Chapter 152
Chapter 152: Love at First Sight—We’re Doomed. I Dreamed He Wrapped Around Me
Jiang Tea Tea curled her fingers into a fist and waved it at Sui Xuan Chu. “I’ll give you a punch. In your dreams, anything is possible.”
Sui Xuan Chu instinctively leaned his head back to avoid the swinging fist. “You vicious woman. If it weren’t for the cub in your belly, I could punch you into the wall so deep they’d have to dig you out. Believe it or not?”
Jiang Tea Tea shot back, “Oh wow, I’m terrified. My heart skipped a beat. You know what? I’ll tell your uncle you threatened me and I’m unhappy. Do you think he’ll add ten more people to train you tomorrow?”
Sui Xuan Chu made an exaggerated sound of disbelief. “Roommate, you’ve changed. You’ve learned to act spoiled because you’re favored.”
Jiang Tea Tea shuddered so hard goosebumps broke out along her arms. “Act spoiled because I’m favored? What kind of soul-killing phrase is that? I’ll give you one chance to redo that sentence. If you don’t, I’m going to complain to your uncle and make your life miserable.”
Sui Xuan Chu’s expression flipped instantly. He leaned closer, eyes wide with a suddenly sincere look. “My roommate, you’re beautiful, you’re fierce, you’re so cool—surely you won’t stoop to my level, right?”
He was scared. He was scared of exactly one person in this world.
His uncle.
Defy him? Impossible.
Jiang Tea Tea snorted. “Depends on my mood. If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll complain. I’m alone—who am I afraid of?”
Sui Xuan Chu threw up his hands at once. “Fine, fine. I’m afraid of you. But seriously—one night with my uncle and you got pregnant. That’s unprecedented in the golden dragon family. One of a kind.”
Then his eyes gleamed with horrifying hope. “So after this cub is born, can you aim for two in three years, three in seven years, five in ten years—”
Jiang Tea Tea shoved his forehead and pushed him away. “Stop. You already said this fantasy to my face once. Don’t bring it up again. It doesn’t match your crown prince status.”
Sui Xuan Chu blinked, stunned. “I already said it? Why don’t I remember? Did training beat me stupid?”
He clasped his hands in prayer like he was about to call down divine intervention. “Beast God above, roommate, when you go back, tell my uncle to let me rest for two days and sleep in a bed. I really don’t want to sleep in the medical pod anymore. I don’t want to deal with that sticky treatment fluid.”
Jiang Tea Tea took another bite of grilled meat, watched his miserable face, and finally shoved a huge chunk into his mouth.
“Eat,” she said. “Eat and then go sleep. Tomorrow will be tomorrow.”
Sui Xuan Chu sniffled and gnawed at the meat like it had personally betrayed him.
Jiang Tea Tea kept feeding him anyway—meat, seafood, vegetables, drinks—anything she could get her hands on. She grilled like she was trying to fatten him up for slaughter.
After midnight, Sui Xuan Chu started burping and couldn’t force down another bite.
That was when a soft cough sounded behind them.
A low voice followed, calm but unmistakable. “You two, it’s past midnight. Dawn is only a few hours away. Are you planning to sleep?”
Jiang Tea Tea looked up.
Chong Ming stood there.
She pointed at Sui Xuan Chu without thinking. “Tonight I’m sleeping with him—”
“I’m going to sleep right now,” Sui Xuan Chu blurted, cutting her off before she could finish. He shot to his feet like his legs were on fire. “Immediately. Right now.”
He fled the kitchen faster than a rabbit, not even daring to glance back.
“Good night, Imperial Uncle! Good night, roommate! See you tomorrow! Tomorrow, tomorrow!”
Who would dare sleep with her?
His uncle’s gaze was terrifying.
Like he’d stolen something that belonged to him.
Sui Xuan Chu didn’t wait around long enough to get killed for it.
Jiang Tea Tea stayed sitting on her stool and watched the traitor run. She let out a short laugh and accused, “Chong Ming, Your Highness, you scared off my eating buddy.”
Chong Ming walked to her side and crouched. He pulled out a pair of slippers and a towel as if he’d planned this.
Then he reached for her feet. “Put these on. Go back to sleep.”
Jiang Tea Tea yanked her feet away and stood up. “I’m not wearing them. I like being barefoot.”
As a tree, stepping on the earth in human form meant she could absorb nutrients. Spiritual energy. The planet’s gift. Shoes were unnecessary.
She strode out as she spoke, light on her feet.
Behind her, Chong Ming didn’t insist.
But his eyes softened with quiet amusement—as if her refusal sounded like sulking.
He followed in a black robe, carrying the slippers in one hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The Imperial Palace past midnight was lit bright as day. Every path, every corridor, every stretch of stone and wall gleamed clean enough to reflect light.
Guards, stewards, and staff stared openly as Chong Ming strolled behind Jiang Tea Tea, slippers in hand, gaze fixed on her back.
They looked like their eyes might fall out of their heads.
They couldn’t reconcile the image: the iron-handed Commander-in-Chief who made the Zhen Lin Empire prosperous and untouchable… carrying fuzzy slippers for someone like a doting husband.
When the pair disappeared around a turn, the staff on duty gathered in a quiet corner, whispering in stunned excitement.
“Are we about to have a wedding in the Imperial Palace?”
“I’ve never seen His Highness act like this. He was carrying those slippers like treasure. His eyes were on her the entire time. That’s insane.”
“If someone filmed that and posted it, Starnet would crash in ten seconds.”
“I always thought the Commander-in-Chief lived in the clouds—cold, untouched by romance. But when he falls for someone… he’s ridiculously doting.”
“Wasn’t there a Starnet poll about who would stay single longer—our Commander-in-Chief or the chief executive of Da Xi Nation?”
“Our Commander-in-Chief was winning by a landslide. No one could shake it. And now he’s the first one to have a goal.”
“Exactly. He’s in his prime and his power level is high. Once he marries, he won’t need ten or twenty years to have cubs. Three to five years, and this place will be noisy.”
“Quiet,” someone hissed. “Confidentiality.”
“Right, right. We can talk inside the Imperial Palace. Outside, we all signed the highest secrecy pact.”
They weren’t wrong. In the Imperial Palace, Chong Ming having someone he was pursuing—and that person living in the same residence—wasn’t a secret.
Everyone who worked here had their family histories checked five generations back, signed confidentiality agreements, and passed investigation after investigation before being allowed through the gates.
They could gossip in the break room.
But the moment they stepped out, their mouths locked shut.
Jiang Tea Tea returned to her residence, rushed into the bathroom, and washed up again. When she came out, the main lights were off. Only a small lamp glowed.
She glanced around and didn’t see Chong Ming.
Relief loosened her shoulders.
Then she climbed into bed and saw it.
Half the bed was already occupied.
Chong Ming was in his half-dragon, half-human form again, his dragon body draped along the mattress like he owned it.
Jiang Tea Tea’s scalp tingled.
She couldn’t look at him like this. The moment she did, hunger slammed into her. Craving. That awful thirst.
“You—”
“You sleep yours,” Chong Ming said softly, cutting her off. “I’ll sleep mine.”
Jiang Tea Tea narrowed her eyes. “And you won’t touch me?”
“We won’t touch.” His voice stayed calm, almost gentle. “It’s also easier for me to soothe you with my ability.”
The bed was large enough. If neither of them deliberately crossed the line, they wouldn’t bump into each other.
And it was already past midnight. Morning was close.
Jiang Tea Tea was exhausted. Under the steady pressure of his psychic force soothing, her body finally unknotted.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Sleep.”
Chong Ming’s lips curved faintly. “Sleep.”
Jiang Tea Tea pulled up her blanket and closed her eyes.
Immediately, her mind filled with the image of his half-dragon, half-human form—those golden eyes fixed on her, silent and intent.
She stared back in her dream.
And somehow she became her original form: a massive tea tree with thick branches and lush leaves.
Chong Ming—half-dragon, half-human—wrapped his dragon body around her trunk. He climbed upward, scales rubbing against bark, hands stroking her leaves, coiling tighter and tighter until her trunk vanished beneath him.
Then he opened his mouth and started eating her leaves.
“Ah!”
Jiang Tea Tea jolted awake with a scream.
“What’s wrong?” Chong Ming’s voice followed instantly. “A nightmare?”
She sat up hard, spun, and faced him.
Chong Ming was already up, dressed in a crisp military uniform, long hair tied back. Two golden horns rose from his head, and his golden eyes were tight with concern.
Jiang Tea Tea stared at him, heart pounding so violently it shook her ribs.
How ridiculous.
As a demon, dreaming of food shouldn’t mean getting eaten by the food.
Absurd. Completely absurd.
“Jiang Tea Tea.” Chong Ming knelt on the bed and reached for her forehead. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Jiang Tea Tea jerked her head aside, dodging his hand. Her breath came fast and rough. “I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”
Chong Ming’s hand hovered for a moment before he slowly withdrew it. “My fault. I got up too early. Tomorrow I’ll try to match your schedule.”
“No.” Jiang Tea Tea refused immediately. “Get up when you need to. Just keep the soothing going. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Her body clock was already late compared to his. She didn’t need him bending himself into knots for her.
Chong Ming’s gaze dimmed slightly. “All right. Catch your breath. Get up slowly.”
Jiang Tea Tea forced herself to breathe, steadied her heartbeat, washed up, and left without eating breakfast.
She messaged Sui Xuan Chu.
She didn’t say a word to Chong Ming.
She didn’t let him escort her.
She slipped away fast enough to feel like she was escaping.
Sui Xuan Chu was already in training at dawn when she dragged him off the field and shoved him into the passenger seat of the flyer.
He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered dramatically. “Roommate, you’re carrying the golden dragon family’s hope. My uncle won’t hit you… but he really will hit me.”
Jiang Tea Tea drove and side-eyed him. “You’re the golden dragon family’s inheritance. What are you scared of?”
“I’m scared of getting hit,” Sui Xuan Chu said bleakly.
His uncle didn’t hit lightly.
Jiang Tea Tea clicked her tongue. “Stop shaking. I’ve got you.”
Sui Xuan Chu’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Really.” Jiang Tea Tea nodded hard. “When we get to school, I’ll message him and say we’re staying in the dorms a few days. Tell him not to pick us up at night.”
Sui Xuan Chu was about to cheer—
Then his gaze slid past the window, and his face went pale.
He lifted a trembling hand and pointed, voice shaking. “Sister Tea… you don’t need to message him at school.”
Jiang Tea Tea turned her head.
A flyer was flying perfectly parallel to theirs.
In the driver’s seat, Chong Ming glanced over, expression unreadable.
Sui Xuan Chu swallowed hard. “My uncle is right beside you. You can tell him face-to-face that we’re not going home tonight.”