Yuan Wei regretted agreeing to stay the moment Prince Jian quietly closed the door. The sound felt final, like it trapped him inside a situation he wasn't mentally prepared for.
The prince's chambers were quiet at night. Too quiet. The kind of silence that made Yuan painfully aware of every little breath he took. The candlelight flickered softly against the carved wooden walls, casting warm gold over Jian's features. Yuan tried not to look. Because looking came with problems—like remembering what Jian had said earlier.
You matter to me.
Dangerous. Absolutely dangerous.
He pretended to admire the teacup in his hands as if it were the most fascinating object in the world. Jian sat beside him again, not across, as though that was the most natural thing.
Yuan cleared his throat. "So… how long do you think Princess Lian will stand outside my door?"
Jian calmly sipped his tea. "She tends to give up after two incense sticks' time."
Yuan groaned. "That's practically forever."
"Then it's fortunate you chose to hide in my room."
"More like I invaded it," Yuan muttered.
"For someone supposedly invading, you look quite comfortable."
"I am not comfortable!" Yuan blurted. "I'm… trying to calm my nerves!"
Jian set his cup down. "Are you afraid of me?"
Yuan choked. "Wh—why would I be afraid of you?!"
"Your heart is beating fast."
"I choked on tea," Yuan lied. Badly.
Jian's gaze followed him quietly, as if reading every lie straight out of his soul. It was unnerving how observant he could be. Yuan turned his face away.
This relationship was not supposed to be close.
They were supposed to be enemies in the novel.
Not… whatever this warm, confusing thing was turning into.
Jian eventually stood. "You should rest. You look exhausted."
"Where?" Yuan blinked.
"My bed," Jian answered simply.
Yuan shot up like a startled cat. "NO."
Jian gave him a calm look. "Do you think I plan to eat you?"
"That's not the problem!" Yuan snapped. "The problem is—your bed is yours!"
"I'm aware."
"And—and—I shouldn't be sleeping on it!"
"You're my guest."
"I'll sleep on the floor!"
"No," Jian said immediately, as if it were the most absurd suggestion in the world. "You're not sleeping on the floor."
"Then I'll sleep on the chair."
"No."
"Why not?!"
"You'll wake up with a stiff neck."
Yuan felt attacked by logic.
Jian didn't argue further. He simply walked to the bed, pulled an extra blanket from the trunk, and set it neatly on the mattress.
"There's enough space," he said in his slow, reasonable tone. "You can sleep on the left. I sleep on the right."
Yuan clutched his tea like a shield. "That sounds like an invitation to a heart attack."
Jian tilted his head. "Then take the right side. I'll sleep left."
"That's not the point!"
"Yuan Wei." Jian looked at him calmly. "It's just sleeping."
"That's what all disasters start with!"
Jian's lips curved. "Disasters?"
"Yes!" Yuan pointed at him dramatically. "Next thing you know, someone trips, someone falls, and before you realize it—boom! Rumors. Scandal. Guards whispering. Princesses crying. Chaos!"
Jian blinked. "What sort of dramas have you been reading?"
"…A few."
"A few too many."
Seeing no escape, Yuan dragged his feet toward the bed and sat stiffly at the very edge, like a prisoner awaiting execution. Jian watched with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"Relax," the prince said. "I won't cross the middle line."
"You have a middle line?"
"I just made it."
"…I need a physical line."
Jian sighed, pulled a spare sash from his wardrobe, and placed it between them on the bed.
"There. A line."
Yuan stared. "You… actually did it."
"You requested one."
Yuan lay down slowly, suspiciously, like the bed might swallow him whole. Jian extinguished one of the candles, leaving only a soft glow in the room.
For a moment, silence settled. Yuan stared at the embroidered canopy, heart pounding.
Too quiet.
Too intimate.
Too close.
"…Jian," he whispered.
"Hm?"
"My heart is still beating fast."
"I noticed," Jian murmured.
"I'm not scared of you," Yuan added quickly.
"I didn't say you were."
"I'm just… unused to all this."
Jian turned onto his back, hands behind his head.
"All what?"
Yuan hesitated. "People being… nice to me."
Jian looked at him sideways, eyes softening in the dim light.
"You've always been easier to care about than you realize."
Yuan pulled the blanket over his face. "Stop saying things like that!"
"Why?"
"Because—they sound different when you say them!"
"How so?"
"They sound like… like…"
"Truth?"
"NO. Like—something else!"
"…Is that a bad thing?"
Yuan peeked from under the blanket.
"…Maybe."
Jian's soft laugh filled the room. "You're impossible."
"And you're too calm."
"Would you prefer I panic?"
"Yes! At least then we'd match!"
Jian reached out, grabbed the blanket from Yuan's face, and tugged it down gently.
"Sleep," he said, voice unexpectedly soft. "Tomorrow will be tiring."
Yuan grumbled, but closed his eyes anyway.
He thought he'd fall asleep quickly from exhaustion.
But no.
His mind refused to quiet.
He shifted.
Rolled to the other side.
Shifted again.
Rolled back.
Jian finally spoke in the dark.
"…You're still awake?"
"Yes."
"You're making the bed shake."
"Do beds not have the freedom to shake—?"
"Yuan."
"…Fine."
Silence again.
Then—
"Jian."
"Hm?"
"Do you think Princess Lian will start rumors if she saw me run in here?"
"Yes."
"Do you think Princess Ming will start rumors too?"
"Yes."
"Do you think those rumors will kill me?"
"…Possibly."
Yuan groaned. "I knew it."
Jian shifted slightly, the sash-line rustling.
"Yuan."
"What?"
"I'll handle anything that comes."
Yuan opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling.
"…Why?"
Jian didn't answer immediately.
Then softly:
"Because I want to."
Yuan pulled the blanket up again.
There it was.
That warm tone that didn't match the aloof prince from the novel.
That warmth wasn't supposed to exist.
Not for him.
He couldn't afford to get used to it.
He couldn't accept something that didn't belong to this world.
He tried to sleep again.
Minutes passed.
He opened his eyes.
"…Jian."
"Hm."
"Are you awake?"
"Yes."
"Are you pretending to sleep?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"…Okay."
A beat.
"…Jian?"
"Yes."
"I can't sleep."
"I know."
Yuan rolled onto his side, glaring at the darkness.
"How do you know everything?!"
"It's late. That's why."
"No—no, you're suspicious. You always know things."
Jian sounded faintly amused. "Yuan, sleep."
"I would, if this situation wasn't stressful!"
Jian turned slightly toward him. "Then talk until you're not stressed."
Yuan hesitated.
"…Talk about what?"
"Anything."
Yuan thought for a moment.
Then blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"Why did you say I matter to you?"
The room fell silent.
Too silent.
Yuan instantly regretted breathing.
He opened his mouth to say "never mind," but Jian spoke first.
"…Because you do."
Yuan swallowed.
"That doesn't answer anything."
Jian's voice lowered.
"I value you. Isn't that enough of an answer?"
"No. Because it's not logical."
"Must feelings be logical?"
"I prefer them to be! Logical feelings don't kill people!"
Jian shifted closer.
Not crossing the sash-line.
But dangerously near.
"Yuan Wei," he murmured, "I don't want anything from you."
Yuan blinked.
Jian's voice was quiet. Honest. Almost gentle.
"I'm not trying to force you into anything, nor expecting you to stay by my side forever."
Yuan's breath caught.
"Then… why?"
"Because you're important to me."
Again with that line.
Yuan pressed a hand to his chest.
His heart didn't listen to him at all.
He turned away quickly, pulling the blanket up to his ears.
"…I'm sleeping now."
"Good."
More silence.
Then—
"Jian?"
"Yes."
"Can you… just make sure Princess Lian isn't at my door tomorrow morning?"
"I'll take care of it."
"And Princess Ming?"
"I'll handle her too."
"And if rumors start?"
"I'll control them."
"…Why do you sound like this is normal?"
"Because it is."
Yuan exhaled, exhausted in a different way.
"…Thank you."
Jian didn't respond for a while.
When he finally did, his voice was low and warm.
"Goodnight, Yuan Wei."
Yuan's eyes softened.
"…Goodnight."
This time, his heart calmed enough for sleep to finally take him.
But as he drifted off, one final thought crossed his mind:
This was not how the story was supposed to go.
So why… why did it feel so dangerously right?