Sorry this is late again, I've had troubles with insomnia. I decided sticking to a routine was most important, and my mental health is better now, thankfully š
***
Klaireās proposal scene was extremely grand, so the scale of his wedding naturally couldnāt fall behind.
The royal family had strict ceremonial rules for a princeās wedding. Today, Xi Wei was forced to wear heavy and complicated royal formal attire and wait for Klaire to meet him in the palace.
He held his temper until Klaire arrived, and then the two of them met the king and queen in the palace main hall. The wedding procession flew around the capital planet with power and momentum.
Actually, Xi Wei hadnāt wanted to make such a big fuss out of his wedding. The way he saw it, a wedding was just like the one Carlo and Aiden had, where their two families sat down for a meal and were done with it. But His Majesty didnāt agree. The eldest prince was finally getting married, so His Majesty just had to hold a grand wedding to celebrate. Xi Wei couldnāt do anything but follow his fatherās arrangements.
The banquet was terribly extravagant. His Majesty expansively booked the capital planetās most high-class floating hotel, and even invited more than a thousand guests.
As soon as Xi Wei arrived at the reception, he got a splitting headache. Klaire smiled and said in his ear, āItās the occasion of a lifetime, so just grin and bear it. The important thing is that our families are happy, so we have to work with them a bit.ā
Xi Wei said helplessly, āWhat else can I do.ā
The friends of the royal family and their colleagues in the military filled the banquet hall with a crowd. Klaire and Xi Wei held their wine glasses and took turns giving toasts, until their legs felt weak beneath them.
After theyād finally made it through the banquet, the two of them flew Egret and Bluestar back to Klaireās home.
It was a tradition in the empire for an alpha to live alone together with his wife after marriage. This way it was easier for the two of them to grow close, as well as for them to successfully get through their first heat.
Klaire had picked this courtyard out himself. It faced the sun and had plenty of light, and a large villa sat in the middle. There were bright flowers and green trees planted all around, and as soon as you walked in, you felt like the air was fresher.
Klaire and Xi Wei walked into the villa hand in hand. The living room had a simple design. The stairs were made of the real wood Xi Wei liked, the walls were painted a warm hue, and the curtains were Xi Weiās favorite shade of blue. Their bedroom had clearly been meticulously decorated. The bed was huge enough for them to roll around on it without any worries, and everything was arranged according to Xi Weiās preferences. It looked very heartwarming.
Xi Wei felt a little moved, and couldnāt help but pat Klaire on the shoulder, saying, smiling, āItās been hard on you.ā
āThatās as it should be.ā Klaire hugged Xi Wei easily, and said lowly in his ear, āWeāve gotten married just like that. Doesnāt it feel not quite real?ā
Xi Wei nodded. āOf course. Even in my dreams, I never thought of getting married to a man.ā
āItās too late to regret it.ā
āI wonāt regret it.ā Xi Wei said firmly, āWe two know each other inside and out. Getting together and spending our lives this way is pretty good.ā
When he heard this, Klaire couldnāt resist smiling.
Xi Wei said it right. There was no one out there who had an understanding like the one they had between them. They could probably adapt to a life of caring for each other pretty quickly. It was just that...the problem of Xi Weiās heat, that came along with his identity as an omega, was still as big of an obstacle as before.
When he thought of this, Klaire couldnāt resist saying softly in Xi Weiās ear, āWhat are your plans for tonight? Do you want to sleep in separate rooms, or give it a try?ā
Xi Wei: ā...ā
Klaire said it straight out. Since theyād already gotten married, it wouldnāt be good for Xi Wei to avoid this question anymore. He could only throw caution to the wind, look up and stare at Klaire, and say, āLetās try it.ā
With his expression, he looked like a martyr walking up to the gallows.
Klaire was rocked to laughter by Xi Weiās expression. He couldnāt help but reach out and softly stroke his hair. He said, āItās not as scary as you think. Iāll be gentle, donāt worry.ā
Xi Wei gave Klaire a glum stare. In the wedding night he had dreamed of, heād have a cute girl as his bride, and heād hold her gently and do this and that with her. Now, not only had he himself become the bride, but he had to let his best friend hold him and do this and that with him. There was simply no way to happily pass the night anymore!
Klaire saw his angry face, and couldnāt help but laugh and say, āDonāt be mad, worst comes to worst, Iāll let you top, okay?ā
Xi Wei humphed. He felt like that idea wasnāt bad.
Xi Wei had always had a straightforward personality. Heād never been a coy, shy kind of person. Since theyād decided to try it, they might as well get down to business and start.
But it was necessary to clean themselves up first. After all, theyād toasted their way around the room at the reception, so now their bodies stunk of alcohol.
Klaire had thoughtfully asked Bluestar to fill the bathtub with warm water earlier on. Afterwards, he held Xi Weiās hand and walked towards the bathtub. The bathroom was quite large, and the bathtub was luxurious enough to easily fit the two men. Klaire had been thinking of washing each other like a proper married couple, but Xi Wei strictly rejected him. Xi Wei felt that itād be too weird for two grown men to take a bath together, and heād be more comfortable washing alone.
Klaire didnāt force it, smiled and let Xi Wei have the reign of the bathroom.
Xi Wei quickly finished bathing, came out, and then rushed Klaire in to bathe.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for Klaire to finish his bath, Xi Wei felt his thoughts run amok. He felt that tonight, heād experience something that would turn his world upside down. But what could he do? He wasnāt a little kid anymore, and theyād already gotten married. It was their wedding night. They couldnāt just hold hands, pull up the covers and do nothing but chat, could they?
He was a normal man, and he had physical drives too. Although the demands of his libido fell a bit far from the real-life circumstancesā¦
While his thoughts were running wild, Klaire finished his bath and came out.
This guy was actually pretty handsome. Xi Wei especially liked his beautiful golden hair, and on top of that, his body was slender and well-proportioned. When he walked towards Xi Wei wiping his hair, with his bathrobe half open, the picture he made was actually quite tempting.
Klaire stood still in front of Xi Wei, and seeing how Xi Wei was looking at him, he went and sat down next to him, reached out and hugged him, and rubbed the top of Xi Weiās head with his chin. He said in a low voice, āCouldnāt wait anymore?ā
Xi Wei rolled his eyes. āCanāt you talk properly? Donāt you feel cheesy saying that?ā
Klaire smiled, took hold of Xi Weiās waist, and kissed him gently.
ā¦ā¦
ā¦ā¦
ā¦ā¦
The early morning sunlight spilled quietly into the room. After Xi Wei woke up, he went to get a hot shower, and found that heād already been cleaned up. He couldnāt help but internally praise Klaireās attentiveness. After he washed up and brushed his teeth, he went to the dining room to eat in glowing spirits.
Klaire had already made breakfast, so Xi Wei went ahead and dug in. He hadnāt eaten properly for three days, and he was starving. Even after eating two fried eggs, his stomach still felt empty as anything.
Seeing the big beast getting his energy back, Klaire couldnāt help but smile a bit. He passed him a plate of freshly-baked bread.
After he finished his breakfast, Xi Wei said, āI have to go back to the palace to see my mother. I havenāt come back for three days since we got married, she must be worried.ā
Klaire said, āWe should. Iāll go back with you.ā
Xi Wei left to change. After he changed and came out, he found that Klaire had put a box of medicine and a glass of warm water on the table.
āWhatās this?ā When Xi Wei picked it up for a look, he soon recognized the pills. These were the morning-after pills the Underground Alliance had developed a while ago. According to what the doctor said, they gave pretty good contraceptive results.
Klaire walked over and gently stroked Xi Weiās hair. He said, āI think you probably donāt want to have a baby this soon. Permanent markings have a high pregnancy rate. To be safe, youād better take a morning-after pill.ā
He really was the one who understood him the most. Xi Wei looked at the gentle smile on Klaireās face, and couldnāt help but feel moved.
He really didnāt want to have children this fast. Xi Wei had just mentally adapted to Klaire having him, and that was already quite hard. If you wanted him to get pregnant and have a baby right now, that would just be making things difficult for him.
Whatās more, the two of them were still young, and Xi Weiās career had just gotten started. He was in the middle of preparing for his next science-fiction movie. This wasnāt the right time to get pregnant.
Xi Wei decisively took a gulp of warm water and swallowed the pill, looked at Klaire and said, āKlaire, I want to discuss something with you.ā
āWhatās that?ā
āIs it okay if we donāt have children right now?ā Xi Wei said cautiously, āI donāt want them for at least the next five years.ā
He thought Klaire would be very disappointed, and didnāt expect that he would actually smile tenderly and reach out to stroke Xi Weiās hair, saying, āYou donāt have to feel any pressure. Iām with you because I love you, not for the sake of having offspring. If you donāt want to raise children, then we wonāt have them for now. We can have them later, after youāre mentally prepared, and can accept the idea of a man getting pregnant and having children. It wonāt be too late then; in any case, we have time.ā
Xi Wei was moved once again. He felt like his Klaire was really the most considerate alpha in the empire.
The two men returned to the palace. When the Queen found out that the son she doted on the most had gotten marked, she couldnāt help but feel a little regret. His Majesty, on the other hand, was very cheerful. He pulled Klaire to one side on the sly and said, āAre you planning to have children? Iāve already thought of the names.ā
Faced with his father-in-lawās optimism, Klaire was speechless. He laughed and said, āXi Wei doesnāt want them right now. Wait a few years, after our relationship has settled, and we can think about it then.ā
His Majesty Trand was a bit disappointed that he couldnāt be a grandfather. However, he knew Xi Weiās temper. He hadnāt been willing to get married for this many years, and it was already difficult for him to marry as he had now. He definitely wouldnāt be pleased with having children this fast.
Trand patted Klaireās shoulder and said, āAh, we spoiled Xi Wei rotten as a child. From now on, weāll need you to take charge of taking care of him.ā
āDonāt worry, Father.ā He looked at Xi Weiās face, which was full of joy upon seeing his loved ones. āHeās the one I love the most. Iāll take care of him like the treasure he is.ā
As if heād noticed Klaireās eyes on him, Xi Wei looked back at him. At the moment when their eyes met, Xi Wei couldnāt help but smile as well.
It was just a simple exchange of glances, but a thread of intense happiness rose up in Klaireās heart.
āXi Wei, you donāt know just how much I love you. We have many days ahead of us, and Iāll always be at your side. Iāll let you understand, slowly, that to me, you are my world.
***
2 hours and 52 minutes, for 2,147 words, or 8 minutes for every 100 words.
If you like this translation, please consider encouraging me on Ko-fi! Extra chapter for every two ko-fis š
| |