Engagement Annulled? Now The Husbands Kneel and Beg for Her Favor

Looking at the smiley face from Xie Guanqi, Jiang Qingli laughed in exasperation.

The moment she got back, she couldn’t wait to provoke her.

Jiang Qingli figured Xie Guanqi must have spent ages racking her brain for the best way to infuriate her, finally typing out two seemingly nonchalant lines.

With Xie Guanqi trying so hard, Jiang Qingli felt it would be a disservice to all that effort if she didn’t retaliate.

But she wasn’t about to do the dirty work herself.

Jiang Qingli found a contact in her pinned list with a solid black profile picture and the nickname ”This person is very annoying,” and typed: [Brother Xie, are you there?]

The other person’s status immediately changed to ”Typing...”

It was as if they were at a loss, hesitating, unsure how to reply.

Jiang Qingli paid him no mind and kept typing: [Your little sister just invited me to your welcome banquet for returning to the Xie Family. You two seem so close. I’m really jealous of people who have older brothers ^^]

[Unlike me, I had a great big brother, and then he was gone in the blink of an eye.]

The other side took a long time to reply. Jiang Qingli switched over to answer Lin Xiyue’s message, and when she came back, she saw a new one.

This person is very annoying: [Sorry, I’ve already handled it.]

Jiang Qingli: [Thanks.]

Jiang Qingli: [Brother Xie, you’re so nice ^^]

Perhaps her repeated use of ”Brother Xie” had gotten under his skin, because the next second, a voice call request popped up on her screen.

Jiang Qingli’s finger trembled. She had the fleeting feeling of a prankster being caught in the act.

The thought had barely surfaced for a few seconds before she suppressed it with righteous indignation.

’What’s there to be nervous about? Everything I said was the truth!’

Jiang Qingli answered the call, her voice calm. ”Hello?”

Silence on the other end.

Just before she could say hello a second time, a low, magnetic male voice spoke. ”I’m here.”

”What do you mean, ’you’re here’?” Jiang Qingli muttered. ”You’re the one who called me, you know.”

”Sorry, I...” He paused, unusually incoherent for a moment, before deciding to just change the subject. ”Xie Guanqi will be grounded until the banquet begins. She won’t bother you again.”

Jiang Qingli said ”Oh,” and asked, ”Anything else?”

”Regarding Chi Yun, I’ve already taken care of it,” he said slowly. ”The Chi Family will keep him in line. After this semester at the Royal Academy ends, he will transfer to Holy Rose Academy in the Second District. It’s a fully-enclosed boarding school.”

As always, he had resolved many of the troubles swirling around her.

But for some reason, Jiang Qingli found herself disliking his report-like tone.

’Has someone really spoiled me rotten?’

Grabbing a throw pillow and tucking it under her chin, Jiang Qingli’s voice was a little muffled. ”I thought you were unhappy because I called you ’Brother Xie’.”

He said, ”I’m not.”

Jiang Qingli huffed softly. ”Seems you’re fitting into the Xie Family quite quickly, Xie Youchen.”

The young man was silent for a long time.

His heavy breathing, mixed with the night wind, traveled through the device and landed by her ear, followed by the nickname only he would ever use.

”Ah Li,” he said. ”I’m not your real brother.”

He was throwing her own words back at her.

’It was as if he was saying that their entire past relationship had come to a full stop, right here and now.’

’That now, they had no relationship whatsoever.’

She couldn’t recall what else was said after that.

The restless night wind blew apart the heavy clouds in the sky, revealing the bright, clear moon.

The bathroom was unlit. Soaking in the tub, Xie Youchen waited until the girl hung up, then tossed his terminal far away. He closed his eyes, let out a slow breath, and sank beneath the cold water.

Moonlight spilled onto the side of the tub, looking as if it were within arm’s reach.

-

Jiang Qingli was quiet for the entire ride.

Yi Nuo glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Jiang Qingli pick up her terminal, then put it down again, biting her lip and running a hand through her hair. Her bad mood was plain to see.

After wrestling with her thoughts for the whole trip, Jiang Qingli ultimately didn’t message ”Brother Xie” again. Instead, she opened her email and read the invitation from Xie Guanqi from start to finish.

She really hadn’t been lying; hers was the very first one, with the number 000001 in the bottom right corner.

’I guess that makes me number one, in a way,’ Jiang Qingli consoled herself, and her gloomy mood brightened.

Or perhaps, in a way, Jiang Qingli was certain their relationship wasn’t that fragile.

’We’ll have a proper talk next time we meet.’

’If we can’t be brother and sister, we can be something else, like friends... or... something else...’

Just as she was thinking this, the car door opened. Jiang Qingli looked up to see Yi Nuo standing outside, holding a terminal.

Only then did she realize they had arrived home.

”Miss,” Yi Nuo reminded her in a low voice. ”It’s a call from the Family Head.”

”Quick, give it to me!”

Hearing that it was Jiang Yi calling, Jiang Qingli reached out in delight, using her other hand to steady herself on Yi Nuo’s offered arm as she stood up.

On the other end of the line, Jiang Yi’s voice was gentle. ”Xiao Li, are you home?”

”I’m home, Mama!” Jiang Qingli’s voice unconsciously shifted into a sweet, coddling tone. ”Why are you still up so late?”

”I was just in a meeting. I heard from that Baili child that you were still awake, so I wanted to hear your voice.”

Jiang Yi sounded nonchalant, but Jiang Qingli could guess her mother had probably waited until she was done having fun to call, not wanting to disturb her.

”My friends threw a celebration for me today, Mama! I usually go to bed really early!” Jiang Qingli boasted to her mother without a hint of shame. ”Really!”

”Alright, alright, I believe you.” Jiang Yi couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Jiang Qingli then asked, ”How come you called Yi Nuo instead of me?”

Jiang Yi said, ”I tried calling you just now, but the line was busy. I figured you were occupied, so I dialed Yi Nuo.”

Jiang Qingli felt a little awkward. Her father’s voice cut in from the side. ”Xiao Li, which male were you on the phone with just now? Is it one from our family? Or someone you met outside? Want Dad to look into him for you?”

”Qizhen, get out,” Jiang Yi’s weary voice sounded.

On the other side, Zhou Yanli sighed. ”Big Brother, didn’t we agree that I would accompany the female master in the office? Why are you here again? You’re not setting a very good example for the child.”

”There he goes, lecturing again,” her father grumbled in dissatisfaction. ”Fine, I’m leaving.”

Hearing the door close and footsteps fade away, Jiang Qingli stifled a laugh and returned to the previous topic. ”Just now, I was on the phone with—” She paused, a little uncomfortable. ”Xie Youchen.”

”Xiao Li...” Zhou Yanli seemed to want to say something, but he paused, then sighed. ”Never mind. It’s better for Youchen to tell you himself.”

Jiang Qingli’s heart skipped a beat, but her attention was quickly diverted by other topics.

Whenever she chatted with her mother, the girl’s eyes would always sparkle.

The young butler bent slightly, letting her lean on his arm the entire time. As he felt the girl’s breath brush against the side of his face, his cheeks slowly grew hot, and his body tensed.

When the call ended, Yi Nuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But then he heard her chuckle softly by his ear. ”Yi Nuo, why are your ears so disobedient tonight? They keep popping out.”