As he spoke, he reached out with remarkable ease and gentleness and tucked a stray strand of Zi Xi's wind-blown hair behind her ear.

Zi Xi: "???"

Xi Xi, why do you call me that so mushy?

And when did she ever say she wanted to eat strawberries? How come she doesn't remember?

She stared blankly at Mo Chen, somewhat taken aback by his sudden display of intimacy and the way he addressed her.

Elliott, standing to the side, watched the Crown Prince's possessive actions and affectionate address, a knowing look flashing across his face.

"Your Highness, Miss Zixi, please continue with your work. I'll go check the sample analysis results over there."

He chuckled and immediately took a step back, bowing respectfully.

After saying that, he quickly turned and left, not daring to linger for even a second longer.

He didn't want to be a third wheel.

"What are you doing? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden? Who else is your Xixi? This is so cheesy!"

It wasn't until Elliott had walked away that Zi Xi came to her senses, shaking off Mo Chen's hand and looking at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"What's strange about me? Aren't you Xixi?"

Mo Chen looked at her still slightly flushed cheeks and said confidently.

"Researcher Elliott is very professional, okay? It was just normal conversation!"

Zi Xi rolled her eyes.

"major?"

“When he asked you questions, his eyes were practically glued to you.”

Mo Chen snorted coldly, his tone sour.

"Oh, really? I think Researcher Elliott is quite handsome, smart, and he even admires me..."

Seeing his obvious jealousy yet stubborn denial, Zi Xi suddenly found it extremely amusing and deliberately teased him.

But before she could finish speaking, she felt the temperature of the air around her drop sharply.

"He's handsome, smart, and he even admires you?"

Mo Chen's face darkened completely. He grabbed Zi Xi's wrist, his tone laced with gritted teeth.

"Are you as handsome as me, as smart as me, or as admiring as me?"

Mo Chen took a step closer, his deep eyes locking onto her with an undeniable force.

His last few words were almost squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Watching this usually serious and decisive man now act like a little boy fighting over candy, asserting his dominance in such a childish way.

Zi Xi finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay, I got it."

"You're the most handsome, the smartest, the most handsome man in the universe, okay?"

"Go pick some strawberries for me, I think I really want to eat some."

Zi Xi withdrew her hand, smiled, patted his arm, and accepted the way he offered, which could be considered as tacitly acknowledging his little scheme.

Looking at her radiant smile, Mo Chen's jealousy and resentment subsided somewhat.

But she still gave Elliott a warning glare in the direction he left before reluctantly being pulled by Zi Xi towards the strawberry field.

From then on, whenever Elliott or any other male researcher tried to have too much interaction with Zixi, Mo Chen would always appear like a ghost.

They either used cold stares to exert pressure or used excuses like having important matters to discuss to take Zixi away.

The various childish attempts to assert sovereignty were an open secret within the entire research team.

Zi Xi had just finished watering the last vegetable patch and stretched contentedly.