AEKMEM chapter 26

An Qiao was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected Chu Heng to touch his ear when he wasn’t looking.

An Qiao blushed slightly with annoyance at being touched for the first time.

The touched ear was especially red, vibrant and beautiful, like red agate.

“You…” An Qiao glared at Chu Heng with his beautiful eyes. He wanted to ask, “Why are you acting like a pervert all of a sudden?” But then he realized that touching someone’s ear was normal in this world and didn’t have any special meaning.

In other words, Chu Heng had simply noticed something on An Qiao’s ear and “kindly” reached out to wipe it off.

An Qiao: “… ”

Although he knew Chu Heng didn’t intentionally act perversely, An Qiao still glared at him angrily. “How could you just touch my ear like that?”

Chu Heng didn’t expect An Qiao to be so annoyed. He was angrier than when Chu Heng teased him by calling him “Qiao-Qiao.”

It was just a touch of his ear.

Chu Heng was somewhat puzzled.

Still, he sensibly went along with it, smoothing his ruffled feathers and immediately soothing the furious An Qiao. “It’s my fault. I definitely won’t touch your ears casually next time.”

An Qiao was slightly satisfied with his sincere apology, but he snorted coldly, “You still want there to be a next time?!”

“There won’t be,” Chu Heng replied obediently. “I’ll listen to you.”

Although he said that, he still felt the urge to touch them again.

An Qiao’s ears felt soft with a slightly bouncy, cool texture.

Perhaps because An Qiao was an elf, Chu Heng always felt that his ears felt strange to the touch—completely different from his own!

Moreover, when the elf was annoyed by having his ears touched, he blushed slightly, softening his aloof and reserved demeanor and making one want to pet him irresistibly.

**

The New Year’s Eve banquet, for which the emperor of the Empire personally sent out invitations, was held in the palace as in previous years.

Besides a few members of the royal family and the top-tier families of the capital star, all other attendees were bigwigs in various fields, such as the military, politics, business, and technology.

The banquet was about to begin and Emperor Chu Zhengming had arrived. Chu Heng and An Qiao were the last to arrive, calmly stepping into the resplendent banquet hall.

The once bustling banquet hall fell silent for a moment when An Qiao and Chu Heng entered. The musicians all slowed their music to a beat in unison.

Walking side by side, one in a black-and-gold military uniform and the other in his usual snow-white robe, the two men were impossible to ignore due to their unusual attire.

But what truly drew attention were their striking good looks.

Chu Heng was tall and imposing with exceptionally handsome, deep-set eyes. Beside him, An Qiao was even more strikingly beautiful with his snow-white skin and silver hair, exuding a cool and captivating charm.

Together, they were like two radiant beacons, drawing all eyes to them.

The banquet hall grew quiet for a moment before returning to its previous liveliness.

Before the banquet, many people had heard that Crown Prince Chu Heng would be attending. But few actually believed he would come.

The Crown Prince was notoriously rebellious and never attended high-society events. He had publicly stated that he would rather spend his time on the battlefield.

Most people were extremely surprised to see Chu Heng at the banquet. They were even more surprised to see An Qiao beside him.

They hadn’t expected Chu Heng to be so fond of the Crown Princess, who was matched by the Brain System. Was Chu Heng’s attendance at the banquet due to the Crown Princess?

Many astute individuals secretly elevated An Qiao’s status in their minds.

Of course, there were also those who considered themselves clever and still looked down on An Qiao.

In their eyes, he was nothing more than a useless person with neither a reliable family background nor any talent or ability. They saw him as a parasitic flower, relying on his good looks to charm the Crown Prince, Chu Heng, for a time. Once he sobered up and came to his senses, he would naturally despise An Qiao.

Chu Heng noticed the deep disdain in some people’s eyes when they looked at An Qiao, and his gaze turned cold.

He sneered inwardly. These people were truly blind. They never imagined that the elves they so desperately sought would appear before them and be treated as worthless “trash.”

News of the elves’ appearance in the Empire didn’t spread. Only the military, the royal family, a few top-tier families in the capital city, and the Empire’s First Military Academy knew—and even then, only key figures within those groups were aware.

An Qiao noticed the malice in some people’s eyes but paid them little attention.

The Elf King was always aloof and indifferent. He never gave a second glance to those who were unimportant.

An Qiao’s gaze swept across the banquet hall, somewhat uninterested.

Initially, he had been excited and curious to see how high-class banquets in this world differed from those in his original world. However, after looking around, he realized that they were all pretty much the same, consisting mainly of socializing, music, and fine food and wine.

The retro, opulent banquet hall left almost everyone in awe the first time they saw it. But to discerning An Qiao, it was less impressive than some high-tech architecture.

Since they were already there, it wouldn’t have been right to leave so soon.

Chu Heng took An Qiao’s hand and turned slightly to face him. “The chefs here are quite good. What would you like to eat, Qiao Qiao? I’ll get it for you.”

An Qiao stiffened and felt awkward when his hand was held. Being publicly and affectionately called “Qiaoqiao” by Chu Heng nearly made him furious.

However, remembering his experience at the so-called couples’ restaurant, Qingyuan Pavilion, An Qiao knew Chu Heng was putting on an act for the people in the banquet hall.

An Qiao felt a pang of regret.

He should have known better than to suggest coming to this lousy banquet.

“Whatever,” he said curtly, barely maintaining his aloof demeanor.

He didn’t expose Chu Heng, suppressing his slight unease. He didn’t immediately pull away from Chu Heng’s hand either.

If the other elves knew that their usually noble, aloof Elf King—who always kept at least a step’s distance from humans—had allowed someone to hold his hand and affectionately call him “Qiaoqiao,” they would be astonished and nearly collapse, exclaiming, “Impossible!”

Seeing An Qiao’s annoyed yet forced aloofness, Chu Heng teased him. “You said it’s fine, but what if I do something you don’t like? Qiaoqiao, you really won’t be picky?”

Calling him “Qiaoqiao” repeatedly, Chu Heng suddenly felt that the banquet wasn’t so bad after all!

Of course, this was only true if those people weren’t looking at An Qiao with disdain.

After hearing “Qiaoqiao” twice more in Chu Heng’s teasing tone, An Qiao realized that Chu Heng was doing it on purpose, deliberately calling him “Qiaoqiao” and teasing him.

An Qiao couldn’t help but glare at Chu Heng. His expression said, “If you call me ‘Qiaoqiao’ again, I’ll ruin your fun.”

Knowing he couldn’t tease him too much, Chu Heng quickly surrendered. “I promise I’ll get you whatever you want to eat.”

Saying this, he gestured for An Qiao to sit on the quiet corner sofa. “Sit here and wait for me for a while.”

An Qiao sat down on the sofa.

Resting his chin in one hand, he casually observed the people in the banquet hall.

He only recognized a few people:

Chu Heng’s adjutant Jiang Qi, the Second Legion’s military doctor Jun Yiran who had treated him, the principal of the Empire’s First Military Academy, and one person who had taught an elective class he once attended—someone said to be an S-class half-elf and the Empire’s number-one expert in warship research.

An Qiao had initially been very interested in this elective course, his curiosity piqued. However, he reluctantly gave up upon learning that he needed to be proficient in advanced mathematics to take it.

The food counter was nearby.

While keeping an eye on An Qiao in the corner, Chu Heng was browsing the food at the counter when he suddenly felt a cold, undeniable gaze fixed on him.

He looked in the direction of the gaze and, to his surprise, saw Zhou Xiaoran.

To fulfill his promise to defend An Qiao during the final exams at the Imperial First Military Academy, Chu Heng had challenged the Mo family major general, who had mocked An Qiao, and Zhou Xiaoran from the Zhou family to a fight.

While fighting Zhou Xiaoran, Chu Heng deliberately targeted his face, ensuring the injuries wouldn’t heal quickly after Zhou Xiaoran used the treatment pod.

Originally, after learning that An Qiao wasn’t the An family’s original eldest son, Chu Heng hadn’t paid much attention to Zhou Xiaoran. However, last night, he received news that, upon learning An Qiao had accepted the banquet invitation, Zhou Xiaoran had schemed to create discord between Chu Heng and An Qiao.

How could he tolerate this?

They deliberately beat Zhou Xiaoran’s face until it was unrecognizable. After he recovered in the treatment ward, his face initially appeared fine. However, closer inspection revealed slight swelling, making him look disharmonious. Unexpectedly, Zhou Xiaoran attended the banquet anyway.

Chu Heng frowned.

At that moment, however, the former Marshal He—the former commander of the Second Army Corps and his maternal grandfather—approached. “Your mother said she video-called you, but you didn’t answer. Her mental state has flared up again these past few days. When are you going to see her?”

Chu Heng was pulled into the conversation and didn’t notice at first, but then he saw Zhou Xiaoran heading toward An Qiao.

His face darkened. Ignoring Marshal He, who was standing to the side, Chu Heng strode toward An Qiao.

An Qiao was casually resting his chin on his hand when he noticed an unfamiliar person walking straight toward him.

“Chu Heng treats you badly in private, doesn’t he?” Zhou Xiaoran said with a genuinely concerned and worried expression. He thought it was gentle and affectionate.

But An Qiao didn’t see any “gentleness or affection” in this so-called “gentleness or affection.” He only felt the man’s tone was greasy and almost made him nauseous. The deep-seated malice and disgust in his eyes were unmistakable.

An Qiao didn’t know that this was the person who had once pursued the An family’s former eldest son.

Seeing that this person was stirring up trouble between him and Chu Heng, An Qiao guessed, “You’re jealous and resentful of Chu Heng?”

“Yes. Seeing your slightly swollen face and the obvious disharmony after your recovery—” He paused and raised an eyebrow. “Could it be that Chu Heng beat you up?”

Zhou Xiaoran: “…”

Zhou Xiaoran’s face, already slightly swollen, stiffened even more.

An Qiao noticed his stiff expression.

Oh, so this really is Chu Heng’s swollen enemy.

“It’s perfectly normal for you to be jealous of Chu Heng,” he said casually.

“Look at you. You’re nowhere near as good-looking as he is. Your martial arts skills are far inferior to his, and your character and demeanor are also inferior.”

“Compared to Chu Heng, you’re really—”

An Qiao paused, then arrogantly and disdainfully said, “Good for nothing.”

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨