AEKMEM chapter 67

An Qiao’s feelings were extremely complicated.

He had never seen anyone as “stupid” as Chu Heng.

Elves are generally gentle and aloof with an indifferent demeanor. They rarely act irrationally or with intense emotions.

For Chu Heng to harm himself for the sake of others was simply “stupid” to the extreme!

When Emperor Chu Zhengming accused Chu Heng of crippling an important S-rank elf to stand up for his crown princess and said he lacked the strategic vision expected of a crown prince, Chu Heng calmly replied:

“Then depose me, the crown prince.”

“After all, my strategic vision only extends to my Qiaoqiao—”

At the time, An Qiao thought Chu Heng was just saying it casually. He liked him, of course, but not enough to give up the crown prince position, hard-earned power, and status.

Now, however, An Qiao felt that Chu Heng had harmed himself for him. It was entirely possible that he was that reckless!

Chu Heng hadn’t expected An Qiao to connect this to the truth behind his injury.

“Qiaoqiao, why would you think that?” He avoided An Qiao’s gaze, feeling slightly guilty. “Actually, I’m just interested in that world. I want to obtain more inherited memories and know more things.”

He didn’t want An Qiao to know that he had injured himself because of An Qiao, to burden An Qiao with that thought.

“Oh, really?” An Qiao looked directly into his eyes as if trying to see through his soul.

His look clearly said: “Go on. Keep making things up.”

Chu Heng: “… ”

How was he supposed to continue making this up? He forced himself to continue his “explanation,” saying, “I figured that after awakening more inherited memories, I’d become stronger, so…”

Before he could finish, An Qiao abruptly stood up to leave, seemingly driven away by anger.

Without hesitating, Chu Heng grabbed An Qiao from behind, hugging him tightly to prevent him from leaving. “Qiao Qiao, I was wrong!”

Caught off guard by Chu Heng’s embrace, An Qiao felt a sudden tightness around his waist, his back pressed against Chu Heng’s chest.

Chu Heng’s voice was right beside his ear, and his warm breath brushed against the skin of An Qiao’s neck, creating a soft, tingling sensation.

An Qiao hadn’t actually intended to leave; he just wanted to trick Chu Heng.

—Who told Chu Heng to be such a liar!

“You’re not wrong,” An Qiao said, lowering his eyelashes.

“You’re just stupid.”

Chu Heng: “… ”

He nuzzled An Qiao’s neck, looking somewhat aggrieved. How was he stupid?

He weakly retorted, “Qiao Qiao, I was actually careful. I traded a minor injury for…”

“For what? You think you’re so clever, don’t you!” An Qiao was angry and upset. He broke free from Chu Heng’s embrace, turned around, and looked back at him.

He noticed that An Qiao’s eyes seemed slightly red. He wasn’t sure if it was from anger or something else.

“Qiao Qiao…” Chu Heng was unusually flustered. “Did I make you angry?”

He always seemed to upset An Qiao.

“My person was injured for a foolish reason. Don’t I have the right to be angry?” An Qiao scoffed softly.

My person…

Chu Heng stared blankly at An Qiao, somewhat dazed. He repeated those words in his mind, feeling an indescribable sweetness and satisfaction.

Then, he heard An Qiao say softly, “But your injury is also my responsibility. I failed in my duty to protect you.”

“So,” An Qiao said, raising his deep, icy blue eyes and looking directly at Chu Heng, “if I find you doing something so foolish again—getting injured for no reason—”

He said slowly and calmly, “Then I’ll cut myself, too.”

**

Since that conversation, Chu Heng had been exceptionally cautious.

On the training ground, he used to have a simple and brutal fighting style, defeating his opponents as quickly as possible. He didn’t mind the occasional minor bump or bruise.

Now, however, when sparring with his subordinates, he was extra careful, striving to avoid even the slightest injury.

“Boss, your fighting style these past few days seems a bit cowardly,” a clueless subordinate asked from the sidelines.

The others in the room: “…”

Don’t drag them down with you if you’re looking for trouble!

“Do I look cowardly?” Chu Heng smiled, a slight smirk playing on his lips. “It looks like you’re quite confident that you want to spar with me.”

“Boss, I must have misread it. Marshal, Your Highness, you are an invincible war god. How could you be a coward? I…”

Chu Heng leisurely rolled up his sleeves. “Since you flatter me so sincerely and diligently, I, your superior, will give you some proper, serious ‘guidance.'”

After dragging the man onto the field and giving him a thorough “guidance,” Chu Heng was still somewhat unsatisfied.

Looking at the crowd below, he beckoned with his finger. “All of you, come at me together,” he said.

The dozen or so men exchanged bewildered glances, all on the verge of tears.

That idiot! He couldn’t possibly call the boss a coward! Wouldn’t that just make them punching bags for the boss?

They couldn’t disobey orders, so they had no choice but to go for it.

Chu Heng beat them all up before he was finally satisfied.

These brats! They’ve become so arrogant after only a few days without discipline! He had only been adjusting to the new fighting style these past few days, and yet these guys were already calling him a coward.

Because of An Qiao’s words and the phrase “my person” those past few days, Chu Heng was extremely excited and dazed.

At the same time, he was also a little depressed.

He had originally planned to tell An Qiao how to break the Demon King’s curse. However, after hearing An Qiao’s words, he no longer dared to tell him anything more.

The first step of the method required offering the dragon’s heart’s blood.

He was afraid that An Qiao would actually stab himself in the chest.

He couldn’t do it openly.
Chu Heng thought to himself, Could he get An Qiao drunk and do it secretly without him discovering the truth?

As he left the training ground without seeing An Qiao, he asked his adjutant, Jiang Qi, “Where’s Qiao Qiao?”

Jiang Qi’s face fell: “…”

He wasn’t surprised that the crown prince would ask this question.

Whenever His Highness hadn’t seen the Crown Princess for a while, he would naturally ask this question.

“Chu Wen and Xiong Yi came to find the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess went out with them.”

Chu Heng: “… ”

Those two really have no tact!

Seeing Chu Heng’s dark face, Jiang Qi quickly added, “The Crown Princess left a note saying where he went before he left.”

**

Inside a coffee shop in Blue Star City:

“An Qiao, did you really take that 2S-level mission from the school?” Chu Wen and Xiong Yi asked worriedly.

“You came to see me because of this?” An Qiao’s tone was casual and indifferent.

He casually picked up a vibrant, blood-red rose from a vase on the table and toyed with it.

Chu Heng had been sending him red roses every day for the past few days.

He wasn’t the same as when he first arrived in this world; he naturally understood the deeper meaning behind the roses.

Not only did Chu Heng send red roses, but he also kept sticking close to him.

Although Chu Heng’s increasingly clingy behavior left him speechless at times, he didn’t want to waste time listening to Chu Wen and Xiong Yi’s meaningless chatter.

His mind went blank as he thought that Chu Heng was probably looking for him right now.

He might come over in a little while.

“No, it’s something else important,” Chu Wen quickly explained. He noticed that An Qiao seemed lost in thought and not very happy.

“I am the messenger of the noble elves!” At that moment, an arrogant voice came from the doorway.

“You bunch of bastards! If that elf finds out you dared to insult me before, you’ll pay for it!”

An Qiao’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

How could he not know that there was a “messenger” in this world?

Just a few days ago, Chu Wen and Xiong Yi told him that they had encountered someone claiming to be an “elf’s messenger, ” and now they had run into him.

He wanted to see which fool dared to impersonate his messenger!

He turned his head toward the doorway.

A young man with brightly dyed hair and a punk style stood arrogantly with his hands on his hips, glaring at the group opposite him.

That’s it?

This spoiled brat dares to impersonate an elf’s messenger? An Qiao narrowed his eyes slightly.

Suddenly, Chu Heng silently entered the coffee shop through the back door and sat down next to An Qiao.

Having clearly heard the imposter’s words, Chu Heng seemed even more furious than the real envoy.

“Qiao Qiao, this kid is utterly shameless and despicable, daring to impersonate your…”

After saying “your,” Chu Heng’s voice suddenly stopped. A second later, he continued nonchalantly, “…Impersonating the elf messenger you worship and admire!”

“Should I ‘teach him a lesson’?”

An Qiao gave Chu Heng a deep look. “Someone is impersonating an elf messenger, and you seem quite angry.”

Just now, when Chu Heng abruptly stopped at “daring to impersonate your…,” An Qiao’s brow twitched.

Impersonating my… messenger?

Although Chu Heng corrected himself, adding that it was “impersonating the messenger of the elf you worship and admire,” An Qiao already harbored suspicions.

Moreover, Chu Heng’s expression and words suggested that he was angry for An Qiao, indignant on his behalf, and wanted to avenge him.

However, that person was impersonating an “elf” messenger, and although he “worshipped and revered” the “elf,” Chu Heng’s anger toward him was far too intense.

Unless—
Chu Heng already knew he was an elf?

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