Amidst the tangled thorns of the rose bushes, Hunter pulled Winston forward, his voice haughty and confident, “I am your king. If I command you to fall, you must fall. If I command you to cry, you must shed tears for me.”
Hunter didn’t have a chance to see Winston’s stunned expression. Winston’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he looked at Hunter’s back coldly.
“Damn… Didn’t you say this kid was innocently sexy or something? All I see is arrogant sexiness!” Carlos clicked the shutter until his fingers were numb.
Rossi sighed, “He should be glad we’re still here. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise, Winston would have fucked him to death right here,” Carlos laughed mischievously.
The next part was about the beast murdering the prince.
“I don’t want to be killed by you…” Hunter muttered unhappily.
Why did there have to be a photoshoot theme like this?
“Then just act like you’re being devoured by me,” Winston said.
“Hmph…”
Hunter was bending down to examine whether the rose in his hand was a climbing rose or a European rose when suddenly a hand grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up. He met Winston’s blue eyes, filled with a burning desire to possess as if it would break through the ocean’s depths and destroy Hunter.
At the same time, Winston held a rose in his hand, its sharp stem pressing against Hunter’s chest.
It landed precisely on a button, but the pain in that moment felt so real.
Hunter felt as if he were being stabbed and destroyed.
He looked at Winston with wide eyes, and the two photographers instantly captured his incredulous fear.
“Excellent…” Rossi sighed.
“I have a feeling that… tonight, the kid is going to cry out in pain tonight,” Carlos said with increasing wickedness.
“Come on… I actually think Winston might not go through with it.”
Hunter elbowed Winston, “Fuck! You scared me to death!”
Winston let go of both hands as if to indicate Hunter didn’t need to be so tense, and then the rose he held fell to the ground.
“The photoshoot started just now. Are you still going to play around?” Winston said.
“You scared me so much that I’m going to have nightmares tonight!”
Winston turned to him, “So you thought I was going to kill you?”
“No…”
I thought… it was going to be worse than killing me.
“One more! That was great! The beast killed the prince. Winston! Kill him again!” Carlos shouted loudly.
“Am I going to get killed again?” Hunter’s face looked like he was about to cry. “Tell me how many more times I have to get killed!”
Rossi couldn’t help but laugh at Hunter through the lens.
“You’ll have to get killed many more times!” Carlos answered.
Winston came up to Hunter and whispered, “That natural expression you just had—you can’t do it again, can you?”
“Ridiculous.” Hunter looked at Winston in disbelief. “Why do I have to be the prince, and you the beast? It doesn’t match everyone’s understanding at all!”
“I want you to be a carefree, happy-go-lucky, prince who trusts me forever. Scheming and strategizing, wouldn’t that be more suitable for me?” Winston said, looking into Hunter’s eyes.
Carefree and happy-go-lucky… Perhaps in the eyes of many, like Marcus, they would feel that way about him.
But only Hunter knew full well that, from a long time ago, he was destined not to be carefree.
Yet Winston said, “I want you to be a carefree, happy-go-lucky, prince who trusts me forever.” This meant he had understood him all along.
“Okay,” Hunter said with a smile.
“Then trust me.” Winston untied his necktie and gently placed it over Hunter’s eyes.
He tightened the tie, and at that moment, Hunter couldn’t see anything at all. All he knew was that Winston placed that rose in his hand and then lifted his hand up.
Hunter felt like nothing else mattered anymore because he could feel Winston’s heartbeat against his back and the warmth of Winston’s palm on the back of his hand.
Rossi and Carlos were stunned.
The scene in front of them was of Hunter, blindfolded and holding a rose in his hand, while Winston held Hunter’s hand and pointed the tip of the rose towards his own neck.
“How could I ever bear to kill you? Even if you refuse to give yourself to me,” Winston whispered in Hunter’s ear.
Hunter’s shoulders tensed up immediately. Winston’s cold voice made him want to hug him tightly.
The photo shoot at the Million Roses Manor ended at 4 PM.
The best sunlight of the day had already passed.
Versace’s stylist told them they could keep the last set of clothes as a souvenir. In the future, if Hunter needed to attend evening parties or PR events, Versace would specially design clothes for him. Hunter suddenly felt this wasn’t bad at all. At least he wouldn’t have to wear clothes like a waiter again.
Rossi hugged Hunter goodbye. “I’ll send you the magazine. Be careful not to fall in love with yourself.”
“Hahaha! Are you good enough to make me fall in love with myself?” Hunter replied with humor.
“No matter how good the photography skills are, they can’t make something ugly beautiful or something ordinary special. We’re just skilled at capturing special moments in a fraction of a second.” Rossi covered Hunter’s ear and whispered, “Don’t fear his madness, because you’re the only thing in the world he cares about.”
Hunter’s heart trembled.
“Thank you.”
Hunter and Winston took a car back to the city.
They booked a flight from New York to Singapore for tomorrow afternoon. At least Marcus showed some humanity, knowing Hunter had worked hard, he let him sleep in tomorrow morning.
“I want to go back to my apartment to get my clothes.”
“Alright, I’ll go back with you.”
“I’m actually curious why you don’t need to go back and get your stuff from your house in England.”
“My assistant handles that for me.”
Hunter remembered that Winston had a personal assistant.
So envious…
When they arrived at Hunter’s apartment, as soon as the elevator doors opened, they ran into Mr. Bodybuilder and his sexy girlfriend who lived next door.
When she saw Hunter, she smiled and winked at Winston as she swept her eyes over him.
Hunter was a bit annoyed, but when he glanced at Winston, he saw that Winston was looking straight ahead, which put him at ease.
As they exited the elevator, Winston spoke, “She knows I’m with you.”
“Huh? And she still flirted with you?”
“She’s just teasing me about being with you.”
Hunter reached his door, and just as he was about to pull out his key, he noticed there was a rose stuck to the door again.
“Eh?” Hunter was curious and was about to pull it off, but Winston grabbed his hand.
“Be careful.”
“Isn’t… isn’t it from you?” Hunter asked.
“If it were from me, I would have handed it to you directly.”
There was also a card on the rose. Hunter was about to look at it, but Winston snatched it away.
“What’s that? What does it say?”
“You have a crazy fan too.” Winston’s fingers clenched, and the card was crumpled up.
Feeling the chill emanating from him, Hunter didn’t dare to press further about what was written on the card.
He lowered his head and took out the key. When he opened the door, something fell down. Hunter found it looked like an envelope.
Could it be a love letter?
Hunter swallowed. He didn’t dare to pick it up and just glanced at Winston.
Winston’s eyebrows were uncharacteristically furrowed before he bent down to pick up the letter.
When he opened it, it turned out to be filled with nothing but pictures!
Winston’s fingers gripped those photos so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Hunter could see the murderous intent in his eyes.
“What are those pictures?”
“Someone is stalking you.”
“What?” Hunter was stunned and reached out to grab the photos.
Some of the photos showed him talking with the crew, some were taken while he was changing clothes in the hotel room without pulling the curtains, others were of him leaving the hotel, and some even showed him walking while playing on his phone… Almost all of the pictures were taken while he was alone.
“How… how did I not know about this…”
Winston pulled out his phone to notify the police and also contacted Marcus to inform him that Hunter shouldn’t be left alone under any circumstances.
“No wonder there was a rose on my door when I left Travis County.”
“This guy knows your hotel address, your apartment in New York, and your travel itinerary. I’ve already notified the police, and they will check the nearby CCTV footage to find out who this person is. You must stay with me.” Winston pressed his palm onto Hunter’s forehead.
“I understand.”
You don’t have to say it; I wouldn’t dare to be alone!
Winston called the laundry service to deliver Hunter’s previously cleaned clothes and packed some of his clothes for him to take back. He then packed Hunter’s frequently worn clothes with exceptional speed.
“Let’s go. After this season is over, you can’t live here anymore.”
“Then where will I live?” Hunter scratched his head.
“If you’re not living with me, then where would you go?” Winston raised his eyebrows, leaving Hunter speechless.
It was clear that Winston took the matter of Hunter being photographed very seriously, even contacting a well-known law firm in New York to represent him and investigate the matter alongside the police.
“Maybe it’s just a crazy fan.”
“There’s a difference between being obsessed and being crazy. I love you obsessively too, but I wouldn’t use a telescope to take pictures of you from the opposite hotel.” Winston’s voice was icy cold.
Hunter rubbed his nose, thinking to himself: Didn’t you also take a lot of pictures of me when we were in Dubai?
But thinking about what happened to Owen made Hunter a little worried.
They booked a hotel near the airport, which meant Hunter could get a good night’s sleep. After taking a shower, he sat down at the head of the bed to send a message to Owen.
Hunter: I also have a crazy fan leaving roses at my door, and they’re even taking secret pictures and slipping them through the door.
Hunter didn’t mean to brag to Owen; he just wanted to be like Owen, who could stay calm even when faced with a crazy person.
Owen: Hahaha! I don’t know what happened, but lately, that lunatic hasn’t been bothering me. Maybe he went after you!
Hunter: Your anti-fan is a guy?
Owen: The things he does seem calculated, not like a crazy woman at all. Let’s talk about you. With this kind of sneaky photography, both obsessed men and women can do it. But developing the pictures and sending them to you shows a desire for presence. That’s mostly something men would do. If it’s a woman, she’d lean more towards keeping your photos hidden, and they’d try to meet you accidentally and get in bed with you.
At this time, Winston, who had just finished showering, came to the bedside. “You’re chatting with Owen again?”
Hunter could sense the dissatisfaction in Winston’s voice.
“Uh… Uh… Owen said that the person taking pictures of me is most likely a guy.”
“Why? Is your hope of getting in bed with a crazy fan girl shattered?” Winston retorted.
“…” Hunter wanted to say: Since you scared me, I haven’t thought about getting in bed with anyone!
“It’s very likely that the person is indeed a man. I’ve said from the beginning that you have a knack for attracting perverted fans.” Winston lowered his head to type a message. “That rose is still fresh, meaning the person wasn’t here long before we arrived. The police checked the CCTV at your apartment for the past two days and found a young man in a hoodie with the hood up and face mask entering your apartment building.”
“A hoodie? With the hood up?” Hunter furrowed his brows. “That sounds a lot like the guy who snuck into Owen’s room and spread dead cockroaches.”
“Be careful.” Winston raised his hand to gently stroke Hunter’s head. “Get some sleep. We still have to fly to Singapore tomorrow.”
Hunter glanced at the hotel window for a moment, and Winston assured him, “I’ve already closed the curtains and locked everything.”
“Okay.” Hunter finally felt secure enough to get under the covers, though he still felt uneasy thinking about it. He reached out to wrap an arm around Winston.
Winston’s nose brushed against Hunter’s cheek before pressing a kiss to his lips. For the first time, Hunter felt that the intensity of Winston’s kiss wasn’t threatening; instead, it filled him with a sense of safety.
Hunter slept until almost noon this time. Winston had woken up earlier but didn’t disturb him. Instead, he sat up against the headboard, browsing the news on his phone.
Hunter acted unusually like a child. He had one leg draped over Winston’s, his body curled up beside Winston’s waist, his forehead resting against him. Even when he smacked his lips in his sleep, he accidentally rubbed against Winston.
Winston moved his phone away to look at Hunter, wrapping an arm around him and gently tracing a finger along Hunter’s ear, his thumb caressing Hunter’s cheek tenderly.
“Hmm… Mm…” Hunter murmured softly.
Winston watched him for a long time, until past eleven. When Hunter’s stomach grumbled, he sat up.
He reached for his phone to check the time. “I’m really good at sleeping!”
“Yeah.” Winston pulled the blanket off and headed to the bathroom. “Considering the time, we’ll probably have to eat at the airport before flying to Singapore.”
“Yeah! Suddenly, I feel full of energy! At the Singapore circuit, I must overtake Ciel again to prove that winning at the Circuit of the Americas wasn’t just luck!”
As they successfully settled into the VIP lounge at New York airport, waiting for their flight, the PR assistant was so happy that he was moved to tears again. Never before had Hunter’s schedule gone so smoothly, without any unexpected issues.
The Singapore Grand Prix takes place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, consisting of 61 laps. The circuit features many low-speed corners and two long straights, and the actual race is held at night.
There are five subway stations near the track, and the nearby hotels are designed to be luxurious.
Hunter hoped that Marcus could book the same hotel as the Ferrari team.
“You don’t have to worry. I’ve already talked to Marcus. Our team is staying at the same hotel. Plus, I told him to book the room under your name, but you have to stay with me. If anything happens, he’ll call my room to inform me.”
“I feel like that crazy guy will only act out in the United States. I doubt he’d follow us to Singapore.”
“Don’t underestimate a madman,” Winston replied.
“Okay…”
The steady hum of the plane’s engine soon made Hunter sleepy again. He leaned his head on Winston’s shoulder and fell asleep.
Singapore is a city with plenty of green spaces and well-organized roads. Hunter and Winston arrived at their hotel in the same car. In the lobby, Hunter happened to see Owen chatting with the receptionist, who was blushing furiously.
“Hey! Owen! You’re still alive!”
“Oh! Little Hunter!” Owen saw Hunter and spread his arms as he came forward. Just as they were about to hug, Winston hooked a finger around the back of Hunter’s shirt collar and pulled him back.
Owen turned to Winston and said, “You’re really heartless!”
“You think I don’t know what you’re planning?” Winston looked sideways at Owen. “You wanted to use Hunter to distract me. You weren’t even seriously trying to teach him.”
Hunter understood immediately. That was Owen’s goal all along!
“So when you were thinking about Hunter on the track, did it make you so hard it hurt?” Owen asked with a wicked grin.
“Of course, it was so hard it hurt. That’s why I had to finish the race even faster.”
Hunter didn’t want to listen to their conversation anymore.
“Hunter, where are you going?”
Winston grabbed the young man, who was trying to walk past him with his head down.
“I’m going to meet my team!” Hunter attempted to shake off Winston’s hand. He really didn’t want to hear any more nonsense like “Of course, it was so hard it hurt. That’s why I had to finish the race even faster.”
“I’ll go with you,” Winston said.
“Don’t you have to meet with your own team?”
“I’ll wait until I see you with Marcus and the others before I go.”
Hunter thought to himself: Fine.
In reality, the guy who took the secret photo was a coward. If he really had the guts, he would have confronted Hunter long ago instead of just taking secret pictures!
When Hunter knocked on Marcus’s door, Winston watched him hug Marcus and nodded before leaving.
The technical officer and Shen Chuan were also inside Marcus’s room, discussing the characteristics of the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Shen Chuan informed Hunter of the key points of the engineering team’s adjustments, encouraging him to go all out.
The meeting went on all day.
Afterward, Hunter, Shen Chuan, and Little Xi had dinner together. Hunter was having an enjoyable conversation with Shen Chuan, but he noticed that Little Xi kept looking down at her phone.
“What’s up with her?” Hunter asked, nodding his chin.
“Next season, we’re going to develop a new race car, which requires a lot of data. To analyze the data, we need to build a model. Little Xi met an old classmate at a forum who specializes in mathematics.” Shen Chuan suddenly remembered something, “Marcus mentioned you have a crazy fan? I heard even the usually calm Winston was pretty worried.”
“Yeah, haha! I was just thinking I should go check out the room Marcus booked for me. What if there’s another rose stuck to it?”
“You… I’ll come with you.”
“That’s not necessary?”
“I’m going with you.”
After dinner, Hunter and Shen Chuan arrived at the door of Hunter’s room. The keycard reader was spotless. Hunter opened the door and was immediately disappointed. “Why is the room so small!”
“Because you’re not staying here,” Shen Chuan said calmly.
“So just because I’m not staying here, you gave me a tiny room? Isn’t that too frugal!”
Hunter opened the curtains and poked his head out, closing his eyes to take in the city’s atmosphere. “The view isn’t bad.”
“Well, for safety reasons, you should stay with someone else,” Shen Chuan patted Hunter’s shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you to Winston.”
“Hey, we’re teammates! How come you’re not considering sharing a bed with me?” Hunter complained.
He felt like he was being abandoned by the team.
“Because I can’t wake you when you’re pretending to be asleep,” Shen Chuan smiled.
The few days of acclimatization training in Singapore went smoothly, although there were more media activities than usual. Before they knew it, the free practice rounds were approaching, and the team had high expectations for Hunter’s performance in this race.
On the third day in Singapore, Hunter sat on the bed with his chin in his hands, watching Winston, who was sitting on the other side reading financial news.
“What’s up?” Winston turned to look at him.
“I’m so bored. If every night with you is like this, I think it’s really dull.”
It was only 9 PM, and they were sitting on opposite sides of the bed, each occupied with their own activities. This felt like old people’s activities!
“Do you want to have some fun?” Winston’s blue eyes made Hunter feel restless.
“Of course!” Hunter wondered if Winston had some new tricks up his sleeve. Don’t underestimate this guy, he actually knows how to have fun!
Winston set the newspaper down on the bedside table, turned around, grabbed Hunter’s wrist, and pinned him down on the pillow.
The loose T-shirt Hunter was wearing was easily pushed up to his neck in one swift motion by Winston.
“Hey! What are you doing!”
The author has something to say:
Hunter: I want to be a beast! A beast that bullies the prince!
Winston: You want to be the beast, sure, but I doubt you can be a beast that bullies the prince.
Hunter: Why not?
Winston: You’d definitely end up being the prince’s pet beast (shou)1This joke is on a pun where the word “beast” (pronounced “shòu”) sounds like the word for “bottom” (also pronounced “shòu”), pampered every day while thinking you’re majestic and powerful.
![The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-11_143139.png "The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao")
