Transmigration:The Villain Wants A Happy End Without His BeastHusbands-Chapter 23: Though I Prefer Lover

Ningyan ate like someone afraid the food would vanish if he slowed down.

Rice stuck to his lips. Soup sloshed over the edge of the bowl. His hands trembled as he shoved one bite after another into his mouth, barely chewing.

He would have died.

The thought wouldn’t leave him alone.

If Yan Wuhen and Rong Yue hadn’t appeared.. if they’d been even a moment later, he would’ve been just another body rotting in the Drift Forest. Torn apart. Forgotten.

The novel wasn’t vague about its cruelty.

It was vivid. Bloody. Real.

This wasn’t a good idea.

He had to be strong. He needed to be strong. But what could he do without turning to the male leads or doing the very thing he had sworn never to do?

Could he really hold off from following Book Ningyan’s route?

Could he actually reach a happy ending without the male leads in his life?

Ningyan wanted to scream.

Instead, he shoved more food into his mouth.

"I don’t think the food is going to suddenly get up and run away, Yan’er."

Ningyan froze.

He swallowed hard and looked up.

Yan Wuhen stood by the doorway, smiling faintly. His red-gold eyes lingered on Ningyan’s freshly bathed form. The white night robe loose around his shoulders, damp hair clinging to his neck, cheeks still faintly flushed from heat and stress.

Ningyan clicked his tongue and went right back to eating. "It’s called stress eating."

He lifted the soup bowl and drank straight from it.

Wuhen raised a brow, amused, and crossed the room with unhurried steps before sitting across from him.

Ningyan lowered the bowl more carefully this time.

"...Thank you," he said quietly.

Wuhen blinked.

Ningyan didn’t meet his eyes. "For tonight."

Then, just as calmly, "Though I almost died because of you."

Silence stretched.

"The spirit mate chain exceeded six hours," Ningyan continued, his voice tight. "I was already halfway to the afterlife. But if you hadn’t come... Rong Chen would’ve killed me."

Wuhen exhaled slowly.

"I didn’t expect you to break academy rules so soon," he said. "Let alone by stabbing your brother."

Ningyan’s grip tightened around his chopsticks. "I don’t regret it."

That earned him a long, measuring look.

"Rong Yue will handle Rong Chen," Wuhen said eventually. "He crossed a line. Hunting humans for sport, using you as bait."

Ningyan’s stomach twisted.

"He enjoyed it," he muttered. "That’s why he did it."

Wuhen nodded once. "You could’ve used my name."

Ningyan looked up sharply.

"You mean announce to the academy that I’m your sex slave?" he snapped. "Would that make my life easier?"

Wuhen let out a low and unbothered laugh and pushed the table aside with one hand.

It slid away effortlessly.

The next moment, he was moving. Crawling closer.

His fingers wrapped around Ningyan’s wrist, his pulse steady against his skin.

"Careful, Yan’er," he murmured, his red-gold eyes gleaming. "Words like that invite consequences."

Ningyan didn’t struggle. He simply rolled his eyes at the prince. "Sex slave, it is,"

Yan Wuhen had healed every visible injury from today’s chaos as if it were nothing.

And the memory of him ripping through a tiger guard without hesitation... of nearly killing Rong Chen without caring what kind of war it might ignite made his chest tighten.

"Call yourself whatever you want, Yan’er," Wuhen murmured, fingers brushing along Ningyan’s cheek. "Though I prefer lover."

Ningyan’s eyes widened.

"That’s too far." He yanked his wrist free. "I already told you this isn’t affection."

"I know," Wuhen said calmly.

Then he grabbed Ningyan by the waist and pressed him down fully onto the floor, his body settling over him with terrifying ease.

Ningyan hated how effortless it was. How his strength meant nothing here. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"You said you’d think about it," he said sharply. "So you’re going to break the spirit mate chain, right?"

Hope slipped into his voice before he could stop it.

Wuhen smiled, canines flashing. "I think you misunderstand me, Yan’er."

He leaned in until their lips were only a breath apart.

Ningyan turned his face away instantly, breathing hard.

Wuhen’s hand closed around empty air. The chain materialised in his grip.

"Look at me."

Ningyan’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. His heart pounded violently as he forced himself to turn back.

Wuhen didn’t release the chain.

"I know exactly what we are," his lips curled into a slow, satisfied smile. "Captive and captor."

Ningyan stiffened.

"But breaking this?" Wuhen brushed his nose against Ningyan’s. "That would defeat the point."

His voice dropped. "I took you to make you mine. You will be mine."

Ningyan’s fingers curled into tight fists.

"You have no choice," Wuhen drawled. "And I’ll keep reminding you, every time you forget. That you belong to me. As much as I belong to you... If you ever decide you want that."

He smiled again. "But your decision doesn’t really matter."

Fuck. He’s never letting me go. Ningyan couldn’t breathe.

Then Wuhen kissed him slowly. Not rushed. Not hungry.

Instead, it was as if he were tasting something rare and deciding whether it pleased him.

Ningyan’s chest seized.

"N.. no," he gasped, parting his lips just to breathe and Wuhen used that opening to seal their mouths together.

Ningyan froze.

His hands lifted instinctively, ready to strike but Wuhen caught his wrists easily, pinning them to the floor. His tongue brushed against Ningyan’s, unhurried, deliberate.

Ningyan’s mind screamed.

His body didn’t listen.

A broken sound slipped from his throat before he could stop it, heat pooling low in his stomach. Shame followed immediately, sharp and nauseating.

Why...

Why was he always responding?

Why did it feel like this?

His body shifted despite himself, not fighting... seeking pressure, friction.

The realization made his vision blur.

As if sensing it, Wuhen pressed closer for a brief moment, then broke the kiss.

Ningyan sucked in a shaking breath. "Don’t..."

"Mmmh?" Wuhen’s lips brushed his neck, not biting, not marking. Just there but it was enough to trigger goosebumps on his skin.

Ningyan squeezed his eyes shut.

This has to be the chain, he thought desperately. It has to be!