It was a problem that was easy to figure out, yet it troubled him for seven whole years.
His inner inferiority complex limited his thinking, making him feel sorry for himself and believe that everything Tang Xun did for him was a pretense.
Only now do we realize that the other party has never changed from beginning to end.
She's still that same stubborn, yet easily moved-to-tears little coward.
She was also the little prince who, after becoming familiar with him, became completely uninhibited and constantly made him break down.
After a long while, Mu Xinglin gently pushed Tang Xun away, wiped away the tears on Tang Xun's face with his fingers, and said.
"I don't need an apology."
He lost his mother at a young age and at five years old, he struggled in the slums, fighting with stray dogs for food. His legs were broken by a butcher, and he could only crawl.
Finally, an angelic noble child offered him a helping hand.
But behind his back, he set fire to the gasoline in the warehouse.
Mu Xinglin spent more than a decade abandoning hope, plunging into darkness, and becoming a member of the interstellar pirates, committing arson, murder, plunder, and all sorts of evil deeds.
But then, at the age of sixteen, she met this pure and innocent little prince.
Everyone longs for clean and warm things.
Mu Xinglin was no exception.
It was only a matter of time before it fell.
But he knew he wasn't good enough for her.
That's why she missed out on Tang Xun for a full seven years.
Now, he has been completely transformed and stands before Tang Xun.
Finally mustering her courage, she grabbed Tang Xun by the back of the neck and kissed him forcefully.
As their lips parted, trembling eyelashes lightly brushed against their skin, and Tang Xun's image was reflected in Mu Xinglin's dark green eyes.
He said, "This is what I need."
Do you understand?
Chapter 34
The villain was resurrected for the seventh time (34)
Tang Xun was stunned.
Looking at Mu Xing's face so close to hers, she unconsciously pursed her lips.
His face flushed bright red.
He instinctively tried to step back, but couldn't move an inch.
"Brother Xinglin, this joke of yours went a bit too far..."
He recalled that seven years ago, although the two slept in the same bed, Mu Xinglin always liked to forcefully press down on him and tease him.
But no matter what this person said, he never actually did anything out of line to him.
Now, caught off guard by this unexpected kiss, he naturally panicked.
Mu Xinglin gripped his waist, offering no explanation, but instead asking, "Who is the person in your heart?"
Tang Xun looked away; his mind was actually quite confused as well.
He has a simple social life and rarely attends gatherings after returning to China to recover from his medical treatment.
Because I always feel somewhat out of place with the people around me.
Just like the three years he spent wandering around with Mu Xinglin, the scenery he saw and the things he experienced were what he truly wanted.
At that time, he was not a prince; he was a prisoner, an ordinary person, and Mu Xinglin would protect him.
But they never indulged him. Together they saw the most pristine scenery on remote planets, visited the poorest tribes, and helped poor refugees.
Even after parting ways with Mu Xinglin, that period of time would not be easily forgotten by him.
In his eyes, there is no distinction between beauty and ugliness, nobility and lowliness, and he never looked down on Mu Xinglin's appearance.
She was never afraid of Mu Xinglin's face.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed the other person into their dreams.
But is this what it means to like someone?
He didn't know.
Seeing his hesitation, Mu Xinglin relaxed his grip and created some distance between himself and Tang Xun.
He said, "I won't force you to answer this question."
"I just need you to know that you have always been the only one in my heart, and I have thought about you for seven years."
Now, I've finally come to your side and we're engaged.
"As for whether or not you will get married in the future, that's up to you. After all, didn't your mother say there's still a month to get to know each other?"
"If you change your mind within this month, I will leave."
After saying that, he turned and went to the bathroom.
All that was left for Tang Xun was his back.
That night, Tang Xun couldn't sleep.
He and Mu Xinglin still shared the same bed.
However, the bed here is big enough, a full five meters wide, so the two of them can sit on the far left and the far right respectively, without interfering with each other, so it's not awkward.
Perhaps Tang Xun's constant tossing and turning disturbed Mu Xinglin, for the man couldn't help but speak.
“If you’re worried about what I might do to you, I can go sleep in another room.”
"No!" Tang Xun was both anxious and regretful. He said, "Brother Xinglin, that's not what I meant."
He turned his head to look at Mu Xinglin's beautiful profile under the warm yellow indoor light, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and said.
"I'm really not used to you the way you are now, and I... I can't really explain it."
"I don't know what my feelings are for you. There's no one else in my heart. In the past seven years, the only person I've missed is you."
"But all I can think about is... your old face. You are very beautiful now, but you feel unfamiliar to me..."
"And you came here disguised as Princess Mulan. If you're discovered, it will affect the diplomatic relations between our two countries. Besides, you're a man. If you dress up as a woman, you're not yourself. The appearance isn't yours, the identity isn't yours. To put it another way, this isn't even a marriage between you and me..."
"Hey, am I rambling too much? If you don't understand, just consider it nonsense."
After he finished speaking, the room remained quiet for a long time.
It was so quiet that they could almost hear each other breathing.
"I understand." The sound of clothes rubbing against the bedding came, and before Tang Xun could react, he felt a weight on his waist and a shadow was cast in front of him. Mu Xinglin was sitting on his waist.
Beautiful golden curls cascaded down, creating a contrast of light and shadow on the man's face.
Mu Xinglin leaned down to look at Tang Xun, his eyes filled with surprise and helplessness.
"Little coward, can I take that as you liking me, liking me so much that you don't want me to stand by your side in someone else's place?"
"Moreover, your affection for me even surpasses your distinction between human beauty and ugliness."
"You only like me, Mu Xinglin, as a person, regardless of my appearance or status."
"Is that right?"
"Huh?" Tang Xun's mouth was half open, his eyes blank. "I... did that mean?"
"That's what I mean," Mu Xinglin said with a smile that lingered on his lips. "Moreover, your words also implied a marriage proposal."
"It's that line, 'You're a man, so dressing up as a woman means you're not yourself anymore. Your appearance isn't yours, your identity isn't yours, and frankly, this isn't a marriage between you and me at all…' Conversely, isn't it basically saying, 'You want to marry me after you've regained your identity?'"
Tang Xun was completely caught in Mu Xinglin's trap!
And when he recalled it, he realized that his words, one after another, were indeed what Mu Xinglin understood to mean!
There's absolutely no way to refute it!
Her entire face turned completely red.
He stammered, "Propose... propose... I don't know, I'm sorry, Xinglin, my mind is a bit muddled right now..."
"It's okay, I'll stay calm." Mu Xinglin leaned down and kissed Tang Xun's forehead, then rolled over and said, "I'll give you time to adjust."
Tang Xun was left alone, and his head ached from thinking about it. He finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.
They have a long future ahead of them, and this time they have plenty of time to sort out their feelings.
Chapter 35
The villain was resurrected for the seventh time (35)
Yu Tang's fever lasted for half a month.
He suffered, but Yu Xiao was delighted.
Half a month later, Yu Xiao made two small figurines out of the pearls she had collected during that time, and proudly displayed them in front of Yu Tang to show off. Yu Tang blushed and immediately reached out and flicked Yu Xiao's forehead until it turned red.
Afterwards, Yu Xiao suggested to Yu Tang that the Merfolk be brought to Losa City. Although Yu Tang still had concerns, he still agreed.
The two set off for the sea they had left behind, only to find that the merfolk were scattered and broken. The king and queen had been captured, and only one or two merfolk had managed to escape. When they saw Yu Xiao, they cursed him.
They say he's the one who betrayed the merfolk! Otherwise, the fishing submarine wouldn't have been able to find them so quickly!
Yu Tang calmed the merman down and made assurances to him before he boarded the spaceship.
Yu Xiao's expression turned cold: "Tangtang, I guess Xu Lanzhe was followed when he came to pick us up that day."
"Recently, the political situation in the Oro Empire has been quite turbulent. With Prince Xu and the Queen on one side, it's natural that some people are taking advantage of the chaos to sabotage things. The most urgent task is to find out who took the merfolk away..."
Yu Tang said, "It could be nobles within the Oro Empire, or it could be people from the Jersey Empire research base that Mu Xinglin mentioned. The worst-case scenario is that the two sides join forces and use this incident as a trigger to explode..."
As it turned out, Yu Tang's guess was correct.