“Miss Luan doesn’t like others attending her too closely. You just need to watch her from the side and make sure nothing happens,” Yan Qiongyu instructed the two beta maids.
One of the maids asked in a low voice, “Should we prepare sobering medicine for Miss Luan?”
Yan Qiongyu said, “No need.”
The maids did not dare say more or ask further questions, and obediently stayed nearby.
Yan Qiongyu sat in the outer lounge, closed his eyes, and waited. Sure enough, before long, a servant brought him an invitation letter. After accepting it and giving it a glance, another servant dressed in black came to invite him.
On the servant’s shoulder was embroidered the emblem representing the Hei family—he was a personal attendant brought by the Hei family’s two young masters.
“Young Master Hei Yang wishes to consult you on a few matters and asks that you move to the lounge to meet him.”
Yan Qiongyu had always maintained a courteous and proper public image. Hearing this, he said, “Since a guest has extended an invitation, I naturally should go. However, I am an omega, and it would be inappropriate for me to go alone to the Hei family young master’s lounge. Please convey to Young Master Hei Yang that if there is truly something to discuss, it would be better to meet at the Suspended Little Flower Pavilion.”
The Little Flower Pavilion was a small floating platform aboard the Sky Garden Ship used for sightseeing. It could just accommodate two people sitting opposite each other. Once activated, it would slowly drift in circles above the garden.
From the Starry Flower Plains, one could see the people on the Suspended Little Flower Pavilion from afar, though their conversation could not be heard. It was originally a place well-suited for lovers to meet and go on dates.
Yan Qiongyu asking him to meet here took Hei Yang a little by surprise, but he found it even more interesting. The way he appraised Yan Qiongyu’s dignified face took on a different meaning.
He came alone, gracefully inclining his head to Yan Qiongyu, wearing the same kind of gentle falseness that Yan Qiongyu himself possessed.
At a glance, Yan Qiongyu could see the disdainful appraisal and sense of superiority hidden beneath Hei Yang’s elegant exterior.
The Little Flower Pavilion floated in the air, the rich fragrance of flowers adding a touch of ambiguity. Several clusters of blooming flowers were accompanied by fluttering colorful butterflies, which occasionally landed around the two of them.
Hei Yang sat down opposite Yan Qiongyu, looked at him, lowered his voice, and said, “I’ve long heard of the reputation of Yan Qiongyu from the omega academy. Everyone says you’re the most outstanding omega. I didn’t expect that upon meeting you today, you’d be even more unforgettable than I imagined.”
Unfortunately, Yan Qiongyu was not an omega who harbored any romantic longing toward alphas. He only found such blatant seduction nauseating.
The narcissism of alphas always amused him. They always seemed to believe that with their own outstanding conditions, all it took was a smile and a few suggestive words for an omega to fall into their hands.
Oh, not all alphas were like this. Miss Wang Luan, for instance, never had such confidence.
Yan Qiongyu thought of a certain drunkard in an instant. Maintaining a polite smile, he showed no reaction at all to Hei Yang’s ambiguous praise, like a mannequin, responding dully, “Thank you for the compliment.”
Seeing that he did not react to his words, Hei Yang’s gaze darkened. He did not like male omegas, and he had not been interested in Yan Qiongyu before. It was only after hearing that Yan Qiongyu had raised Wang Luan’s mental power level that he became interested and made this trip.
But this omega, who was somewhat useful yet did not fit his aesthetic tastes, indeed did not inspire much patience for coaxing.
Leaning back against the chair, Hei Yang changed his tone and said bluntly, “An excellent 3S omega like you—are you really willing to follow someone like Wang Luan, that kind of useless alpha, for your entire life? Even if she’s become S-rank now, you know she’ll never compare to alphas like us who are born S-rank. The Wang family relied on their privileges to secure you in advance, without giving you any right to choose. You should have had a better option.”
The right to choose? Yan Qiongyu smiled without speaking, glanced at the inconspicuous butterflies within the Little Flower Pavilion, and leisurely tapped his knee beneath the table with his fingers.
Seeing that he still did not respond, Hei Yang felt secretly dissatisfied. That was why he disliked these commoner omegas trained at the omega academy—each one docile and lacking in opinions, with no extra reactions even when taken to bed.
“My level is higher than Wang Luan’s. Perhaps our pheromones would be more compatible. If I mark you, it won’t make you suffer, and it certainly won’t cause pheromone rejection severe enough to send you to the hospital.” Hei Yang looked as though he had done quite a bit of research. “I know you and Wang Luan haven’t completed a full marking yet. As long as you’re willing, I can marry you. You also don’t need to worry about retaliation from the Wang family. The Wang family is destined to fall.”
Yan Qiongyu’s tone was neither pleased nor angry. “Young Master Hei Yang’s words are too disrespectful. I am already Miss Luan’s omega—how could I betray her?”
Hei Yang said, “I thought that between me and Wang Luan, anyone with a brain would know how to choose?”
Yan Qiongyu could not be bothered to waste any more thought, replying with perfunctory words, “I’m truly sorry. I very much adore Miss Luan…”
Hei Yang’s attention was entirely on him, and he did not notice a butterfly lightly landing on his arm, pausing for a moment before quickly flying away.
Yan Qiongyu looked at that vivid butterfly and said flatly, “If Young Master Hei Yang only wishes to say these things, then let’s end it here.” Under his control, the Little Flower Pavilion slowly descended.
Hei Yang raised an eyebrow in displeasure. “I thought you asked me here as a hint.” Now it looked more like he was being toyed with.
Yan Qiongyu suddenly smiled faintly. “Of course not. It’s just that I had an appointment with the Seventh Imperial Princess here, and Young Master Hei also happened to have something to say, so we met in the same place.”
Just happened to meet. The implication of those words was deeply humiliating to Hei Yang. His expression darkened. “So you’ve already hooked up with the Seventh Imperial Princess, that’s why you look down on our Hei family…”
Yan Qiongyu did not refute him. Hei Yang suddenly sneered coldly. “Very well. I’d like to see what ability you have to enter the royal family, and whether you’ll regret it!”
With a dark face, he stood up. Before the Little Flower Pavilion had fully stopped, he leapt down and left in a rage.
Yan Qiongyu did not stand. He pinched a bright red flower on the flower mirror and examined it, letting colorful butterflies land on his fingers.
“I thought I was the only one who wanted to see you. I didn’t expect Hei Yang to get here before me.” The Seventh Imperial Princess emerged from behind a wall of flowers with her two personal attendants. She had clearly seen the scene of Hei Yang speaking with Yan Qiongyu just now.
She walked over step by step, smiling, yet anyone could tell she was displeased.
Unlike Hei Yang, who had only come over hoping to pick up some advantage after hearing about Yan Qiongyu’s effect on increasing mental power, the Seventh Imperial Princess Qing Zhao had been unable to forget Yan Qiongyu for two years.
A tall, elegant young man in his teens, cool as moonlight and gentle as spring rain, standing out among the crowd like a crane among chickens—one glance was enough to make her unable to forget him.
To her, she had long since claimed Yan Qiongyu as her own, only for Wang Luan to barge in midway and snatch him away. No matter what, she could not swallow this anger.
Yan Qiongyu was someone she would inevitably obtain. Even if she could not get him now, he would be hers in the future. Once she endured these few years and became the Empire’s new emperor, everything would naturally be resolved.
But temporarily tolerating Yan Qiongyu staying with the Wang family did not mean she would not be angry upon seeing Yan Qiongyu standing together with other alphas.
Yan Qiongyu could see the Seventh Imperial Princess Qing Zhao’s thoughts clearly. It was just a pity that whether it was Hei Yang, the Seventh Imperial Princess, or any other alpha, they were all the same to him—only differing in how much use value they had.
“Seventh Imperial Princess, please sit.”
The Seventh Imperial Princess did not sit. Instead, she stared at the faint red mark at the opening of Yan Qiongyu’s collar and suddenly asked, “What is this?”
Yan Qiongyu lowered his head and took a look. That faint red mark was flower sap. After a brief thought, he understood—it was probably from earlier, when Wang Luan fell into the flower bushes and crushed the blossoms, then clung to him and refused to let go, accidentally staining his collar. He himself had not noticed.
Before he could answer, the Seventh Imperial Princess had already asked sharply, “Is this a mark left by Wang Luan?”
Guessing what she had misunderstood, Yan Qiongyu nevertheless had no intention of explaining. He even touched that faint red mark and revealed a trace of a smile.
Every time the Seventh Imperial Princess saw Yan Qiongyu, his smile was polite. He was like that with everyone. But now this faint trace of a smile was light, yet more vivid than ever.
Thinking of Wang Luan urging him to drink earlier, and imagining how she might have been intimate with Yan Qiongyu after returning, the Seventh Imperial Princess was so angry that her face turned ashen. She strode onto the Little Flower Pavilion.
There was no room on the Little Flower Pavilion for the Seventh Imperial Princess’s two personal attendants, so the two stepped forward to inspect the pavilion, to prevent any threat to the Seventh Imperial Princess’s safety.
However, the Seventh Imperial Princess was full of anger. Seeing them approach, she waved her hand and said, “You stay far away! Don’t come up!”
The two hesitated. “But we must ensure your safety.”
This was not the Seventh Imperial Princess’s territory, so they naturally had to be more cautious. But the Seventh Imperial Princess would not listen. With a dark expression, she shouted angrily, “Withdraw!”
Daring not to persist, the two retreated several steps and watched the Little Flower Pavilion drift away.
Anger makes people lose their reason and make faulty judgments.
Yan Qiongyu had been deliberately provoking the Seventh Imperial Princess from the very beginning. Having achieved his purpose, he swept a glance at the two personal attendants waiting in place and said to the Seventh Imperial Princess, “What does the Seventh Imperial Princess wish to say in asking me here? If it’s those same words as before, I can only say I’m sorry.”
The Seventh Imperial Princess had once loved the restraint beneath his gentleness and that touch of cool detachment. Now, however, that very detachment lodged in her throat like a thorn. “Do you truly like Wang Luan?”
Yan Qiongyu watched as a butterfly landed on the Seventh Imperial Princess. Seeming to think of something, he smiled again and admitted it openly. “Miss Luan is different from all the alphas I’ve met. When I chose her back then, I didn’t expect that I would come to like her.”
The Seventh Imperial Princess had always paid close attention to Yan Qiongyu. She thought she had seen through the coldness beneath his gentle exterior, yet now she was confused by this trace of warmth beneath his present coldness. Truly believing he had fallen into love, she immediately ground her teeth in hatred and said bitterly, “You like Wang Luan—ha, what use is it that you like her! I’m telling you, don’t think that completing a full marking with her will make everything fine. Sooner or later, she’s going to die!”
Yan Qiongyu let his gaze fall on her, his tone tinged with puzzlement. “Oh? You intend to harm her?”
The Seventh Imperial Princess laughed. “Me? No. Before that, my fifth brother will kill her first.”
Yan Qiongyu rubbed his fingers together. “The Fifth Prince?”
The Seventh Imperial Princess calmed down a little. “My fifth brother will be back soon.”
“You probably don’t know what kind of person my fifth brother is. He has a violent, self-centered temperament, his methods are forceful and crude. Whatever he sets his sights on, he will definitely seize. In the past, he still had some regard for His Majesty, but now he won’t even listen to His Majesty’s orders anymore, nor does he care about any rules. He once said that he is currently the Empire’s highest-ranked double-S alpha, and that only the highest-ranked omega is worthy of him.”
As she said this, the Seventh Imperial Princess looked at Yan Qiongyu, her expression growing even more complicated.
She did not dare contend with the Fifth Prince, because he had already been driven mad by his rampaging mental power, and because he knew his lifespan was not long, he had become even more reckless.
This was the real reason she had restrained herself from immediately snatching Yan Qiongyu away. Otherwise, did she really fear that useless Wang Luan?
By now, the Seventh Imperial Princess had completely calmed down. She regained her lofty bearing and revealed the smile of a victor. “After my fifth brother kills Wang Luan and then destroys himself, you will still become mine—whether you are willing or not.”
The Seventh Imperial Princess thought that after hearing these words, Yan Qiongyu would be at least somewhat flustered. Yet when she looked over, he was still sitting there unhurriedly. Not only had his posture not changed, even his expression had returned to its usual calm and natural state, as if the person who had spoken of liking Wang Luan earlier was not him at all, as if her life and death were of no concern to him.
“Have you finished speaking, Your Highness?” Yan Qiongyu said. “Then you should go back and rest.”
Just then, the Little Flower Pavilion completed its circuit and returned to its original position.
The Seventh Imperial Princess did not move, fixing him with a probing gaze.
“Oh my, Seventh Imperial Sister, didn’t you say you were going to rest? How come you’re secretly here chatting with our Qiongyu.” The Eighth Imperial Princess spoke with an innocent face, grinning. The Sixth Prince followed behind her with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing a smile full of unspoken meaning.
