Your Highness, Cut It Out. We're All Straight Men

[Cunning, wolfish hostage prince gong × sweet, delicious tea merchant, straight shou]

[Straight-to-gay romance / chasing his wife to the crematorium / coercive love]

Mo Xun, a mild-mannered little tea merchant, only wanted a peaceful life. Who would have thought he would be pursued by Li Heng, an arrogant and unruly patron?

At first, Mo Xun found him too flashy and avoided him at every turn. Then Li Heng secretly climbed through his window in the middle of the night to check his books.

Mo Xun blocked the doorway with his sword. "You look like a decent man, but you're a thief!"

Li Heng raised his eyes and slowly closed the account book. "I've checked the accounts of all Langzhou. Your business is the best run. Help me get revenge."

"..." Mo Xun tightened his fingers around the sword hilt.

"I'm the richest man in the Western Territories. I can help you get your business into that market."

Mo Xun had 10,086 reasons to say no, but Li Heng's broad shoulders kept pressing closer. After much deliberation, he steeled himself:

"...Fine."

Li Heng kept his word and indeed helped Mo Xun open up the Western Territories market. But for all his refined, noble air, in private he was suggestive and overly familiar. The two of them would be going over the accounts when one of Li Heng's broad, warm hands slipped inside Mo Xun's clothes and squeezed his shoulder...

Mo Xun leaned away. "If we're looking at the accounts, then let's look at the accounts. Keep your hands to yourself."

Li Heng leaned closer. "We're both men. Why are you dodging? Is a hug too much to ask?"

Mo Xun rolled his eyes inwardly, but refused to back down. He was straight, after all. What did he have to fear?

"...Fine."

Later, Li Heng took a knife for Mo Xun. Grateful, Mo Xun devoted himself to caring for him at his bedside.

Li Heng said solemnly, "There's one more ingredient needed for me to make a full recovery."

"What?"

"Kiss me."

"!!!" No way. I'm straight.

Seeing how reluctant he was, Li Heng said with great understanding, "Then I'll just keep being sick. Cough, cough, cough."

Mo Xun closed his eyes. Since Li Heng had taken a knife for him and paid him, a little sacrifice was no big deal:

"...Fine. I'll kiss you."

And so, Mo Xun fed him medicine by day and warmed his bed by night, occasionally providing some extra services.

Only when Li Heng pinned him to the pillow until his eyes lost focus did Mo Xun realize how badly things had gone awry.

Wait, wasn't I straight?

*

Li Heng, the third prince of Chang, had spent ten years abroad as a hostage. Now he had returned as a traveling merchant to take revenge and reclaim everything that belonged to him.

Mo Xun was nothing more than a pawn on his path to revenge.

Perhaps revenge was too dull, or perhaps this pawn was just too soft and delicious. Though Li Heng had never been interested in men, he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering toward Mo Xun...

The hand Mo Xun had held, the shoulder he had bitten, the back he had grabbed, all of it felt so real.

It was just a bit of fun. No big deal.

It wasn't until Mo Xun discovered that he was a prince and realized he was merely a pawn Li Heng had toyed with for amusement, then turned and left without hesitation, that Li Heng began to panic.

He grabbed Mo Xun's sleeve, voice hoarse as he protested:

"Mo Xun, you seduced me and then abandoned me!"

"When I was just a peddler, you loved me. Now that I'm a royal hostage, you don't love me anymore?"

Theme: Happiness comes first