After being kissed all over, inside and out, by Luo Tingshi, Yu Zhi felt strangely lighter.
The restless agitation that had unsettled him for months eased slightly.
Yu Zhi felt it acutely—he needed Luo Tingshi. But…
he didn’t want to be with Luo Tingshi.
Just now, he’d slipped into Luo Tingshi’s trap in a moment of carelessness.
This man was far too dangerous.
Thinking this, Yu Zhi lifted his gaze and said coldly, “I shall have you shackled with handcuffs and chains. You are forbidden to touch me without my permission.”
“That’s impossible!” Luo Tingshi immediately protested. “Your belly grows larger by the day. I must care for and protect you at all times. If you’re shackled, I won’t be able to save you in time should anything happen.”
Yu Zhi sneered. “You protect me? The greatest danger to me comes from you.”
Luo Tingshi: “Your Majesty…”
Yu Zhi: “You said any punishment was acceptable. What now? Backing out?”
Luo Tingshi lifted his face from Yu Zhi’s shoulder, leaned in, and kissed him affectionately, pleading earnestly: You may strike me, scold me, or inflict punishment upon me—but this, truly, I cannot permit. To wear it would mean placing you in constant peril. I cannot allow it.”
Yu Zhi retorted, “You are not the only one by my side.”
Luo Tingshi’s expression darkened slightly. His hand tightened around Yu Zhi’s waist, his voice turning cold: “My wife and children—I must protect them myself. How could I entrust that to others?”
“Luo Tingshi!” Yu Zhi laughed bitterly. “Have you no shame? Who are your wife and children?”
Luo Tingshi’s hand slid slightly downward, resting on Yu Zhi’s belly. “We have already consummated our marriage and bear two children. Only the formal recognition is lacking. Before, you impersonated Lu Jing, and I was unaware. Afterward, I formally proposed marriage to you again.”
Yu Zhi’s eyes flickered. Propping himself up on one elbow, he looked down at Luo Tingshi. “Luo Tingshi, you’re far too full of yourself. Do you think this gives you leverage over me? Ridiculous.
“What difference does it make if the people know I bear your child? I remain the Emperor of Great Yu. If I disregard the rumors, they become meaningless.”
Yu Zhi looked into Luo Ting’s pitch-black eyes and sneered, “You think you can threaten the Emperor with this? Give up that notion.”
Luo Tingshi curved his lips, a hint of admiration flickering in his eyes. He pinched Yu Zhi’s soft cheek, then tilted his head to press a kiss onto the lips before him, already flushed crimson from his bite. “Xiao Yu has grown up.”
Yu Zhi’s expression remained unchanged.
Just now, it suddenly dawned on him: the reason Luo Tingshi consistently held the upper hand in their confrontations was simply because he cared too much.
He cared too much about empty titles.
Sometimes one had to learn from Luo Tingshi—to be thick-skinned and shameless.
The world knew Luo Tingshi had slept with him. It wouldn’t make him any less of a man. At worst, it would become mere gossip, spun into tales for storytellers.
Luo Tingshi kissed him, caressed him, soothed his empty body, and relieved his lustful suffering—wasn’t that exactly what a male favorite was meant to do?
In that instant, Yu Zhi’s entire world opened up.
Yu Zhi let out a soft chuckle. Under Luo Tingshi’s stunned gaze, he lowered his head and captured those thin lips with a kiss.
His tongue traced the outline of those lips, occasionally giving them a light flick. Luo Tingshi stiffened, unable to believe what was happening.
Yu Zhi was kissing him?
The words echoed relentlessly in Luo Tingshi’s mind, sending shivers through his very core. Only when that soft tongue attempted to pry open his lips did Luo Tingshi realize this was real.
His eyes darkened. He abruptly rose, pinning Yu Zhi beneath him, and kissed him back with fierce, ruthless intensity.
Under Luo Tingshi’s fierce kiss, Yu Zhi silently resolved.
Whatever Luo Tingshi’s intentions, he’d guard against him.
After a full quarter of an hour of kissing, Yu Zhi’s lips were numb. He reached up to pinch the wolf’s nape, warning him, “Enough. Release me.”
Luo Tingshi paused slightly, sucking on Yu Zhi’s tongue tip and licking for a moment longer before reluctantly releasing him.
Yu Zhi lay lazily in the soft bedding, telling himself inwardly.
See? It’s just lips touching lips, tongues entwining. What’s there to be shy about?
“Your Majesty.”
Luo Tingshi kept rubbing Yu Zhi’s slender shoulders, his trembling voice whispering into Yu Zhi’s ear. Feeling the man’s restlessness, Yu Zhi lifted his chin and glanced at the screen behind them.
“Go prepare it.”
Luo Tingshi immediately rolled off the bed.
Moments later, muffled groans of restraint echoed from behind the screen once more.
Yu Zhi was utterly speechless.
In just two short days, Luo Tingshi had been aroused more times than he had. What a beast.
For a fleeting moment, Yu Zhi had contemplated a cruel punishment. Luo Tingshi was always fixated on him, wasn’t he? So why not drug him with aphrodisiacs and tie him to a pillar? Burning with desire yet unable to find release—it would be the perfect punishment for someone like him.
“No!” The thought vanished the instant it formed.
Too despicable.
Yu Zhi covered his face with his palm, filled with self-loathing. How could he even consider such a low, dirty trick?
It was all Luo Ting’s fault!
Bad company corrupts good character. Spending time with Luo Ting had tainted him with his own filth.
Yu Zhi seethed inwardly, but suddenly, a bright light filled his vision—a handsome face, filled with concern, appeared before him.
The man gently removed Yu Zhi’s hand from his face.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Yu?” Luo Tingshi leaned closer, his washed hands carrying a hint of coolness that touched Yu Zhi’s forehead.
Yu Zhi remained silent, glaring at him.
Luo Tingshi chuckled softly. “Where did I offend Xiao Yu this time?”
He gathered the fingers in his palm, gently pinching them as he asked with a smile, “Are you still holding a grudge over that matter? Didn’t you seem quite comfortable when I attended to you just now?”
Yu Zhi snorted softly.
Back then, with his pressure points sealed and unable to move, Luo Tingshi could have freely unleashed his animalistic desires upon him. Yet Luo Tingshi had devoted himself entirely to serving him from start to finish, tending to every inch of his body with meticulous care, paying no heed whatsoever to his own iron-hard member.
Yu Zhi lifted his eyelids, remained silent for a moment, then said, “Fine, no handcuffs or shackles. But you must take a pill to seal your internal energy.”
“Agreed.” Luo Tingshi answered without hesitation.
Yu Zhi’s round eyes widened slightly.
Without his martial arts to protect him, it was like handing over his very life to Luo Tingshi. He’d expected Luo Tingshi to refuse, but to his surprise, Luo Tingshi agreed without batting an eyelid.
The words Yu Zhi had prepared remained unspoken. His long lashes fluttered slightly as a small “Oh” escaped his lips.
At that moment, Yu Zhi became even more convinced of his suspicion: Luo Tingshi definitely had ulterior motives.
Those claims of deep affection, of wanting only him—they were utterly false.
Luo Tingshi couldn’t possibly love him.