Carol walked away with a fake smile. Chen Ci ate the fruit calmly. The bodyguards stood silently beside him, protecting him closely. Even when the Omegas cast their glances at Chen Ci, they would quickly notice them and stare back coldly. Soon, no one dared to stare at Chen Ci anymore.
A few minutes later, the lights in the hall dimmed and the spotlights gathered to illuminate the orchestra stage in front. Chen Ci could not find any familiar figures among the many people in gorgeous costumes playing music. He picked up the glass and took a sip of champagne, but he didn't care.
To be fair, this was actually a good ensemble, but Chen Ci did not like this kind of liveliness, and he came here just to deal with Lu Heng's doubts.
After a few ensembles ended, there was warm applause all around, and then it was time for each of the solos.
Carol adjusted his mentality, came over again, and asked with a smile: "Is Your Highness ready?"
Chen Ci nodded slightly, stood up, wiped each of his fingers elegantly with a tissue in full view of everyone, and walked up to the podium.
Countless eyes were staring at him, and many people held their breath when Chen Ci looked at the grand piano.
Chen Ci walked towards the piano. Lu Heng in the dark widened his eyes excitedly and clenched his fists.
——Then Chen Ci walked past the piano without looking around and picked up the violin next to it.
Lu Heng almost jumped up on the spot, wishing he could snatch the piano from his hands.
"Your Highness, don't you want to try the piano?" asked Carol, who was still working hard to help Lu Heng achieve his goal.
"I said before that I only play my piano for Shafla." Chen Ci pulled the bowstring and tested the sound twice. The rosin was good.
Chen Ci raised his eyes and located Lu Heng in the crowd without searching. He looked at him coldly and at this moment he wanted to play a song "Bells" to directly tell Lu Heng that it was him he met in the dungeon.
But Chen Ci resisted his sudden rebellion.
He closed his eyes, pressed the chords, and sang "Aria on the G String".
Any violin piece by Bach is extremely difficult. In addition to the sophisticated and complex techniques, it is also necessary to handle the chords and style well. Otherwise, if you are not careful, it will turn into a saw.
Skills can be honed slowly, but the handling of musical phrases is not something that ordinary people can do. It requires extremely strong understanding and control.
The melody was long and melodious, as if one was strolling in a beautiful summer manor, but the performer had no expression on his face from beginning to end. He just stood on the stage and played calmly, as if the audience in the audience did not exist at all.
Just like another name that fits "Aria on the G String" perfectly - "Air".
As precise as a scalpel. This is the evaluation that people subconsciously give to this song.
Chen Ci stood in the spotlight, like a clockwork puppet, and performed this extremely difficult aria to the end, with no faults to be found.
Applause gradually rose. Chen Ci put down his violin, nodded to the audience, and walked down from the stage. One of his bodyguards immediately stepped forward and unfolded the coat he had taken off earlier.
Chen Ci put his arms into the sleeves, shook his shoulders lightly, and put them on again.
Chen Ci buttoned the golden buttons to the collar one by one with his slender fingers and looked at Carol calmly as he came to him. It was obvious that the person in charge had prepared some compliments.
Before he could finish his boastful and hypocritical words, Chen Ci said, "If there is nothing else, I will leave first."
Carol was stunned: "Her Royal Highness the Princess has just arrived, and she is leaving? Is there anything we have done to not entertain her well enough?"
"You invited me here just to listen to my playing, right? Now I'm here, I'm playing, what else do you want to do?" Chen paused, and as Carol's face got uglier, he said, "I'm tired, Shafley is here to pick me up."
Carol's lips twitched, and he could only automatically ignore the first half of Chen's words, and said with a forced smile: "It turns out that Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess is not feeling well, so go back and rest quickly."
Chen Ci hummed, and amid countless different gazes, he calmly walked out of the concert hall with three black-clad bodyguards.
The doorman immediately opened the door for him. Chen Ci stepped out and saw Shafley getting out of the car.
——The time is just right.
Shafley walked up the steps quickly, lowered his head and asked softly, "How is it?"
"It's not bad."
Those who followed Chen Ci inevitably saw this scene.
His Highness Shaflay hurried over, leaned forward slightly to inquire about the Omega's condition, his violet eyes filled with concern. Although he was the most noble prince, he lowered his voice and bowed his head in front of Chen Ci. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief after getting the answer.
The sour taste seemed to come out from between my teeth, and I had no place to vent it, so I could only swallow it into my stomach.
This man Chen Ci is arrogant and sharp-tongued, he only has a pretty face, how can he deserve His Highness Shafulei to treat him like this!
Shafley put his arm around Chen Ci's shoulders and walked down the stairs with him.
But no one noticed that his hand was still hanging in the air, keeping a safe distance of 0.5mm from Chen Ci's shoulder. Even his fingers were stiff and he didn't dare to touch easily.
He personally opened the car door for Chen Ci and placed one hand on the upper part of the door frame to prevent Omega from hitting his head.
After Chen Ci got into the car, Shafley went around to the other side and sat in the back seat with him.
The royal car quickly disappeared in front of the hall door.
Everyone in the banquet hall was left staring at each other in bewilderment.
——In just a short while, His Highness Shafley came to pick him up? Didn't he bring several bodyguards with him?!
This... this is simply being arrogant because of being spoiled!
Inside the car, Shafley breathed a sigh of relief.
It was agreed in advance that he would come to pick up Chen Ci. Chen Ci didn't want to stay with this group of complete strangers for long, and wanted to leave after settling the matter.
Shafley's visit also gave Chen Ci a reason to leave.
Chen Ci leaned back in the back seat, closed his eyes and took a rest. The concert went smoothly.
After a brief silence, Shafley said softly, "I will go to the base with you tomorrow."
Chen Ci frowned and was about to refuse, but Shafley said, "Because I have something very important to tell you, about you and Chen Nian."
Chen Ci looked at him steadily for a few seconds and said nothing more.
Shafley had asked to accompany him for a physical examination many times before, but Chen Ci had refused in silence, so he would usually wait at the door after the examination was over.
Since Shafley specifically brought it up this time, it should be something related to it?
Chen Ci did not ask any further questions. Anyway, Shafley would say tomorrow that he has never been an overly curious person.
The two returned to the palace, and Shafley said good night to Chen Ci in the corridor.
"Good night." Chen Ci replied politely, opened the door of his room and walked straight in.
The door closed in front of Shafla.
Shafley returned to his bedroom and lay on the bed. He no longer had to provide mental counseling for Chen Nian, and suddenly he had more time.
He can use it to handle official business, or play a few more hours of games.
But Shafla was in no mood to relax.
He would rather be busy during the day and find time to teach Chen Nian at night, because this means he can at least see each other.
Shafley opened the chat software and found the account belonging to Chen Nian. The chat records included various explanations of how he helped Chen Ci deal with the Donald incident. In the end, he asked Chen Nian whether he had returned home.
In the notes column at the top is a picture of a small white flower.
He hesitated and typed in the chat box: [What are you doing? ]
After pressing the send button and seeing the message appear on the screen, Shaflay became nervous again.
Would Chen Nian think he was weird for suddenly sending such an ambiguous message?
Shafley waited anxiously for a moment, and then the terminal rang with a special attention prompt.
【Drawing.】
Shafley perked up: [It's a good thing that I can't go out right now, so I have time to practice more. ]
【Um.】
Chen Nian stared at the message suddenly sent by "Mr. Period" for a few seconds. This feeling of making small talk... why does it feel so familiar?
Chen Nian couldn't count how many times he had such conversations. The customers he met in the nightclub tried every way to flirt with him, always sending him meaningless questions like "Are you there?" and "What are you doing?"
When Chen Nian was happy, he would chat with them for a few words; when he was unhappy, he would leave them alone for a few hours and then pretend that he was too busy to see them. No matter what, when the other party received his reply, they would immediately send him a new message.
As Chen Nian was pondering, several more messages popped up.
[I just brought Chen Ci back. He didn't want to stay at the concert any longer, so he just played a violin piece. But it also addressed Lu Heng's suspicion.]
[Chen Ci is going to rest now. I plan to play some games.]
[The new version is online. I will be very busy in the game in the next few days. I don’t have to get up early tomorrow, so I can play more tonight. ]
It's fine that Shafley gave him a statement, but has he started reporting his movements now?
To be honest, what Shaflay wants to do has nothing to do with him.
This situation where everything happening around him is reported to him in detail is also quite familiar.
Chen Nian couldn't help but let out a sigh.
He recalled the look he saw in Alpha's eyes when the two of them cut the cake together at the birthday party.
——Struggling helplessly in the darkness, as if suppressing something, and finally sinking.
All the tacit approval that was almost like indulgence, the many sighs of concession, and the ambiguous responses that were deliberately made and were not in line with his character when facing Lu Heng's questioning.
Shafulai was indeed a good-tempered person, but he was still a noble prince after all, and in front of him, he seemed too good.
Chen Nian is not a fool. After all, he has been in the entertainment industry before. He regards teasing Alphas as a pleasure in life and enjoys the pleasure of being chased and desired.
He has seen too many Alphas who have feelings for him.
Be it so-called admiration or simple desire, love and desire are everywhere between the lines, and no matter how hard one tries to conceal it, clues will always show up.
It was the hands that touched his body dishonestly, the eyes that were filled with naked lust, and the invitation that was whispered in his ear in a deliberately low voice.
Would Shafley...
No way!
Chen Nian was silent.
He took a deep breath, looked around, stood up from the chair, untied the elastic around his waist, and took off his pants directly, lying on the bed.
Chen Nian wears a loose black T-shirt at home. He doesn't like the boxer briefs that men usually wear, and always wears styles with less fabric. So when he sits upright, the hem of the layered T-shirt just covers his private parts, leaving only two bare thighs exposed.
Chen Nian turned off the lights in the bedroom, leaving only a desk lamp on. He placed the virtual screen and stylus for painting near the edge of the table, sat upright, and took a picture of the canvas.
This appears to be a photo sharing her latest painting, but at the very bottom of the lens, at the edge of the table, one can glimpse the secret hidden by the thin fabric, and the two bare legs.
Chen Nian checked it and sent the photos.
He put down the terminal, put his elbows on the table, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples with his index and middle fingers together.
The Alpha, who had been chattering away about his schedule, suddenly became as quiet as a chicken. Chen Nian had to wait for nearly ten minutes before he finally received a reply.
【nice.】
【The painting is beautiful. 】
"." Withdrew a message.
All that was left on the screen was his photo and Shaflay's first sentence: "It's nice."
The explanation of the cover-up lasted less than three seconds. Apparently, as soon as Shaflay sent it out, he realized that his emphasis had revealed something.
He withdrew quickly, but Chen Nian was staring at him and saw everything.
...This idiot.
At this point, Chen Nian can be completely certain.
The corners of his lips twitched.
In order to save his speech, he stayed closely beside Shable and did not let go of any Omega who wanted to get close to Shable. Unexpectedly, in the end, the problem would occur to him.
...Why did it become like this!!!
He could even imagine Shafley's eyes not knowing where to look when he saw this photo. Alpha's face must have turned red, just like him, who resignedly put on the three-piece orc suit, lowered his eyes and said nothing, but was embarrassed from his neck to the tips of his ears.
Trouble...
Chen Nian guessed correctly. In the palace three thousand meters above his head, Shafley had changed his sitting position for the sixth time.
The bed, which was usually the most comfortable, seemed to have suddenly grown nails. He could neither sit on it, lean on it, nor lie down on it.
More than ten minutes had passed. Shafley stared at the photo sent by Chen Nian, trying hard to see what was drawn on the virtual screen, but his eyes were drifting downwards completely uncontrollably.
Chen Nian only turned on one desk lamp, and it was dim under the table, but those two snow-white legs still had a fatal magic that attracted people at first sight. The hem of the loose T-shirt was layered with accumulation, and it was this half-covered and half-exposed that showed a more charming eroticism than any other situation.
——I even wanted to hook my finger, reach into the screen, and open the T-shirt myself.
Even his breathing became heavy. Shafulai looked at the message withdrawal reminder on the screen, and the guilt in his heart became more and more serious.
Chen Nian clearly wanted to share the paintings she had created tonight with him, and she must have not noticed that she was taking pictures of other things, and she herself was completely unable to concentrate.
Should he remind Chen Nian that he accidentally photographed her body? That would be too embarrassing, but even if Chen Nian realized that there were abnormal details in the photo, it was too late to retract the message.
Rather than making the situation extremely awkward, it is better to just pretend nothing happened.
Shaflay's mind and body struggled hard, and the struggle between the two almost tore him apart, but in the end, the index finger still pointed at the photo.
The photo instantly enlarged, occupying the entire virtual screen.
The details became clearer. Chen Nian was sitting on a chair, and the white spot was actually just a short stretch from the edge of the table to his T-shirt.
As a half-nerd who calls the shots in games and surfs the Internet all year round, Shafley certainly knows about the term "absolute domain". However, he has always been dismissive of it before, thinking that only people who are too excited would be interested in it. But now he can't help but be excited.
Long press, the interface pops up, save.
Shafley quickly pressed the lock button, collapsed on the bed, closed his eyes tightly, and took a deep breath.
All his behaviors were like those of a hopeless pervert, the type of person he had previously looked down upon. But now, he who claimed to be noble has become like this.
Still facing his fiancée's younger brother, Chen Ci was resting in the bedroom just across the wall.
He suddenly wanted to fuck.
Disgusting. Really disgusting.
Shaflay raised his hands and covered his eyes with his forearms, blocking the light and plunging him into endless darkness.
——He is really guilty.
Chen Ci opened his eyes.
The purple color that permeated the shallow dream quickly disappeared, leaving only an endless afterimage, blooming in the decadent body.
Bright red blood filled the tiny tubes and was filtered through a huge instrument.
A gauge 16 needle was stuck in the inside of his arm. The needle, thicker than a toothpick, pierced into the blood vessel, directing the blood to flow out.
Before and after each operation, the person in charge would carefully apply hot compresses to soften the blood vessels. Otherwise, long-term acupuncture would stimulate the blood vessel walls and easily cause blood vessel hyperplasia and form bulges.
Through the thick glass, Chen Ci saw Shafla standing outside. His violet eyes were silent, watching everything that happened in the sterile room.
Chen Ci closed his eyes again.
He didn't want to see the guilt in Shafley's eyes, nor did he want to be pitied. That was why he had firmly refused Shafley to accompany him for a physical examination for several years.
——He doesn't need anyone's sympathy. This is the path he chose himself, and until now, Chen Ci has no regrets.
The whole process lasted three hours, from nine in the morning to twelve at noon.
All the blood in the body was filtered, but unlike hemodialysis which filters out waste substances that the body cannot excrete, what was separated from Chen Ci's blood were the most useful components.
The horrible needle was pulled out and the needle hole was immediately closed. Chen Ci sat up and the person in charge asked him softly if he felt any discomfort.
Chen Ci shook his head, and someone brought him a bottle of warm nutrient solution. After the bleeding from the needle hole stopped, he drank it to replenish his energy.
Still the most familiar dizziness and nausea.
After being observed in the sterile room for half an hour and confirming that there was nothing serious, Chen Ci was allowed to leave.
As soon as he stepped out of the sterile room, Shafley approached him with concern. He stretched out his arm for Chen Ci to hold to steady himself, and whispered, "Are you okay?"
"It's OK."
On the doorplate next to the sterile room, the gold-plated word Ashes remains the same.
These substances filtered out of Chen Ci's blood are dissolved in expensive special solutes, and will be further purified and processed before being sent to the epidemic prevention station located on the side of the bottom layer of the six beacons.
The two did not leave immediately, but continued to move deeper along the corridor and finally arrived at the safe room.
The so-called safe room is a completely hidden place in the base. There are no smart devices in it, eliminating any possibility of being monitored.
Perhaps this is the safest place for cinnabar.
"What do you want to say to me?" Chen Ci's face was pale and his lips had lost their color. Every time after an examination, no matter how well he was taken care of, he would feel very uncomfortable.
Yesterday Shafley asked to come with him, saying that he had something important to tell him.
Shafla saw it all and couldn't help but worry. He knew that the best thing he could do for Chen Ci now was to finish the matter as soon as possible so that the Omega could go back and rest.
"On the anniversary of the marshal's death, Chen Nian and I went to the Veterans' Court to pay tribute to the marshal. We stayed there for one night, and Chen Nian slept in the room where the marshal had lived."
"In the middle of the night he suddenly saw a lavender light coming from under the Marshal's desk."
The moment he heard the words "lavender light", Chen Ci raised his eyes.
"Chen Nian was startled and called me over to check the situation, but no matter how I looked, I couldn't see the light he described."
"Finally, under his guidance, I accidentally found a secret compartment under the table. Inside was a blueprint of the shelter. I scraped some debris from the surface of the secret compartment and took it for testing. The test results came out very quickly, but I didn't dare tell Chen Nian."
Chen Ci: “What is it?”
"The results show that it is an inactivated metabolite of Ashes. As you know, people who have been infected with Ashes generally develop eye diseases. Ashes invade the fundus, causing cells to respond to the specific wavelengths of the metabolites, which is why they can see things that others cannot."
“…”
Chen Ci murmured, "He is the same as me."
Shafulai nodded gently: "Yes, Chen Nian is the same as you. You both have the same 'talent'."
"I didn't wear gloves and touched the thing directly. Fortunately, I had been vaccinated before and the metabolites had been inactivated long ago."
Shafley paused and said softly, "I haven't told Chen Nian yet. I just said that the test results haven't come out yet, and I just want to ask for your opinion."
Chen Ci: "Don't tell him."
The expected answer was so crisp and clear.
"Then how long are you going to keep it a secret?"
"It'll be done as soon as possible." Chen Ci said calmly, "Since I have already protected so many people, I can protect him one more."
Shafla was speechless.
He couldn't help but feel a sore nose, took a deep breath, and said: "Chen Ci, I——"
"Shaflay." Chen Ci interrupted Alpha as if he had expected what he would say. He looked directly into the pair of eyes full of guilt and said to him seriously:
"I don't need to feel bad, you know, I can't feel anything."