Chapter 97

7.10 - The possibility of allowing the Prince to ascend the throne earlier

translator: xiin

editors: alamerysl & BlueBug

His Royal Highness the Prince had not been joking. He began to seriously pursue Yan Qingjun.

He brought him to school, picked him up from school, took him out for dinner... other than during class, Xue Ling rarely saw Yan Qingjun. In the middle of the night, he was bemoaning this while at home, sighing in resignation over the fact that Yan Qingjun no longer wanted him now that he had a man.

Yan Qingjun splashed water on his face and pointed out, "Has Lou Cen been too busy to come see you recently? Is that why you remember I exist?"

Xue Ling pouted, "What are you talking about? I haven't forgiven him yet, why should I go out with him?"

As soon as his voice fell, his nano-computer began to ring. Xue Ling's expression was still full of unhappiness as he moved back to the edge of the pool and opened his nano-computer.

The message had come from Lou Cen. It said that he had found a suitable identity with which to enter the underground city without causing suspicions. He had also made preparations for Xue Ling, and would go and pick him up after school tomorrow.

Xue Ling raised his eyebrows, curved his lips, and happily flicked his tail.

"What, did Lou Cen ask you out?" Yan Qingjun swam over slowly, his face teasing. "Look, your tail is waving towards the sky. Are you still saying that you haven't forgiven him and won't go out with him?"

Xue Ling leaped into the water and swam for a long time before emerging. He patted his own face, and snorted coldly, "Stop bothering me. Go and find your Highness the Prince instead."

Yan Qingjun was left speechless. "Fine. I won't bother you. But remember, don't run off with him. In case something happens, everyone will worry about you."

"Yes."

"One more thing." Yan Qingjun stirred up the water, pondered, and then opened his mouth to say, "Second brother applied to be transferred out. In the future, he'll only come back for the holidays."

"Transfer? To an outpost? " The empire was very vast, but it also had borders. Although it had been very peaceful in recent years, there was still friction, and battles and riots were still common. Army forces were stationed there all year round. Xue Ling splashed apart the reflection of the moon in the water, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Second brother hasn't been able to think things through clearly?"

"Perhaps he has." Merfolk were very sensitive to emotions. Yan Zhaiyan had not hidden his emotions well, and although he had tried to avoid meeting with Xue Ling during this period, they were still living in the same house and would still run into each other two or three times a day. Yan Qingjun knew what kind of feelings Yan Zhaiyan had for Xue Ling, and his attitude was the same as Yan Chuhuan's. If the other party had felt something in return, perhaps they could have given it a try, but the other party had obviously placed someone else in their heart, so they could only let this feeling wither away.

For Yan Zhaiyan to apply for a transfer signified that he had thought it through, and no longer had any intentions to fight a bitter battle.

"It's best if he's figured it out." Xue Ling could also see his intentions, but he was good at pretending ignorance and hiding his own emotions, so most of the family did not know what he was thinking.

Yan Qingjun looked at him in some surprise, and then pursed his lips. "Wenwen, I think he still wants you to call him second brother."

Xue Ling smiled widely and nodded, "I've always called him second brother."

"That's for the best."

After Lou Cen sent a message to Xue Ling, he also made it a special point to communicate with Xue Ling later that night. Only when he personally saw the little merman nod his head could he feel at ease and have a good sleep.Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

No matter how one looked at it, it was the epitome of silliness to be excited to the point of insomnia because of a date.

Xue Ling tugged on his hand and asked, "Is it so complicated to enter every time?"

"This entrance is exclusively for newcomers, and only new entrants need to come this way. After we've been to the underground city, you'll get your own identity card. With that, you can order directly from a VIP shop outside of the Central Mall. There is also a very convenient entrance there."

"Wow... You know a lot."

"I can't take you to do things that I'm not sure about."

"Oh." Xue Ling held back his smile and decided to accompany him properly to have a good look around. He would by himself next time and investigate exactly what was going on with the merfolk research laboratory then.

There were not as many people moving about as Xue Ling had expected in the underground city, and most of them had also concealed their true face. The two of them did not stand out amongst the crowd, so nobody stared at them either.

"The underground city will only attract and invite a lot of visitors when they hold activities. Normally, it is like a normal shopping centre. If your privilege rank is high enough, you can even make your transactions over the internet, and there is no need to come in person."

"Oh. Then what do I need to do to get that privilege?"

"Spend money. Spend enough money."

"Forget it. I just have a little bit of pocket money." Xue Ling looked depressed. Seeing it, Lou Cen could not help but stretch out his hand again to rub his head.

"Although I have a lot of information, in fact, it is not complete. Many illegal transactions have not been clarified, and there is even information that there a private illegal merfolk research laboratory exists here, but we have not found enough evidence to destroy this place."

Xue Ling raised his eyebrows. So they had known about the existence of the research laboratory at this time? So the reason why the original owner of this body had not been able to wait for Lou Cen to save him was probably because he had not had the ability to truly destroy this place in one go, so he had not been reckless.

Based on the premise that he had not known that the original was in the research laboratory, it was really the best option to hold on and wait until he had the assurance that he could bring down the laboratory completely.

Xue Ling's thoughtful eyes made Lou Cen feel uncomfortable. He reached out his hand to block that pair of attractive eyes, lowering his head to kiss Xue Ling on the forehead. He said, "Don't keep staring at me like that. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself."

Xue Ling pushed his hand away and was too lazy to answer him.

The underground city was vast. The two of them enjoyed dinner together there; it was really like a date. Unfortunately, they were still unable to walk through every corner of the city that way. Lou Cen bought some things for Xue Ling, saying that it was strange not to spend money after coming here, and it could cause them to be flagged.

Out of the principle of fairness, Xue Ling also bought something for Lou Cen. He also picked some things as gifts to bring back to his family.

Well, Lou Cen paid for all of these things in the end.

Xue Ling did not prevent him from trying to flatter the Duke Palace's people this time. After all, it would not be beneficial for them to quibble about things like this now.

Their harvest this time was not big, but Xue Ling had basically memorized a large part of the underground city map, so that it would be easier for him to enter next time. In fact, it could not be considered as fruitless, because at least Xue Ling had discovered the location of the clinic. If he had guessed correctly according to the plot description, it should also be where the Merfolk Research Laboratory was situated. Other than the structures built on the surface, a large portion of the development was underground.

Although it's troublesome to do it that way, digging a basement under the underground city... it was particularly safe. Due to the special circumstances surrounding the underground city, as long as the Emperor did not suddenly have a whimsy to clean up the entire aristocracy, nothing would happen to them.

And unless the Emperor wanted to throw the Empire into turmoil, he would absolutely not make such a decision.

Xue Ling silently began to consider the possibility of killing off the current Emperor and allowing the Prince to ascend the throne earlier.

System: "..." Hadn't he said that he would take the mild route this time? Where was the warmth in such a cruel idea?!

the overarching relationship between XL and ML is really sweet and cute~

if any of you are interested, the was released earlier today!