Free Web NovelChapter 187: Chapter 187: He Cannot Lose Her
Being so intimate in front of Ye Ming felt a little strange. She tried to pull her hands away, but when she saw them both looking at her with innocent, pitiful eyes, she decided to just roll with it.
’Oh well. They were going to be her Beast Husbands sooner or later.’
Besides, many females in this world were quite intimate with their Beast Husbands in public. Holding hands, like she was doing with them, was practically child’s play and not at all indecent.
Ye Ming kept walking in front of them, but he was secretly watching what was happening behind him out of the corner of his eye.
He had seen Shi Lan holding their hands long ago, but as he was nothing to her at the moment, he had no standing to say a word.
A shadow of gloom crossed his face. The tails of his meticulously styled, magnificent tuxedo, which should have been flared and jaunty, drooped as listlessly as their owner’s mood. Even his hair hung limply by his ears.
Even though he tried hard to hide it, Shi Lan still sensed he was unhappy. His pace was even quickening, as if he wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Shi Lan called out to him, "Ye Ming, could you slow down?"
She asked in a soft, warm voice, her tone sounding almost like a request.
And she had called him "Ye Ming," not the strange and distant "Lord Ye" she had used in the prison.
When she had first said his name, he’d thought he was imagining it, and the thought had been lost in his overwhelming joy at her return.
The distance between them closed a little at that moment, grounding Ye Ming in reality.
’Lanlan really was back. She was back on the Capital Star.’
’As long as she was nearby, he still had a chance.’
Ye Ming naturally came to a stop and waited for Shi Lan.
She slowly walked over to him, and once the four of them were walking roughly side by side, she praised him with smiling eyes, "Your clothes look really nice today. They suit you perfectly."
The gentlemanly, aristocratic style made his features appear even more exquisitely beautiful and noble. He also possessed the scholarly air of a classical scholar, like a well-read young nobleman—a combination of refined elegance and dashing charm that was truly dazzling.
Shi Lan had noticed other females at the ship terminal stealing dazed, infatuated glances at him, and a strange, sour feeling had stirred in her heart. It was why she couldn’t help but call out to him, acting on a possessive instinct she hadn’t even been aware of.
Sure enough, most of the appraising looks around them instantly disappeared.
This world had more than enough males; there was no need for them to linger over one. And even if a sharp-eyed female did recognize the status of the males surrounding Shi Lan, their pride as females wouldn’t permit them to try and steal another’s Beast Husband.
As the male receiving the attention, Ye Ming was even more perceptive than Shi Lan.
His gaze flickered. The way he looked at Shi Lan seemed to soften even more, but her praise also made him shy, and he lowered his eyes slightly.
Unfortunately, two other third wheels were present.
Jiang Xia’s gaze swept over Ye Ming. Since Shi Lan had brought it up, he followed up with a question, "Is the Eldest Prince going to a banquet later? You’re dressed so grandly."
Mu Tangfeng, who understood Ye Ming’s motives even better, snorted and instinctively clutched the hem of his own robes again.
’Seriously, since when did the Eldest Prince get so calculating? He’s actually started dressing up extravagantly like us Birds of Paradise.’
When Ye Ming heard that, he felt a rare sense of unease. Worried Shi Lan might overthink things, he explained succinctly, "I have a lot of free time today. The banquet is tomorrow. I’m just trying on this outfit for it."
Shi Lan nodded in understanding. Seeing this, Jiang Xia didn’t ask any more questions.
The four of them boarded the Hovercar together. Ye Ming programmed the destination, and the vehicle went into autopilot.
He had already prepared some snacks in the car.
Once Shi Lan and the others were seated, he casually touched his ear and took out a meal box.
Shi Lan glanced at him in surprise. "Ye Ming, is your earring a modified Space Chain?"
Ye Ming nodded. He had originally worn an earring for other reasons, but over time, he’d found it was a convenient disguise for a storage device. So after returning to the Capital Star, he had swapped back to using his own Space Chain as the earring.
Shi Lan found it amazing. Such a tiny little earring was actually a storage space with a huge capacity.
No wonder she’d felt his earring was a little different just now. Its color was purer and the gem was slightly larger than the one she’d seen in the prison.
However, changing earrings occasionally was a pretty normal thing to do, so she hadn’t thought much of it earlier.
Perhaps seeing Shi Lan staring at Ye Ming’s Space Chain for too long, Jiang Xia immediately spoke up. "Lanlan, do you like necklaces, earrings, or rings? I’ll have a Space Chain custom-made for you too."
Shi Lan snapped back to reality. Thinking of the price of a Space Chain, she quickly shook her head. "No, no, that’s not necessary. I have the Space Twist your mom gave me, and it has plenty of storage space."
Jiang Xia just said, "Oh," but he had already made up his mind.
’Her gift was from his mom. What did that have to do with him?’
As he thought this, his gaze unconsciously drifted to Shi Lan’s bare neck and ears. He felt that any of those options would suit her and look very beautiful.
Looking at Shi Lan’s delicate and pretty profile, Jiang Xia’s expression flickered. A familiar look of infatuation filled his eyes, and he couldn’t resist puckering his lips, wanting to kiss her.
Every time before he wanted to kiss her, his gaze would unconsciously become scorching hot.
Shi Lan seemed to understand his little habit. To prevent public embarrassment, she quickly and discreetly pinched him under the cover of their clothes.
She didn’t pinch him hard, but Jiang Xia was instantly brought back to his senses.
He blushed, feeling a bit indignant. But, mindful of Shi Lan’s feelings, he ultimately just grabbed the mischievous hand that was under the hem of her clothes and squeezed it back.
Ye Ming took the food out of the container. Though his head was bowed as he focused on the task, his peripheral vision was still secretly tracking their movements.
He could feel that since her return, Shi Lan’s relationship with them had become much, much closer—so close that even holding hands had become a normal occurrence.
In his memory, Shi Lan was a somewhat reserved and shy young woman. For her to be able to act this way... he knew better than anyone what that implied.
Ye Ming’s expression dimmed.
As the heir to the interstellar empire, he had always diligently fulfilled his duties. The heir was traditionally busier than the Monarch; not only did he have to train and review citizens’ petitions daily, but he also had to assist his father in policy discussions and then act as the agent for their implementation.
His schedule was packed every day—partly by his own deliberate design, as it helped him think less about Shi Lan.
Ye Ming had actually wondered if he truly couldn’t be without Shi Lan. As a Prince, he had his pride. He never wanted to be just one of a female’s insignificant servant husbands.
But that internal debate would be instantly incinerated, sparking into a wildfire the moment he saw her picture saved on his chip or encountered anything related to her—just like when he had seen He Hanshi’s social media post.
He simply couldn’t bear to lose her.
His fingers, pressing on the food tray, tightened slightly, the knuckles turning white. Shi Lan seemed to sense something. Her nose twitched. "Wow, this looks so rich and smells amazing!"
"Ye Ming, you’re brilliant! You’re so thoughtful to have prepared all this."
