CH 46

Maintaining their ambiguous positions, Gu Chen pressed him into the bathtub and captured him in a kiss. Although it was just part of the script and the only contact was between their holographic projections, because of his soaked clothes, Ji Ning felt a little overwhelmed and shy in a way he normally wouldn’t.

The warm water that soaked his shirt gradually cooled down, bringing a slight chill that contrasted with the heat radiating from Gu Chen’s body. It made him want to move closer to him. 

The script was demanding, so even though Ji Ning’s mood was fluctuating, he was very dedicated and didn’t forget that they were still filming. After letting the camera capture a flash of impatience on his face, he hid inside the man’s arms, burying his head in Mr Gu’s chest to avoid his gaze.

Mr Gu, played by Gu Chen, wanted Xiao Ning to reveal everything about himself to him. In order to lure him in, Xiao Ning flitted between willingness and refusal, before he shyly buried his way into the man’s arms. He shook his head gently and whispered.

“I’m sorry, I’m still not good enough. Can I try again next time…”

“That’s okay,” As the older of the two, Mr Gu was patient with the teen and patted him on the back, gently comforting him, “I won’t force you to do things you don’t like.” 

The boy thanked Mr Gu again in a quiet voice and Mr Gu couldn’t help but laugh. He seemed to be amused by his youthful cuteness. He held the boy’s face in his hands so he could kiss his forehead again, his eyes dark and heated.

“One day, I’ll make you beg for me to take you.”

His voice was low and sexy, the aggression of a mature man hungry in his voice. His words made the boy’s face flush instantly. Flustered, Xiao Ning tried to escape from the man’s embrace, but he was held tightly by Mr Gu.

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you today.”

Mr Gu smiled, and returned to his usual tenderness. He stepped out of the bathtub and carried the boy princess style out of the bathroom. He put the teen down on the bed and carefully dried his wet hair with a towel.

He stood behind the boy, looking at his pale neck and slender shoulders with interest. Out of his line of sight, the boy’s blush still remained, but his innocent face twisted into a completely different expression.

He wore a look of longing, seduction and desire.

He liked the scent of Mr Gu so much. 

Being so close to him, he almost couldn’t stop himself from taking a bite. He wanted to tear away the thin layer of flesh across his neck, letting the warm blood inside spurt out and drench his whole body.

Just imagining such a scene made him tremble with excitement. He wished he could turn around right now and grab the man’s throat. He wished he could kill him on this very bed.

But now was not the time.

If he killed Mr Gu in the hotel, he would definitely leave evidence. 

In order to taste the greatest delicacy of his life, he must wait patiently.

The boy’s eyes were dark and sultry as he lost himself in his fantasies, but when Mr Gu finished drying his hair, they became innocent once again and he softly thanked Mr Gu.

Mr Gu stroked the boy’s hair fondly. Once the teen had dried himself, he brought over the clothes the boy had been wearing before and said, “Put these on, be careful of the cold.”

The boy nodded and lowered his head, behaving very obediently as he dressed himself. Neither of them took the initiative to leave the room, so Mr Gu kept watching as Xiao Ning silently dressed himself. 

The teen slowed down his movements a bit, letting his fingertips slide slowly across his skin. His movements were sensuous, but his demeanour was still pure, as if he was unaware of how his actions looked to Mr Gu.

“Xiao Ning…”

Sure enough, Mr Gu couldn’t resist him. He pushed the teenager down on the bed and pressed his heated body against him. Looking down on him from above, he murmured the boy’s name with dark passion.

Despite the erotic and overwhelming kiss, Xiao Ning behaved tame and obedient. Although he was shy, he didn’t draw back from Mr Gu’s touch, and instead reached out to wrap his arms around the back of the man’s neck. 

“That’s good. You two did well.”

After maintaining their posture for a while to signify the end of the scene, the director’s voice rang out. A moment later, director Liu’s figure appeared in the room, smiling at Ji Ning and Gu Chen.

This was not an unexpected occurrence when filming a holographic projection scene. The director had simply connected his consciousness to the holographic network in order to appear with them. Neither of the two actors were surprised by his sudden appearance.

“I’m sorry Senior, I was rude just now. Please forgive me.” 

Gu Chen got up from the bed and nodded to Ji Ning. Although the script required the two of them to be extremely intimate, once the scene was over Gu Chen still politely apologised for his actions.

Ji Ning shook his head, expressing that he didn’t mind. Gu Chen smiled again and didn’t say anything else. Speaking about it too much would just embarrass the two of them. Not to mention that they still had more intimate scenes to film later on.

Gu Chen took care of his messy clothes before greeting the director, “Director Liu.”

“Director Liu.” 

Ji Ning echoed Gu Chen, adjusting his own clothes. After all, they were far more dishevelled than Gu Chen’s.

Although it essentially made no difference whether their clothes were neat or not inside the holographic network, because the sensations felt so lifelike, it was easy to think of it as reality and Ji Ning couldn’t help himself. Neither he, nor the persona he was playing could tolerate people seeing such an embarrassing side to him.

“How do you two feel about your characters?” Director Liu asked.

“I think I understood my character enough.” 

Gu Chen smiled and said. His words weren’t bragging nor humble, and his attitude was sincere. At the same time, he didn’t forget to praise Ji Ning, “Senior Ji did a great job. He completely understood Xiao Ning’s temperament which helped to inspire my own feelings.”

“You’re too modest, both of you performed very well and exceeded my expectations. It was the right decision to ask the two of you to play the roles.”

The director patted them on the shoulders, satisfied with their first attempt.

He first spoke to Ji Ning, “Xiao Ji I was right, you’re perfect for the role of Xiao Ning. In the past, most of the characters you’ve played have been the ‘hero’ type, but after working with you last time, I felt you were unexpectedly suitable for a darker role.” 

“It turned out my hunch was right. Your Xiao Ning was more than I…um, I’ll be a little blunt, but don’t mind, this is just me complimenting your acting ability. You’re really more erotic than I thought you would be.”

“…”

Ji Ning remained silent, not sure whether he wanted to accept the director’s compliment.

“That was just what I saw on camera. Gu Chen, you should have experienced it better than me, right?” The director teased. 

“Senior Ji’s performance was very impressive.” Gu Chen said vaguely, but he also tacitly agreed with the director’s statement, “Looking at Senior, I can fully understand Mr Gu’s thoughts and actions.”

“Is that so?”

After hearing this, the director laughed and patted Gu Chen’s shoulder enthusiastically. “Your eyes just now were very good. You’ve shown Mr Gu’s contradictory forbearance and desires just as I’d pictured it. You almost can’t stop yourself from wanting to take Xiao Ning as your own, but like Xiao Ning, because you have other plans, you are patient…”

“…” 

Ji Ning listened, a trace of abnormality in his expression.

Having travelled through so many worlds, his experience in acting was very rich, but in the end he was still different from professional actors. Hearing what the director said, even if Gu Chen could keep a smile and remain calm, he just couldn’t get used to it and felt a little awkward.

The slight change in his expression was noticed by Gu Chen. The actor realised Ji Ning was feeling embarrassed, which made him smile involuntarily, his expression so gentle it almost turned into a pool of spring water.

He knew that Ji Ning had to be shy because of him and judging by Ji Ning’s reaction, he probably hadn’t had such close contact with other people before now, meaning Gu Chen was the first person to ever be so close to him. 

In fact, before the filming started, he’d told Ji Ning a small lie. He had also been surprised when he first received the script and hadn’t expected the film to be so intense. Before he made his decision, he wanted to know whether Ji Ning was intending to participate in the filming.

He had told Ji Ning in his messages that he didn’t want to refuse director Liu’s invitation and he was going to act whether Ji Ning participated or not, but he hadn’t been completely honest. After seeing that there were such intimate scenes in the script, if Ji Ning wasn’t his co-star, he would have refused the role.

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That was why he’d asked Ji Ning if he was participating. Maybe if he heard that Gu Chen was playing one of the leads, he would also agree to take the role. He knew that Ji Ning and the director had a good relationship, and they’d had a pleasant cooperation previously, so if he asked Ji Ning as well then there was a possibility he would agree.

Ji Ning had only answered him vaguely, but it wasn’t long before the director told him that Ji Ning had agreed to play the role. He didn’t know if Ji Ning’s choice had anything to do with him, but it was enough to make him happy.

Because the other person was Ji Ning, to a certain extent he felt like he was simply portraying his own hidden desires. Mr Gu’s strong obsession, love and twisted possessiveness towards Xiao Ning were also reflected in his own heart.

Of course, compared to Mr Gu and Xiao Ning, both he and Ji Ning were normal people. He was not as perverted as Mr Gu and it would be impossible for him to do something so outrageous to Ji Ning. But he still had a lot of desires towards him, if possible, he would also like to have Ji Ning… 

Gu Chen smiled, but the eyes he looked at Ji Ning with turned darker.

Unlike the restrained attitude he showed on the surface, deep in his heart he was greedy for the warmth of Ji Ning’s body.

If he could, he still wanted more. This was just the holographic network, if in the future he could touch Ji Ning like this in real life…

“…” 

The handsome man lowered his head and looked at his empty hands, his eyes dark.

After resting, Ji Ning and Gu Chen prepared for the shooting of the next scene. After the successful shooting of the first scenes, director Liu intended to continue filming in order to keep the energy of their characters going. Ji Ning was once again surprised by the efficiency of the film industry of the future. The holographic projection refreshed Ji Ning’s clothes, changing them into a different set as the surrounding scene also changed to Xiao Ning’s single person apartment.

This scene was more focused on the horror of the cannibal plot, but compared with the intimate scene he’d just finished, Ji Ning felt this kind of acting was much easier. He had seen a lot inside Huo Wuling’s world, so this wasn’t a big deal to him.

When everything was ready, the director called “Action.” The camera started rolling, its first frame showed Xiao Ning’s back as he stood in front of his freezer. 

The teenager was humming a song, wearing a cute apron as he washed his hands in preparation to cook that night’s dinner.

He opened the freezer and took out a huge black plastic bag. He moved the heavy bag onto the cooking table, then opened it up to reveal its contents.

Chunks of frozen, red human flesh spilled out. It was a lump of flesh with various pieces cut out of it.

It was a human thigh. 

“It’s too hard to cut…”

The teenager poked at the frozen meat, pouting. He pulled a chair up to the cooking table so he could play on his phone in the kitchen as he waited for his dinner to thaw.

After more than half an hour, his phone rang. The moment he saw the caller ID, the boy’s eyes brightened and a sweet smile bloomed on his face as he quickly picked up the call.

“Mr Gu!” 

“Good evening Xiao Ning.”

On the phone line, Mr Gu spoke with a gentle voice, coaxing the boy, “How was your day, what are you doing?”

“I wanted to make dinner but the meat is too frozen so I’m waiting for it to thaw.”

The boy poked at the leg again, causing some of the melted blood to stain into the chopping board. After complaining to Mr Gu, the smile reappeared on his face as he asked, “What are you busy with?” 

“I’m busy speaking on the phone with you.”

The man chuckled, then quickly said amidst the boy’s protests, “Actually, I’m arranging which photos I want to send to a photography competition.”

“A photography competition?” The teenager asked curiously, “Will Mr Gu send my photos to the competition?”

“I have no intentions of doing that.” 

Mr Gu said with a smile, “Your photos are part of my precious private collection. I have no desire to share them with others. Even if I could win first place, I refuse to share Xiao Ning’s beauty with others.”

“Is that so…”

There seemed to be a mix of regret and embarrassment in the boy’s voice from being praised by Gu Chen, but his expression didn’t fluctuate at all.

The teeanger was actually pleased that Mr Gu didn’t want to leak his photos, otherwise when Mr Gu disappeared, he would be listed as a suspect if the police found that he had a connection to Mr Gu. 

He had to remember to destroy the photos later…

The boy dipped the tip of his finger in the growing pool of blood and wrote the words ‘Destroy Photos’ across his counter. He smudged the letters with his palm as he said happily, “Mr Gu is so talented, no matter what photo you use, you’ll win!”

“Thanks to your encouragement, I hope I can too.” Mr Gu replied, “Xiao Ning is also impressive, you can cook your own meals. I can’t cook at all.”

“I live alone, of course I had to learn how to cook. Can Mr Gu really not cook?” There was a hint of surprise in the boy’s voice. 

“I’ve been racing around all this time, I didn’t have time to cook for myself, plus I don’t have any interest in cooking.” Mr Gu paused, “Perhaps I could go to Xiao Ning’s house in the future for a meal?”

“Okay, that would make me really happy.”

The boy’s face brightened in excitement. He took out a sharp knife from the drawer and carved a slice of meat from the raw thigh. He poured a little seasoning on the meat then took a bite.

“Tell me what you want to eat and I’ll make it for you. Anything you want.” 

“That sounds good.”

The man on the other end of the phone praised him sincerely, “I’m so envious of the person who will end up with Xiao Ning. I’m sure they will be very happy in the future.”

Hearing him say this, the young man’s beautiful face flushed as he licked the drops of blood from his fingertips. His voice was soft and sweet, and he spoke with a suggestive tone in his voice.

“Maybe Mr Gu doesn’t need to envy others…” 

Mr Gu chuckled, as if he understood what the boy meant, but he still spoke ambiguously, “Alright, since you’re cooking I won’t bother you any longer. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, see you later.”

The teenager reluctantly hung up the phone. Thinking of Mr Gu’s addictive scent, and then looking at the ingredients in front of him, his expression collapsed, turning disinterested. He stabbed at the meat with his knife, skillfully opening it up. He removed the bone from the leg, before throwing the meat into the pot. His voice was aggrieved as he said out loud.

“When will you come to my house, Mr Gu?” 

I really want to have you soon.

I’ve thought about it so much, I want to eat you right now.

Once the scene ended, JI Ning immediately put down the knife in his hand. The bloody holographic projection disappeared, leaving his body clean and without a trace of blood, so as to prevent too much mental stimulation.

In fact, Ji Ning hadn’t been uncomfortable at all. The only moment when his mood fluctuated was during the meat eating section. Throughout the rest of the scene, his thoughts were stable. He was actually more worried that the film crew would notice his psychiatric monitoring data had hardly fluctuated. It wouldn’t be good if he looked too comfortable with it. 

Fortunately, the director was so immersed in Ji Ning’s performance that he wasn’t concerned by the monitoring data for the moment. This time, the two leads had only communicated through a phone call, so he kept his comments short and to the point.

“It’s getting late now, the two of you should rest. As actors, you have to maintain a good sleep schedule.”

Director Liu looked at the time displayed by the holographic network with slight disappointment, but he was aware it was impossible to finish filming that night. He asked Gu Chen and Ji Ning, “I have something to deal with during the day tomorrow, so I’m unavailable to film. Are you free at night?”

“I’m free,” said Gu Chen pleasantly, “I’ve already freed up the whole week.” 

Ji Ning also said he was free, which satisfied the director. He was about to say goodbye to the two, when he suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.

“I still haven’t sent you two the script for the second half. I’ll send it over as soon as I leave the holographic network, take a look at it.”

Both Ji Ning and Gu Chen nodded. After saying goodbye, the three of them exited the holographic network. Ji Ning opened his eyes to see the lid of the sleep capsule and fumbled to press the release button. Opening the cabin door, he removed the monitoring equipment from his body and went to wash up.

After he’d finished in the shower, he saw that the script had been sent to his terminal. He hesitated for a moment, but decided not to open it. It was time for him to sleep. If there were too many passionate scenes in the second half of the script, he worried he would be stimulated into insomnia. 

The next day, Ji Ning opened his terminal and flipped through the rest of the script. The more he read, the more twisted his expression became. It seemed that his decision last night was indeed correct. Fortunately, he hadn’t read it or he really wouldn’t have been able to sleep.

Thinking about the scene he had to film today, Ji Ning’s expression remained solemn. The evening’s filming was for the scene where Mr Gu took nude photos of Xiao Ning, as well as the intimate scene that occurred after the two of them established their relationship. Even though the holographic network used a unique type of filming, close contact between the two of them was inevitable…

It was just to increase Gu Chen’s favorability towards him, Ji Ning thought helplessly.

After reviewing the script, Ji Ning left his bedroom and entered the living room. He found that Fu Ji had started learning how to use the technology in the living room to play a three dimensional simulation war game. Ark sat silently to the side, with no intention to participate, while Herinos seemed to have disappeared somewhere. 

“You finally came out.”

Seeing Ji Ning enter the room, Fu Ji removed his holo glasses and smiled at Ji Ning, “The vampire said he had to leave for a while, so you don’t have to worry. Do you want to eat something?”

Ji Ning nodded and told the housekeeping robot what he wanted to eat. The robot beeped in confirmation and entered the kitchen, but when it opened the door, Ji Ning smelled a strange, burnt smell.

“What is that smell? 

For a moment, Ji Ning was worried something had caught fire, but that should be unlikely. The villa had an extensive fire protection system, if something caught fire, it should have been extinguished immediately. But if there was nothing on fire, where did that burnt smell come from?”

“Ah, you noticed.” Fu Ji coughed lightly and glanced towards Ark.

The white haired angel lowered his head, like a child who’d made a mistake. His expression showed a flash of anxiousness as he said to Ji Ning, “I’m sorry, I broke your kitchen.”

“But it’s been fixed.” Fu Ji immediately added. With a grin, he said, “Ark wanted to make you braised pork ribs, but he failed. I have to say that he’s, uh, not very good at cooking.” 

Saying this, he felt a little guilty. Ark wasn’t just bad, he had almost blown up the kitchen just now. He was indeed a war android, no matter what he did, his power was devastating. Unfortunately, it seemed that Ark wouldn’t be able to use cooking to capture the heart of the little fish…

Ji Ning was very amused. As an ‘Archangel’, Ark was built for war, no wonder he wasn’t good at something delicate like cooking. Furthermore, when he looked at that beautiful and pure angel, who would have the heart to force him to do housework?

But the fact that Ark had tried so hard for him warmed Ji Ning’s heart. He smiled and walked over to the angel, stroking his hair as he gently comforted him.

“Thank you Ark, the fact you tried to do that for me makes me very happy. There’s no need to force yourself.” 

Ark lowered his head and let Ji Ning stroke his hair. Although he enjoyed Ji Ning’s comfort, he still felt upset. He said softly.

“I’d love to do something for you, and I also want to…”

Know more about you.

After waking up injured, he had no memories apart from his own name, ‘Ark’. Other than that, he knew nothing about his past. Fu Ji had tried to investigate for him, but they couldn’t find any useful information and his identity remained a mystery. 

They had never met any of his old acquaintances on the planet they lived on, and the mermaid was the first and only person to claim to know about his past. He had never doubted Ji Ning, because he had liked him from the moment he saw him and instinctively wanted to be closer to him. In the past, the mermaid must have been very important to him.

But for some reason, the mermaid still kept silent about their past.

This left Ark feeling lost. He not only wanted to know about his past, he wanted to understand more about the mermaid. That strange man, Huo Wuling, could easily say what foods the mermaid liked, but Ark hadn’t even known what ‘braised pork ribs’ were.

Ark was very upset. No matter what, he wanted to shorten the distance between himself and the mermaid, especially after the dreams he had been having. He believed they were actually his memories of his past with the mermaid. 

On his first night in the villa, he dreamed about the mermaid teaching him how to kiss. In the dream, he was captivated by the mermaid and instinctively longed for more. Ark knew that at that point in time, he’d believed he was going to spend the rest of his life with the mermaid.

But last night, he dreamt of a completely different scene. He dreamed he was holding the mermaid’s slowly cooling body, his wings stained with someone else’s blood. The dying mermaid showed him a weak smile and raised a hand to caress his cheek.

“If only my death could make your heart hurt…”

“I hope you love me, I hope your heart aches for me.” 

“Tell me, do you understand heartache now?”

“Your heart hurts because of me.”

Ark woke from his dream, covered in cold sweat. He curled up desperately on the bed, his wings wrapped tightly around him, but even so, he was unable to keep calm. His whole body was shaking slightly.

It felt like his heart was being torn apart. 

The heartache that had come from the dream had spread into reality. The pain was so intense that he wondered if his whole body would crack in half.

No more pain.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

The angel stumbled out of bed and walked to the door of the bedroom opposite him. He knew his mermaid was inside. If he sharpened his senses, he could hear the mermaid’s steady breathing. He was still alive. 

His body slowly slid down the door, until he sat crouched against the frame. He stayed by the door the whole night, until he heard the sound of the mermaid getting up. Unable to control his emotions any longer, he cried silently.

He could now guess why the mermaid was so reluctant to talk about their past.

They must not be pleasant memories. Perhaps they were even cruel enough to break his heart.

The angel knew that he possessed great power and had never retreated in the face of any opponent, yet his first memory was of a serious injury as he woke up in a state of near death. He had always felt indifferent towards this unknown enemy of his, but after dreaming of the mermaid’s death, he suddenly felt paralysed with fear. There seemed to be a huge shadow lying dormant. If he tore away his fragile shelter of amnesia, he would be forced to see the terrifying truth. 

But despite this, he wanted to know his past even more.

If this was his wretched past with the mermaid, he couldn’t bear to let his mermaid bear the burden alone.

He wanted to be with him.

He wanted to heal the pain inside his heart, guard his mermaid, and stay by his mermaid’s side. 

He wanted to understand what was ‘Ji Ning’ and what was ‘Ark’, so he could make a future for them together.

Seeing Ji Ning’s gentle smile, Ark couldn’t help but hug him tightly into his arms, whispering his name.

“Ji Ning.”

“?” 

Ji Ning stroked his hair, uncertain why he’d suddenly hugged him. Just as he was about to ask Ark what the matter was, Fu Ji coughed and asked, “Little fish, are you interested in going to Interstellar Paradise?”

“Interstellar Paradise?” Ji Ning asked, blinking.

“Yes, I found it through the internet. It’s a newly opened holiday destination that covers more than ten planets.”

Fu Ji briefly explained the background of the park, then finally said, “There are hundreds of thousands of people, all from various planets inside the park. The fish and dragons are mixed together, and it’s also a destination that lets you freely change your appearance. It would be very difficult for people to discover your identity once you’re inside. We can play there for half a month to keep a low cover, and relax at the same time.” 

It also gives Ark a chance to seduce you. He swallowed the second half of his sentence, wishing his friend good luck.

“It sounds good.” Ji Ning was very interested in this park. It was exactly what he needed to hide from Ozer, and in a place like that, there had to be equipment such as nutrition chambers, so he wouldn’t have to delay the filming of the movie either.

“Then I’ll find us tickets.” Fu Ji eagerly left for the study.

The day passed peacefully but by the time evening came, Ji Ning still didn’t know where Herinos had gone. He hadn’t even said what he’d left to do, which made Ji Ning feel a little worried. After all, Herinos’ power hadn’t fully recovered. 

With these thoughts, Ji Ning waited until the evening for the filming, but an hour before the set time, the director messaged to say he hadn’t finished the day’s work and had to suspend the filming for the night. Ji Ning felt inexplicably relieved.

He felt the same as he had in school when he was about to take an exam he hadn’t studied for, when the teacher suddenly announced that the exam was cancelled…

As he thought about the filming, Ji Ning finished his shower and opened his bathroom door wearing a bathrobe. Yet he suddenly found that the scene outside his door had changed. Although he was inside a similar luxury mansion to his villa, the decoration style was completely different.

Outside the bathroom, there were several girls dressed as maids, and a beautiful lady in expensive looking clothes. When they saw him come out the door, their heads turned to look at him. 

…had another space distortion occurred?

Ji Ning instinctively wanted to retreat back into the bathroom, but the dignified lady seemed to sense his hesitation and narrowed her eyes. Ji Ning suddenly found that he couldn’t move at all, as if an invisible force was holding him in place.

Was this…spiritual power? He was inside the Mo Ling Empire’s territory again?

Ji Ning wanted to call Huo Wuling for help, as he was still hiding inside his shadow, but even his voice was suppressed by the woman’s spiritual power. He could only watch helplessly as she slowly approached him. 

“Are you trying to escape?”

The lady’s red painted nails lifted Ji Ning’s jaw. She raised an eyebrow and the corner of her lip curled as she said coldly.

“You think you can still do what you want? Remember, you must serve His Majesty Ozer well. If you make His Majesty unhappy, not only will you die, but all of us will die without a place to be buried. Then your family will be buried with our families, do you understand? Give me a nod if you understand?”

“…” 

Ji Ning wanted to shake his head, but when he saw the lady’s sinister gaze, he was scared she might kill him herself, so he forced himself to nod his head. He hoped that if he acted obedient, she would pull back her spiritual power and he would be able to call for Huo Wuling.

But unfortunately, the lady didn’t intend to let him move freely, she just softened her expression a little and coaxed Ji Ning, “You must understand that His Majesty Ozer has no one around him. If you serve him carefully, you can reach the heavens in a single step. Maybe you could even become the Empress of the Empire…”

Having said that, she frowned, as if disgusted by such a statement, and muttered to herself in a low voice.

“I don’t understand why His Majesty would love a man so much, and he is his brother in law in name…” 

She seemed to fall into an indescribable emotion, until the maid beside her called out softly, “Madam, it’s almost time. We should get ready, otherwise His Majesty will be going to bed soon.”

“You are right.”

The Madam calmed down her emotions, and when she looked at Ji Ning again, there was a ray of hope in her eyes as she said.

“This opportunity cannot be missed. His Majesty will probably only come to inspect this territory once in his life. It just so happens that this person my daughter found from nowhere is so similar to the one in the portrait. If he is presented to His Majesty as a substitute, His Majesty will be pleased and our family will be rewarded.” 

The maids rushed to agree with her. The Madam nodded slightly and turned to leave the room.

The maids quickly dressed Ji Ning in thin, light clothes, with a wide neckline that revealed a lot of skin. They sprayed perfume on his neck and thighs, which gave him a seductive fragrance.

After listening to their gossip for a while, Ji Ning understood his situation and his expression turned ugly. He was going to be given to Ozer as a substitute. Why did he always encounter such awful situations during space distortions?

The pressure imposed by the Madam’s spiritual power was still overwhelming. Under her guidance, Ji Ning was forced to follow the maids out of the room against his wishes. The Madam was waiting outside and personally led Ji Ning through the corridors to the most luxurious room in the mansion, and softly greeted the room’s occupant. 

“Good evening your Majesty Ozer, your servant Rosina begs for audience, I hope I am not disturbing your Majesty.”

“Good evening Madam Rosina, please enter.”

The door opened slowly, Ozer’s voice coming from inside. When he wasn’t trapped in episodes of spiritual violence, he always showed a gentle appearance, inconsistent with his dark and violent nature.

But as an aristocrat, the Madam understood certain things about the monarch of the Empire. When the door opened, her body trembled involuntarily and her teeth clenched. She stayed outside of the door and merely used her spiritual power to control Ji Ning to enter the room. 

The door closed softly.

She stood outside the door, her hands clenched together unconsciously. When the door next opened, she didn’t know if heaven or hell would be waiting for her.

Once the door closed, the Madam’s spiritual power was cut off, causing Ji Ning to stumble. His figure swayed and he briefly caught a glimpse of Ozer behind the curtain on his bed, which almost made him fall to the ground in fright.

“…Madam Rosina?” 

The imperial monarch on the bed seemed to have realised that the person who entered the room was not the Madam. An icy spiritual power spread across the room, enveloping Ji Ning and dragging him over to the bed.

Ji Ning raised his arms to cover his face in a conditioned reflex, but as he did so, his eyes fell on his naked legs.

The clothes on his body were very short and the fabric was faintly transparent. It really didn’t cover him at all, Ozer could see everything!

Ji Ning briefly felt the urge to bite his tongue and commit suicide. 

He had missed his chance to escape and he didn’t know how long he would have to wait for the spatial distortion to finish.

It was too late to call for Huo Wuling. He could only wait for Future to tell him that the distortion was over and hope he could make it out in time. Otherwise, with Huo Wuling still injured, they were trapped between a mansion full of spiritual abilities and Ozer, the most powerful person in the Empire. They would definitely not have a good end.

But…how should he face Ozer during this time?

For a few seconds, Ji Ning was crushed by Ozer’s spiritual power, barely able to breath, but the next moment the pressure suddenly lightened and he was pulled into Ozer’s embrace. 

A strong arm wrapped around his waist, locking tightly around his body, preventing him from escaping. He desperately wanted to hide his face, but Ozer gripped him by the jaw and forced him to look up at him.

Ji Ning felt Ozer’s fingers tremble where they touched his skin.

He didn’t want to meet Ozer’s gaze, but before he could stop himself, Ozer’s beautiful lake green pupils were staring into his own. He could see the corners of Ozer’s eyes were already reddened.

Then Ji Ning’s lips were captured in an overwhelming kiss. 

This chapter was so intimate – ah, I feel so embarrassed writing these words!