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

Jiang Qingli stared at the number for a few seconds before burying her face in the quilt again, screaming silently.

had once casually thrown a pile of the male leads’ favorability ratings at her, explaining that 80% was the passing line for love.

So 99%... That was way over the passing line.

’Is this even possible...’

Jiang Qingli bit her lip and shut her eyes in frustration, but scenes from tonight flooded her mind.

The seaside, where night had not yet fully fallen. Everything was bathed in a hazy, blue light.

She had crouched down to pick up seashells, and he was beside her, collecting them and carefully washing them clean in the seawater.

The water flowed through his fingers, gently caressing her palm. It receded with the tide, only to surge forward again a second later, repeatedly washing over the lines on her hand, conveying a warmth she hadn’t known for over a thousand days and nights.

The sensation felt even more intimate than holding hands, leaving Jiang Qingli flustered and unsure of what to do.

Eventually, she couldn’t find any more shells. Her hands sifted through the sand as her gaze unconsciously drifted to the person beside her.

The young man’s eyes were lowered, his long lashes casting shadows. In the dim light of the evening, every single lash was visible.

-

Her brain felt like it was turning to mush again. She felt she should calm down first and not overthink things.

But even as she thought this, a worried question popped into her head.

’I’m sure of my feelings, but I still don’t know what he feels about me...’

was getting anxious. ’Oh, don’t worry, I have plenty of props here! Hey, why don’t I just tell you the data—’

’Shut up.’ Jiang Qingli grabbed the stick-figure 030, pinching its head between two fingers to stop it from talking.

blinked frantically in confusion. ’???’

Jiang Qingli let it go. Her cheeks were still red, but her eyes were shining. ’I’ll find out for myself.’

She didn’t need data to tell her. She wanted Xie Youchen to say it with his own words.

030, for its part, didn’t press the issue.

Besides, it had already seen the data. It knew those males out there, watching her like hawks, were head over heels in love with her. It wasn’t the least bit worried that Jiang Qingli would get her heart broken.

’No one in this world capable of resisting the host’s charm has been born yet. The one who should be scared is Xie Youchen!’

thought for a moment, then pulled out a few props and handed them to Jiang Qingli, pointing to one in particular. ’I highly recommend this one!’

Jiang Qingli picked it up and had a look.

It was a small, pale pink flower that gave off a sweet fragrance.

’This is a very rare flower.’ 030 explained excitedly. ’If a male likes you, after taking this, he’ll enter a state similar to a special period, but he’ll have no power to resist! You can do whatever you want with him! And there are no side effects!’

Jiang Qingli: ’...And you call yourself proper? What part of this is proper?’

said with a straight face, ’I’m just worried he’s inexperienced and might hurt you. Wouldn’t it be better if you took the lead?’

Jiang Qingli: ”...”

’We’re not even close to that point yet, and its mind is already in the gutter.’

Besides, the way it talked made her sound like some wicked female who was just greedy for a male’s body!

Jiang Qingli firmly refused. ’I’m not that kind of person!’

030: ’Then stop stuffing it into your Space Ring while you say that.’

Jiang Qingli finished putting the item away and stubbornly retorted, ’I’m just keeping it for a rainy day. What would a system like you know...’

The stick-figure 030 was rolling on the bed with laughter.

Ignoring the rowdy system, Jiang Qingli got up and pulled open the curtains to look outside.

The car was already gone.

As she let the curtain fall, the terminal in her palm buzzed.

Jiang Qingli’s fingers trembled. She took a deep breath and unlocked it with her iris.

’Healing Association: Esteemed Miss Qingli, your mission rewards have been successfully credited. The reward [Ten Repair Gemstones] will be delivered by a dedicated courier to your noted address tomorrow. The rewards [365-Day Shared Access to the Third District’s Royal Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chain] and [Ownership of 500 square meters in the First District’s Zone D-011] are pending. Please click the [link] to register; they will take effect the following day. Thank you again for your contribution to the Empire. We wish you a pleasant life.’

Jiang Qingli: ”...”

She almost forgot. When her last mission was being finalized, it coincided with the Moon Festival, so all official business was postponed. The notifications were only now being sent out.

Jiang Qingli tossed her terminal aside and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling an inexplicable sense of disappointment.

She had thought a certain someone would message her after returning to that so-called ”home” of his.

’He has no sense of responsibility to check in at all.’

’He used to report back to me when he went out for training.’

Jiang Qingli thought, disgruntled, while pulling up her exercises on her light-brain. She waved her hand fiercely, spreading the screen out in front of her.

No matter how annoyed she was, she still had to study. Otherwise, if Cat Teacher saw her blank exercises tomorrow, he would stare at her motionlessly with those green, cat-like eyes and ask if she wanted to be punished.

Yuan Shimo had said he’d never had any ”students” other than her, but he was very well-suited to being a teacher.

He was good at lecturing, explaining every difficult detail in meticulous, easy-to-understand language, and would wait patiently until she learned it.

He was also very clear about rewards and punishments.

She had no idea where he learned all those various methods.

Jiang Qingli had only been punished once, for copying Ai Li’s answers on a pop quiz when he wasn’t looking.

It was called a punishment, but it was far more intimate than their previous nights together.

However, at the crucial moment, Yuan Shimo suddenly stopped.

As she looked at him in a daze, his green eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses curved into a smile. He said gently, ”Female master, helping others cheat is not an acceptable behavior.”

’As if he were genuinely admonishing her.’

It was no use for Jiang Qingli to act cute; he would really just stop there and only continue after she promised it wouldn’t happen again.

It was a good thing Yuan Shimo wasn’t a real teacher, or his students would have it even worse.

Her pen paused. For some reason, Jiang Qingli recalled that Xie Youchen had mentioned he used to help train the junior cadets at the military academy.

’I wonder what methods he uses to make his students obey when he’s teaching.’

’An unyielding gaze, long fingers calloused from training, or those finely shaped, thin lips...’

BUZZ—

The terminal’s vibration interrupted her strange train of thought.

Jiang Qingli picked it up casually, then nearly threw the terminal away when she saw the sender’s name.

The Xie Family’s: ’I’ve arrived at the Xie residence.’

The Xie Family’s: ’Ah Li, are you asleep?’

It hadn’t even been an hour since she’d sorted out her feelings, and now Jiang Qingli had no idea how to face Xie Youchen.

She desperately wanted to pretend she was asleep, but the damned social media app already showed the message as ”Read.”

So, Jiang Qingli could only slowly type back, ’Not asleep.’

Xie Youchen’s reply was also slow in coming. ’Is it a good time for a call?’

’Why is he suddenly calling!’

Jiang Qingli almost jumped out of her skin again.

But not wanting to seem weird, she called him directly.

The call was answered before the first ring had even finished.

Jiang Qingli grabbed a decorative object from her desk and fidgeted with it. ”Is something wrong?”

”No.” Xie Youchen’s voice was soft, sounding especially gentle in the quiet of the night. ”I just wanted to tell you I’m home.”

”And also...”

The young man cleared his throat, his voice tight as if he were uncomfortable. ”Good night, Ah Li.”

Jiang Qingli froze, the ear pressed against her terminal starting to burn.

030: ’Damn, he’s a master at this!’

Jiang Qingli: ”...”

Pressing her lips together, Jiang Qingli blocked 030 and said in a calm voice, ”I see. Good night.”

Before the call ended, Jiang Qingli added, ”By the way, I’ll be attending the Xie Family’s dinner party next week.”

The person on the other end paused, his voice lowering. ”I’m sorry, Ah Li. I failed to keep my family in line. It’s my fault. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to attend. I’ll handle the media.”

”It has nothing to do with Xie Guanqi.”

Jiang Qingli took a deep breath and said:

”There’s something I want to confirm with you in person.”