Capturing My Demon King Costar

MY COSTAR WOULD NEVER MARRY SOMEONE ELSE

Jincan keeps looking in furious incredulity at Yao Shen, who just smirks at him and waves.

Unable to take it any longer, he finally makes his way down the stage, pushing away his own wedding guests out of the way.

"How did you get here? This is mine and Master's wedding, and you weren't invited." His pale eyes burn with one part outrage at Yao Shen's presence, and two parts smugness that he's the one marrying Xin Hulei instead of Yao Shen.

Yao Shen would feel sorry for him in any other circumstances, but as it stands he doesn't want to feed his already gigantic victim complex.

"I can ask you the same thing: how did you get here?"

Jincan sneers at him and opens his mouth ready to start in on a spiel he hopes will humiliate Yao Shen to tears, but no sound comes, as he realises he has no memory of what he did to reach the wedding venue, or of any prior relationship with Xin Hulei.

His mouth snaps shut with a loud click. "I'm sure you're going to tell me," he says, through gritted teeth.

"You're dreaming, that's why you don't remember," Yao Shen says. "Now that you know, how about waking up?"

Jincan glares at him, the butterfly wings of his ears flutter angrily among the nest of golden curls. "Why should I do that? So you can gloat and laugh in my face about how Master only loves you?"

He looks up at the stage where the fake Xin Hulei is still smiling incongruously at the sea of celebrating guests, all of them completely oblivious to the fact that one of the grooms is having a very heated discussion.

It's obvious that seeing this play out only cements in Jincan the certainty that Yao Shen isn't lying and that he's indeed in a dream, but that doesn't shake his commitment to denial.

Yao Shen lets out a sigh and waves at the terrible wedding ceremony with its flashing lights and weird musical arrangements. "What do you get out of all this? Why are you so obsessed with Hulei?"

"I'm not obsessed with Master! I have genuine feelings for him," he says, his face crumpling.

"But are those feelings romantic? Do you even know what that entails, or do you think it doesn't go beyond the wedding?" Yao Shen doesn't really want to be here, but he tries to gentle his tone of voice, be more understanding.

Jincan might have been a human in secret for some time, but he has been a caterpillar for centuries. It must be hard for him to make sense of all the changes happening to him.

"You don't understand," Jincan says, just like an angsty teenager. "Master saved me, he rescued me from the rubble of Modu!"

The corners of his eyes become red with unshed tears, he bites his lower lip to keep them down. "I want to repay Master for his kindness all these years! For being good to me, for being generous, for being patient."

He rubs his forearms across his eyes, sniffling only once before pulling himself together. "So, that's why I want to marry Master."

Yao Shen spares him a sympathetic smile. "I think what you feel for Xin Hulei is called gratitude, and it has nothing to do with marriage."

Jincan glares at him. "You're just saying that because you want to keep Master all to yourself!"

"Listen, Hulei likes and appreciates you a lot, our relationship isn't going to get in the way of your friendship," Yao Shen says.

Jincan isn't fully convinced and his gaze keeps shifting.

Yao Shen runs his hands through his hair and sighs. "I'm not going to do anything to keep you away from Xin Hulei, but you have to stop with this talk about marrying him. He doesn't feel that way about you."