OVPBM 16

Chapter 16 – It Is Only Natural to Feel Possessive Over What One Loves

Lu Yunwan wanted to know why the original host had developed a psychological barrier toward piloting mecha.

After returning to the residence, he began searching through the study.

At first, Lu Yunwan did not hold much hope and was only trying his luck. Unexpectedly, he truly discovered something of value.

In the interstellar era, paper had long since faded into history. Yet the tradition-minded Empire still retained the custom of compiling legal statutes and important documents into bound volumes for preservation.

In a corner of the study, Lu Yunwan found a legislative bill that had never been implemented. Together with its preliminary investigative documents, the stack amounted to well over a thousand pages.

Inside a hidden compartment beneath the files, there were also several old garments.

“Uniform Sentencing for Major Crimes…” Lu Yunwan’s fingers brushed across the title page as he softly read out the name of the bill.

Holding the documents in his arms, he sat down on the nearby sofa.

This Empire, ruled by merfolk, had two completely different legal systems.

Under this framework, humans faced far stricter sentencing standards and far heavier punishments.

In the original novel, Chu Xuanzhou had spent several years overcoming countless obstacles to complete the revision of the unified legal code. During that time, he had even survived an assassination attempt because of it.

Lu Yunwan knew that when the original host had first entered politics, he had proposed legislation in an attempt to change the status quo.

But the thousand-plus pages of investigative documents, along with the densely packed characters covering them, told him that the original host had devoted far, far more effort than he had ever imagined…

Because of this compromise, a trace of unwillingness suddenly rose within Lu Yunwan.

* * *

At noon, Lu Yunwan sat by the window with the light at his back, enjoying his lunch while listening to imperial officials report on the past few days’ work.

At the same time, on the light screen before him was the report on the mental power experiments that Song Feiyan had just submitted.

As he listened to the briefing, he would occasionally frown and glance at the screen. After quite some time had passed, he had barely touched his chopsticks.

It was not that Lu Yunwan did not want to eat properly. The Regent simply had far too much work to do.

In the first few days after transmigrating into the book, he had used poor health and a lack of mood as excuses to postpone many matters. Now they had all come back at once.

Planet Cangrui lay somewhat far from its star. Even at noon, the sunlight on the planet was not particularly intense. It was gentle enough to be described as mild.

“Your Excellency the Regent… Lastly, there is the matter concerning the Nedra Star System that requires your decision,” the woman in a black mid-length dress said respectfully.

“Appointing a new Chief Administrator?” Lu Yunwan slowly lowered his gaze and unconsciously tapped his fingertip against the armrest.

Seated opposite him, Chu Xuanzhou had been silently observing. At this moment, he noticed the rare trace of fatigue on Lu Yunwan’s face.

In addition, Lu Yunwan had not touched a single bite of the vegetarian dishes on the table. The Regent, who wielded power across the interstellar realm… Could he actually be a picky eater?

“Your Highness,” Lu Yunwan suddenly spoke, interrupting Chu Xuanzhou’s thoughts. “What are your views on this matter?” He picked up a silk handkerchief and smiled as he wiped his mouth.

“This…” The officials exchanged glances.

The appointment of a Chief Administrator was an extremely important task. Lu Yunwan would always choose to promote his own people.

Yet this time, not only had he delayed making a move, he had even asked for Chu Xuanzhou’s opinion.

Could it be that His Excellency the Regent had some new consideration in mind?

Lu Yunwan knew exactly what they were thinking, but this truly was not a question of whether he wanted to promote someone.

Without the original host’s memories, he had no idea what background the candidates on the shortlist actually had.

Lu Yunwan simply gave up and tossed the difficult problem to the protagonist.

Chu Xuanzhou immediately rose from his seat and lowered his head. “My apologies, Your Excellency. I did not intend to overhear your confidential discussion…”

《 The Merfolk Empire 》 had stated that Chu Xuanzhou was sensitive and suspicious by nature. Lu Yunwan had long since engraved those words into his heart.

Hearing the protagonist speak like that, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Chu Xuanzhou was indeed exactly as described in the book.

Fortunately, Lu Yunwan had already prepared his lines!

“Your Highness, come here.” Instead of answering Chu Xuanzhou directly, Lu Yunwan took a sip of wine and beckoned to him. “I have something to tell you.”

After pausing for a few seconds, Chu Xuanzhou walked to Lu Yunwan’s side. Before he had fully steadied himself, the Regent lightly tugged at his collar, drawing him down.

A faint fragrance of wine drifted toward him.

Leaning close, Lu Yunwan whispered in his ear, “This is a good opportunity, Your Highness. No matter what reason I have for inviting you to participate in the decision-making, you should not miss this chance.”

The clear, flowing notes of a piano piece swallowed every subtle sound. The officials could see Lu Yunwan’s lips moving, but they could not hear what he was saying.

Lu Yunwan was not joking.

Even though Chu Xuanzhou had already witnessed Lu Yunwan’s madness before, he was still taken aback.

“Your Highness, have you ever played xiangqi¹Xiangqi, also known as Chinese chess, is a traditional two-player strategy board game that shares some similarities with Western chess but uses different pieces, rules, and board layout. The board is divided by a “river” in the center, and each side has a palace where certain pieces must remain. The game emphasizes positional control, tactical exchanges, and the protection of one’s general. It is one of the most popular board games in the Chinese cultural sphere.?” Lu Yunwan lightly tapped the air at his side with his left hand.

The text on the light screen suddenly vanished, replaced by a holographic chessboard.

“I have.”

“Look,” Lu Yunwan said, his fingertip hovering over the “General²In xiangqi, the General is the most important piece, similar to the King in Western chess. The General cannot leave the confines of the nine-point palace and must be protected at all costs. If the General is put into a position where escape or defense is impossible, the game ends in defeat. Unlike Western chess, the two Generals may not face each other directly across the board without intervening pieces, a unique rule known as “flying General.””. “Right now, I am this piece.”

Chu Xuanzhou nodded faintly.

“What Your Highness needs to do is capture all the pieces surrounding the ‘General’ and replace them with yours.” As Lu Yunwan spoke, the strength in his hand increased, lifting the young man’s collar slightly and making his breathing grow a little hurried. “Only then can you deliver a fatal blow.”

At the instant Lu Yunwan’s words fell, Chu Xuanzhou even had the illusion that he heard a crisp snap.

The black “General” piece was replaced by a red one, then firmly clasped within his own palm.

“Or you could overturn the entire chessboard.” At that moment, ambition filled Lu Yunwan’s obsidian-dark eyes.

Chu Xuanzhou’s heartbeat suddenly fell out of rhythm.

No one had ever expected anything of him like this before. The youth who had once known only how to survive now felt himself ignited by Lu Yunwan’s ambition.

Lu Yunwan’s fingers brushed lightly across Chu Xuanzhou’s brows and eyes as he murmured, “The Empire’s officials are the other pieces on the board.”

“Those appointed by me, those intricately connected to me, are my wings.”

“Your Highness, if you wish to kill Lu Yunwan, then besides uprooting the foundation of his power, you must also sever his wings.”

Lu Yunwan’s words left him momentarily dazed.

Chu Xuanzhou even had the strange illusion that what filled the wine cup before the Regent was not wine, but his blood.

Lu Yunwan was tempting him to swallow it down, sip by sip.

Seated upon the black carved wooden chair, the man smiled and released his grip. Just as the young man straightened up, Lu Yunwan suddenly leaned forward, almost brushing against Chu Xuanzhou’s cheek as he said, “This is Your Highness’s first opportunity. I can guide you step by step. But afterward, you must act on your own. Do not alert anyone… Place your pieces into every corner of the board.”

“Leave me utterly isolated and helpless.”

Lu Yunwan leaned back in his chair. With a half-smile that was not quite a smile, he looked at Chu Xuanzhou, his eyes filled with a morbid anticipation.

Sure enough, after several seconds of silence, the protagonist slowly spoke a name.

“Very well.” Without the slightest hesitation or thought, Lu Yunwan smiled, raised his wine glass, and nodded to the officials who had been waiting. “Do as His Highness says.”

—Lu Yunwan was not joking!

Holding Chu Xuanzhou’s hand, he guided him through the act of breaking off his own wings.

* * *

The officials remained standing in the dining hall, accompanying Lu Yunwan until he finished his lunch.

After all the reports had been delivered, Lu Yunwan, as usual, had Chu Xuanzhou see them out.

Before he could even relax and seize the chance to fill his stomach, Lu Yunwan suddenly noticed a male official smiling as he stepped out the door, moving to Chu Xuanzhou’s side as if to strike up a conversation.

And the protagonist, not yet blackened, returned the gesture with a polite nod and smile.

Wait, what’s his name again?

…Was it Ning Yi?

Lu Yunwan immediately rose from his chair.

During this period, he kept the protagonist by his side, deliberately giving him opportunities to interact and build relationships with high-ranking imperial officials.

Ning Yi was a senior official in the Empire’s industrial department. In theory, it was a good thing for the protagonist to be on friendly terms with him.

The problem was that Ning Yi was also on 《 The Merfolk Empire 》 blacklist!

Unlike himself or Pei Zhaoan, who were “pure evil,” Ning Yi was the quintessential fence-sitter, a deeply concealed parasite.

Later, he would betray imperial secrets several times, digging no small number of pits for the protagonist.

No! Absolutely could not let that leech cling to Chu Xuanzhou!

“Your Highness, come back here.” Lu Yunwan’s voice suddenly turned cold, stopping Chu Xuanzhou in his tracks.

All imperial officials had heard rumors of the Regent’s mercurial temper.

Seeing the expression on Lu Yunwan’s face, several of them, Ning Yi included, feared being caught in the crossfire and promptly vanished from sight.

At some point, the piano music in the dining hall had stopped.

In Chu Xuanzhou’s ears, there was only the harsh scrape of a chair against the floor as Lu Yunwan stood.

The Regent closed the distance between them and stopped in front of him.

Slender fingers coiled around Chu Xuanzhou’s neck like a venomous snake, then slowly slid down to the rumpled fabric over the youth’s chest. “Stay away from him, Your Highness,” Lu Yunwan said softly.

His eyes were brimming with affection, and beneath his palm, that beating heart trembled faintly.

The atmosphere turned ambiguous. Yet in the very next instant, Lu Yunwan drove his mental power forward like a blade.

“Ah!” The searing pain struck without warning. Chu Xuanzhou instantly clenched his teeth and dropped to one knee.

Lu Yunwan did not bend down, nor did he lower his head.

He looked down at the young man before him as though the one who had just caressed him so tenderly had been someone else entirely.

“Your Highness, I dislike the way you smiled at him.” Lu Yunwan gently ground the toe of his shoe over the hand Chu Xuanzhou had braced against the floor. His tone was soft, almost like a complaint. “Your eyes should hold only me.”

He was utterly unreasonable.

“Your Excellency, I didn’t…” Chu Xuanzhou lifted his head to explain, but before he could finish, another surge of mental power struck him, cutting his words short.

“I know you didn’t.” At last, Lu Yunwan smiled, slowly lifting his foot from Chu Xuanzhou’s hand.

He crouched down gradually and, with great tenderness, lifted Chu Xuanzhou’s hand into his own.

“It is perfectly natural to feel possessive over what one loves. Your Highness, love is something unique. It cannot be shared.”

From childhood, Chu Xuanzhou had been neglected. He had never possessed anything that truly belonged to him.

This was the first time anyone had told him that “possessiveness” was also a form of love.

Unable to resist, he raised his eyes to look at Lu Yunwan, only to fall into those gentle, impossibly dark eyes in the next second.

On that face, beautiful to the point of decadence, was written an all-consuming infatuation. Yet his words were as simple and willful as a child’s.

“I love you. Your Highness, you must forgive me.”

• 1
  Xiangqi, also known as Chinese chess, is a traditional two-player strategy board game that shares some similarities with Western chess but uses different pieces, rules, and board layout. The board is divided by a “river” in the center, and each side has a palace where certain pieces must remain. The game emphasizes positional control, tactical exchanges, and the protection of one’s general. It is one of the most popular board games in the Chinese cultural sphere.
• 2
  In xiangqi, the General is the most important piece, similar to the King in Western chess. The General cannot leave the confines of the nine-point palace and must be protected at all costs. If the General is put into a position where escape or defense is impossible, the game ends in defeat. Unlike Western chess, the two Generals may not face each other directly across the board without intervening pieces, a unique rule known as “flying General.”