Chapter 41: A Calculated Umbrella

Xu Zhou leaned back against the soft wool saddle, dangling a lollipop stick from his hand. He looked at the red-haired back of Mateo’s head and yawned lazily.

“Then hurry up, Senior. This iron chain is really heavy. I walk around the library every day, and I feel like a brick-hauling laborer serving hard time. If you could settle my mental distress compensation too, that’d be even better.”

Mateo cursed under his breath, “Heartless idiot.” But the corner of his mouth twitched upward despite himself, and his hand on the reins tightened unconsciously.

The sun had fully set, dyeing the entire royal meadow a rich, gorgeous orange-red.

“Come down. Time to go back.”

Mateo pulled the black horse to a stop, turned around, and stood below the saddle with his arms open. He tilted his head up slightly to look at Xu Zhou.

Those dark brown eyes held none of their usual arrogance or sharp tongue. They reflected the long sunset glow. They looked deep and hot.

Xu Zhou looked down at him.

Under that gaze, even a slacker like him could feel some quiet, warming favor shifting toward him.

He jumped down lightly, following Mateo’s pull.

Mateo’s strong arms caught him firmly by the waist and pulled him a little closer into his chest.

The boy’s sweater was soft. It carried a faint strawberry scent and the crisp smell of cold air. It hit the crown prince’s hard chest like a ball of cotton.

Mateo’s body stiffened, but he didn’t let go right away. His ears were red as he stared fixedly at Xu Zhou.

“Senior, you’re hugging too tight. My low blood sugar is going to flare up again.”

Xu Zhou sighed.

He naturally pulled the leftover carrot from earlier out of his big hoodie pocket. The moment Mateo was about to speak, he stuffed it precisely into the Gulf Crown Prince’s mouth.

“Eat some vegetables. Cool yourself down.”

Mateo held the orange-red carrot in his mouth and instantly turned into a stone statue in the wind. His black eyes went wide, and his cheeks visibly reddened as if they were about to bleed.

A breeze passed. The purebred black horse beside them snorted happily, as if mocking its crown prince master, who was usually so awe-inspiring but now looked like an innocent fool.

Xu Zhou patted the carrot crumbs off his palms. A mild, satisfied smile touched the corner of his mouth as he pretended to retreat from Mateo’s arms.

“Mmph.”

Mateo spat the carrot onto the ground and cursed in angry embarrassment.

But his hands on Xu Zhou’s waist didn’t loosen. In fact, when Xu Zhou tried to step back, Mateo’s arms tightened by reflex and pulled the boy hard against his firm chest.

The wind over the royal meadow carried salt from the sea and the smell of grass. It chilled the mind.

Xu Zhou bumped into Mateo’s broad chest, his cheek pressed against the rough varsity hoodie. He could clearly hear the deafening, slightly out-of-control heartbeat inside the big wolf dog’s ribcage.

He shifted, and the spot chafed by the cold thin silver chain sent a faint, sharp pain through him.

Xu Zhou lowered his lashes. His gaze fell on Mateo’s thick fingers locked tightly around his waist. The slacker radar in his head began spinning at full speed.

He had had enough of this crappy school, Saint Leicester.

Gu Yanli’s Discipline Office could use procedural compliance to keep him under watch whenever it wanted.

Theodore had set a sky-high social trap at the Black Rose Club.

Ethan, that order freak, had revised the list overnight.

Adrian was even playing mind games with ointment and backup procedures.

He was just an ordinary person with a scholarship who wanted a diploma. In front of these lunatics who held school board seats and transnational capital, he couldn’t even refuse an ordinary invitation.

But Mateo was different.

This red-haired crown prince was irritable and stubborn, but he was the heir to the Gulf Reyes family. He held diplomatic immunity that could directly smash the school’s rules.

Most importantly, this big wolf dog was simple-minded and responded to softness, not hardness. Pet his fur a little, and he would willingly bite off every claw Gu Yanli and Theodore extended.

This was simply the most cost-effective natural umbrella in Saint Leicester.

Once Xu Zhou understood that calculation, he took a deep breath. His tense body slowly relaxed. He obediently dropped his guard. Half his shoulder leaned lightly against Mateo’s side.

He lowered his head slightly. The soft black hair over his brow swept past his eyes, and his voice dropped very low, like a young animal with nowhere to hide in a storm that had finally found shelter.

“Senior.”

Xu Zhou raised a hand. His fingertips weakly clutched the drawstring at Mateo’s hoodie collar, nails faintly pink.

“My ankle feels heavy.”

Xu Zhou tilted his head up slightly. A misty haze from endurance gathered in his peach blossom eyes. The natural redness at the corners of his eyes was especially striking under the sunset. It held a silent grievance.

He moved his foot slightly. The locked silver chain on his ankle knocked lightly against the saddle with a faint metallic sound.

“You said just now you’d find someone to help me break this chain… is that true? Senior Gu said if I take it off without permission again, next time he’ll use a heavier one.”

Mateo’s breath stopped completely.

Looking down from his angle, Xu Zhou was leaning against him in an almost weak posture, quietly complaining.

That silver chain looked especially glaring on the boy’s slender ankle, as if provoking Mateo’s territorial sovereignty.

In an instant, the savage possessiveness in Mateo’s chest exploded upward.

He suddenly pressed both hands on Xu Zhou’s shoulders. His fingers dug in hard enough for his joints to go slightly white. The force was as if he wanted to shield the boy entirely under his wings and cut off all prying eyes.

“When have I ever broken my word?”

Mateo’s voice was rough and heavy. It carried the particular arrogance and dominance of the Reyes family.

He stared fixedly at Xu Zhou’s face so close to his, anger burning in his eyes.

“Gu Yanli is nothing! As long as I’m here, he’ll never restrict you again in this life. Tomorrow I’ll go to the Discipline Office and cut that damn chain into iron scraps in front of him!”

“Mm, thank you, Senior.”

Xu Zhou lowered his head slightly.

At an angle the other couldn’t see, the wet mist in his eyes vanished completely in an instant.

His chin resting on the crown prince’s shoulder was steady, his eyes cold and rational.

For now, this umbrella was firmly planted. At least this week at the riding grounds, Gu Yanli and Theodore couldn’t openly come grab him.

But the Reyes family crown prince’s possessiveness was also a bottomless pit.

Right now Mateo thought he was protecting the weak. In a few days, once this big wolf dog recovered, he would definitely use the royal seal to completely circle P-18 as his own private doghouse.

Before this new chain tightened, he had to find the next balancing chip on the other players’ plates.

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