MRG Chapter 40: Lost Expectations

Translator: Kii

Editor: EllieKit

Full lips, like an apple from the Garden of Eden.

Tempting to bite.

The breath exhaled from between the parted lips was a shot as sauna steam, causing Light to cast aside all external distractions. Following his instincts, he leaned closer to Mu Chen…

Immediately afterward, a cool touch on the top of his nose snapped him out of it.

Light’s long eyelashes trembled violently and his vision refocused. After realizing that his behavior was a bit too intimate, he took half a step back.

The person in front of him was the little merman whom he once said he would cherish like a little brother, but now he was actually thinking about kissing him. The impulse just now, as if he was poisoned, was still vivid in his mind. The strong sense of guilt made Light’s heart beat violently, as if he had some strange disease.

“Gege?”

He heard the other party’s concerned question.

He raised his head and saw Mu Chen looking at him in confusion.

“It’s nothing…”

Light released his hand, and every inch of skin he had touched on the other person felt like it was ablaze, turning scorching hot. His restless fingers curled slightly, yet Light himself was unaware of it. He simply thought that as long as he quickly regained a calm expression, Mu Chen wouldn’t notice anything unusual about him.

But little did he know that he had already become the other party’s prey.

Mu Chen saw all of Light’s little movements. He found it funny when he saw his slow look.

Gege is really an idiot…

This way their nose would touch.

Seemed like he would have to teach him a lot of things slowly in the future.

“What should I do about my mating period, then?”

Mu Chen spoke up and broke the awkward atmosphere. He stretched out his hand and held his chin, looking at Light with some worry. “A month has almost passed, but I still haven’t found a partner.”

Light, “I…”

Mu Chen blinked. “Hm?”

Light, “I will help you think of a way.”

Mu Chen slightly smiled at him with an expression that said, “Gege is really reliable.”

Light lightly coughed, then changed the subject. “How’s your face, does it still hurt? Do you want an ice pack?”

Mu Chen, “It hurts.”

He won’t let go of any chance to play the victim.

Upon hearing this, Light went to get a towel wrapped in an ice pack and carefully placed it on his face.

It was cold and very comfortable.

Mu Chen closed his eyes. “Why did Gege come to see me?”

“It’s about that rumor…” At this point, Light furrowed his brows. “I have already suppressed the rumor. You may need to come forward to clarify tomorrow.”

There must be someone secretly stirring up trouble behind this, targeting either Mu Chen or the Yigor Royal Family. As for who it was, he had already sent someone to investigate.

“Okay.”

Mu Chen obediently nodded.

After a while, he reached out his hand to touch his cheek, asking Light, “Does it look better now?”

“Mhm.”

Light lifted the towel and saw that the red mark had already faded a lot, leaving only a faint mark on the edge.

But as soon as he thought of what Vincent had done, he still unconsciously clenched his fists.

……

Inside the palace.

A pair of black eyes scanned the lines of text on the fluorescent blue screen.

Following the royal family’s scandal, another hot topic emerged on the largest forum of the Oz Empire, and it was related to one of the parties involved in the scandal. The gist of it was—

Duke Vincent, known as the “Romantic Playboy,” was attacked by masked star bandits on his way back to Anza City. After handing over the money, the masked bandits still beat him up, raising reasonable suspicion that they were hired thugs sent by a former lover.

The comment section below was extremely lively, with most people making fun of Duke Vincent.

[Omg, why is his face swollen like a pig’s head lololol]

[Lmao is this considered a beating? It’s more like a precise blow focused on the face]

[“Former lover”? If this were someone else, we might be able to narrow the scope a bit, but Vincent lololol, it’s the same as saying nothing]

[This news has so many elements that I’m about to die from laughing]

At the same time, whether intentionally or not, the forum administrator placed a royal clarification video right next to the screenshot of Vincent being beaten. In the video’s thumbnail, Mu Chen is dressed formally, smiling at the camera. The royal family even invited Kole to explain the merfolk’s unique traits and unwavering loyalty to their partners, thoroughly debunking the rumor.

The comment section immediately blew up—

[Help, how can an adult merman grow into this ahhhhhh, it has caused me mental damage! I can’t sleep without looking at him tonight. I suggest that the prince send him over to compensate me for my mental damages.]

[Lol, the plan from the above person has reached my doorsteps]

[My god, I doubted the authenticity of this rumor before, but now…damn, unless Mu Chen is blind, how could he be with this ugly guy, fuck]

[Vincent wasn’t ugly before getting beaten]

[I don’t care, all I can remember now is him being beaten into a pig’s head]

Of course, there were also some controversial comments—

[Why are people now saying that the rumor is false? Just because Vincent was beat up, does that mean they were never together?]

[Lol, is the person above stupid? Merfolks can only have one partner in their lifetime, and he has made it clear that he and Vincent aren’t in a relationship, so how can he “cheat” on him for four years but keep it purely platonic the whole time, huh? ]

There were also some shippers comment mixed in—

[I still think Baby Chen and Gege are a good match, sob, I would be very sad if they don’t get together.]

After reading these comments, Kyle threw the terminal onto the sofa and lit a cigarette for himself in annoyance. “F*ck, did this merman bewitch people?”

Katherine furrowed her brows and waved away the drifting smoke with her hand. “Don’t be too impatient. The cancellation of the engagement has already planted the seeds of suspicion among the public. Even if this rumor is suppressed for the time being, negative public opinion has already formed. If Light still delays his engagement, both the public and your father will have opinions. This is an opportunity.”

At this point, she narrowed her eyes and fixed her sight on the scene where Vincent was beaten. “And who knows what kind of trouble the merman might get into during his mating period.”

Kyle took a drag of the cigarette and muttered, “Mating period…”

A merfolks’ mating period.

Like he got some kind of inspiration, Kyle’s pupils flashed a sinister look.

……

A series of brisk footsteps were heard in the study.

“Did you see the news?” Lance pulled out a newspaper from who knows where and spread it out in front of Light with a loud smack. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think this was some orc special effects from a movie. Judging by the looks of it, it’ll take at least a month or two to fully recover, hahaha! What kind of star bandits are this nasty? If they’re going to rob someone, just rob them. If they’re going to beat someone, then just beat them; did they really have to target his face?”

While he was speaking, Light scanned the newspaper, then lightly said, “He deserved it.”

Lance couldn’t contain his smile. He raised a brow at Light and said in a meaningful tone, “Da-ge, you really don’t know who that star bandit is? How can there be such a coincidence, don’t you say?”

Light raised his gaze, but didn’t answer Lance directly, nor did he refute his words, which was a disguised admission.

He glanced at the newspaper from the corner of his eye—only his face was swollen. He had already told them to be lenient, otherwise, it would be hard to say whether he would be able to get out of bed for a month or two.

Lance accidentally glanced at Light’s terminal screen and noticed that it wasn’t military documents that gave him a headache, butmany photos. He asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

Light, “Helping Mu Chen find a suitable partner.”

Lance made two “tsk tsk” sounds. “What is this, a blind date? There are only three to four days left at most. Is it possible to pick one in such a short time?”

Light gaze froze. His concerns were no less than Lance’s. It was unrealistic to find a lifelong partner in such a short time, but when he recalled how unwell Mu Chen looked during the last mating period, he felt anxious.

This current situation was as headache-inducing as facing an unsolvable puzzle.

Lance, “How about…”

“You do it, Da-ge.”

The atmosphere turned silent for a moment.

Light furrowed his brows. “What did you say?”

Lance choked before whispering, “You see, back then, he clearly had someone he liked, but it was you, Da-ge, who stopped him from pursuing it. Now his mating period has arrived, what if he picks another guy like Vincent? And since you care about him so much, when the time comes, you’ll be even angrier. So, it’s better for you…”

Light, “I’m his older brother.”

Lance muttered in a voice that no one could hear, “It’s not like you guys are real brothers.”

Light, “What did you say?”

Lance let out a loud “Oh” and “sewn” his mouth shut with his hand. “Nothing.”

……

Light spent the whole afternoon looking at the files, and by the end, he was so annoyed that he didn’t want to think about anything else except swiping left.

It wasn’t until Kuina came over to remind him to eat dinner that he rubbed his nose in exhaustion and got up from his seat.

The electronic clock on the wall made a tick-tock, tick-tock sound, reminding Light that another day had passed.

And up until now, the progress of helping Mu Chen find a partner was still zero.

Light paced back and forth in the room anxiously before finally deciding to go find Mu Chen first. At the very least, he needed to explain the situation to him.

When he pushed open the door, Mu Chen’s bedroom seemed very quiet.

It was so quiet that it felt a little strange.

In the dim light, Light heard a light breathing sound. Through the gap of the door, he saw Mu Chen lying on the bed with his clothes on. His pale cheeks were sunken in the mattress, and the corners of his eyes were abnormally red. He looked very anxious, biting his lips anxiously, which left deep and shallow bloody marks.

Light could even smell the blood when he got closer.

Looking at the scene in front, Light’s pupils narrowed.

He realized that Mu Chen’s mating period had arrived.

It happened a lot sooner than he had expected.

Mu Chen was still playing in the pool just this morning. When he saw him, he deliberately splashed water on him with his fish tail, saying something like, “I don’t find dating that great at all. If I can’t find someone, then so be it. Anyway, with you staying by my side, I won’t be bored.” He looked carefree.

And right now, the countless bloody wounds on the other party’s lips looked shocking.

Light reached out his hand to pry open Mu Chen’s lips, his thumb pressed against his canine teeth. “Stop biting.”

Mu Chen slightly raised his eyes. He gritted Light’s fingertip with his teeth like a puppy, and the wet touch made the latter’s knuckles stiffen for a moment.

He unclearly mumbled, “But…I feel so uncomfortable.”

Light pulled out his finger and stroked the scab on the corner of the other person’s lips, there was a flash of pity in his eyes. He asked, “Is there a way to make you feel a bit better?”

“Um. “ Mu Chen thought about it, then very slowly said, “Can you let me hug you for a while?”

Light didn’t seem to react for a second. “What?”

Mu Chen’s words made him suddenly turn stiff, and his thoughts became confused.

What he needed was the comfort of his partner during his mating period, so why would he say this to him?

“Didn’t you ask if there’s a way to make me feel better?” Mu Chen buried half his face in the bed and dragged out his words, “It would be less painful if I could smell Gege’s scent.”

“Can’t Gege stay and accompany me?”

Light didn’t immediately respond.

The room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

After a while, Mu Chen heard the rustling sound of the mattress, and the area beside him sank.

Light took off his jacket and lay down, his movements were still a bit stiff, but he still slowly leaned closer to Mu Chen. “Is this fine?”

“Mhm.” The corner of Mu Chen’s lips curled up slightly…

Gege is such a pushover.

Mu Chen reached out his hands to wrap them around Light’s waist and buried his face in the hollow of his neck; the familiar smell was particularly reassuring.

The man seemed unused to being treated like this.

Mu Chen could clearly feel Light’s back was very tense, as was his abdomen.

Light’s fingers unconsciously tightened.

Besides the accident during the last mating period, he had never been hugged like this by Mu Chen since the other party became an adult.

Unlike the once soft and clingy little merman who loved to cuddle and act spoiled, the young man had grown into a strong and powerful figure, exuding a sense of toughness and latent aggression. Even through the thin fabric, Light could feel the smooth muscle lines of Mu Chen’s muscles. His long, powerful arms were wrapped tightly around Light’s waist.

Just when he was in a daze, he felt a warm touch on his neck.

Like an electric shock, the sudden stimulation made Light tense up his waist like a dehydrated fish.

Seeing this, Mu Chen lifted the corner of his lips…

His waist and neck are that sensitive?

Of course he didn’t stop biting either.

His flexible lips repeatedly caressed that area of neck flesh.

Rather, it was more like sucking than biting.

Ticklish.

It both hurt and felt ticklish…

Light unconsciously clenched his fists, causing several wrinkles on the hem of Mu Chen’s shirt. He spoke in a restrained voice—

“Don’t…”

Mu Chen, “What’s wrong, Gege?”

Light, “It’s ticklish.”

Mu Chen, “But…”

“What if I can’t control it? My teeth feel uncomfortable, but Gege told me not to bite.” At this point, Mu Chen scooted back aggrievedly. “Then I’ll just bite myself…”

“Don’t bite your lips.”

Light furrowed his brows and directly interrupted him.

Thinking back to his scarred lips, he felt as if someone was squeezing his heart.

The atmosphere was silent for a while. Light closed his eyes as if he was compromising. “If you…really feel uncomfortable, then bite…”

Mu Chen curled the corner of his lips at an angle where Light couldn’t see. “What?”

Light’s lips were closed tightly, then he stiffly squeezed out a word, “Me.”

In the next second, he felt the warm touch again.

Mu Chen lightly held that area of flesh, feeling the tense muscle of the person in his arms, and he curled his eyes.

“Gege is the best.”