One uneventful day, as evening fell, Luo Tingshi followed Yu Zhi into the bedroom.
Having slept for an hour that afternoon, Yu Zhi now felt wide awake and restless. He simply pulled Luo Tingshi into a game of chess.
Luo Tingshi’s chess style mirrored his character—ruthlessly aggressive. Move by move, he cornered Yu Zhi into a desperate position. Just as Luo Tingshi seemed poised for a decisive victory, Yu Zhi made a single move that instantly turned the tide.
In the end, Yu Zhi won.
Luo Tingshi bowed his hands in a gesture of respect and smiled. ” Your Majesty’s chess skills are truly masterful. I am in awe.”
Yu Zhi glanced outside at the sky. It was getting late. He tossed aside the chess pieces and reluctantly climbed into bed.
Luo Tingshi came up beside him, wrapping his large hands around Yu Zhi’s waist and pulling him into an embrace with an air of absolute possession.
Luo Tingshi’s towering frame loomed like a majestic mountain range, making Yu Zhi appear exceptionally petite beside him. When the man embraced him from behind, Yu Zhi felt utterly swallowed up. The man’s muscular arms encircled his chest like a massive cage, trapping him within an inescapable hold.
Yu Zhi struggled slightly, but the contact between their skin sent a shiver through him.
“Your Majesty…” The man’s voice behind him was so hot it nearly melted him.
Both knew exactly what would happen next.
Only…
Yu Zhi wasn’t sure if he could overcome the barrier within himself.
Last night at Li Daniu’s house, they hadn’t truly consummated their relationship. Firstly, it was someone else’s home, and secondly, he hadn’t been ready.
The psychological shadow cast by his first experience was too immense.
This man was not someone a normal person could endure.
Lost in thought, the man behind him suddenly took the flesh of his neck between his teeth, his canine gently grinding against it. Yu Zhi’s body trembled slightly.
He began craving Luo Tingshi once more.
Yu Zhi’s fingertips lightly tapped the back of the large hand resting on his waist. Luo Tingshi understood, kissing his way down the delicate neck until he reached the front. He opened his mouth and licked hard at the prominent Adam’s apple.
His throat was too fragile, too dangerous. Roughened by the coarse tongue, Yu Zhi let out a muffled whimper and cried out involuntarily, “Luo Ting…”
Luo Ting’s eyes darkened as he pulled him deeper into his embrace. His lips and teeth moved upward, gently biting Yu Zhi’s jaw. “Say it again.”
“Luo Tingshi…” Yu Zhi’s voice grew more urgent.
Luo Tingshi chuckled softly, pinching Yu Zhi’s chin as he lowered his head to kiss him. It was an incredibly tender kiss, the man’s thin lips gently pressing against his, sucking softly on his lips.
Yet to Yu Zhi, it felt like scratching an itch through a shoe.
He wanted the man to be rougher.
Yu Zhi opened his mouth willingly, his tongue tracing a circle around Luo Tingshi’s lips. When it reached a hollow, his tongue stiffened slightly, lightly licking that spot.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked, his words muffled.
Luo Ting’s heart suddenly softened. His fingertips brushed the scorching earlobe of the man in his arms, and he chuckled softly, “Your Majesty, kiss me, and the pain will go away.”
“…Serves you right. I’ll make you ache until you beg for mercy!”
Yu Zhi pulled away from Luo Tingshi’s lips, lifting his eyelids to glare at him.
His eyes resembled a kitten’s—round at the front, naturally charming and endearing. Even when glaring, he lacked any real menace. Especially now, when he looked like this—
His eyes held thick mist, turbulent waves churning within, unhidden desire trickling out, the corners stained crimson.
Glaring at him felt like seducing him.
Luo Tingshi chuckled softly, his hand caressing the pregnant belly of the person in his arms:
” I have prepared my weapons and donned my armor. When might Your Majesty open the gate to welcome me inside?”
“Luo Tingshi!” Yu Zhi snapped, his hackles rising. “Do not speak such words in front of my child.”
“Your Majesty, are you deceiving yourself?” Luo Tingshi suddenly drew close, biting his lip as his hand slid down his waistline. His slightly hoarse voice carried an undeniable suggestiveness in the darkness. “Have we not done things far more lewd than this?”
Yu Zhi: “…”
He couldn’t deny the logic, but…
Yu Zhi glared coldly: “You dare disobey me?”
Luo Tingshi: “Your Majesty’s commands must be obeyed, of course. Brother Li speaks wisely. As your man, I should cherish and pamper you, putting you first in everything.”
Yu Zhi: “I haven’t settled accounts with you yet! Who gave you permission to admit before them that I am your—” Yu Zhi’s voice trailed off. He couldn’t bring himself to utter those two words.
Luo Tingshi: “How else could we explain it? Claiming we have no connection? Even fools wouldn’t believe that. If we don’t acknowledge our marriage, wouldn’t the child in your womb become an illegitimate bastard?”
Yu Zhi instantly furrowed his brows: “My child is no bastard.”
Luo Tingshi: “Precisely. Therefore, Your Majesty must legitimize this child. Otherwise, rumors will inevitably spread.”
Yu Zhi shot Luo Tingshi a surprised glance, as if hearing some joke. “Why go to such trouble? Just tell them I’m disowning the father but keeping the child.”
“Abandon the father, keep the child?”
“Hmph, what a clever notion.”
Luo Tingshi gave a sinister smile, then leaned closer without further comment.
–
The next day, Imperial Physician Zhang arrived as usual to take the Emperor’s pulse.
Zhang found it highly peculiar.
Over the past two days, His Majesty’s condition had improved significantly, as if nourished by the father’s vital energy. Yet he observed no signs of intimacy between the Emperor and Luo Tingshi, which puzzled him greatly.
For the first time, Physician Zhang doubted his own eyes.
He scrutinized the young Emperor from head to toe, examining him meticulously again and again, yet still felt certain they had done nothing.
Yu Zhi felt uneasy under the physician’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Your Majesty, I have a matter I wish to consult with you,” Physician Zhang declared solemnly.
Yu Zhi immediately dismissed everyone from the chamber. Sitting upright, he inquired, “What ails my body?”
Doctor Zhang waved his hand. “Your Majesty, these past two days your qi and blood have been abundant, your body strong and robust. He has nourished you well. Yet one thing remains unclear to this servant—you have not shared a bed, so why…”
Yu Zhi hadn’t expected Doctor Zhang to ask about matters of the bedroom. His face flushed crimson in an instant.
…
Yu Zhi had been troubled by that matter until the night before, when Luo Tingshi attended to him and then went to relieve himself.
The man’s muffled groans echoed with the thunderclap. In that split second, Yu Zhi conceived a brilliant plan.
At the very last moment, he pulled the man close to himself.