CHAPTER 49: WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?

Jian Ci groaned dramatically, throwing his arms up. "Are you sure you guys are my brothers? Why are you exposing me like this?"

Jian Wei laughed, unfazed. "That will teach you not to drink next time."

Jian Ci sat up straighter, still sulking, when his eyes caught a flash of red on Jian Rui’s neck. Curious, he reached out and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "What happened here?"

Before he could get a good look, Jian Rui grabbed his wrist, pulling it away. "It’s nothing. It’s just a rash."

"Oh," Jian Ci said, blinking. Jian Wei added casually, "I will get you some cream after breakfast."

Yu Xi, silent until now, glanced at the red mark and his stomach twisted. It reminded him of the ones his mother used to have when she was returned to the cell. They were deep red, and terrifying to look at.

She always brushed them off as rashes when he asked. But one day he heard the guards say Gander was fierce and rough in bed. Those weren’t rashes at all, they were hickeys.

Yu Xi pursed his lips, saying nothing. It wasn’t his business anyway.

After breakfast, Jian Rui called him to the study. Yu Xi followed, closing the door behind him. The room was quiet, the air heavier than usual.

Jian Rui leaned against the desk, arms crossed. "What happened last night?"

Yu Xi stood, his spine straight and his hands clasped behind his back. He knew there was no point in hiding the important parts, not from Jian Rui. So he laid it out plainly.

"We met two women last night. Alarna and Cindy. Alarna... she got Jian Ci drunk. She was the one who ordered the bottle. She kept pouring for him, and when he was barely coherent, she offered to take him home."

Jian Rui’s eyes narrowed, his expression darkening like a storm cloud. "Damn," he muttered.

Yu Xi said, "Her approach felt intentional and well planned."

Jian Rui’s jaw tightened. It had the makings of a honey pot trap. It was one of their father’s oldest tactics. First seduction, then scandal, and finally control.

The second prince had already fallen for this trap. Now he was married to a guide he never chose, and every move he made was monitored.

Yu Xi didn’t interrupt his thoughts. He was busy in his own mind thinking of Jian Ci’s flushed face and slurred words last night.

"I will deal with it," Jian Rui said. "And from now on, don’t let him drink outside."

"Yes," Yu Xi replied.

He turned to leave, but Jian Rui’s voice stopped him. "Last night."

Yu Xi paused. He knew what Jian Rui meant. Jian Ci had been vulnerable. And Yu Xi... he had feelings.

"I would never do that to him," Yu Xi said softly. "I cherish him too much to defile him like that."

Jian Rui studied him, gaze sharp and searching. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he nodded.

"I understand. You may leave."

Yu Xi inclined his head and said, "Okay."

He turned and walked out his heart steady, but heavy.

***

The sun hung low over the estate grounds, casting golden light across the training field. Yu Xi was supposed to be in the simulator, refining his reflexes and tactical maneuvers, but Jian Ci had been relentless all morning.

"Let’s race," Jian Ci had said. Then again. And again. Like a child begging for a cookie, he wore Yu Xi down with sheer persistence.

Yu Xi finally relented, rubbing his temple. "Fine. But I won’t hold back."

Jian Ci lit up like a festival lantern, practically bouncing on his feet as he began stretching. "I won’t hold back either!"

Yu Xi glanced at him, then bent forward into standing toe touches, his form precise. Jian Ci’s eyes wandered, and with a mischievous grin, he said, "Little Xi, your butt is getting bigger. Must be all that training."

Yu Xi rose slowly, eyes narrowed in a glare. Jian Ci, unfazed, stretched his arms overhead. "What? It does. It looks good."

"You think if you tell me my butt looks good, I will go easy on you?" Yu Xi asked, voice dry.

Jian Ci smirked. "Is it working?"

"No," Yu Xi said, and took off running without warning.

Jian Ci blinked. "..."

Then he surged forward, yelling, "That’s cheating!"

Yu Xi’s eyes flared emerald, the glow sharp and wild as his psychic power surged to life. Threads of energy wrapped around him like living flame, flickering with intensity. Across from him, Jian Ci’s psychic field ignited in a burst of silver-blue light, radiant and fierce. The air between them shimmered with tension and the race began.

They tore through the estate like twin comets—Yu Xi a blur of green fire, Jian Ci a streak of silver precision. Jian Ci’s stride was powerful, honed by years of elite training, his form cutting through the wind like a blade.

But Yu Xi was unpredictable. He vanished and reappeared in bursts of green light, using psychic displacement to bend the terrain to his will, cutting corners with impossible finesse.

By the tenth lap, sweat glistened on their foreheads. By the twentieth, the air pulsed with raw energy. Leaves swirled in their wake, gravel lifted from the path, and the estate itself seemed to hold its breath.

Jian Wei, watching through the window, paused mid-sip, mesmerized.

Jian Ci gritted his teeth. He was faster. He should be winning. But Yu Xi kept catching up, and then, he passed him.

On the final lap, the thirty-first round, the finish line loomed. Jian Ci summoned everything. His aura flared, muscles burned, psychic field roaring.

But Yu Xi was already ahead. He sprinted the last stretch, a trail of green light blazing behind him, and crossed the finish line with a burst of speed that left the air crackling, triumphant.

Jian Ci skidded to a halt just behind the finish line, chest heaving, eyes wide with disbelief. For the first time in his life, he had lost. Not by much, just a breath, a flicker of distance.

But it was still a loss. He had beaten Jian Rui before, outpaced elite competitors, always first. But now, Yu Xi stood ahead of him, radiant and breathless.

Yu Xi turned, his smile glowing. It was not a smug smile, but luminous, like sunlight breaking through clouds. His emerald eyes still shimmered with psychic energy.

"You are insane," Jian Ci said, voice rough with exertion and awe.

Yu Xi shrugged, catching his breath. "I said I wouldn’t hold back."

Jian Ci collapsed onto the neatly trimmed lawn, panting, arms spread wide as he stared up at the sky. The clouds drifted lazily above, indifferent to his defeat.

"You good?" Yu Xi asked, stepping closer.

"I am good," Jian Ci replied, smiling up at him.

Yu Xi leaned down, offering a hand. Jian Ci reached for it, but instead of getting up, he yanked Yu Xi down with a sudden pull.