At the first crow of the rooster in the morning, Mu Xueshi’s round eyes snapped open. Out of habit, he turned to look at the Third Prince. Rarely enough, the prince was still asleep, his handsome profile facing Mu Xueshi. He seemed deeply relaxed, even the furrow between his brows smoothed away.
Mu Xueshi had completely forgotten what had happened after he got drunk the night before. He only remembered that before drinking, the Third Prince had applied medicine for him and said he was going to take a consort.
The thought of the Third Prince marrying immediately cast a shadow over Mu Xueshi’s good morning mood. He sighed heavily and started to get out of bed. Because he slept on the inner side, he had to climb over the prince if he wanted to leave without waking him.
Mu Xueshi had barely lifted one leg when a sharp pain shot through a very private place. The sudden pain made him cry out and fall straight onto the Third Prince, waking him beneath him.
The Third Prince slowly opened his eyes and stared at Mu Xueshi, who stared right back. Mu Xueshi had originally planned to apologize or beg for mercy, but when he saw that the prince did not look truly angry, he reached out, touched his forehead, and said, “You’re dreaming. Go back to sleep.”
The Third Prince almost laughed. Mu Xueshi always said the most nonsensical things, yet somehow made them adorable. His loose under-robe hung from one shoulder, his freshly awakened eyes already wide and bright, filled with unmistakable amusement.
The Third Prince tried to sit up with him, only for Mu Xueshi to suddenly use both slender arms to pin him down and bang his head against the prince’s chest several times.
“Tell me, are you the kind of person who values beauty over friendship?” Mu Xueshi demanded, pointing at the tip of his nose.
At first the Third Prince did not understand what he meant and looked faintly puzzled. After thinking about the words “beauty” and “friendship,” however, he understood who Mu Xueshi was referring to.
“Yes,” the Third Prince answered without hesitation.
Mu Xueshi completely misunderstood. The “beauty” he meant and the “beauty” in the Third Prince’s mind were not the same person at all. Hearing the answer, Mu Xueshi punched the carved redwood bedpost several times and said bitterly, “I knew you’d be like this…”
The Third Prince had no idea where his anger came from. Mu Xueshi had already climbed off him, so the prince got out of bed and began helping him dress. Mu Xueshi stopped his hands. “No need. You can’t dress me for the rest of my life. I have to learn to take care of myself.”
The Third Prince really did stop. Mu Xueshi immediately felt a little disappointed, and a trace of gloom entered his gaze.
Then the Third Prince suddenly said, “I intend to dress you for the rest of your life.”
Mu Xueshi’s heart lurched. By the time he recovered, the Third Prince had already begun putting on his inner robe. Mu Xueshi asked tentatively, “Then what happens when you sleep with your consort? Are you going to get up early and come dress me?”
The Third Prince said without expression, “I will not sleep in anyone’s arms but yours.”
“Don’t… don’t be so foolish. I can sleep by myself, and… and you can have a servant dress me… Just hearing you say that is enough. I know you treat me well…”
Mu Xueshi’s eyes grew wet as he spoke. From childhood until now, no one had ever been willing to make him a promise like this, not even casually. Sadness and gratitude tangled in his heart. He desperately did not want someone else to be the person who stayed beside the Third Prince in the future, yet fate rarely granted what people wanted. Perhaps it was his own greed that had caused him to fall into this trap.
By the time Mu Xueshi finished speaking, the Third Prince had dressed him. He led him to the bronze mirror and began combing his hair. Although he was a prince, the Third Prince often handled his own grooming because he disliked other people touching him too much.
Mu Xueshi looked at himself in the mirror and was stunned by his appearance all over again. He rarely paid much attention to this face now. At first he had come because of this face, but the idea had gradually blurred. He no longer cared what the original owner of this body looked like. Even so, he still could not stop admiring his own reflection.
“So handsome, right?” Mu Xueshi asked, tilting his head back toward the Third Prince.
A faint smile appeared in the Third Prince’s eyes. Seeing it immediately brightened Mu Xueshi’s mood. He studied his own breathtaking face again but thought it looked a little too feminine, so he said, “Give me a more heroic hairstyle. I don’t like looking this soft and delicate, okay?”
The Third Prince chuckled and nodded. He tied a small topknot at the crown of Mu Xueshi’s head and originally planned to leave some hair over his shoulders, but Mu Xueshi complained until he gathered the waist-length strands up as well.