Ji Chenxi almost laughed. The reason Manye Zhe had gone to all that trouble was just to show how “excited” he was.
“Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool,” Ji Chenxi said simply.
Manye Zhe lowered his head, picked an emoji, and tapped it three times in a row to show how happy he was.
The corner of Ji Chenxi’s lips lifted without him even noticing. “Cool, yeah—but it’s still missing something. Next time, try a black trench coat. When you land, you might look even cooler.”
“Okay. I’ll try it next time.” Manye Zhe finally spoke his first sentence since they met today.
When Wu Xiang heard that, his face almost twitched. It was hard to connect the steady, serious—almost reliable—man in front of him with the one who had typed those playful messages.
Ji Chenxi, on the other hand, took it in stride. Not a hint of discomfort showed on his face. After a brief exchange with Manye Zhe, he turned his gaze back to the starship. Manye Zhe had arrived with Chen Xing, so of course Chen Xing was still inside. And from Ji Chenxi’s senses, there was more than one person on that ship.
Sure enough, once the starship settled, Chen Xing stepped out—tall, well-dressed, refined and handsome. Behind him was another person in loose clothing, a large black hood covering most of his face. Ji Chenxi first gave Chen Xing a gentle smile and nod, showing he had been expecting him. Only then did he spare a glance at the person following behind Chen Xing and Manye Zhe.
A beta. Light footsteps. The clothes were too baggy to show any muscle shape. If he hadn’t come with Chen Xing and the others, Ji Chenxi probably wouldn’t have looked twice. Ji Chenxi had a mild obsession with cleanliness—he liked things neat and tidy—but there were clear oil stains on that person’s clothes.
His glance lasted only a second. If you didn’t catch the tiny shift in his expression, you wouldn’t even know he had looked.
“Third Prince, after knowing each other for so many years, we finally meet in person. How about a hug?”
Even if they weren’t that close, it wasn’t an unreasonable request. And after years of knowing each other, it should have been natural. But Ji Chenxi just smiled and shook his head. “You know me. I’m not big on physical contact.”
Chen Xing had already expected the refusal, so he didn’t even open his arms. It was clearly their first meeting, yet they talked like old friends. Chen Xing teased Ji Chenxi about being fussy, then introduced the person behind him. “This is my mecha engineer.”
The man, almost swallowed by his clothes, his face hidden, greeted Ji Chenxi in a hoarse voice. Ji Chenxi gave a light response, enough to count as a greeting.
Once Chen Xing, Manye Zhe, and the others boarded the aircraft, Ji Chenxi immediately sealed off the cockpit from the seats in the back. Even though he had Wu Xiang’s lifeline in his grip through pheromones, he didn’t dare fully trust him. For now, it was better to block him out completely.
With no outsiders around, Chen Xing didn’t relax. Instead, he frowned slightly.
“How could you bring Major General Wu Xiang with you?”
Chen Xing carried a strong scholar’s air. It often made his words sound like a lecture. But there was also a strange kind of gentleness about him, which softened that edge. So this question leaned more toward worry than blame.
“Just testing him,” Ji Chenxi said lightly. “I wanted to see if my pheromones really have him under control. If he was sent by that man, then he’s someone that man trusts a lot.”
“You should still be careful,” Chen Xing warned in a low voice.
Compared to Chen Xing’s tact, Manye Zhe was far more blunt. “If he’s getting on your nerves, I can take care of him.”
Ji Chenxi hadn’t expected Manye Zhe to talk so casually about laying a hand on an Imperial Major General. He reminded him, “Wu Xiang is pretty strong. The only reason I could mess with his gland before was because I was in my susceptible period.”
In other words, if Manye Zhe faced him head-on, he might not walk away unharmed.
“Yeah, he’s strong,” Manye Zhe replied. “If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t even bother taking the job for free. Little Rose, you should be secretly happy.”
He clearly meant to sound half-joking, but the words came out stiff and flat, as if he wasn’t teasing at all—just impatient.
“I already am,” Ji Chenxi said with a faint smile. “But no need. He can still be useful.”
Chen Xing hadn’t planned to bring this up the moment they met. But without a clear answer, a sense of unease had been sitting in his chest, so in the end he spoke anyway.
“About what you mentioned before… is there still room to turn things around?”
Ji Chenxi just smiled and shook his head.
Chen Xing had imagined this meeting with the Third Prince countless times. In his mind, it was always him stepping in to save the day, or turning the tide at the last second. In some ways, he had been arrogant—arrogant enough to believe that Ji Chenxi needed him, not the other way around. The young prince had been the perfect card in his hand. Even if he’d grown attached to that card, it was still the closeness between the player and the piece. He had never thought the card would have its own will, would step off the path he had laid out.
Right now, he should have been furious. And yet, the anger was faint—there, but thin.
“I once treated you as my student.”
“You helped me a lot,” Ji Chenxi replied with a gentle smile. They had known each other for years—teacher and student, yes, but also friends.
“My help wasn’t that great,” Chen Xing said quietly. “Most of the time, you just needed a small push, a different angle. Later… I saw you as a wise ruler. Someone I wanted to follow.”
The smile on Ji Chenxi’s face faded just a little. He knew what was coming.
Before Chen Xing said it out loud, Ji Chenxi didn’t show much emotion. The only thing he had insisted on all along was his relationship with Chi Zhuo.
“It’s just an alpha. Is it really worth this? You didn’t even have to tell me. You could’ve kept it buried.”
“You know I’ve never been the low-key type,” Ji Chenxi said with a soft laugh, sounding almost troubled.
But that “troubled” tone was fake. In truth, he didn’t struggle at all. He might hesitate before making a choice, but once he made it, he would stand by it completely—no second thoughts, no turning back.
“Your Highness, aren’t you afraid I might turn against you because of this?” Chen Xing asked, and this time he truly sounded puzzled.
“Of course I hope you’ll stay my partner,” Ji Chenxi replied calmly. “And it’s not like I have nothing to rely on. As things stand, I’m the legitimate heir. In many ways, I fit your idea of perfection better. If I can’t have your support, then I guess we’re just not meant to work together.”
Chen Xing didn’t comment right away. He fell silent for a moment before finally saying, “Your Highness, I hope you won’t regret today’s decision.”
“So,” Ji Chenxi asked evenly, “what’s your answer?”
“What you told me before… to me, it’s a stain I can’t accept,” Chen Xing said slowly. “But before I was your follower, we were probably friends first. And as a friend, I should be able to tolerate this small flaw.”
Ji Chenxi looked like he wanted to say something, but the words didn’t come out.
“If you have something to say, just say it,” Chen Xing urged.
“Then I will,” Ji Chenxi said. “First, it’s not a flaw. Second, I won’t regret it. Once I make a decision, regret stops being an option.”
His tone was so firm that even someone as expressionless as Manye Zhe almost showed a reaction.
Quietly, Manye Zhe typed a line and projected a light screen behind Chen Xing.
【Little Rose, maybe be a bit more subtle and low-key?】
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
