let Ji Haoyu willingly in his life. But what about Ji Haoyu?

Even as his thoughts got complex, he couldn't help but linger, memorizing the warmth of Ji Haoyu's skin, the calm of his face.

A'Xian exhaled sharply and clenched his jaw. If he stayed any longer, he'd be caught when the servants began their morning duties.

He had already made his estranged family members furious and another transgression would be too dangerous.

Reluctantly, he pulled away, slipping off the bed with the silent grace he had perfected over the years. He covered Ji Haoyu's beautifully carved body with the sheet, dressed quickly, sparing Ji Haoyu one last glance before stepping out.

His room was far. A long walk through the silent halls.

He paused just after a step inside his chamber.

Did someone f_ck here?

He bent down, picking up a shard of glass. A broken cup lay beside his foot.

The tapestry had fallen, the showpieces shattered. The thin veil of net over his bedding was torn from one end, it's other part drooping bed's end.

Someone was here the night before. Someone with strong hatred towards him. Someone with no appreciation for beauty as his favourite elephant carving was tragically castrated.

My man can no longer...- waaah

He turned around to look at his bed, it's condition worse like any other day. At least someone couldn't mess it up anymore than how A'Xian used to keep his mattress.

Who could that be?

He had many people who disliked him. The ministers, the secretary or maybe someone sent by the empress dowager.

But if there was one more suspect in the palace right now, A'Xian knew exactly whose name he would write first in the long list of bastards, erasing Ji Haoyu's.

Ling Lian.

Yesterday was particularly terrible for Ling Lian. He had tasted humiliation in the day and witnessed a spectacle in the night, risking everything at once.

The heavy wooden doors slammed shut behind him as Ling Lian stormed into his own chambers, yanking at his hair in frustration.

He and their father had been waiting furiously for A'Xian past ten last night, to teach him lesson for life.

"How dare he embarrass us like that!" his father had spat the night before.

His father's curses still echoed in the chamber while Ling Lian's disdainful silence even worse.

A servant of Yonglan, working for Qinghe in disguise soon reported that their young master had not returned to his chambers since evening.

"That little- " The father sighed and left the place at once, his rage unfittingly damaging his status.

Ling Lian cursed under his breath, his hands clenched by the side. A'Xian dared to question him, the crown prince of Qinghe, pretended to be impartial by humiliating the rulers of his homeland and then hid somewhere to escape their rage?

There was only one possibility.

His stomach twisted at the thought. He had seen them the night before too, speaking in hushed voices, standing too close. A'Xian leaving the quarters of their nemesis.

He knew A'Xian too well. A sly fox, pretending to be all innocent and pure but conspiring behind their back.

Meeting Ji Haoyu like this was like he was putting too much sweat for someone he was ordered to kill. And there was no way A'Xian would do things straight.

Ling Lian's entire body shuddered. No. He needed proof.

His veins bulged out over his temples, his teeth gritting in an irritable screech.

With the cunning of a palace-born noble but the execution of an absolute fool, Ling Lian set out under the cover of darkness.

Slipping through the palace corridors, he avoided the main pathways, keeping his footsteps light.

His plan was perfect.

Step 1: Sneak to Ji Haoyu's quarters.

Step 2: Look through the window.

Step 3: Catch A'Xian in the act.

Step 4: ?

Step 5: Victory.

And if A'Xian was indeed caught in the act?

Ling Lian's right eye twitched.

He reached the outer walls, breathless but determined. The guards were stationed in their usual places, but the trees near Ji Haoyu's residence offered a natural vantage point.

With the agility of a drunk squirrel, Ling Lian climbed a tree near Ji Haoyu's residence.

His fingers gripped the rough bark, feet scrambling as he hauled himself onto a thick branch. It wobbled slightly under his weight, but he held firm.

He climbed to a point twice his height. The surrounding branches gave a good coverage and he bent a branch slightly to look towards the target window.

A ponytail?

By the looks of hairpin adorning on the head, he must be idiot Ji Haoyu.

But.. wait- A'Xian also wore a phoenix-designed hairpin.

Shit. He needed a better view. So he climbed some more.

It was not easy. The branches creaked beneath him. The more he moved, the more guards noticed the wobbling tree.

Now at more height, through the half-open window, the flickering glow of candlelight revealed the inside of the room clearly.

Ling Lian leaned in. And immediately regretted it.

Inside, Ji Haoyu was pulling A'Xian close, his hands firm around his waist.

Ling Lian's heart stopped.

The two men stood near the edge of the table, their bodies pressed close, almost merging with the other and the tension between them crackling in the air. Ji Haoyu's fingers traced A'Xian's jawline with practiced ease, tilting his face up.

And A'Xian didn't resist.

Then Ji Haoyu kissed him,

And A'Xian kissed him back.

Ji Haoyu practically devoured his lips,

And A'Xian pulled the collars of his robe.

Ling Lian's brain completely shut down.

His vision blurred. His fingers lost their grip. He nearly fell out of the tree.

The branch creaked under his sudden panic, but he barely noticed.

What was this? What was this?!

Men did not behave this way. This was not natural.

Was his brother… a female?!

His entire world had just collapsed.

Yet the worst part wasn't just the kiss.

It was the way they looked at each other afterward- soft and devoted.

As if they had done this a thousand times before.

Ling Lian slapped a hand over his mouth to stop his scream. His foot slipped again and his life flashed before his eyes.

But the moment that nearly killed him?

Ji Haoyu's hand ghosting down A'Xian's back, gripping him just right.

As their robes fell in unison, Ling Lian almost fell to his death.

Somehow by sheer dumb luck, he managed to scramble back down without breaking his neck.

He had to tell someone. NOW.

His father. The whole damned court.

That bastard!

Still drowned in the shock of having seen them making out, he forgot to maintain his presence as discreet as possible. His heart was still racing, his breaths coming in sharp gasps.

So as he stepped to flee back, a shadow stepped into his path.

Ling Lian froze.

"Lord Ling Lian." The man's voice was dangerously smooth. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Ling Lian swallowed. His brain was already fried.

"I—I was… walking."

Ji Haoyu's secretary repeated, raising his brow. "Walking."

"Yes."

"Near His Highness's quarters."

"…Yes?"

The man folded his arms. "At this hour."

"…Yes."

The secretary smirked.

"Shall I report your… midnight walk to His Highness?"

"N—no need." He backed away, nearly tripping over his own feet. "I was just..um....heading back to my room! Yes! That's exactly what I was doing! What a coincidence, running into you here! Ha ha! Anyway, good night!"

And then he ran. Like an absolute coward.

Even when he tried to formulate a lie, nothing came out!

Behind him, the secretary watched, shaking his head.

Whatever Lord Ling Lian had seen tonight, it must have been something truly devastating.