Unedited chapter
55. Let’s Get Married
Although learning was a dry and dull and tedious task, but in the absence of tiredness and hunger, Shu Shu absolutely didn’t feel that it was hard.
He would think that living in imminent crisis in the wild was quite terrible, but he wouldn’t think that staying in the cage and cultivating day after day was boring. Merely learning a bit of etiquette now was simply nothing, ah . . . .
If it were not for Edgar shutting down the machine when it was time to eat, Shu Shu probably wouldn’t come out.
Anyway, once he came out and saw all kinds of delicious foods, he actually forgot to learn anything for the time being.
He was a bit reluctant to face Edgar though. So long as he remembered that Edgar had really touched and rubbed him indiscriminately, he would feel uncomfortable all over.
Finished eating the meal, Shu Shu dashed into the virtual cabin and started a new round of learning.
At this time, after a night of fermentation and a morning of dissemination, Shu Shu’s existence was at last known by the general public.
"Attending the Banquet, the Crown Prince Edgar and a Commoner Sub-beastman Were Inseparable and Perhaps About to Get Engaged". News with that kind of headline became today’s lead story.
Seeing such news, some people were happy, and some were worried. Obviously, the happy ones were only a few, while the worried ones were very many. In addition, there were countless people who wanted to know who that sub-beastman who got Edgar’s love was, and there were many more everywhere who thoroughly expressed their broken hearts.
Unfortunately, although they were curious about said sub-beastman, but his photos were not released on the star network. The people who knew how Shu Shu looked like were only those who attended the banquet in the Imperial palace.
"This sub-beastman’s luck is very good!"
"His Imperial Highness Edgar actually has someone he likes. I’m broken-hearted!"
"Although I like His Imperial Highness, but I also know that I definitely don’t have any hope, so I’m not broken-hearted. I wish them well!"
. . . . . .
There were various kinds of comments online, but Shu Shu never saw them.
The virtual cabin could in fact connect to the star network as well, but he was not too proficient in operating the virtual cabin, so he had never made use of this function at all. Instead, he used another function after he was tired of learning.
The virtual cabin had a function to help people sleep, and it could also let people recline comfortably. Many people used the virtual cabin to play online games, and then they would directly sleep inside it afterwards. And so, Shu Shu directly slept inside the virtual cabin tonight.
After he shut tight the virtual cabin, he immediately changed into a little hamster and nested inside the virtual cabin. Sleeping soundly, he started to snore.
Although he liked to be a human, but sleeping in his original form was still the most comfortable.
As a result, when Edgar couldn"t find Shu Shu the next day and opened the virtual cabin, he once again saw a cuddly little hamster .
Edgar was afraid that Shu Shu would be unhappy again if he went and hugged him . . . . But such a little hamster, he really couldn"t help but want to hold and hug him . . . .
This time, Edgar didn"t use his fingers to rub indiscriminately. Rather, he used two hands to scoop up that curled up little hamster . . . . He initially thought that Shu Shu would wake up right away—after all, a beastman’s vigilant nature was very strong—but Shu Shu didn’t wake up at all.
Not only did Shu Shu not wake up, he even looked like he was sleeping very comfortably on top of Edgar’s hands.
Holding his beloved, Edgar"s heart was very tender, and he finally couldn"t stop himself from kissing Shu Shu’s body.
The hamster"s short but especially soft hair made Edgar"s nose a little itchy, but he didn"t dislike it at all. Extending his tongue, he suddenly licked Shu Shu"s body.
The beastmen of the cat family or the dog family had all experienced grooming themselves. There was even a website on the star network that exclusively posted videos of little beastmen grooming themselves, which was considered to be the cutest scene in the world . . . . However, as a snake beastman, Edgar had never groomed himself. He had bitten some furry animals to death when he was hunting though.
He always thought that having a mouthful of fur would be very disgusting, but now . . . he licked once and still wanted to lick twice.
However, not waiting for Edgar to move his mouth again, the little hamster on his hands opened his eyes.
The first thing Shu Shu glimpsed in a daze was Edgar. After that, he immediately turned into a human, fell back into the virtual cabin silently, and then glared at Edgar indignantly. "You actually want to eat me!”
Edgar: ". . ."
Half of Shu Shu’s body was wet by saliva, which felt very uncomfortable, but there was no time to be concerned about this little detail. "How can you want to eat me!" He was sleeping very comfortably when he was abruptly woken up and almost got frightened out of his wits by a big open mouth in his sight.
If he didn"t realize that the person was Edgar, maybe he would start attacking!
Still, why on earth would Edgar lick him? Could it be that Edgar was reluctant to eat him, so he just licked him a few times to satisfy his craving? Thinking like this, Shu Shu could not help but tremble.
He felt that Edgar probably wouldn’t really eat him, but Edgar’s behavior of s...o...b..ring over him had to be firmly put to an end!
Edgar really wanted to eat Shu Shu, but he could guarantee that the "eat" he thought of was absolutely different from the "eat" that Shu Shu thought of!
After picking up the pajamas inside the virtual cabin and wrapping them on Shu Shu’s body, Edgar suddenly hugged Shu Shu and kissed his face. After the kiss, he immediately released his hold. "Quickly get dressed. You still have to go to school."
Shu Shu intended to question Edgar but was suddenly sneak-attacked by him. His face felt tingly and also itchy, and his whole person was dizzy. He even forgot that he was going to question Edgar.
Why did Edgar suddenly kiss him? This was clearly something that could only be done by husband and wife, or by male and female friends!
Shu Shu didn"t dare to think more about it. After looking at the time, he was very much in a hurry—he was usually eating a good breakfast at this hour! But now he actually hadn’t gotten out of bed yet!
The body was covered with Edgar’s scent, but Shu Shu was currently in a confused state of mind and feeling anxious as well, so he simply couldn’t be bothered to clean up.
Dressed properly, Shu Shu came to the dining table. Seeing him arrive, Edgar promptly said, "Quickly come and eat."
"The things in the Imperial palace are all delicious." Shu Shu said.
"It’s good if you like them." Edgar replied.
"The things in the Imperial palace are so delicious. You eat them, OK! Don"t eat me! Don"t think us hamsters chubby; in fact, it’s all fur and no good for digestion if you eat it. Those voles and bamboo rats and so on, they’re full of meat, tender, and very tasty!" Shu Shu stated seriously.
Instinct was very difficult to change. Before, Edgar regarded him as a human, so in all likelihood, Edgar did not think of eating him. But when he turned into a hamster . . . it probably made Edgar start to have a craving. This craving definitely couldn’t be indulged!
Edgar put down the knife and fork on his hands and faced Shu Shu earnestly. "I didn"t think of eating you."
"Why would you drool at me then?" Shu Shu asked.
"I like you, and I want to kiss you." Edgar once again confessed his feelings.
"You still like me?" Shu Shu was shocked. He had told Synthia that Edgar probably wouldn’t like him anymore. He didn"t expect Edgar to actually confess his love again now . . . .
"Of course I like you.”
"I’m not a sub-beastman." Shu Shu lowered his head, not wanting to look at Edgar"s eyes.
"Even if you’re not a sub-beastman, I still like you." Edgar said. "I love you. I want to marry you and be together for a lifetime and never part."
Shu Shu was originally full of words he wanted to say, but he suddenly didn’t know what to say.
There wasn’t much feeling between hamsters. They were together all for the sake of reproduction, but humans . . . . Humans seemed to genuinely pay particular attention to feelings.
In those TV series, didn’t many people suffer terribly for love?
He didn"t know what exactly love was, but humans . . . . They were willing to pay a lot for love.
Edgar loved him? And wanted to marry him?
“You are gay?” Shu Shu asked in doubt. He had owners who liked to read novels about two men in love. Edgar who was a beastman fell for him who was also a beastman. It was about the same as being gay, right?
"I just like you," Edgar answered. "In fact, the case of two beastmen being together also exists. Not all beastmen can marry a sub-beastman. Since ancient times, there have been unmarried beastmen who partnered up with each other and lived their lives together . . . . Nowadays, don’t say beastman and beastman together, even sub-beastman and sub-beastman together also exists. It doesn’t matter if we’re together.”
Edgar spoke expressionlessly, like all of these were very ordinary things. While in reality, he would most likely make huge waves if he was really going to choose to be together with a beastman—because if he did so, it would make the Imperial family cease to exist!
Shu Shu . . . believed all of it.
On the earth, men who liked men were quite a lot and already pretty common. Edgar, however, was a crown prince, and he actually liked him who couldn"t give birth to children . . . .
Shu Shu felt very flattered.
He was a daemon. Sometimes, he would have a fantasy where he could develop a relationship with a certain individual like himself, but he merely fantasized about it, that’s all. In fact, he never dared to extravagantly hope that someone would love him.
Edgar"s words though . . . .
When he had run into that huge tiger, Edgar had come to save him. When facing the lightning tribulation, Edgar alone withstood it. Remembering all of these, Shu Shu was almost immediately convinced that Edgar was being sincere, and his face inexplicably reddened.
Seeing Shu Shu"s appearance, Edgar at once knew that Shu Shu definitely wasn’t completely without feeling towards him, which made him extremely happy for a while. At the same time, he also vaguely felt that Shu Shu was too simple and easy to deceive.
Not to say that Shu Shu had directly told him about the cultivation method then, after he said a few words at random just now, Shu Shu already accepted his feelings as true . . . .
Edgar suddenly thought that it was very necessary for him to download some games that contained a little crafty plots and machinations for Shu Shu to play.
Shu Shu was not aware of Edgar"s plan at all. He totally didn"t know how he should face Edgar now. In the end, he was sent to school by Edgar practically in a dizzy state.
When Shu Shu arrived at school today, it was as early as in the past. Usually, there was no one present in the skill cla.s.s at this time. But today, very much on the contrary, all students of the skill cla.s.s were already present, and no one was missing. It seemed that . . . they were all waiting for him.
Shu Shu had just approached the cla.s.sroom, and everyone in the skill cla.s.s came over to watch him. The cla.s.s monitor of the skill cla.s.s, a sub-beastman with the highest status in the skill cla.s.s, even walked toward Shu Shu. "Shu Shu . . ."
He barely said two words, and his expression at once became weird. He finally said in a rush, "Shu Shu, if there’s something the matter in the future, don’t hesitate to find me. I promise I’ll help you deal with it properly!" Done speaking, he returned to his seat almost in haste, which actually made Shu Shu, who was left behind, a little bewildered.
Other sub-beastmen also wanted to talk to Shu Shu, yet no one came over. But when Shu Shu looked at them in pa.s.sing, they all smiled at Shu Shu in unison.
Nearly half of the students of the skill cla.s.s went to the banquet in the Imperial palace and saw Shu Shu. When Shu Shu was nesting in the virtual cabin to learn etiquette yesterday, the entire students of the skill cla.s.s already knew about Shu Shu’s ident.i.ty.
After knowing about it, they all felt endless remorse.
If Shu Shu was just the empress’ relative, then it’s nothing much. However, considering the situation at the banquet, it was clear that the crown prince really liked him.
He was most likely the future empress, and they actually didn’t get along well with him before!
Although the sub-beastmen of the skill cla.s.s would also be smitten with the crown prince, but they all had self-knowledge. They knew that the crown prince certainly didn’t notice them, and so they never considered the crown prince as their target. As a result, they actually had no feeling of jealousy toward Shu Shu at all, only thinking about how they were going to make friends with this future crown princess.
However, this was absolutely not an easy task . . . .
When Shu Shu had just come to cla.s.s, they all had ignored him. Now that they knew of his ident.i.ty, if they rushed up to him like a swarm of bees, maybe they wouldn’t be able to make friends with him and would even provoke him to hate them . . . .
Thus, their behaviors became weird like this. Of course, there was also a different reason why they would be so weird—Shu Shu’s body exuded a beastman’s scent, and, based on the scent, that beastman was very, very strong!
Shu Shu lived in the Imperial palace. Who could leave behind a scent on his body?
Everyone stared at Shu Shu, and everyone showed a big smile toward Shu Shu . . . .
Being watched like this, Shu Shu wondered if there was a problem with the clothes he wore. But, bowing his head to check, his clothes were good and clearly had no problem at all.
Shu Shu took a seat beside Synthia and asked Synthia, who looked the most normal, "What’s going on with them?"
Synthia moved to the side, a little far from Shu Shu. Then, holding up his face with both hands, he regarded Shu Shu excitedly, looking even more beautiful with his moist eyes and blushing red face. "Shu Shu, you’re really amazing!"
"How am I amazing?" Shu Shu did not understand.
"Yesterday, when you said that the crown prince wouldn’t like you, I still wanted to comfort you. Now, it seems that you don"t need comforting at all, ah!" Synthia gazed at Shu Shu worshippingly, "Shu Shu, you’re really great!"
After Shu Shu left with Myer yesterday, he was ridiculed by Julian and got really frightened.
He was very, very worried about Shu Shu at that time . . . . He and Shu Shu had talked about Myer behind his back; if Myer bore grudges against Shu Shu . . . .
Although Shu Shu was the empress’ relative, but this relative relationship was most likely quite distant. In this case, if Myer hated Shu Shu, he might be able to make Shu Shu get driven out by the crown prince.
And the result? He was getting anxious when he saw the empress bring Shu Shu out intimately. The crown prince also followed closely at Shu Shu’s side, inseparable.
In the end, the crown prince, who had never liked being touched by people, actually carried the drunk Shu Shu away! Personally carried Shu Shu in his arms!
Synthia had always thought that the description of a black face was just an exaggeration in literary works, but at that moment, he felt that Julian’s face was really black.
Julian not long ago still vowed that the crown prince did not like Shu Shu. He did not expect that in a flash, he was smacked in the face by his own deed!
Thinking about it, Synthia’s face flushed; he was simply unable to conceal the happiness in his heart.
Shu Shu, however, still a bit at a loss. "What the heck is going on? Synthia, why are you so weird too?"
"We’re like this because you’re going to become the crown prince’s partner, okay?" Synthia said.
"Who said that?" Shu Shu was a little anxious. "There’s absolutely no such thing!"
"Everyone saw it yesterday. The crown prince likes you. Today, your body even has the crown prince’s scent. Don’t tell me that you’re not going to become the crown prince"s partner! In any case, the crown prince won’t just toy with you, right?” Synthia asked, sniffing the scent on Shu Shu’s body and then dodging aside.
The beastman’s scent on Shu Shu’s body was full of aggression, and he did not dare to get near Shu Shu.
Anyway, it was exactly this scent that made the whole cla.s.s immediately confirmed that they should not offend Shu Shu.
Scent? Shu Shu stared blankly, and then he realized that his body was covered with Edgar’s scent.
As a hamster who liked to live alone, he disliked other hamsters’ scents tainting his body. But now, he would allow practically his whole body to be surrounded by Edgar’s scent! And because his heart was a bit in a mess, and also because he was already very familiar with Edgar’s scent, he actually did not realize it at all.
For a moment, Shu Shu felt ashamed and was unable to show his face.
"Your whole body smells like the crown prince. The scent’s very evenly distributed. Did the crown prince kiss your whole body from head to foot?" Synthia looked at Shu Shu curiously, face blushing. The crown prince was really very pa.s.sionate; was Shu Shu able to endure it?
"He didn’t!" Shu Shu retorted instantly. He was merely licked, that’s all! How big was he as a hamster? Edgar only licked him once, and his body was already covered with Edgar"s scent?
Synthia only thought that Shu Shu was embarra.s.sed. Covering his mouth, he laughed shyly and then looked at Shu Shu with envy. "Shu Shu, you’re truly blessed. As long as the crown prince gives you the beast bead . . ."
"Synthia, I have something to ask you." Shu Shu interrupted Synthia"s words.
"What?" Synthia asked.
Shu Shu wanted to ask something, but when he turned his head, he saw that the whole cla.s.s was eavesdropping on his conversation with Synthia. Seeing him turning his head, these people even smiled at him politely.
Shu Shu, without further ado, pulled Synthia and ran into the woods outside the cla.s.sroom.
"Shu Shu, what do you want to ask me?" Synthia stared at Shu Shu curiously.
"It’s like this . . ." Shu Shu also wouldn’t cover up the truth and directly said, "Edgar said that he likes me, but I don"t know if I like him or not."
"You don"t like the crown prince? How can you not like the crown prince!" Synthia looked astonished.
"I don"t not like him. I like him, but . . ." Shu Shu certainly liked Edgar, but he didn"t know if his like was the same as Edgar"s like.
Edgar wanted to marry him, but he . . . he didn"t know if he should marry Edgar or not.
After humans got married, they could not have affairs. Having affairs was a very bad thing. In other words, if he married Edgar, the little hamsters he always wanted would not be born . . . .
Seeing Shu Shu’s tangled look, Synthia at last understood one point. "You don"t know what your feelings toward the crown prince are?"
"That’s right." Shu Shu nodded.
"I’ll show you something." Synthia suddenly said, taking his communication device and starting to poke around it. After he was done poking around, he placed the communication device in front of Shu Shu. "You take a look at this."
What did Synthia make him look at? Shu Shu curiously moved closer, and then his whole person was stunned—Synthia"s communication device was actually full of intimate photos of Edgar and some sub-beastmen!!
These photos had Edgar and a sub-beastman standing together, Edgar holding a sub-beastman, and even Edgar kissing a sub-beastman!
These sub-beastmen all looked different; they were not the same person . . . . Edgar had actually held and kissed so many sub-beastmen?
For a moment, Shu Shu felt a strong desire to beat Edgar up. At the same time, his eyes were inexplicably stinging and the pit of his stomach was as uncomfortable as being blocked by something. "He . . . he . . ." How could Edgar be like this! Before, he clearly said that he only like him.
"Do you feel miserable when you see these?" After speaking, Synthia unexpectedly discovered that Shu Shu’s eyes were already red. He immediately began to explain, "Shu Shu, don’t worry, these’re fake. All fake!"
"Fake?” Shu Shu asked.
"Yeah, fake. It’s all PS (Photoshop). You look at this kissing photo. The original is the profile photo of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince when he’s walking down to the lecture stand at the graduation ceremony." Synthia quickly explained, showing the two photos together to Shu Shu.
"So it’s actually fake." Shu Shu immediately didn’t feel too miserable and then asked again, "They’re all fake?"
"Yes, they’re all fake." Synthia replied.
"Why on earth did you show them to me then?" Shu Shu glared.
"Don’t you feel miserable when you see the crown prince and other sub-beastmen together?" Synthia continued, "This means that you like him."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! If the crown prince’s together with some sub-beastman, and then they get married and have children and are affectionate every day. And the crown prince’s wrapped around that sub-beastman every day . . . . What do you feel?"
Just hearing Synthia saying all these, Shu Shu already felt miserable. He previously believed that he was miserable because he was afraid of being homeless, while in fact . . . .
Edgar had already given him a lot of money. His ident.i.ty chip contained money that was enough for him to spend for a lifetime. Even if he was driven out of the Imperial palace, he could still live comfortably. How could he be truly homeless?
The reason why he was afraid of Myer marrying Edgar was simply not because of this point. He actually . . . .
He actually liked Edgar too?
Edgar was always so good-looking and a crown prince to boot. He was indeed charming . . . .
"Shu Shu, if Edgar marries other person, will you feel miserable?" Synthia asked again.
Shu Shu nodded.
"And if the other person’s replaced by you? If the crown prince’s married to you and affectionate with you every day and have children with you, do you hate it?"
He didn’t hate it at all! But he couldn’t give birth to children . . . . Recalling this matter, Shu Shu was a bit in turmoil.
Anyway, Edgar was gay. It didn’t matter if Shu Shu couldn’t give birth to children, right?
He couldn"t stand Edgar liking others, so he had better let Edgar like him!
After figuring it out, Shu Shu’s mood became good right away. So much so that he hurriedly took out his communication device to send a message to Edgar. “Edgar, I like you too!”
Edgar had just arrived at the military department and was reading some doc.u.ments. Soon after, his communication device rang. He took it out his pocket and swept a glance at it casually . . . .
Edgar’s whole body became motionless, but his heart was immediately in ecstasy.
Then, before he even returned from the ecstasy to himself, Shu Shu’s second message came again. "Let"s get married!"
Edgar’s hand shook, and the communication device fell directly to the ground.