Transmigration: The Straight-Man Prince Was Driven Crazy by My Overachieving - Chapter 3

Shen Shangling was actually stunned for a moment:

Under the slanted, twilight glow of the corridor lanterns, Lu Xiao, the Prince of Dingbei from this melodramatic book, was surprisingly tall and… handsome?

Having spent so much time in the entertainment industry, to be honest, what kind of handsome men or beautiful women had he not seen? Furthermore, he wasn’t straight, so when he saw someone with outstanding features, he couldn’t help but steal a few glances. However, after all these years—whether in the circles of wealthy second-generation heirs he frequented or in the entertainment industry—he had never encountered anyone suitable. He liked things to be clean and didn’t want to mess around. All these years, as an old “salted fish” (slacker), he had lived a life cleaner than lime powder.

This Lu Xiao was indeed good-looking, but what made him most unique was his inexplicable, intensely aggressive air. It made one feel an immediate sense of crisis upon seeing him, as if one had just glimpsed a magnificent sword sheath and already caught the scent of chilling, shed blood.

The kind of “handsome” this man possessed… was likely the aura of slaughter and warfare that had been tempered and settled on the battlefield. He was entirely the type of “handsome man” Shen Shangling couldn’t handle—especially standing under the lantern light, with the heavy darkness behind him and the shifting light and shadow, he looked as if he had just killed his way back from the Naihe Bridge (Bridge of Remorse).

Shen Shangling’s heart immediately tightened. Lu Xiao hadn’t even been reborn yet, and he was already this terrifying. Once the plot point of his rebirth arrived in half a month… he truly dared not think about it.

“Has the injury on your face healed, Master?” Lu Xiao asked, staring at him.

“It has,” Shen Shangling snapped back to reality, feeling his palms already becoming sweaty. “My Lord… please, come in.”

“Why isn’t the lamp lit?” As soon as Lu Xiao entered, he ordered the lamp to be lit. Immediately, waiting maids entered to skillfully light the lamp, and several others followed like a flowing stream, bringing in plates of snacks and other refreshments. Once they had set everything down, Lu Xiao waved his hand, and the maids retreated in silence.

With the lamp lit, the room suddenly became bright. Previously, by the doorway where it was dim, seeing this Prince of Dingbei had given Shen Shangling an subconscious, surreal feeling, as if he were looking at a two-dimensional character. Now, in the brilliant lamplight, the Prince before him suddenly became vivid and alive.

At that very moment, Shen Shangling felt his consciousness crash heavily into this world, snapping out of his suspended, dreamlike daze. As he regained his senses, he immediately noticed the heavy, focused gaze Lu Xiao had fixed upon his face.

“Is Master still feeling unwell?” Lu Xiao walked over and reached out to support him slightly. “I noticed your complexion doesn’t look very good. It’s such a cold day; why are you sweating on your forehead?”

Saying this, he picked up a small, exquisite hand warmer nearby to check it. He personally walked over to the charcoal brazier, used silver tongs to add a few pieces of charcoal, walked back, and handed the warmed hand warmer to Shen Shangling.

Shen Shangling’s legs turned to jelly the moment he drew near, so he sat down instinctively. He subconsciously took the hand warmer and hugged it, only then realizing that he had been trembling from the cold—or to be precise, not from the cold, but from fright. Feeling the warmth of the hand warmer, Shen Shangling finally steadied his mind: Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Lu Xiao has no ill intent right now.

“Many thanks, My Lord,” Shen Shangling said, trying his best to sound calm. “I am fine; I may just be a bit sensitive to the cold.”

“I know you have reservations and don’t care for me visiting often,” Lu Xiao said, his tone neither light nor heavy. “But I have always held you in high regard. Moreover, when my late father was alive, he often spoke highly of you, often saying that you were a man of great literary talent, that your writing was clear and logical, ‘like peeling a banana or pulling silk,’ truly worthy of being a scholar of your generation.”

As he spoke, Lu Xiao’s gaze swept over Shen Shangling again in a way that was hard to detect.

It was true that he held this Master Shen in some respect because of that teacher-student bond during his youth. But in truth, he had reached out to save Shen Shangling not only for that reason, but also because Shen Shangling had entered the estate during what he remembered to be the best time for his family.

Back then, his father was still alive, his older brother was still there, his mother hadn’t yet lost her mind from excessive grief, and his older sister hadn’t yet been so severely injured that she was reduced to a ghost of herself… The family would speak softly by the lamp, laughing and chatting. Or rather, the days Shen Shangling spent in the estate were precisely the memories he could never return to. To him, Shen Shangling was more like the wisp of plum fragrance that drifted from the best plum tree in the estate before it withered.

Because of this, when he learned Shen Shangling’s life was in danger, he had risked defying the foolish monarch to save him, even if the status he gave him was indeed a form of humiliation. He understood Master Shen: while he was a bit pretentious and vain, his talent was truly rare, and since his father had praised him, he naturally felt a few extra points of respect. Though he was only a few years older than him, he had treated Shen Shangling with the camaraderie of a teacher and friend.

However, after he had gone to such lengths to save him, Shen Shangling acted as if he had suffered an unforgivable insult, refusing to give him a pleasant look even when he had explained the forced nature of the situation. He had thought that as a man of high integrity, the scholar just couldn’t bear the stigma of being a “male concubine” for a while, so he had ordered his servants to treat him well and wait for Shen Shangling to slowly calm down.

Who would have thought that today, upon coming over, this Master Shen… would seem like a completely different person?

“My Lord, I…” Shen Shangling bit the bullet and listened, then hurried to say, “I just didn’t see things clearly before. I… I did not mean… any disrespect toward you, My Lord.”

A flash of unrecognizable surprise crossed Lu Xiao’s eyes, but he remained calm on the surface. “Since you say so, Master, I am reassured.” He swept a heavy glance over Shen Shangling again and added, “Also, I must depart for Jibei on official business tomorrow. I will be gone for about ten days or so. During that time, if you need anything, just tell the estate steward; he will see to it for you.”

“Pfft cough, cough” Hearing this, Shen Shangling choked on his tea.

The critical plot point. After the Prince of Dingbei went to Jibei, he somehow contracted malaria and ran a high fever. After he woke up, he was the reborn Prince of Dingbei.

“My Lord,” in his urgency, Shen Shangling looked up at Lu Xiao suddenly, “This… this errand, must you go?” He wondered if he could prevent the Prince from going to Jibei, perhaps the rebirth trigger could be delayed.

“Hmm?” Lu Xiao hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him. After a pause, he said calmly, “What do you mean by that, Master? Please, explain.” Could it be that Master Shen wants to discuss court affairs with me?

“I…” Shen Shangling’s thoughts raced, “I had a nightmare last night, in which… you had an unfortunate trip, My Lord—” He thought this excuse was decent, so he added, “My Lord, could someone else go in your stead?”

Lu Xiao remained silent. “This is an imperial decree; one cannot disobey the monarch’s will,” Lu Xiao’s voice was steady. “Many thanks for your concern, Master. Please, set your heart at ease; I have my own arrangements.”

“Is it really impossible to push back?” Shen Shangling felt a sense of burning anxiety. He lowered his head and took another sip of tea.

“System, System?” At the same time, Shen Shangling hurriedly called out in his heart. Fortunately, the system really did respond again: “Host?”

“Hurry up and sense it,” Shen Shangling transmitted quickly, “can you sense what the ‘Qi’ (Fortune) product is on Lu Xiao?” Maybe if he’s right here, the connection will be stronger?

“I cannot be sure,” the system replied timidly, “the data is extremely hazy.”

Shen Shangling: “Then I’ll try to touch him, you focus on sensing it!” This was his last gamble. If he couldn’t stop Lu Xiao’s trip, he had to see if he could lock onto the task objective while the man was right here.

The system gave a hesitant, “Mmh.”

“Master, do not worry—hmm?” Before Lu Xiao could finish his sentence, he saw Shen Shangling suddenly raise his hand, reaching toward his head across the table.

“There’s a, there’s a leaf fragment,” Shen Shangling was incredibly nervous, trying hard to remain calm, and hurried to say, “My Lord, don’t move.”

Lu Xiao’s eyes flashed, but his expression remained unchanged; he really didn’t move or dodge.

Shen Shangling asked the system urgently: “Is it his hair?”

System: “The data shows no response.”

“Is it his hair crown?” Shen Shangling touched Lu Xiao’s crown.

System: “The data shows no response.”

Shen Shangling was so anxious his fingertips were trembling, and he accidentally poked Lu Xiao’s ear.

“Ah!”

Just as Shen Shangling was concentrating on “listening” for the system’s response, he felt his wrist suddenly tighten, as if it had been clamped by iron tongs, and couldn’t help but let out a soft exclamation of surprise.

“Master?” Lu Xiao calmly clamped Shen Shangling’s wrist and brought it slowly from his ear to before his eyes. He fixed his gaze on this hand. It was pale and white, with slender, clearly defined fingers. He had always known Master Shen to be an elegant and graceful man, but he had never been this “close” to him; it was the first time he had noticed that the man’s hands didn’t look like a man’s, but rather more delicate than the hands of women from wealthy families.

“My apologies, the leaf fragment slid over here” Shen Shangling’s voice was trembling, but he couldn’t care about that anymore. If he let Lu Xiao leave just like that, in ten days he would return as a blackened God of War… and he wouldn’t spare him either.

“My Lord, don’t move,” Shen Shangling struggled, and Lu Xiao loosened his grip. He stood up immediately and simply walked around to Lu Xiao’s side. “My Lord, please stand up; I think a small insect just crawled over your shoulder…”

While speaking, he gritted his teeth and reached out again. “Is it his clothes, System? Hurry, hurry, answer me!”

System: “The data shows no response.”

“Is it this jade pendant at his waist?”

System: “The data shows no response.”

When Shen Shangling’s fingers touched Lu Xiao’s lower back, Lu Xiao’s eyes sank suddenly. He turned to the side, his movements as swift as lightning; with a backhand motion, he clamped Shen Shangling’s unruly hand again, practically dragging him before him.

“Master,” Lu Xiao used his other hand to steady the panicked and unstable Shen Shangling, his expression motionless. “No need to look any further. I do not fear insects.”

Saying this, he looked at Shen Shangling with an unruffled expression and said, “Master, get some good rest. I will come to speak with you again when I return from Jibei.”

Stimulated by these words, seeing him turn to leave, Shen Shangling clutched his sleeve in near despair.

Lu Xiao: “…”

He lowered his eyelids, scanning the hand that had clutched his sleeve. Beneath the fair, white skin, faint blue veins bulged from the excessive force, and his fingertips were even bruised a faint crimson. Because his hand was shaking, even the hidden cloud-brocade patterns on his sleeve flowed with a slight shimmering light.

“My, My Lord,” Shen Shangling made a desperate final stand, his voice trembling uncontrollably, “Since… since I must fulfill the role of your ‘male concubine’ in front of outsiders, My Lord, My Lord, why don’t you stay here tonight, and sleep here… retire, retire for the night.”

Since Lu Xiao wasn’t really interested in men, nothing would actually happen. By taking the opportunity to share a bed for one night, he wondered if the system would be able to pinpoint that damn “Qi” (Fortune) product.