AEKMEM chapter 10

“No, this is a book I borrowed from Song Leran.”

An Qiao thought Chu Heng’s question was strange, but didn’t give it much thought.

“Oh.” Chu Heng couldn’t help but feel that he had been too sensitive and suspicious.

However, a trace of doubt remained in his heart.

“In a bad mood?” Chu Heng changed the subject, repeating the previous question.

“It’s alright.” Although An Qiao said it was all right, he poked the cushion in his arms with a frustrated expression and put away the calculus textbook spread out on the coffee table.

Chu Heng instantly understood and asked with a subtle expression, “Can’t you do the calculus homework?”

An Qiao: “…”

An Qiao remained silent with a cold face.

His sulky expression as he poked the cushion was so cute that Chu Heng couldn’t help but laugh.

Just as he was about to say something comforting, An Qiao glared at him angrily.

What’s so funny? Hasn’t he ever seen a bad student before?

An Qiao was extremely frustrated!

He was a genius back in the day! He excelled in magic cultivation and achieved perfect scores in his academic subjects, including literature, mathematics, and art.

Who would have thought he’d be ridiculed as a poor student?

“Ahem, I apologize. I wasn’t making fun of you,” Chu Heng quickly explained, realizing his mistake. “Everyone has areas they’re not good at, and I’m no exception.”

“For example…?” An Qiao’s tone was indifferent.

“For example… I’m tone-deaf?”

Chu Heng was practically an all-rounder. Despite having grown up on a chaotic, garbage planet, he possessed high levels of strength and intelligence and was capable of doing chores that could be considered “virtuous,” such as washing clothes, cooking, sewing buttons, and knitting scarves.

However, he was completely clueless about art, and his singing was utterly tone-deaf.

**

The next day, An Qiao went to the Imperial First Military Academy but was stopped outside the classroom.

“Brother,” said the brown-haired boy with a resentful look. “Are you still upset that Father took me back to the An family? Is that why you blocked his number?”

“You are…?”

An Yuchun’s expression twisted for a moment, then he forced a smile. “Brother, you’ve forgotten. I’m your younger brother, An Yuchun.”

“Oh.” An Qiao then remembered.

An Yuchun had visited him once when he was still in the hospital. He offered words of comfort, but they were laced with veiled sarcasm. The malice in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

Indifferent bystanders wouldn’t give him a second glance, much less remember him, which was why An Qiao hadn’t recalled him at first.

“I told you, don’t call me ‘brother,’” he said coldly.

An Yuchun: “… ”

He clearly hadn’t expected that, outside the classroom and in front of so many people, An Qiao would be just as openly disdainful as he had been in the hospital room last time. An Qiao told him not to call him “brother.”

An Qiao’s words stunned the onlookers who were secretly watching the drama unfold. They thought he was being incredibly rude. Did he think he had the prince’s backing, which made him fearless?

An Yuchun looked hurt. “I never imagined you would hate me so much.”

“But your father raised you from childhood, doting on you and spoiling you. You shouldn’t resent him. He made a mistake in a moment of weakness. He knows he was wrong and wants to make amends. He asked me to tell you that he wants to see you. I hope you can consider it carefully for the sake of how good he has been to you in the past. Okay?”

An Yuchun’s tone was pleading and humble.

In reality, he hated An Qiao with a burning passion.

After An Qiao’s failed awakening, An Yuchun finally managed to break free from An Qiao’s shadow. He trampled the once high-and-mighty An Qiao underfoot and looked down on the now-useless An Qiao.

Glory, praise, power, wealth—everything that An Qiao had enjoyed as a member of the An family was now his. Even the coming-of-age banquet that had been prepared for An Qiao was now his.

He hinted to his father that he should “marry off” An Qiao at the banquet and “kindly” invited him so he could witness his glory.

But unexpectedly, An Qiao was suddenly matched with the Crown Prince, and Chu Heng didn’t reject it!

How could An Qiao, now crippled, still receive the crown prince’s favor?

Yet, even in this state, An Qiao managed to turn things around. Heaven has been far too kind to An Qiao!

At his coming-of-age banquet, the crown prince sent his personal guards to interrogate the An family. As a result, the opportunists who attended the banquet, not daring to offend the crown prince, made excuses and left before it even began.

Thinking of the disastrous state of his long-awaited, meticulously prepared banquet, An Yuchun wanted nothing more than to tear An Qiao to pieces.

Of course, rationally speaking, he knew the An family couldn’t afford to offend An Qiao, who was backed by the Crown Prince and held the title of Crown Princess. On the contrary, they needed to appease him.

After news spread that the crown prince had sent his personal guards to interrogate the An family, the upper echelons of the capital city also became hostile toward the An family. The An family’s business has suffered greatly these past few days, leading to An Yuchun being ridiculed and his status in the upper echelons of the capital plummeting.

His father is frantically trying to pull strings and has lost a lot of hair in his desperation. He tried to contact An Qiao to plead with the Crown Prince, but he blocked him.

An Yuchun’s confrontation with An Qiao was also on his father’s orders.

Therefore, even though he hates An Qiao and is jealous of him, he still has to put on a happy face.

However—

An Qiao blocked someone’s path. Being assassinated and seriously injured during his awakening caused it to fail. This means he could be assassinated again and killed.

Last time, he secretly provided clues about An Qiao’s schedule. This time, he wouldn’t mind handing An Qiao a knife again.

An Yuchun thought that An Qiao wouldn’t be able to cause trouble for long and felt a twisted sense of pleasure.

“He wants to see me. Is it to talk about the day Butler An came to the hospital looking for me?” An Qiao asked calmly.

“You…” A hint of panic flashed in An Yuchun’s eyes.

Clearly, he knew as well that Butler An had gone to the hospital to “invite” An Qiao back to the An family because An’s father wanted to use the coming-of-age banquet to marry An Qiao off and maximize his benefits.

“No need.” An Qiao walked past him, entered the classroom, and headed to his seat. “We’ve already fallen out. What’s the point of seeing each other again and hating each other more?”

“Well said!” Song Leran, who was sitting next to him, gave him a thumbs-up and whispered, “They did something like that, and they still have the nerve to ask for your forgiveness.”

However, he couldn’t help but worry after saying that. “An Yuchun is a very cunning and treacherous person. You should be careful at school; don’t fall into his trap.”

An Qiao: “Do you think he can touch me?”

Although his expression was cold and indifferent, Song Leran felt that he was aloof and disdainful. There was a highly aggressive beauty about him that made people afraid to look him in the eye.

Song Leran thought his confidence came from the Crown Prince’s protection.

Although he doubted whether the Crown Prince—someone who didn’t show even the slightest tenderness toward beauty at all—was reliable, he remembered that yesterday the Crown Prince had asked An Qiao to come in his private aircraft, and had even sent the captain of his personal guards to escort him, so at least on the surface, he still respected An Qiao as his partner.

As long as he held the title of “Crown Princess,” he probably wouldn’t allow outsiders to bully him for the sake of his reputation, right?

“Even so, it’s always better to be careful,” Song Leran said.

He paused, then hesitantly suggested, “Hey, why don’t you consider changing your outfit?”

An Qiao: “?”

Song Leran: “I’ve heard quite a few people secretly mock you for putting on airs and insisting on wearing an elf costume. They think you…well, anyway, they say some unpleasant things. Dressing like this might make you seem antisocial.”

Elves do wear white robes, but only on important occasions, such as celebrations or graduation ceremonies. They almost never dress like this in everyday life.

An Qiao scoffed. “Let them say what they want. Do you think they’ll stop talking just because I fit in?”

Ultimately, outsiders see him as “weak,” a “good-for-nothing,” and a once-admired prodigy now reduced to “useless.”

If someone is a powerhouse beyond the reach of ordinary people, no matter how unconventional or antisocial they are, others will only see it as a display of individuality, not gossip. Even if a few people find it inappropriate, they’ll only whisper about it behind his back.

An Qiao wouldn’t let others’ opinions sway his will.

Mere rumors wouldn’t make him frown.

However, being considered a “useless person” or a “weakling” still feels rather… strange?

How would those people react if they found out that the “useless person” they despised was actually an elf they revered as a god and considered the king of their race?

They’d probably be shocked and incredulous.

Tsk.

Thinking about it that way makes it quite interesting.

**

Marshal’s Residence, Study.

“Bastard! The second prince and his people must have lost their minds in their scramble for power—they actually proposed cutting the military!” Adjutant Jiang Qi said indignantly.

They even suggested that Crown Prince Chu Heng set an example by starting with his Second Army Group to reduce the empire’s financial burden.

Leaving aside the Second Army Group’s outstanding contributions to the empire by defeating the invading Zerg, their contributions deserve our utmost respect. We cannot allow our heroes to lose heart.

And speaking of cutting the military at all, the idea was utterly absurd.

The Zerg are still restlessly stirring outside the Empire’s borders.

Although they had retreated for now, based on their usual patterns, they would need twenty to thirty years to recover before attacking again. With the Zerg Queen severely injured by Chu Heng, it would take them even longer to recover.

However, patterns are just patterns—no one could guarantee that they wouldn’t invade suddenly.

At a joint military-political meeting, Chu Heng stated that the Queen’s injury was a show of weakness, not a sign of seriousness, and that they must remain vigilant against a sudden insect attack.

Unfortunately, few believed him.

They thought he was exaggerating to consolidate power.

Some even argued that his injuries were too severe for him to be the Second Army Group Marshal and demanded his resignation. “What’s the rush?” Chu Heng tapped the table lightly with his fingers. “If those people don’t come forward, how am I supposed to clean them up?”

“Even if this empire looks all right on the surface, if the rotten flesh isn’t scraped away completely, it’s already overburdened inside.”

“Huh?” Jiang Qi’s mouth dropped open, and he let out a half-understanding “Ah.”

Chu Heng didn’t explain further.

The Zerg Queen was scheming, and so was he.

“Then, Your Highness, when will you go to the military headquarters?” Jiang Qi asked again.

“My honeymoon isn’t over yet. Only a few days left.”

Chu Heng smiled casually; there was a sharp, fiery handsomeness about him. “Don’t they think I’m seriously injured? Now that I’m injured, isn’t it reasonable for me to recuperate at home?”

**

Chu Heng’s good mood didn’t last long.

The butler knocked on the study door and told him that he had discovered An Qiao hadn’t taken the medicine prescribed by Jun Yiran. He had secretly thrown it away each time.

An Qiao returned from school.

He met Chu Heng’s expressionless face in the living room.

“You secretly threw away all the medicine you were supposed to take?” Chu Heng asked coldly.

His face was stern and his expression was unpleasant, as if he were about to explode at any moment. His tone was accusatory, as if he were interrogating a criminal.

It was the first time An Qiao had seen Chu Heng like this.

This side of him made An Qiao very uncomfortable.

“Yes, they’re all gone,” he said indifferently.

The Elf King was not easily swayed by force, and Chu Heng’s interrogative expression and tone displeased him greatly. As the king, his authority was unassailable. When had he ever been treated like this?

Silence.

The atmosphere was tense, ready to erupt at any moment.

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