Free Web NovelChapter 103: Chapter 103: I Hope He Doesn’t Force Himself
He looked at Shi Lan, his jade-green eyes filled with delight. The cautiousness he had felt just moments before vanished with a single word of praise from her.
But after the praise, Shi Lan asked, full of suspicion, "Lord Ye, is there something you need my help with?"
She never imagined his sudden actions were purely to make her happy. After all, Ye Ming wasn’t like Jiang Xia, and she felt this sort of thing was completely out of character for him. She suspected he needed her help with something but was too awkward to ask, so he had resorted to this strange tactic.
Ye Ming understood what she meant by the question with just a moment’s thought.
His heart sank. His gaze shifted almost imperceptibly, and his cool voice grew even lower. "It’s not." freewebnσvel.cøm
"I... I just wanted to perform for Lanlan."
He returned to his human form. Beneath his black eyepatch, his normally distant and cold eyes seemed to dim, a complex and unreadable emotion hiding within them. Though they appeared as icy as ever, Shi Lan felt as if it were raining in his eyes, which were now brimming with a damp, sorrowful look.
Even his soft, raven-blue hair seemed to cling listlessly to the sides of his head. For a moment, the brilliant glow of the emerald on his right ear seemed to dim as well.
Shi Lan had rarely encountered a situation like this. She licked her lips nervously, thinking, ’One after another, they all seem a little off after transforming.’
’How did even the normally quiet Ye Ming start acting like this?’
But in her mind, Ye Ming, the Eldest Prince, had always been noble and aloof. She didn’t really want to see him wear such an expression.
Shi Lan sighed inwardly and put on a smile, her gaze gentle and consoling. "Thank you for the performance, Lord Ye. It was wonderful."
"But I don’t want you to force yourself to do things you don’t enjoy."
"Actually, I really like your beast form too, Lord Ye. You don’t need to perform; just standing there is unique enough."
Ye Ming’s heart jolted once more. The heart that had just begun to frost over was suddenly enveloped in a scorching current of warmth, and his pulse raced out of control.
He gazed deeply at Shi Lan, a relieved smile showing in his eyes as his expression softened. "Thank you, Lanlan. I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself at all."
He had only been worried that she wouldn’t like it, or that she would come to hate him for it.
But Lanlan hadn’t. She had even praised him repeatedly.
He found himself liking her even more.
Shi Lan felt the joyful light in his eyes was now a little too intense, making her turn her head away awkwardly. She nodded. "Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."
"Alright."
Ye Ming didn’t press her to stay.
Shi Lan let out a soft sigh of relief. As she passed Prison Cell One, she saw He Hanshi looking at her. A smile appeared on her face faster than thought at the sight of his captivating face, but he seemed troubled and distracted. His lightly pressed, pale pink lips betrayed a glimmer of dejection and sorrow.
Wondering what was wrong, Shi Lan walked over in concern and asked, "He Hanshi, are you alright?"
He Hanshi had been feeling down, thinking that he was the only one in the prison whose beast form Lanlan hadn’t praised. But now, hearing her call his name, his spirits soared again as if on a roller coaster.
Lanlan’s voice was so soft and mellow, exuding a gentle warmth. It held no aggression, like a warm spring breeze that made one unconsciously relax and feel at ease.
The scene of her rosy lips parting to speak his name replayed over and over in He Hanshi’s mind.
He savored every syllable.
’Perhaps things are different with me. After all, Lanlan only calls me by my name.’
’Or maybe it’s because Lanlan noticed my mood and chose to come comfort me.’
Just thinking about these things was enough to make his unhappiness silently dissolve.
A gentle smile returned to He Hanshi’s face. His thin lips curved upward, and his blue eyes focused on her as he shook his head. "Sorry to make you worry, Lanlan. I was just spacing out."
Shi Lan smiled back. "As long as you’re okay."
"Oh, right, He Hanshi, I just remembered something. Could you test your collapse value again right now?"
Shi Lan wanted to confirm whether a High Level’s collapse value would rise again after being lowered.
The prisoners had all gotten into the habit of one thing: checking their spiritual power levels every day.
He Hanshi had already checked his today, but upon hearing Shi Lan’s request, he retested it in front of her without question. Then he moved closer to the protective door to show her the data on his chip.
Shi Lan leaned in to look. Seeing the number displayed, she let out a huge sigh of relief.
It seemed that for a Beastman with High-level Spiritual Power collapse, once their collapse value was lowered to another Level, it wouldn’t change without interference from the Insect Clan.
She nodded, and He Hanshi asked, "Is there a problem?"
"No."
Shi Lan shook her head and explained, "I was just worried your collapse values might increase again after being lowered, so I wanted to check."
"I see."
He Hanshi understood her concern. It was true that no concrete research existed on what happened after the collapse value of a Beastman with High-level Spiritual Power collapse was lowered.
He pondered for a moment. "Alright. From now on, I’ll monitor it daily and let you know if anything out of the ordinary happens." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Generally, if there’s no change within a month, it’s a sign that things are stable."
Shi Lan did a quick mental calculation. In about half a month, it would be a full month since He Hanshi’s treatment. Not that long to wait.
"Okay."
Shi Lan felt much more at ease leaving this matter to He Hanshi. He seemed to have the natural aura of a soldier—a steady, righteous presence that was very reassuring.
After verifying the collapse value, Shi Lan no longer had the heart to stay in the prison. She had already spent a lot of time there today, and it was almost lunchtime.
She hurried out, failing to notice that Mu Tangfeng had also been staring intently at her. As he watched her retreating figure, he bit his lip resentfully.
’He was wearing new clothes again today, and Shi Lan hadn’t even glanced at him.’
He checked himself in his room’s mirror from every angle, biting his lip. He shot a sidelong glance at He Hanshi, the sour taste of jealousy filling his mouth again.
’Of course. A young female like Shi Lan would naturally prefer Vice Admiral He’s type.’
Frustrated, he unbuttoned his flashy shirt and began to rummage through his closet.
Meanwhile, after making sure Shi Lan was gone, Jiang Xia, who had been dumbstruck for some time, finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.
He looked at Ye Ming in disbelief. "Seriously? The great Eldest Prince, doing flips now?"
"And you even said it was a special performance for Lanlan."
"Who knew the taciturn Eldest Prince could lower himself like this?"
Ye Ming methodically brushed the dust from his clothes and shot Jiang Xia a noncommittal glance.
"My teacher once said that you can be competitive, but not with your wife. She is the person you will be closest to for the rest of your life."
"When it comes to Lanlan, I don’t think it’s inappropriate."
Ye Ming didn’t feel that being a Prince meant he couldn’t do such things. If Lanlan truly liked it, he would do flips for her every day.
Doing flips isn’t demeaning. As long as it achieves the desired result, it’s a good method.
