Together 2

11. Bet

The next day, Xiao Zhan had just gotten ready, and an excited Yu Bin chirped in instantly. "Everyone was fascinated by Young Master!" Yu Bin squealed as he helped Xiao Zhan dress up. "You sound more excited than me." Xiao Zhan said with a smile as he turned to Yu Bin. "Of course! I'm excited for today's hunting competition. The first man who hunts the white deer will give his prize to the Young Master, right? I'm sure everyone would want to give it to you, Young Master! A competition for the Young Master's attention. How exciting!"

"Mn..." Xiao Zhan sighed as he plopped onto the sofa. 'There's nothing exciting about people who change their attitude by a total of 180 degrees just because their appearance changed.' "Young Master, why are you not happy? Look at all these presents!" Yu Bin said excitedly. Xiao Zhan sighed and started looking through the gifts. He wasn't interested in them in the least, but he did so just to make Yu Bin happy.

As he was, he suddenly picked up a gift, and realised it was given to him by He Peng, making his eyebrows twitch slightly. He quickly threw it down in disgust while Yu Bin sat down next to him. 'He's a nasty man in many ways.' "Everyone will fall in love with you Young Master. Now what do I do? Young Master will be too busy!"

"Young Master, look at this bouquet!! It's so beautiful!" Yu Bin said ecstatically as he handed over a bouquet of lovely, fresh white roses to Xiao Zhan, stunning the latter. Xiao Zhan took the flowers from Yu Bin's hands and pulled out the note stuck in between those pearl white roses. The note had a single name written on it in an elegant cursive: 'Wang'. Xiao Zhan was stunned. "Duke Wang?" "He sent these white roses which are hard to find these days. His excellency must've admired Young Master's beauty." "What the hell is he thinking?" Xiao Zhan muttered, although his ears turned a light shade of pink. Luckily his hair covered them, saving him from embarrassment.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door, stunning him and Yu Bin. 'Who is it so early in the morning?' He thought as Yu Bin walked over to the door and opened it. "Ah! Your Highness, The Third Prince!" "Good morning, Xiao Zhan, Yu Bin." Shu Hao said with a warm smile.

***

Shu Hao and Xiao Zhan walked out of the room, into the hallway. "I can still feel tears. I thought my heart was breaking apart." Shu Hao said as he turned towards Xiao Zhan. "Don't say things that aren't true." Xiao Zhan replied coldly. "I'm being honest Zhan." Shu Hao said with a smile. "By the way, did you know Duke Wang for a long time?" "It has nothing to do with brother Hao." Shu Hao laughed. "I'm sorry for saying that." "I can't believe you're escorting me so early in the morning." Xiao Zhan said.

Suddenly, Xiao Zhan stopped and turned to Shu Hao. "What do you intend to do?" He asked angrily. "I have no hidden intention. I just wanted to see your face." Shu Hao said happily, making Xiao Zhan scoff and turn away. "I find Brother Hao quite creepy." Xiao Zhan said, stunning Shu Hao. "Why is that?" He asked. "You always approach me with a warm smile, but in the end, even you tend to backstab people."

"No way!" Shu Hao denied instantly. "I have no idea what you think, which is why I think this way." Xiao Zhan replied. "Really?" Shu Hao said as he smirked. "However, I'm pretty serious when it is about you." He muttered. "Did you say something?" "No. I was just talking to myself."

Suddenly, Shu Hao turned to a side. "Race you down the hallway? Whoever wins will ask the other for a wish." "No. That is childish." Xiao Zhan said. However, Shu Hao didn't listen and dashed forward. "Hey! That's cheating! I won't loose!" Saying so, Xiao Zhan ran forward, trying to catch up with Shu Hao.

From the shadows, behind Xiao Zhan, a young, handsome alpha appeared, his brown tied up in a ponytail, fluttering with a gentle breeze. It was none other than... Xie Yun.

***

The hunting competition started soon after the tents were set up. Zhu Zanjin gracefully sat on his horse, his bow swung across his back and arrows tied to his horse. "Cheer up Zhu ge!" Wang Zhucheng shouted as he waved at him, making Zhu Zanjin wave back while smiling. Xiao Zhan was sitting right next to Wang Zhucheng, clad in red.

"Lord Xiao looks exceptionally beautiful in crimson." One person commented, making Zhu Zanjin turn to them. "We could even become blind for such a beauty." Another one said. "I never thought he was this beautiful." "Xiao Zhan has always been a beautiful omega." Zhu Zanjin said feeling jealous. "But now you're praising him. I realised you've been looking at my Zhan." "We were just admiring Lord Xiao's beauty." The two contestants replied.

"I don't want to hear any excuses! Get out of my sight right now!!" Zhu Zanjin shouted and galloped away in rage. As he did, he suddenly ran into Duke Wang, who was sitting on a majestic black horse. He was wearing a royal blue and silver dress, his hair tied up in his regular ponytail and wore black and silver boots. As usual, his mask never left his face.

"It's amazing you've decided to join the hunting competition." Zhu Zanjin said, making Duke Wang turn to his direction. "Because I heard you weren't interested in such events." Zhu Zanjin suddenly looked at Wang Yibo's bow and scoffed. "Besides, that bow is too much to be just a decoration. You are a sword master, so you don't need any other weapon now, do you?" Wang Yibo smirked before talking. "I'm about to show you the opposite." He said, making Zhu Zanjin's eyebrow twitch. 'Brag in such a way.'

"Why don't we make a bet? It's simple. Whoever catches the white deer first wins. If Duke Wang wins in this competition, I'll listen to any request you have." Zhu Zanjin said while smiling. Duke Wang smirked before he galloped towards Zhu Zanjin. "If I win... maybe I could offer roses to your fiancé?"