Chapter 274 - Back off

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Eren came barging into his room and pulled him upright. "Come on. We have to go out and breathe some fresh air. Let’s go.""Oh my god, it’s not even the crack of dawn. Why do you torture me so..." Li Wang moaned as he was dragged out of the small house. The sun was just rising over the horizon, casting a warm golden glow across the beautiful expanse of the fruit forest. Li Wang blinked sleepily at the scenery before reluctantly admitting, "Wow... it really is pretty. But I’m really not in the mood to enjoy it."

Eren pulled to a stop and gazed back at him curiously. "Why?"

"It’s... it’s nothing..." Li Wang rubbed his eyes gently, trying to hide the heaviness in his expression.

"It’s obviously not nothing. Why are you in a bad mood? I’ve never seen you in a bad mood." Eren nudged him, refusing to let it go.

Sighing, Li Wang gazed toward the alien ship that was being repaired. "...You’ll leave." He muttered the words so quietly that they almost disappeared into the morning air.

Eren froze. "I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?"

"I said you all will leave. What will I do?" Li Wang grumbled, kicking a small pebble with his foot. "I guess I’ll have to spend the rest of my life here in this cottage, eating fruits and hunting bunnies."

To his shock, his friend suddenly let out a boisterous laugh. Eren doubled over, clutching his stomach as he laughed and laughed until he was practically breathless. "Oh my lord..."

"Why are you laughing, you asshole?" Li Wang kicked him lightly in the shin.

"God... you’re hilarious." The man collapsed onto the grass, still laughing as he looked up at him. "What made you think we would leave you here?"

Li Wang froze. "Well, I’m human... I can’t survive in an alien world."

"Silly. The Farian World is similar to Earth in many ways. You can breathe the air just as you do here. Well, the vegetation and food might be different, but everything else is pretty much the same. Why do you think you can’t survive?"

Li Wang was flabbergasted by the question. All this time, he had simply assumed he wouldn’t be able to survive there. He had convinced himself that once they returned home, they would have no choice but to leave him behind. Somehow, he had never even considered asking.

Adjusting his glasses, he cleared his throat and muttered, "Shut up... I didn’t know much about the Farian World."

Eren shot upright and grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. "You have a place on our ship. And you are our esteemed guest. You will be treated like royalty..." A strange gleam appeared in his eyes. "Well, more than royalty."

Li Wang stared at him for a moment before a small smile finally softened his face. "Okay..."

They went about painting the ship together.

An hour or so went by before Eren suddenly called him to a stop. "Can you go fetch my sword from the room?"

"Why do you need a sword?"

"Just go get it!" He winked at him with a playful grin.

"Fine, you weirdo..." Grumbling under his breath, Li Wang walked back toward their shared room.

The moment he opened the door, he was met with a sight that left him completely speechless.

His room...

It was completely filled with flowers.

Every single inch was covered in them. Flowers covered the floor, the bed, the tables, even the corners of the room. Their sweet scent filled the air so thickly that Li Wang could barely breathe.

"Achoo!"

He sneezed loudly.

"What the..."

"Do you like it?" A soft voice came from behind him.

Li Wang turned around and found Celaus standing there, watching him with a gentle smile.

"I heard this is a way humans express their love," Celaus said softly. "So I wanted to make you see how much I like you."

"Achoo!" Li Wang sneezed again, his eyes watering. "Why would you—achoo! Why would you assume that I like flowers?! I’m allergic—achoo!—to pollen!"

He rubbed his nose roughly, glaring through watering eyes.

The Farian prince stared at him in stunned confusion, first at Li Wang and then at the room he had so carefully decorated. "What is an allergy?"

"Oh god, move." Li Wang waved him away desperately. "And get those out of my room. Now! Achoo!"

He turned and ran out of the house, his heart pounding violently in his chest.

He didn’t stop until he was far enough away that there was no one around. Panting, he leaned against a nearby tree and gripped its trunk tightly, trying to steady himself.

’What the hell was that?’

His breathing was still uneven.

’Why was my heart pounding like that? It’s just flowers!’

He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the way Celaus had looked at him. That gentle smile. The sincerity in his voice. The ridiculous room overflowing with flowers.

For just one brief moment, beneath all the sneezing and irritation, Li Wang had felt something warm spread through his chest.

Something that had made him feel... loved.

And that frightened him far more than the flowers.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to pull himself away from the feeling.

"It’s all just an illusion. And I’m not gay," he mumbled to himself. "He doesn’t even know I’m allergic to flowers. How can he claim to love me...? He knows nothing about me."

His elated heart went through a roller coaster ride before finally crashing back down to reality.

That man, Celaus, was only after him because he assumed that Li Wang was his mate. Nothing else. He knew nothing about his likes or dislikes. He didn’t know what made Li Wang happy, what annoyed him, or even something as simple as what he was allergic to.

’How can that be called love?’

Scoffing at himself, he walked back toward the ship.

"Hey, man of the hour! Did you enjoy the gift?" Eren playfully tugged at his hand. "You feel all tingly inside now?"

"No. I’m allergic," Li Wang bluntly said and went back to painting.

Eren simply gaped at his back.

"Fuck. I gave him that idea."

"Don’t give him silly ideas." Li Wang continued painting without looking back. "He needs to come out of the illusion that I’m his mate. He aneeds a reality check, so don’t enable him anymore."

Eren walked up to him, his expression becoming serious. "Wang, this is not an illusion. Farian royalty can feel their mate when they meet them. Celaus is the most powerful royal as of now. How do you think he is mistaken? You are his fated mate."

"Well, fate is playing a cruel joke on him. Because I’m not interested at all." Li Wang finally turned and glared at him. "So tell him to back off."