Transmigrated as My Best Friend's Ex

87. Be A Little Kinder to Yourself

Translator: Guy Gone Bad

Frise took Li Qinghao to an empty room. It was quiet and not far away from the banquet hall. She took out a small box and handed it to Li Qinghao.

Li Qinghao raised his eyebrows and had no intention of taking the box. He just looked at Frise with a smile. Frise appreciated Li Qinghao’s character, although they had a conflict of interest. He was like a white lotus flower, cool and aloof, giving an elegant aura. A person like him was hard to deal with.

Frise opened the box, inside which was the antidote of TRKS. Li Qinghao was surprised that Frise intended to give him two-thirds of antidote. He took the box from Frise and cocked an interrogative eye at her.

“I’ve promised to give you a third of antidote 49 days later when pathogens in your body start to take effect. The appointed day hasn’t arrived, but you want to get rid of the virus as early as possible, don’t you? I also promised to give you the second third of antidote after Keqi ascended the throne. I’ve been faithful to my promise. Next, you must find a way to get Keqi to hand over the crown to me. I’ll give you the final one third of antidote after I take over the throne.” Frise’s words rang true. She looked at Li Qinghao with sincere eyes.

Li Qinghao wanted to believe what she was saying, but a voice inside his head was telling him that Frise wouldn’t let him off so easily because his existence was like a time bomb to her.

“Well, fine.” Li Qinghao didn’t take the antidote at once; instead, he closed the box unhurriedly and gracefully, which showed that he was level-headed. “Can I ask you a question, Your Highness?” asked Li Qinghao.

“Yes, of course.” Frise agreed.

“Leiluo Kingdom is a monarchy where women usually take a back seat and can only be dependent on men. I’m wondering why you want the throne. Do you want to prove to the world that women are not inferior to men? Or do you want to establish a new Leiluo Kingdom where women enjoy higher status than men?” Li Qinghao’s voice was soft and clear. Hearing what he said, all sorts of feelings welled up in Frise heart.

She looked at Li Qinghao for a long time.

Why did she want the throne? Frise didn’t answer. She turned and left.

At first, she just wanted to tell the people of Leiluo Kingdom that men and women were equal. However, her original dream wore away as time went on. Now she was crazy about the throne, because only when you climbed to the highest position would others respect you instead of looking down on you. Just as Li Qinghao said, if she ascended the throne, Leiluo Kingdom would become a country where women enjoyed higher status than men. There was no substantial difference between these two kinds of countries.

Li Qinghao was not interested in changing the fate of Leiluo Kingdom, but… He narrowed his eyes. He didn’t intend to sacrifice himself for Leiluo Kingdom. Frise was doomed to disappointment.

“By the way.” Frise stopped and looked back at Li Qinghao. “You’d better stay away from Fonda. He used to be most likely to inherit the throne, but Keqi has robbed him of the throne. So, he must be angry now. Besides, he is sharp-eyed and always tries to find fault with Keqi. But fortunately, Han Mingxu is a model of clean living, so Fonda can get nothing.”

Li Qinghao watched Frise’s back slowly disappear. His thoughts took him on a trip down memory lane. He gave a little chuckle. He was indeed discreet about his private life. He even didn’t take a girl’s hand yet.

Li Qinghao went back to the banquet hall and found that Nancheng Lie was still standing there.

“What did Frise say?” There was a flush in his cheeks. He seemed to have drunk a lot, but was still sober. He carried his liquor like a gentleman and knew when to stop.

Li Qinghao showed Nancheng Lie the box in his hand and said, “She gave me two-thirds of antidote.”

“What are you going to do next?”

Li Qinghao didn’t answer. His thin lips slowly curved up in a bright smile. He looked strikingly beautiful and elegant. Nancheng Lie was stunned for a moment. He forced himself to look away, then raised his wine glass and drank several mouthfuls.

Seeing that Li Qinghao looked confident, Nancheng Lie knew he must have a well-thought-out plan.

At the middle of the banquet, Keqi came back in the king’s costume. Although he carried himself with great pride and dignity, his face bespoke a certain tiredness. Thus it could be seen that it was not easy to be a king.

After exchanging greetings with the presidents and prime ministers of other countries, Keqi came up to Nancheng Lie and Li Qinghao. “Is everything all right? Are you feeling bored?”

Li Qinghao stopped a waiter and took a glass of wine from his tray. “Congratulations.”

Nancheng Lie raised his glass and said congratulations, but there was an insinuation in his remark. In fact, he wanted to say, “Congratulations, you are going to die.”

Keqi responded with a smile. They clinked glasses and drank clean at one gulp.

…

Keqi moved to the Royal Palace on the day he ascended the throne, while Li Qinghao still lived in the Crown Prince’s Mansion. The next day Frise came to visit him and told him not to go off at half-cock. Keqi just came to the throne, and it wouldn’t do her any good if she spread the rumour that Keqi was gay. So, she had to wait patiently for the correct time.

Perhaps that was why Frise threatened Li Qinghao with the virus. TRKS could remain in his body for 147 days. In other words, Keqi had enough time to deal with state affairs and hand the political power over secretly to Frise. In this way, when Keqi was dethroned because of his love affairs, Frise could easily and smoothly take over from Keqi as the new king of Leiluo Kingdom.

She was indeed a smart woman.

On the third day, Keqi finally came to the Crown Prince’s Mansion. They sat opposite each other and remained silent.

It had only been three days since Keqi’s enthronement, but there seemed to be a big shift in his aura. Keqi’s stridency impressed Li Qinghao when they first met in the hospital. But Keqi was now a steady fellow. He had a lot of work to do recently.

They sat in the room and looked at each other in silence. In the past, they often teased each other. But at this moment, they didn’t know what to say.

At last, Li Qinghao opened the conversation, “Why are you frowning? Is it because the affairs of Leiluo Kingdom are difficult to deal with?”

Keqi didn’t expect that Li Qinghao would show concern for him. He was deeply moved, his eyes sparkling. He seemed to have a lot to say, but finally he just said briefly, “No, not difficult but very tedious.”

“You’ll soon get accustomed to being king.”

“What?” Keqi fixed his eyes on Li Qinghao’s face and asked, “Qinghao, do you want me to be king?”

“Don’t you want to be king?”

Keqi shook his head and replied, “I want to be free. What’s more, Auntie hasn’t yet given you the final one third of antidote. Qinghao…” Keqi suddenly stood up, took two quick steps forward and looked down at Li Qinghao, who was sitting on the sofa. Then he bent down, put his hands on Li Qinghao’s shoulders and asked, “Will you wait for me?”

Li Qinghao looked up at Keqi with a sarcastic smile. “We both know that it’s just a play. But we are not actors, so don’t be so serious.” The only reason he cooperated with Keqi was because he wanted the antidote.

“You know, I’m completely immersed in the play.” Keqi stared at Li Qinghao with a mild expression on his handsome face. He had plumbed the depths of loneliness, so he thirsted for warmth. He knew clearly that he had fallen in love with Li Qinghao.

Li Qinghao pushed Keqi aside. “I can’t promise you anything.” A person who couldn’t take control of his own life was not eligible to make any promise. “I’m going back to China this afternoon.”

“Why leave so soon? All right, I respect your decision.”

‘I’ll come to you when I get the rest of antidote,’ Keqi thought. He didn’t tell Li Qinghao that he changed the plan. He wanted Li Qinghao to co-operate with him. “I’ll come to you.”

Li Qinghao smiled and said nothing.

Not only Keqi, but also Li Qinghao changed the plan.

In the afternoon Keqi didn’t go to the airport to see Li Qinghao off. He bade farewell to him at the gate of the palace. Li Qinghao opened the car door and was about to get in, but suddenly he turned around and asked, “Keqi, can you promise me one thing?”

“Say it.”

“Be a little kinder to yourself.” With that, Li Qinghao stepped into the car without looking back at Keqi.

On hearing this, Keqi’s heart started to thud.

‘Be a little kinder to yourself… Qinghao, I don’t believe you have no feelings for me,’ Keqi thought to himself.

Li Qinghao arrived at the airport. He thought that he could stay alone, but his hope was dashed when he heard a familiar voice, “Can I sit here?”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “If I say no, will you give up?”

Nancheng Lie replied briefly, “No.”

“Since it is so, why do you ask me that?”

“I’m not asking for your opinion. I’m just telling you my decision.”

This man was such a jerk. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my word. So, you don’t need to follow me,” said Li Qinghao.

Nancheng Lie sneered, “I don’t trust you, because I can’t risk losing Xu.” The world was so big, and he was afraid that Li Qinghao would run away. So, after returning to China, he would put Li Qinghao under 24-hour surveillance until he told him where Xu was.

Li Qinghao gave a bitter smile. The reason he was anxious to shake off Nancheng Lie was because he wanted to give the antidote to Mi Yinting’s partner Yingli as soon as possible. ‘Nancheng Lie once had Mu Yinting investigate the shooting of Han Mingxu two years ago. If he knew I kept in close touch with Mu Yinting, he would suspect me. So, I should be more careful,’ Li Qinghao thought to himself.