Laying Zhu Mei on the bed, Xia Yu covered her with a blanket.
“Ugh,” the girl kicked the blanket off.
Xia Yu pulled the blanket back over her, but Zhu Mei pushed it away again with her hand.
So Xia Yu picked up Zhu Mei, wrapped her tightly in the blanket, and tucked the edges of the blanket beneath her body.
Zhu Mei struggled but couldn’t free herself from the blanket.
Gradually, she got used to the feeling of being wrapped and stopped resisting.
Mission accomplished, Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction. He didn’t leave immediately, but instead looked at Zhu Mei’s face.
Because of the alcohol, her face was slightly flushed. She seemed a bit uncomfortable, lightly frowning, shaking her head.
Taking a photo of this moment and captioning it “The Drunken Queen” would surely meet no objections.
But after a moment of hesitation with his phone in hand, Xia Yu gave up this dangerous idea.
If he was going to take pictures, he’d better go back and take some of An Siyao. An Siyao had been getting bolder lately—maybe he could capture something exciting, like…
…yoga practice.
Before leaving the room, Xia Yu cast one last glance at Zhu Mei. That’s when he noticed a necklace peeking out from beneath her collar.
He stepped closer, picked up the necklace, and looked at it curiously.
It was a silver chain with a small glass vial the size of a fingertip. Inside the vial was some unknown grayish-white powder.
What was this?
After examining it carefully, Xia Yu couldn’t determine its contents. He placed the necklace back down and left the room.
As soon as he shut the door, Zhu Mei opened her eyes.
The girl grabbed the necklace, feeling somewhat frightened.
During the process of kicking off the blanket, Zhu Mei had gradually regained sensation. When Xia Yu wrapped her tightly in the blanket, she had fully regained consciousness.
Feeling Xia Yu standing beside her, she dared not move, fearing that any action might provoke him into doing something unwanted to her.
Through a narrow slit between her eyelids, she saw Xia Yu reach out toward her and felt immense fear.
But in the end, Xia Yu’s hand didn’t touch her body—it reached for her necklace instead.
After touching the necklace, Xia Yu left.
Looking at the necklace, Zhu Mei was puzzled.
Was her own body less appealing than this necklace?
Still young, she didn’t dwell on it for long—just a brief moment of confusion before she let it go.
Lying in bed, Zhu Mei soon fell asleep.
The next morning, she was shaken awake.
Seeing her open her eyes, Xia Yu withdrew his hand: “Hurry up and get up. I’ll drive you home.”
Originally, Xia Yu had planned to return home to sleep last night, but he was worried about Zhu Mei staying alone in the hotel room, so he decided to stay. There was no gaming console in the hotel, and Xia Yu couldn’t play games, which left him in a slightly bad mood.
Zhu Mei sat up and was pulled out of the bedroom by Xia Yu, where she washed up in the bathroom.
After Zhu Mei finished getting ready, Xia Yu had already arranged breakfast—baozi and coffee.
Sitting at the dining table, Zhu Mei began to eat.
“What’s inside your necklace?” Xia Yu asked curiously.
Zhu Mei hesitated slightly before replying, “Ashes.”
“I’m sorry,” Xia Yu apologized, thinking he had touched upon a sad topic.
“It’s Xiongxiong’s,” Zhu Mei said as she touched the necklace.
Could it be… mine?
Xia Yu couldn’t help but look at the necklace again.
“Aren’t you curious?” Zhu Mei looked at Xia Yu.
“It’s not human—it’s from a brown bear.”
“A little strange,” Xia Yu didn’t know how to respond, so he simply agreed with Zhu Mei.
An ordinary person seeing someone wearing the ashes of a brown bear would be extremely curious, wondering what meaning it held. But Xia Yu, as the actual owner of those ashes, knew of Zhu Mei’s fondness for brown bears and the sacrifices the bear had made for her.
He recalled how often Zhu Mei touched this necklace—was the girl missing Xiongxiong?
Xia Yu’s mood grew heavy.
After Zhu Mei finished breakfast, Xia Yu drove her to the building entrance.
Waving goodbye to Xia Yu, Zhu Mei scanned her face to unlock the villa door.
Inside the living room, Zhu Mengbing and Li Hua were anxiously worrying about Zhu Mei’s disappearance. Seeing her return, both visibly relaxed.
“Where did you go?” asked Zhu Mengbing.
“Night life,” Zhu Mei answered.
Zhu Mengbing didn’t understand the term “night life,” nor did he really want to know what Zhu Mei had done last night—he was just asking out of politeness.
“You have three more days before your uncle comes to pick us up. Don’t wander around aimlessly,” Zhu Mengbing complained. The “uncle” he mentioned was the current king of District 14; the two had acknowledged their familial ties.
“He’s coming to pick you up,” Zhu Mei corrected.
“Not just me—also you. Uncle specifically asked about you,” Zhu Mengbing explained.
“Why would he ask about me?” Zhu Mei frowned.
Zhu Mengbing coughed: “Although our families have been separated for three hundred years, we still share the same ancestor’s bloodline.”
Zhu Mei understood the implication in Zhu Mengbing’s words. Marrying within the bloodline was a royal tradition.
“He already has a wife,” Zhu Mei said, showing clear dislike.
“That’s just an ordinary woman who can only be a queen consort,” Zhu Mengbing replied.
Zhu Mei said nothing more. She went upstairs and entered her bedroom.
Sitting at her desk, she picked up a pair of scissors and a notebook, cutting away as paper scraps fell one by one. Her frustration gradually eased.
Throwing the scissors onto the table, Zhu Mei lay down on the bed.
She didn’t know whether she should go with Zhu Mengbing or not. If she didn’t, she would be all alone.
Why does everyone have to leave? If it were Xiongxiong, he would never abandon me.
Picking up the necklace, Zhu Mei stared at the ashes inside the glass vial, lost in thought.
Her mind gradually emptied, only to be filled with random thoughts again.
She recalled the breakfast scene.
Why wasn’t Xia Yu the least bit curious about Xiongxiong’s ashes? If he was going to ask about the necklace, shouldn’t he have asked about Xiongxiong?
Zhu Mei thought carefully. In her memory, she captured the subtle change in Xia Yu’s expression after he heard that the ashes were Xiongxiong’s.
He clearly had a reaction—why didn’t he ask further?
Doubt stirred in Zhu Mei’s heart.
Going downstairs, Zhu Mei found Li Hua, who handled most of their affairs.
“Your Highness,” Li Hua smiled upon seeing Zhu Mei. “Perhaps not long from now, I should call you ‘Queen.'”
Zhu Mei wasn’t interested in that. She asked, “Have you figured out what relationship Xia Yu has with us?”
Li Hua shook her head: “Not yet. He’s never been to our district, and the Emperor has never visited District One either. We have absolutely no idea how they met.”
Zhu Mei thought for a moment and murmured, “Maybe it’s not that father.”
Li Hua was shocked. Not that father—could there be another father?
Afraid to ask further about such a royal secret, she pretended not to hear.
Zhu Mei’s expression gradually brightened: “Earlier, you said the one who saved you was a golden eagle as smart as Xiongxiong, right?”
“Yes. Do you know who it is now?” Li Hua asked curiously.
“Maybe,” Zhu Mei turned around and hurriedly ran back upstairs.
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