Chapter 9: Shame
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: PlumSauce
Yun Yingzhi felt like his entire rabbit body was about to burst. For the first time, he realized that the empire’s heir—the cold, ruthless, bloodthirsty, seemingly emotionless His Highness the Crown Prince—was secretly obsessed with plush animals1. Not only that, he could tell a male rabbit from a female, and even nuzzled the little rabbit’s belly!
If Yun Yingzhi had previously been thinking about revealing his true identity, now… He dared not say a word. The little white rabbit sniffed, pouting its tiny face. For the moment, all he could do was allow Elvis to toy with him as if he were a real little bunny.
Elvis stroked the rabbit in his arms, walking toward the dormitory area. Along the way, they encountered many students, but due to Elvis’s fearsome reputation, almost none dared to approach. Everyone kept their distance.
Yun Yingzhi thought, This was the Elvis who made everyone scatter in fear and who unexpectedly made some students thrilled that he would attend the social gathering. No, compared to them, he seemed to be quite brave. After hearing about Elvis’s participation, he unexpectedly also decided to attend.
With his keen hearing, Yun Yingzhi caught snippets of conversation.
“Did you see that?”
“The prince is holding a little white rabbit!”
“Never would have thought… Prince Elvis actually likes bunnies.”
“Our campus beauty’s second form is a little white rabbit. Because of him, many students here keep white rabbits.”
“That makes sense. If you can’t get the campus beauty, at least you can have a substitute!”
Suddenly, Yun Yingzhi heard someone whisper, “I’ve never heard that Prince Elvis likes cute pets. Do you think it’s possible that the bunny he’s holding is really Senior Yingzhi?”
Yun Yingzhi froze, his little rabbit face stiffening.
Even worse, in response to the comment, Elvis stopped walking. He cupped Yun Yingzhi in both hands and held him up to his face.
Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched. His fur was still standing on end.
Elvis’s violet eyes narrowed slightly. He asked, “You are Yun Yingzhi, aren’t you?”
Yun Yingzhi reflexively let out a sound, “Dee… dee!” He wanted to insist he was a cute little pet, not a human—he was truly a little baby bunny.
Elvis said, “Do rabbits make that sound?”
Yun Yingzhi was stunned. How did rabbits sound again? He didn’t like his second form, so he had never really paid attention to small pets like rabbits. In his memory, he had never heard a rabbit make any sound. After a brief silence, Yun Yingzhi tried again cautiously, “Uu…?”
Was that right?
Elvis’s lips curved subtly, “Hmm?”
Yun Yingzhi, “Yiyi…?”
Elvis, “Heh.”
Yun Yingzhi’s fur bristled even more. He didn’t understand what Elvis meant, but that didn’t stop him from trying to continue pretending to be a real rabbit, “Sss…?” If only he had done a little homework, he would at least know how a real rabbit sounded.
Elvis placed the little white rabbit back against his chest and, in a voice as sharp as shattered ice, said, “What an exquisitely vocal little rabbit.”
Yun Yingzhi exhaled in relief. He felt his luck had been terrible since waking up that morning. Thinking quickly, he didn’t want to interact with Elvis in this form any longer. When Elvis’s grip slightly relaxed, he seized the opportunity to leap out precisely from his arms.
Almost immediately, an electrified wall—one meter wide, three meters tall, and three meters long—appeared directly in front of the little white rabbit. If he had charged forward recklessly, he could have turned into a blackened, crispy little rabbit.
Yun Yingzhi halted just in time. His small body tensed as he scanned the surroundings with his shiny black eyes. To the left, another electrified wall rose. The little rabbit shivered and wobbled but forced himself to steady his fragile body. He looked to the right, only to see yet another wall.
Yun Yingzhi was shocked. He could still hear the sizzling of the electric current, hinting at the danger of the lightning. At that moment, the little white rabbit was trapped on three sides. The only way out was behind him.
It was broad daylight, yet a shadow suddenly fell over him, completely blocking the bright November sun. Yun Yingzhi could feel his heart pounding wildly. He turned around, his terrified little rabbit face staring at the figure that completely enveloped him: Elvis.
Thanks to his keen hearing, Yun Yingzhi could hear the faint whispers of the students nearby.
“Quick, look! Prince Elvis is teasing the little bunny!”
“Hahaha, no wonder this little bunny belongs to Prince Elvis! Its little expressions are so lively!”
“It just wobbled on its tiny legs… too funny, hahahaha…”
Yun Yingzhi, “…” He thought the students secretly watching from the shadows were rather annoying.
Elvis looked down from above, his shadow completely covering the trembling little white rabbit.
Yun Yingzhi, “…Jiji?”
Elvis’s voice was like frost and snow, “Little one, why aren’t you running?”
The little rabbit thought carefully. Did Elvis mean that he should go toward the only place not surrounded by the curved electric walls? Cautiously, Yun Yingzhi took small, hesitant steps with his short legs, moving paw-to-paw sideways cautiously to avoid Elvis.
Once again, he felt the warmth of the sun in the cold wind.
More students, who were furtively watching from the shadows, burst into laughter. One of them said, “Look, the little white rabbit is so scared it can’t walk properly! Moving paw by paw, it’s just too adorable!”
“So cute it’s unfair!”
Yun Yingzhi’s little rabbit face flushed red. He warily looked up at Elvis, but being so small and so close, he couldn’t see much. Blinking his big black eyes, he thought that Elvis had probably tacitly allowed him to run. So he prepared to dash forward—
But before he could get far, another curved electrified wall, one meter wide and three meters high, appeared ahead. The little rabbit’s fur bristled again. His nerves were on the verge of snapping.
Arcs of electricity hissed from all sides. The little rabbit spun around, realizing that unless he could leap precisely three meters into the air, he wouldn’t escape unscathed.
So now, the options were: Tell Elvis he wasn’t a real rabbit, that he was Yun Yingzhi. Or.. Continue pretending to be an oblivious little rabbit. Thinking it over, now that countless eyes were secretly watching him, there was no way he could reveal his identity after just shuffling paw by paw. It would be… Too humiliating.
Elvis’s cold voice cut through his thoughts again, “Little white rabbit, why aren’t you running? Need me to give you a hand?”
Yun Yingzhi, “…” A hand? How would that help? Throw him into the electric arcs? His eyelids twitched wildly. Blinking his gem-like black eyes, he carefully shifted his tiny paws.
And so, the onlookers saw this scene. The little white rabbit’s movements seemed incredibly clever. Though clearly reluctant, he edged forward, his soft white body brushing against Elvis’s legs, both paws holding onto one of his calves.
Elvis’s lips curved subtly. Yun Yingzhi glanced at the electrified walls, hesitated, and then climbed cautiously up Elvis’s leg. Elvis didn’t push away the little rabbit, but he also didn’t lift him.
Thanks to his keen hearing, Yun Yingzhi heard a student whisper in astonishment, “Wow, I didn’t know rabbits could climb so well!”
He didn’t know if normal rabbits could climb, but he worried intensely that Elvis might throw him into the electric arcs. Worse, he feared being exposed as a human in front of everyone—a true social death!
Another student exclaimed, “Look! The little white rabbit is so nimble and steady—it’s hanging on Prince Elvis’s abs!”
“Ahhh! I want to be that little bunny! I want to touch his abs!”
“Little rabbit, a bit lower! Quick! Hang onto his waistband!”
Hearing this inappropriate comment, Yun Yingzhi’s little rabbit mind went blank. His tiny paws loosened slightly from Elvis’s clothing. He began to slip. Startled, he scrambled frantically, four paws gripping tightly, barely stabilizing his small body.
Something felt off. Quickly, he realized exactly what was wrong. The students who had been whispering in the shadows suddenly fell silent.
Above him, Elvis’s frosty voice reached Yun Yingzhi’s ears, “Come up.”
A massive question mark formed in his mind. Was Elvis speaking to him? Surely not. How could a normal little white rabbit understand human speech? To avoid revealing his true identity, perhaps he should pretend not to understand human speech.
Yun Yingzhi’s four tiny paws clung tightly to Elvis as he decided to stay still for the moment.
Then… He heard a student whisper, “Wow, what a sight! Such a mischievous little rabbit!”
“Before, I suspected this little white rabbit might be Yun Yingzhi. Now it’s certain—such a lewd little bunny could never be our campus beauty Yingzhi.”
Blinking his shiny black eyes, his body trembled. He now realized what he had inadvertently done. His mind understood, but his body was still violently shaking. He felt like the entire little rabbit was about to… well, suffer an indescribable fate. He thought he needed to shift positions immediately. However, his tiny body was so stunned from the shock that he didn’t know how to move.
Elvis’s voice reached him again, “Do you like it there so much?”
Yun Yingzhi felt like he was inside a massive steamer—he was about to be thoroughly cooked. Finally, his body moved. All four tiny paws released simultaneously, and his small body began to fall… Yun Yingzhi thought, QAQ—even falling straight down was better than being publicly embarrassed in front of everyone while “interacting” with His Highness Price Elvis.
He felt numb. Today has truly been miserable. Just as Yun Yingzhi thought he would hit the ground, Prince Elvis reached out and scooped him up, holding the little white rabbit safely in his arms.
Yun Yingzhi froze. His tiny 30cm body was once again cradled by Elvis. His ears twitched. QAQ He thought, Life… was really short. After enduring, a person dies. He wondered if he could even buy a ticket to another star system. He wondered if he had the money to buy a spaceship ticket.
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