Chapter 10: Cuddling
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
The electrified walls disappeared as Elvis carried Yun Yingzhi forward. Yun Yingzhi drooped his long ears, pouting his little rabbit face, feeling embarrassed. He adjusted his posture slightly, burying his entire little body into Elvis’s arms. In his ears, he could hear Elvis’s steady, strong heartbeat.
Even with Huai Boshe, he had never been this close, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable, yet he couldn’t avoid Elvis. Yun Yingzhi sniffed, trying to hypnotize himself: He was just a little rabbit—a genuine, real little rabbit. No one will be able to discover his true identity.
With so many people at Fansa Academy secretly keeping pet rabbits, how could anyone notice? Thinking this, Yun Yingzhi relaxed a little. Yun Yingzhi, wearing the mask of a fearless little white rabbit, tried to calm himself and reasoned that his logic was sound.
He wanted to know where Elvis was taking him. Looking around, he realized that Elvis was heading toward the fourth-year dormitories—that meant… Prince Elvis’s personal dormitory?
Yun Yingzhi perked up slightly.
Any student at Fansa Academy—or more accurately, any citizen of the Empire—would naturally be curious about Elvis. Until now, many students had wanted to get close to him, but he remained distant. According to some, he was like solid ice. Even now, no one had ever entered his private domain: his dormitory.
Yun Yingzhi realized that, if things went as expected, he might get a rare glimpse inside Prince Elvis’s private chambers today. He perked up and surveyed the whole area. There was a rumor regarding the fourth-year dormitories: Fansa Academy was a closed campus, and leaving was extremely difficult. However, third- and fourth-year students often managed to slip out, and there was said to be a secret passage nearby specifically used for this purpose.
Yun Yingzhi had never considered skipping school before, so he hadn’t paid attention. Now, he could investigate properly.
On the way to the fourth-year dorms, he overheard students talking about those selected to participate in the Ten Great Military Academies Ranking Battle.
Hearing “Ranking Battle,” Yun Yingzhi thought of Huai Boshe and Yun Yingyao, and his mood immediately darkened. At the same time, it strengthened his resolve: break out of the academy, earn big money, craft top-tier source weapons, and use them to compete for Huai Boshe’s top student spot—delivering a crushing blow to him.
Oh, besides practical courses, his theoretical courses were also lacking, and he needed to catch up. Yun Yingzhi thought, Life was truly difficult. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice that Elvis had already carried him into a large villa.
Even as the sole heir of the Empire and the fourth-year top student, Elvis had not received special treatment in dorm assignments. He shared the villa with around twenty other fourth-year students. The difference was that while others shared rooms, he occupied the entire third floor, with a private lounge, study, cloakroom, and more… Top students of the first and second years didn’t receive this type of treatment, only top students of the third and fourth years did.
As Elvis entered the villa with Yun Yingzhi, a group of fourth-year students looked… at Yun Yingzhi, the little white rabbit in Elvis’s arms. At this point, Yun Yingzhi was completely paralyzed. His small head had been buried in Elvis’s chest earlier, but now he was facing everyone directly. He could feel all eyes upon him at that moment.
Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched, and the warmth that had steadily receded previously, now began to flare up in his cheeks, ears, and small body again.
A fourth-year student with light blond hair and green eyes, named Wei Yuanqing, smiled at Elvis, “Prince Elvis, this is the little rabbit you found today?”
Wei Yuanqing was charming and flirtatious, dedicating most of his energy to romance. He rarely trained or studied, yet he never dropped from the top three in exams. Compared to Prince Elvis, Yun Yingzhi actually remembered Wei Yuanqing more vividly. When he first entered Fansa Academy, Wei Yuanqing had confessed to him.
Yun Yingzhi had been shocked and instantly rejected him. Later, they had been on the same team for a mission, which made him very uncomfortable—but by the next day, he was at ease. He had heard that Wei Yuanqing had started dating someone else the very day after confessing to him.
Elvis looked at Wei Yuanqing, paused, and said, “Mine.”
As he spoke, he subtly adjusted Yun Yingzhi, turning the little white rabbit from facing everyone to facing his chest.
Wei Yuanqing smiled, “Seems you really like this little cutie.”
Elvis replied coldly, “Not particularly,” and carried the rabbit upstairs.
In the living room, several students whispered among themselves. One student said, “But this little white rabbit looks exactly like Yingzhi’s second form.”
“Indeed, very similar.”
Another student looked at Wei Yuanqing and said, “Yuanqing, since your ability lets you to understand animal speech, you could ask the little rabbit what it thinks of the prince, haha…”
Yun Yingzhi, the little rabbit, was utterly shocked. Some people could awaken the animal-speech ability and communicate with beasts or pets—but… this did not include second-form beasts in disguise.
Yun Yingzhi’s second form was a rabbit, but he could not understand non-human speech from other espers in their second forms. Okay. Now came the real problem: if Wei Yuanqing actually approached him to converse, how was he supposed to speak animal language? This truly… put Yun Yingzhi, the fake little pet, in a difficult position.
Elvis carried Yun Yingzhi back to his bedroom on the third floor. He gently placed the little white rabbit on the bed. Yun Yingzhi immediately snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes scanning the room to take in his surroundings.
In Yun Yingzhi’s imagination, Prince Elvis’s bedroom should have matched his persona: cold, neat, and spotless. However, it wasn’t that way. It wasn’t dirty either, just somewhat untidy. Books lay half-open on the desk. The large bed was messy, with part of a pale blue blanket draped to the floor. The curtains were a warm light yellow, and the room carried a faint scent of cedar, Elvis’s personal fragrance.
Yun Yingzhi shifted his gaze toward the window. The wind blew, rustling the curtains, and a stream of air drifted inside. Yun Yingzhi’s mind jolted. Being on the third floor, he realized he could potentially escape through that open window.
Suddenly, he sensed a shadow looming. Instinctively, he lifted his head and met Elvis’s purple eyes.
Yun Yingzhi, “…”
Elvis’s gaze shifted elsewhere.
Yun Yingzhi froze for a moment. Following Elvis’s line of sight, he saw the direction he had been just looking at—the window he had been considering for escape.
Why was Elvis suddenly looking at the window? While he pondered this, Elvis scooped him up again, striding toward the window. A terrible premonition gripped Yun Yingzhi. A few seconds later, his dread was confirmed.
In front of him, Elvis walked up to the window and shut it with a “click,” even locking it. Yun Yingzhi felt utterly overwhelmed, his tiny rabbit heart collapsing. It was now certain: escaping through the window was impossible. Gathering a little courage, the little white rabbit turned his gaze to the door.
The bedroom door was closed, but Yun Yingzhi thought that even in his 30cm form, he could jump onto the doorknob, open the door, and search for a way to escape from the third floor. This may be too much of a challenge for a 30cm-tall little rabbit. As he considered this, he looked up at Elvis again. Being held, he could only see Elvis’s jawline, but…
From the direction of Elvis’s gaze, he noticed that Elvis was now looking at the door. Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched violently, and his heart raced. Then, Elvis moved him closer to the door and, with a “click,” locked it.
Yun Yingzhi, “…” There was no “most devastated,” only “even more devastated.” Once again, Elvis had precisely cut off the little escape route Yun Yingzhi had just found. Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched. He shifted his gaze, looking toward the bathroom. His mind jolted—there should be a window in the bathroom.
Suddenly, he remembered what had happened before. Wherever he looked, Elvis would accurately glance in that direction, systematically blocking every retreat. It was outrageous. Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched violently as he lifted his head to look at Elvis.
Yun Yingzhi, “…”
For a moment, he wondered if Elvis possessed an ability to read minds. Otherwise, how could he always anticipate Yun Yingzhi’s thoughts and block the last escape route so perfectly? It was as if now, Elvis was staring straight at the bathroom.
Yun Yingzhi couldn’t help it and squeaked twice, “Squeak, squeak.”
Elvis looked down at him. The little rabbit and the prince locked eyes. Elvis gently stroked Yun Yingzhi’s head and lightly tugged on his long ears. Fearing that Elvis’s grip might be too strong, Yun Yingzhi resisted the urge to bare his teeth and instead pressed his soft little body obediently against him.
Elvis carried Yun Yingzhi into the bathroom. Yun Yingzhi instinctively glanced toward the window—and sure enough, it was open. His eyes brightened. Considering that the bedroom windows and doors had been locked, seeing this open window, his first thought was to calculate the success rate if he performed a precise midair jump from Elvis’s arms.
Just as Yun Yingzhi tensed his small body, gathering strength to leap—It was as if Elvis knew his plan. Suddenly, a curved electric wall appeared at the bathroom window, crackling with lightning.
Yun Yingzhi, “…”
Crack! Crack!
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The continuously flashing electric arcs ruthlessly extinguished Yun Yingzhi’s hope of escape. His tense little body went limp in Elvis’s arms, the little rabbit completely lifeless. The prince was truly difficult to deal with.
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