Chapter 65: Refusing to Yield

Guen listened silently to every word that fell from Ye Feng’s lips. He had genuinely believed that Ye Feng was happy, and that Ye Feng and Murong Fanghua were deeply in love with each other.

Yet looking at him now, Ye Feng was neither happy nor truly loved.

Seeing his friend drowning in such grief made Guen’s own heart ache. He wanted desperately to bring a smile back to Ye Feng’s face, yet he had no idea what to do.

“I’m sorry…” Guen whispered softly.

Ye Feng looked up in surprise, failing to understand why the youth was suddenly apologizing to him.

“I shouldn’t have…”

“No, you did nothing wrong. I’m just wallowing in my own self-pity,” Ye Feng offered a soft, gentle smile, waving his hand dismissively as if brushing it off. Reaching out, he took the soup bowl from Guen’s hands and took a slow sip.

Watching Ye Feng drink the warm soup, Guen’s downcast mood lifted slightly.

Ye Feng let out a faint sigh in his heart. He hadn’t expected his raw outburst to burden Guen like this. Just as Guen couldn’t bear to see him suffer, Ye Feng couldn’t bear to hurt Guen either—after all, Guen was perhaps the only person left in this cold world who offered him pure, untainted sincerity.

After Guen left, Ye Feng lay alone on the bed. Every memory of his time in this parallel world flashed relentlessly through his mind:

Auctioned off like a s*ave in a cage… forced into intimacy by three different women… falling in love with his Master… ripped away from the person he loved… forced to accept a new captor… and bearing her child.

Throughout it all, he had been dragged around like a stringed puppet. Who ever cared about what a puppet felt or thought? People loved a new plaything when it was fresh out of the box, only to discard it once the novelty wore off.

Will I be discarded too? Yes… eventually.

He didn’t want to be thrown away, nor did he want to die—especially not now, after bringing a child into the world. He wanted to watch that precious little life grow up.

He wanted that child to love him. If no adult in this world cared for his soul, then he would pour everything into raising his child to love him back—a love born of pure, unconditional family blood.

Back in his private quarters, Guen recalled Ye Feng’s desperate plea for freedom, his eyes drifting out toward the distant skyline.

“Does he long to soar free like those wild birds too…?”

Who didn’t crave freedom? Even Guen himself desperately longed to break free—to escape the rigid expectations and preordained duties thrust upon him since childhood.

Yet Guen couldn’t escape his fate. Could Ye Feng escape his?

The thought sparked a fierce, agonizing conflict inside his chest. He didn’t want Ye Feng to leave his side; he wanted to stay with his friend forever. Yet he knew how agonizing it was to live caged under a false life, and he couldn’t bear to watch Ye Feng wither away in misery.

Gazing out at the open sky, Guen clenched his small fists, a quiet resolve hardening in his heart.

Inside the grand council hall, Murong Fanghua felt completely drained. The nation’s mounting economic crisis and Ye Feng’s unstable mental state weighed on her like lead.

To make matters worse, her mother had been acting strange lately, actively avoiding her at every turn. It felt as though an invisible, suffocating hand was slowly tightening around her throat, making it difficult to breathe.

She couldn’t comprehend how a simple royal wedding had caused her entire world to unravel so rapidly.

Growing increasingly agitated, she crumpled the trade documents in her hands and rubbed her temples. Forcing herself to regain a modicum of composure, she stood up, left the council hall, and walked down the long corridor toward Ye Feng’s suite.

Inside the bedroom, Ye Feng lay still on the bed, staring blankly out the window.

At that moment, the heavy door clicked open, and a figure glided silently inside. Ye Feng’s eyes didn’t even flicker at the intrusion.

Even as the person climbed onto the bed, pinned him down, and stripped away his clothing, his expression remained completely hollow and detached.

“I’m sorry… but I… I can’t control myself!”

Murong Qingning murmured desperate apologies under her breath, yet her hands never paused for a single second.

She knew with absolute clarity that crossing this boundary was monstrous. Yet opening this door was like breaching a massive dam—a single crack allowed a roaring flood to rush through, making it utterly impossible to stop.

Though a helpless, involuntary flush spread across Ye Feng’s pale skin, his face remained devoid of warmth, his eyes fixed firmly on the sky outside.

Suddenly, the sharp, rhythmic sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the outer hallway.

Ye Feng turned his head sharply toward Murong Qingning. Drowned in her own frantic desires, she was completely oblivious to the approaching sounds.

“Get… get off me… someone’s coming…!”

“Hurry… get off!”

Realizing her ears weren’t registering his quiet warnings, Ye Feng suppressed the intense physical sensations overwhelming his body and used all his remaining strength to push her shoulders away.

Murong Fanghua stepped into the suite, only to see Ye Feng lying on the bed with a deep, vivid flush across his face.

A sudden, subtle sense of anomaly brushed over her intuition, as if something was horribly out of place. Yet sweeping her gaze across the room, everything appeared completely tranquil.

As she stepped closer to the bed, Ye Feng refused to meet her eyes.

Ye Feng could feel his heart hammering wildly against his ribs. He had never faced such an absurd, terrifying crisis before, and panic seized his mind.

What should I do?! expose her and let mother and daughter tear each other apart, or help hide this disgrace?

Just as Murong Fanghua reached the edge of the mattress, Ye Feng suddenly reached out, grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her head down forcefully, pressing his lips firmly against hers.

“I… I… want you!”

He forced out the embarrassing, shamelessly bold words through flushed cheeks. Murong Fanghua pulled back slightly, lightly licking the corner of her lip.

She had wondered why his face was so unusually red—it turned out he was simply overwhelmed by physical longing!

“Since my sweet boy wants it so badly, Master will naturally satisfy you!”

“No… wait!”

“I… I want to take a bath first… I haven’t bathed properly in so long…”

“A bath? Of course! Let Master wash you properly!”

Without another word, Murong Fanghua lifted Ye Feng into her arms and carried him straight into the adjoining bathroom.

The moment the bathroom door clicked shut, Murong Qingning scrambled out from under the high bed frame. Casting one last lingering, reluctant glance toward the bathroom, she straightened her garments and slipped out of the suite with silent, hurried steps.

Stepping into the warm steam of the bathroom, Ye Feng calculated that Murong Qingning must have safely escaped.

Relieved, he instantly let his body go limp, completely ceasing to cater to Murong Fanghua’s touch.

Murong Fanghua paused, looking down at him in confusion. Only seconds ago he had initiated intimacy with such frantic passion; why had he suddenly gone completely cold and motionless?

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ye Feng replied, his tone icy and detached.

Though puzzled by his sudden shift, Murong Fanghua didn’t stop. Lifting him into the warm water, she took control herself—if he refused to move, she would simply take the lead!

Ye Feng bit his lower lip hard, forcefully suppressing the involuntary tremors coursing through his sensitive skin. He was not a naturally shameless person, nor was he anyone’s disposable toy—never had been, and never would be! He swore he would never, ever surrender his spirit to this physical degradation!

Murong Fanghua couldn’t understand it. Ye Feng’s face was flushed red like a ripe apple, yet he refused to let out a single sound. Was she not being forceful enough?

Driven by pride, she intensified her movements.

“Ah!”

Heh. In the end, my sweet boy still succumbs to me.

Ye Feng’s eyes overflowed with silent tears in the bathwater. Deep down, he truly, desperately did not want to yield!

“Conceive another child for me!” she whispered against his neck.

“No… Don’t!”

The next morning.

Guen woke up early and packed his personal belongings into a neat bag. Though making this choice filled him with reluctance, he was more than willing to sacrifice his peaceful life for Ye Feng’s sake.