Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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Ye Qingyun looked blankly at Gu Shenyuan and didn’t reach out to take the thorny rose.

Gu Shenyuan put the flower back into the bouquet and silently stared at the little girl selling flowers.

The little girl, seeing the situation, immediately understood what was going on. She hugged Ye Qingyun’s leg and pleaded, “Big brother, please accept it. The other big brother was just trying to help me. If I don’t sell these flowers, I won’t have money for food!”

At this point, Ye Qingyun found it hard to refuse. Reluctantly, he took the flower, feeling a bit odd about the whole situation.

Who would have thought that the first flower he received in this world would be from the cold and solitary protagonist.

Gu Shenyuan said, “It looks nice.”

‘You look nice.’

Ye Qingyun responded awkwardly, “…Thanks. I think it looks nice too.”

It was a pretty flower.

The little girl cheerfully accepted the money, listening to the awkward exchange between Ye Qingyun and Gu Shenyuan. Seizing the opportunity, she added, “Big brother, we have a promotion going on! If you show off your love, you can win a prize! There are lots of rewards, so why not take your little brother to check it out? You might find something you like!”

Ye Qingyun: “…Show off their love? What love?!”

The little girl pulled a flyer out of her pocket and handed it to Ye Qingyun before skipping off.

Ye Qingyun casually flipped through it. The flyer was filled with various couple activities: longest kiss contest, compatibility tests, loyalty tests like ‘How loyal is your man? Will he be tempted by others?’ and so on.
Ye Qingyun caught a glimpse of Gu Shenyuan’s gaze lingering on the contents of the booklet, intently focused.

‘What is he looking at? How people kiss?’

Watching such things with a cool, aloof guy like Gu Shenyuan made Ye Qingyun feel a bit embarrassed, so he abruptly closed the book with a snap.

“Do you want to try it?” Gu Shenyuan asked.

Ye Qingyun’s mouth twitched slightly, and he shot back, “Who would I play with? You?”

By normal logic, Gu Shenyuan should have scoffed and walked away. But something seemed off about him today.

Instead of leaving, Gu Shenyuan stayed silent for a moment, observing Ye Qingyun’s expression. Then, he said, “You are an exceptional person. You should be contributing to the development of the interstellar world, not troubled by things like Pu Tian. It’s not worth it. Entertainment like this could lift your spirits. If you need…”

This time, Gu Shenyuan paused longer, choosing his words carefully to avoid upsetting Ye Qingyun further. “If you want to ask me, of course, I’d agree.”

Ye Qingyun was utterly stunned!

He never expected that Gu Shenyuan admired his knowledge so much that he’d be willing to sacrifice himself to this extent!

To be honest, Ye Qingyun could never reach that level of devotion himself.

He suddenly realized how outdated his thinking was. Just a moment ago, he’d even suspected that Gu Shenyuan had feelings for him—what a dirty thought!

Feeling awkward, Ye Qingyun flipped through the book again. “No need. I don’t even like any of these prizes, so—”

His voice trailed off when he saw the prize on the next page.

It was a dazzling energy stone called the “Stone of Love”, extremely rare and typically exchanged as a token between couples.

Ye Qingyun was intrigued—not because of any romantic reason but because the stone contained a rare form of energy, something he hadn’t been able to get his hands on before.

On that page, the promotion’s tagline read:

‘The strongest sword, protecting the most beautiful person. Win the most precious “Stone of Love”! Want to know if your protector is the strongest? Join this challenge and find out their true strength. Don’t hesitate to break up if they fail.!’

The almost breakup-inviting tone of the promotion made Ye Qingyun anxious.

‘He wanted it so badly!’

‘But how could a delicate, tech-oriented person like him win it?’

‘What to do now?!’

Just then, a slender, well-defined hand took the booklet from Ye Qingyun. Gu Shenyuan closed it and said calmly, “Let’s go. We’ll enter.”

Ye Qingyun: “…Wait, what?”

No, Gu Shenyuan may be strong, but he wasn’t the kind of teacher who would take advantage of his students!

Besides, Gu Chenyuan was so high-minded. What if people misunderstood him for joining this kind of contest?

It would tarnish his image as a lofty, pure figure!

Sensing Ye Qingyun’s hesitation to get involved with him, Gu Shenyuan reassured, “This contest doesn’t require us to do anything like that. The challenges play to my strengths. You don’t need to worry.”

Ye Qingyun was touched but tried to keep a straight face. “I’m not going to take advantage of you. I’ll use the stone for research. If I make any discoveries, I’ll make sure you get credit.”

Gu Shenyuan gave a faint smile. “Alright.”

As long as Ye Qingyun accepted the “Stone of Love”, even if he used it for something else or didn’t reciprocate Gu Shenyuan’s feelings, Gu Shenyuan would treasure that moment for life.

—

After registering for the event, Ye Qingyun and Gu Shenyuan headed to the waiting area.

Along the way, Ye Qingyun learned that this competition had been heavily promoted for some time, attracting participants from many different planets. The competition was fierce.

Ye Qingyun felt nervous as he looked at the screen in the waiting area, where ongoing matches were being displayed. Each competitor seemed incredibly strong, with fists as big as his face.

Ye Qingyun stole a glance at Gu Shenyuan’s face. Although he was strikingly handsome, he didn’t look as fierce as the others.

Even though Ye Qingyun knew Gu Shenyuan was strong, who could say if there were hidden experts among the participants?

In a roundabout way, he reminded Gu Shenyuan, “I’m not going to be cleaning up after you, so make sure to save some strength to come back.”

Gu Shenyuan smiled faintly. “Mm.”

Ye Qingyun huffed and focused on the live feed above.

After several rounds, two more competitors entered the stage.

One of them was quite famous. As soon as he appeared, many in the waiting room recognized him.

“It’s Hans the Rogue! I’ve seen footage of him. He took down an entire team that tried to capture him!”

“I’ve heard his ability level tested at A+, but in actual combat, he’s as strong as an S-rank!”

“He’s probably going to win. No way someone like him would lose in the first round.”

The crowd buzzed with chatter as Hans raised a fist toward the audience, and the camera briefly panned to his partner, a delicate-looking young woman.

The camera then shifted to Hans’s opponent, a silent, dark-haired, dark-eyed young man with a brooding expression.

This person wasn’t well-known, so the room fell quiet. But when the camera turned to his partner, the room erupted again.

“Oh my god, that’s…”

“The Third Prince!”

“Wait, I heard a rumor that the Third Prince has been searching for that person, hasn’t he?”

‘This person is the Third Prince?!’

Ye Qingyun stared at the screen in shock at the sight of the golden-haired, proud-looking young man. ‘Why would such a powerful figure be participating in a small contest like this?’

In the original story, the Third Prince was one of Gu Shenyuan’s suitors, a haughty character arranged by the author.

Ye Qingyun began to worry. Even though the prince had a partner now, royal partners were known for their exceptional strength. Gu Shenyuan better not get hurt!
The two competitors didn’t waste any words and directly began their fight. Ye Qingyun watched as they exchanged dazzling moves for quite some time, ultimately leading to the Third Prince’s partner knocking the Rogue Hans to the ground, securing victory in this round.

The camera then focused on the Third Prince, and a reporter immediately stepped forward to interview him: “Do you have anything you’d like to say to your partner? Are you confident in him?”

The Third Prince, looking pleased, casually twirled a lock of hair around his finger, inadvertently revealing a green floral tattoo on the back of his hand. “Confidence? Of course, he won’t lose.”

As the interview wrapped up and the camera shifted away, the crowd erupted into an uproar.

“What’s that tattoo on the back of his hand? Is it “that” one? It must be!”

“Wow, the Third Prince found that person!”

“And he made that person fall in love with him…”

“The tattoo has even grown on his hand! It must be huge!”

“I heard the Empire’s Emperor hadn’t decided who to pass the throne to, but now it’s probably a sure thing!”

Everyone around seemed to know what they were talking about. Ye Qingyun listened in confusion for a moment before quietly asking the person sitting next to him, “Big brother, what are you all talking about?”

“You don’t know?” the burly man replied. “There’s a rumor going around that the Third Prince has been looking for that person who won’t betray him, and he swore to make that person fall in love with him. Tsk, tsk, he found him!”

Ye Qingyun was taken aback, recalling the post he had seen on the forum.

Initially, he had thought such a person couldn’t possibly exist, but now he was face-to-face with the reality.

Ye Qingyun wanted to ask more, but suddenly felt a light touch on his fingertip. Turning around, he saw Gu Shenyuan looking at him.

Gu Shenyuan said, “If you want to know anything, feel free to ask me directly.”

“You know too?” Ye Qingyun thought for a moment before asking, “Is that power really that strong?”

Gu Shenyuan regarded Ye Qingyun for a moment, then lowered his head and chuckled softly. “Yes, very strong, almost invincible. That’s why countless people have been trying to find him.”

Ye Qingyun exclaimed, “Wow…”

Gu Shenyuan waited for Ye Qingyun’s response, surprised to encounter someone impersonating him here. However, he couldn’t help but feel excited about Ye Qingyun’s reaction.

Would Ye Qingyun be intrigued? Would he attempt to meet that person? Would he regret not meeting that person before the Third Prince and miss his chance?

Ye Qingyun took a sip of water and licked his lips. “I think… fighting and killing is disgusting, crude, and uncivilized. It makes me dizzy. I’m leaving. Are you coming with me?”

In reality, this question was a bit redundant. The competition rules required both partners to be present; if one left, the other had to follow, and they couldn’t continue competing.

Gu Shenyuan lowered his head, a silent smile playing on his lips.

Ye Qingyun was not moved.

Ye Qingyun was worried about him getting hurt and wanted to force him to leave.

This realization made Gu Shenyuan feel as if something within him was about to overflow, leaving him immersed in warmth.

“He isn’t my match,” Gu Shenyuan said gently. “Stay. That “Stone of Love” is destined to belong to you.”

As long as it was something Ye Qingyun desired, he would do everything to obtain it for him.