---
The gates of the royal palace loomed ahead, carved in marble and trimmed with gold. The guards bowed as Prince Xìn Xuān (with Shèng Lín's soul) passed through, followed by Shèng Lín (with the prince's soul) trailing behind, still dressed in modest knight attire.
Their arrival raised no suspicions. To the world, nothing had changed. But inside their minds, the chaos had only begun.
That night, as servants led them to their quarters, the prince sulked with barely hidden annoyance. He stood outside the knight's dormitory, arms crossed.
"Are you seriously going to let me sleep here?" he asked, eyes narrowed. "This is the knight's barracks. I am the prince, remember? I've never slept anywhere like this."
"You look like a knight right now," Shèng Lín replied coolly from within the prince's body. "And we can't share a room. If people find out, they'll get the wrong idea."
The prince tilted his head with fake innocence. "What kind of wrong idea?"
Shèng Lín paused. He knew the prince was provoking him.
"…Wrong idea can mean anything," he said carefully.
"Oh, come on. You mean—they'll think we're lovers, right?" The prince smirked. "Is that so bad?"
Shèng Lín frowned. "Don't push me."
"I'm not going anywhere," the prince snapped, dropping the pretense. "You're bringing me to your chambers. Or—mark my words—when I get my body back, I'll make sure you suffer in hell for this."
Shèng Lín looked at him for a long, heavy moment. Then he sighed and turned to the waiting servants. "Shèng Lín will stay in my chambers," he announced in his royal tone, causing a few raised eyebrows. "On my command."
And just like that, the spy and the prince—swapped in soul—walked side by side toward the royal bedchamber.
---
Inside the prince's luxurious quarters, the real prince now occupying a knight's body looked around with fondness.
"Now this feels like home," he said smugly.
But his mood soured quickly as Shèng Lín in his royal form reached for a pillow and began laying it on the floor beside the bed.
"What are you doing?" the prince demanded.
"Sleeping."
"On the floor? In my body? You want to damage my spine, huh?"
"I'm not sharing a bed with another man," Shèng Lín said flatly, without looking up.
"You're sharing a bed with me! It's my body!"
"I'll survive."
"No. Absolutely not."
In a flash, the prince grabbed Shèng Lín by the arm and yanked him onto the bed. "You want to sleep? Then sleep here. Don't mess with my body's health!"
But before he could pull back, the weight shifted.
With a sharp pivot, Shèng Lín (in the prince's body) rolled over, pinning the real prince (in Shèng Lín's body) beneath him in one fluid motion.
The prince blinked—stunned. His breath caught in his throat.
"You may be arrogant," Shèng Lín said quietly, dangerously close, "but your body is in my control now. So behave—unless you want to see how far your strength can go when turned against you."
He pulled back slowly, eyes never leaving the prince's, then rolled to the other side of the bed.
"I never knew my body was this powerful…" the prince muttered in disbelief, still lying stunned where he'd been pinned.
For a few minutes, the room was silent.
Then—laughter. Soft, awkward, almost embarrassed laughter from the prince.
"…Fine. You win tonight."
Though tension still hung between them, the night passed with no further chaos.
Two souls in the wrong bodies.
One bed.
And a dangerous closeness neither of them fully understood yet.
---