“I didn’t know who you were back then.” Zu An chuckled in embarrassment.
“You didn’t know who a woman was, and yet you were willing to embrace her just like that? Now that I’m someone you know, you can’t hug me anymore, is that right?” Shang Hongyu glared at him. When she saw the awkward look on his face, she couldn't help but giggle. “You’re overthinking things. The reason why I'm telling you to hold my waist is because what we just practiced is the etiquette when the Dragon King and I are in public. What we're doing now is for normal dance parties or other casual settings. After all, in everyone else’s eyes, we're deeply in love.”
Zu An keenly sensed the strangeness in her words and asked, “In everyone else’s eyes?”
Shang Hongyu sighed. “In the past, I only married the Dragon King because of the marriage tradition between our two races. Meanwhile, the Dragon King is a willful and perverted guy. He doesn’t spend much time in the palace and instead goes hunting all over the place. Tell me, how great can our affection for each other be?”
Zu An asked in confusion, “If the Dragon King is perverted and you're so pretty, why does he still run around all over the place?”
“Don’t you men all love a feeling of freshness?” Shang Hongyu gave him a resentful look.
Zu An was speechless. He didn’t know how to continue the conversation now.
Shang Hongyu continued, “Actually, it's also because the Dragon King’s preferences are a bit different...”
When he saw her clenched teeth, Zu An was suddenly interested in the drama and quickly asked, “Different?”
Shang Hongyu was really bothered beyond endurance and could only reply, “These are things that I shouldn’t tell others, but the current situation is special. Whatever, since you're going to pretend to be him, then you should know about this. Otherwise, you might end up being exposed.
“He loves to pretend to be an ordinary person, and fool around with married women of different races.”
Zu An was stunned. When he first saw him above the human capital’s skies, the Dragon King had looked decent and upright, and yet he was actually this kind of scum?
Shang Hongyu felt rather humiliated and ashamed, saying, “He likes the feeling of leading good people astray, and then he enjoys watching them struggle between the brink of morality and desire. Actually, he has already destroyed the households of many nobles and ministers. I'll tell you about these subjects too, or else it’ll be bad if you encounter them and act suspiciously.”
Zu An was bewildered. He asked, “He even touches the families of his own important subjects? Then wouldn’t they work together to overthrow him?”
“Why would they want to overthrow him?” Shang Hongyu asked in confusion. “This is a kind of honor for those ministers’ families. In particular, if they're able to give birth to the Dragon King’s progeny, that's even more amazing. Regardless of whether the illegitimate child is recognized by the Dragon race, it serves as a great help to those ministers’ families.”
Zu An was speechless. He felt as if he had heard too many shocking things here today. Wasn’t this just a bit too ridiculous?
Shang Hongyu seemed to have thought of something. She said with a smile, “Comparatively speaking, our Ocean races’ social customs are even more open than those of the Fiend races. We are indeed quite different from the human race’s viewpoint.”
Zu An thought to himself, What do you mean quite different? It’s completely opposite!
Shang Hongyu continued, “Whether it's for the sake of the entire Ocean races or for the sake of stabilizing the Dragon Palace’s power, both the Dragon King and I must express that we are in love. That way, it can prevent certain individuals from having unrealistic fantasies.”
“Are you talking about some women who want to take your position?” Zu An asked, surprised.
“It isn’t just women; it's also some men,” Shang Hongyu said.
Zu An’s eyes immediately widened.
When she saw his expression, Shang Hongyu knew right away that he had misunderstood. She said in annoyance, “It’s not what you're thinking. After those ministers learned of the Dragon King’s strange fetish, they deliberately chose beautiful women as their wives. Then, they would use all kinds of tricks to send this information to the Dragon King and wait for the Dragon King to come over and steal them. Later, they would try to promote these women to higher positions, which would bring their own clans glory and authority. If no one kept these things under control, wouldn’t the Dragon Palace become a complete mess?”
Zu An chuckled in self-mockery. At the very least, this aspect was pretty similar between the humans and the Ocean races. Even his previous world had a lot of similar situations.
“Enough already. These are all secrets kept between us as husband and wife, and yet you already know everything,” Shang Hongyu protested playfully. “You’re asking so many questions. Are you going to hug me or not?”
“Of course, I’ll do it.” Zu An was feeling a bit depressed as well. Why was this kind of feeling so strange? It was almost as if their roles were a bit swapped.
He reached over, but when he was about to touch her, his arm suddenly stopped. However, he quickly collected his thoughts. This was just a performance. He was, after all, someone who had gone through all kinds of dangerous and terrifying situations. He quickly calmed himself down and held her waist naturally. Even though this wasn’t the first time he'd done so, the sensation really was unique. He wondered if it was because of the Mermaid race’s unique talent, but her waist really was soft and slim. He could feel the astonishing flexibility and smoothness through her clothes.
Shang Hongyu blushed. Zu An's hand was hot like a blazing sun, making her entire body feel warm and comfortable. Her heart rate couldn't help but speed up too. Even so, she reacted quickly as well. She calmly gave him instructions. “Your hand shouldn’t be so rigid; be a bit more natural. Yeah, and move it a bit higher.”
As she spoke, she guided his hand to the correct position. Compared to her soft and delicate skin, Zu An’s hand was clearly rougher, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. Rather, their skin seemed to share an indescribable affinity. As his hand moved, she suddenly felt her legs grow a bit weak.
“What’s wrong?” When he saw that she was acting a little strangely, Zu An was a bit worried. He asked, “Did your injuries flare up again?”
“I’m fine.” Shang Hongyu took a deep breath to calm herself down.
Thank goodness I have my injuries as an excuse. Otherwise, it really would be way too embarrassing...
She was someone of distinguished status, after all. After reminding herself of her mission, she quickly readjusted her mood. She began to seriously guide him.
At first, the two of them tried to find some conversation to ease the awkwardness, but later, they couldn't find any more topics. They could only silently coordinate with each other using their bodies and words.
...
After a long time had passed, even Shang Hongyu’s breathing became a bit heavy. The room was full of an ambiguous mood. She quickly darted to the side, leaving his arms. There was a sweet smile on her face, and there was a mysterious expression in her eyes. She said, “Alright, you are indeed quite sharp. You were able to learn it so well so quickly.”
Zu An sighed, saying, “I'm suddenly feeling a bit of regret. I should’ve learned it all a bit slower.”
Shang Hongyu was alarmed.
If you learned it more slowly, we would have kept holding each other like that...
She immediately glared at Zu An. “Hmph, you even dare to tease your big sister. I can’t wait to see how Liuyu will lecture you later.”
Zu An immediately felt regret after saying that. He really shouldn’t have said that, but he really couldn't control his mouth. After all, he had always been like this, so it was already an instinct engraved into his bones.
The reason why Shang Hongyu had mentioned Shang Liuyu’s name was to remind him of their real relationship. He naturallly wouldn’t develop any feelings in such a short amount of time. However, they were so close to each other, and she had been the Ocean races’ number one beauty. That forbidden identity was also something that would make any normal man feel something different.
Zu An quickly collected his thoughts and coughed lightly, saying, “I’ll be going up to the deck for some fresh air.”
“Okay, I’m going too.” Shang Hongyu was also a bit flustered. She didn’t want to stay in this room, or else she would end up remembering what happened again.
The two both decided to walk to the entrance. Since the room was too narrow, however, they bumped into each other.
Shang Hongyu burst out laughing. “You seem to have forgotten to put your mask back on.”
Look at this guy, he doesn’t seem to be as calm and unbothered as he looks on the surface. Hmph, it wasn’t just me after all.
Zu An replied in annoyance, “Aren’t you the same?”
After this mutual teasing, both of them sensed that their relationship had returned to normal. They chatted with each other while putting on their disguises again.
...