Chapter 302 - Rushing things

Chapter 302: Chapter 302 - Rushing things

Nansich rushed out of the healer’s room, rubbing his lips violently with the back of his hand as if he could somehow erase what had just happened.

His bare chest was still wet, and every breath came out a little harder than the last. The cold air rushing through the castle hallway made him shiver violently, and he quickly wrapped his arms around himself.

"Shit... I forgot my shirt inside."

He glanced back toward the healer’s room but immediately shook his head.

Nope.

He was not going back in there.

Not after what had just happened.

He hurried down the corridor, his wet hair dripping water and that strange golden-blue liquid onto his shoulders. He was so busy grumbling under his breath that he didn’t notice someone coming around the corner.

Bang!

"Oof!"

Nansich stumbled backward. "Sorry... fuck."

He quickly rubbed his wet hair away from his face and looked up.

Li Wang had completely frozen.

The human man slowly adjusted his glasses, his eyes moving from Nansich’s dripping hair to his completely bare chest and then back to his face.

"Why are you wet?"

He reached out curiously and gently touched some of the strange liquid still clinging to Nansich’s shoulder.

"And... why is it golden?"

Li Wang looked even more confused. "What happened?"

Nansich stared at him for a second.

His mind raced for the first excuse that came to him. "I got bitten by a fucking dog!"

Li Wang blinked. "What?"

He didn’t wait for Li Wang to ask anything else.

"Fuck! I’m cold as heck!" With that, he hurried past him.

Li Wang remained standing in the middle of the hallway, staring after him with his mouth slightly open.

"A dog...?"

He looked down at the golden-blue liquid on his fingertips.

Before he could make sense of anything, someone gently wrapped an arm around him from behind.

Celaus leaned closer. "What is it?"

Li Wang turned around and looked up at him. "No, I just saw Nansich running around half naked."

Celaus’s eyebrows lifted slightly. "Half naked?"

"Yeah."

Li Wang pushed his glasses up his nose, still looking toward the direction Nansich had disappeared. "He was soaking wet, covered in some kind of golden-blue liquid, and he looked really angry."

He paused. "It’s weird. I’ve never seen him so angry before."

Celaus’s expression remained calm. "I’m sure he has his reasons."

Li Wang stared at him. "You’re not even curious?"

"No."

"Not even a little?"

"No."

He sighed. "That is such a Farian answer."

Celaus simply took his hand and began leading him down the hallway. "Come. I’ll show you around our home."

He followed willingly, but his eyes continued wandering everywhere.

This was his first real chance to explore Gia, and everything still felt strange to him.

The castle itself was enormous, its walls shining faintly beneath the soft lights embedded within the crystalline surfaces.

The floors were so clean that Li Wang could almost see his reflection in them.

Strange patterns of light moved beneath the transparent sections of the walls, and every now and then he caught sight of unfamiliar technology built seamlessly into the palace.

Yet despite how enormous the place was, there were surprisingly few people around.

Li Wang looked left and right. "Where are all the servants?"

"They don’t need to be everywhere."

"They have their own duties."

He nodded slowly before looking up at the towering ceiling. "And this entire place is the Emperor’s palace?"

"Yes."

"Your family actually lives here? together?"

"Yes."

"Even Jian?"

"Yes."

"Does he have his own wing?"

"Probably."

Li Wang’s eyes widened.

"Probably?"

Celaus glanced down at him.

"I’ve been away for five years. There must have been a few changes,"

"Oh."

Li Wang was quiet for a few seconds before another question immediately came to him.

"And those glowing walls... are they actually crystals?"

"Some are technology designed to resemble crystals."

Li Wang couldn’t help smiling.

Despite Celaus’s cold and calm manner, he always answered him eventually. Sometimes he was blunt, sometimes he acted as if Li Wang was asking too many questions, but there was always a quiet patience behind it.

Li Wang continued looking around as they walked.

Celaus led Li Wang through another long corridor before finally stopping in front of a tall crystalline door. With a quiet movement of his hand, the door opened, revealing a room so large that Li Wang stopped at the entrance.

"Wow... this room is... wow."

His mouth fell open as he stared inside.

The room was enormous, far bigger than any bedroom Li Wang had ever seen. Pale crystal walls reflected the soft golden light from the ceiling, making the entire space glow. There were no ordinary lamps, yet the room was bright enough to see every detail. Elegant furniture was arranged around the edges, leaving the center completely open.

But what caught Li Wang’s attention was the bed.

It was huge.

Absolutely huge.

The wide bed sat in the middle of the room, covered in soft white sheets and enough pillows to make Li Wang wonder if they were expecting an entire family to sleep there.

"That bed could fit five or six people..." he muttered, still staring.

Celaus walked past him as if nothing about the room was unusual.

"This is our room."

Li Wang did a double take.

"Our? Did you just say our? Our room? as in I stay here with you?"

Celaus simply nodded, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"My room is your room. We must stay together."

Li Wang stared at him for a moment, still trying to process how casually Celaus had said it.

Then Celaus continued, completely serious.

"Tomorrow, let us meet Father and get our marriage permission. I will have them prepare the wedding ceremony."

Li Wang blanked at this. "Wedding?! What wedding?"

"Our wedding."

Celaus stepped closer and placed a hand around Li Wang’s waist, pulling him gently against his chest.

Li Wang immediately placed a hand against his firm chest, his face heating as he looked up at him.

"It’s too much and too soon... You..." He swallowed, still overwhelmed by how quickly everything was moving. "I only just accepted the fact that a man is my lover! You... you can’t expect me to marry you all of a sudden!"

Celaus frowned slightly.

He knew he was moving too fast. He knew Li Wang had only just begun accepting everything that had happened—the fact that he was on an alien planet, that Farians existed, and, most importantly, that the man standing in front of him was his lover.

But Celaus wanted him.

More than anything he had ever wanted.

He wanted to hold his mate close at night, to fall asleep with Li Wang in his arms and wake up with him beside him.

The urge to claim him, to make him completely his, was so overwhelming that for one brief moment, his thoughts became dangerously possessive.

He wanted to simply pull Li Wang onto the enormous bed, tie him to the post and take him then and there.

Celaus took a slow, deep breath and forced those urges down.

He had to be patient.

"In Farian tradition, we marry as soon as we confirm that we like each other."

"Well, by human tradition, we date for a few years before we marry," Li Wang shot back.

Celaus froze. "A few years?" His normally calm expression cracked as he stared down at Li Wang in disbelief. "Years....."

He nodded.

Celaus looked almost helpless for the first time since Li Wang had met him.

"I have to wait that many years..."

Li Wang almost felt bad seeing the usually composed Crown Prince look so crestfallen. He hesitated before speaking again, his voice softer.

"Yes. It’s... it’s not easy for me, okay? I need to get used to a lot of things."

He lowered his gaze, remembering earlier that day.

"Today, for example, when we were walking out of the ship, I couldn’t handle everyone looking at us like that. I... I really wanted to pull my hand away from yours."

Celaus’s expression immediately fell.

His arms loosened slightly around Li Wang’s waist, and the disappointment in his eyes was impossible to miss.

Li Wang’s heart tightened.

He reached up and gently cupped Celaus’s face, making him look at him.

"Give me time..."

His thumb brushed lightly over Celaus’s cheek.

"That’s all I need. Time to get used to this version of myself. Time to accept everything that has happened. And time to love you with enough courage."

He held Celaus’s gaze, his own eyes softening.

"Please..."

Celaus remained silent for a moment.

He understand that making him wait did not mean Li Wang loved him any less.

It simply meant his mate needed time to become comfortable with the life that had suddenly been placed in front of him.