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

The lounge was filled with the gentle, relaxing scent of pine.

Xie Youchen’s eyes remained closed, his breathing steady.

So close, he seemed to be within her grasp.

But as Bai Yiyi gazed at his calm, handsome face, she suddenly felt a surge of fear.

It was like facing a slumbering dragon; she was terrified it would snap its eyes open the moment she got close and swat the intruder into the afterlife.

’Take down the male lead and you can still be the female lead! Do you want to go back to being that good-for-nothing fat slob you were?’

In her mind, the system’s shrill voice was like a vengeful ghost, relentlessly hounding her.

’Go on!’

Bai Yiyi gritted her teeth, took out the Charming Fruit, and thrust it straight toward his thin lips—

However, just as the Charming Fruit was about to touch Xie Youchen’s lips, time froze. Bai Yiyi’s motion halted in mid-air, as if an invisible force held her back, preventing her from moving even an inch closer.

It was Xie Youchen’s Superpower.

’Xie Youchen wasn’t asleep!’

’This was a simple, almost clumsy, trap!’

Time stretched to infinity. The terror on Bai Yiyi’s face unfolded in slow motion, her eyes trembling grotesquely as they met a pair of completely emotionless pupils.

Xie Youchen’s dark eyes shifted, his gaze falling dispassionately on the object mere inches from him.

The crimson fruit was about the size of a thumb, with a translucent, glass-like sheen.

As if sensing Xie Youchen’s thoughts, tiny tentacles sprouted from the base of the Charming Fruit, trembling frantically as they wriggled in his direction.

Xie Youchen plucked the precious item from the air with ease.

He raised his hand, dispelling the Superpower, and time began to flow normally once more.

Bai Yiyi collapsed to the floor. A sharp pain lanced through her head, but she immediately reached out, trying to snatch back the Charming Fruit.

But at that exact moment, an immense weight pressed down, pinning her to the floor and rendering her immobile.

Two pairs of thin-soled leather shoes entered her line of sight.

Yi Nuo and Chen Mi emerged from the lounge’s private washroom, one after the other.

Yi Nuo efficiently tied her up and stuffed a towel in her mouth, then took a step back, head bowed, to await Xie Youchen’s command.

”Take her to the room next door with Xie Guanqi,” Xie Youchen said, picking up his wine glass. He flicked a glance at Chen Mi, who eagerly hauled the woman to her feet and bustled out.

He had just crossed the threshold when he heard a soft cough from behind.

Chen Mi flinched and looked back at Yi Nuo, his expression turning troubled. ”Oof, my injury from a few days ago hasn’t fully healed. Yi Nuo, give me a hand?”

The room next door was Qin Shu’s lounge, which was a complete mess.

When Qin Shu opened the door, he was holding a knife and gesturing at his own body. ”Hey, should I slice my arm or my neck?”

Chen Mi stifled a laugh. ”You’re really committed to the role.”

Qin Shu raised an eyebrow and dragged the blade across his forearm twice.

The blade wasn’t sharpened, but a light pass was enough to leave a red line on his skin. It must have been a prop.

Upon seeing this, Yi Nuo instantly understood.

Females held a high status in the Empire and were generally not punished for minor offenses. Moreover, since both women were S-class, the most they would face was house arrest.

Xie Youchen had likely known for a long time that Xie Guanqi was up to something, but he allowed her to scheme right under his nose. He was simply waiting to catch them, then use Qin Shu’s ’assault’ to pin a charge on them, something like ”conspiring to assassinate a member of the Imperial Family.”

Caught red-handed, what could Xie Guanqi possibly say in her defense? Who would believe her?

As the Xie Family’s only daughter, there was no way they would let her reputation be ruined; they would undoubtedly do everything in their power to cover up the scandal.

With such a major piece of leverage, it would be nearly impossible for Xie Guanqi to stir up any more trouble. Meanwhile, Bai Yiyi had no backing and had fallen into Xie Youchen’s grasp—her life and death were now his to decide.

And from start to finish, Xie Youchen had barely lifted a finger, simply waiting for his prey to walk into the trap.

-

When Jiang Qingli returned to the lounge, Xie Youchen’s wine glass was already empty.

”That was faster than I expected.”

she said, sitting down across from Xie Youchen.

There were faint signs of a struggle, though it looked like Bai Yiyi had been on the receiving end of a one-sided takedown.

The moment she had walked in, Xie Youchen had told her what had happened with Bai Yiyi.

Jiang Qingli had wanted to deal with it herself, but Xie Youchen said everything was already in place. He told her she could just join the interrogation later, his tone as firm and unyielding as when he refused to let her have extra sweets at night.

”She tried to make me eat this just now.” Xie Youchen placed a glass vial in Jiang Qingli’s palm.

The crimson fruit inside had faded slightly, its surface looking a little withered.

’A Love Charm!’ 030 shrieked. ’It’s so disgusting! Aaaah!’

Jiang Qingli held it up to take a look and discovered that although the thing resembled a fruit, the tentacles at its base were clearly insectile.

’That system is so backward and lame,’ 030 said in condemnation. ’What century is it? Who still uses Gu-charms? Plus, if one of those things stays in your body for too long, it causes severe physical damage. It can even be fatal in serious cases. They were banned ages ago.’

’Bai Yiyi actually tried to use a Gu-charm on Xie Youchen.’

Jiang Qingli frowned in disgust, anger flaring in her chest. ’We’ve found Bai Yiyi. How do we deal with her system?’

’Looks like she wants to get rid of her right away.’

’This charm will die within twenty-four hours if it doesn’t find a host,’ 030 said in a light, reassuring tone. ’Your previous Beast Husbands no longer count as male leads, so they can’t supply energy to her system anymore. That’s why it’s gotten so weak. So, once Youchen is done, we’ll go over together. Then you can just leave it to me!’

Jiang Qingli breathed a sigh of relief.

snickered. ’Okay, enough of that. Time to think about where you’re going to enjoy your man tonight.’

’We were having a serious conversation, and it just had to get sidetracked again. 030 is getting way too into this kind of thing...’

Speechless, Jiang Qingli blocked the system.

Xie Youchen was looking down, replying to a message from Chen Mi, his posture somewhat tense.

She picked up her glass of water, furtively raising her eyes to look at the young man seated across from her.

Three years had passed. The once silent, aloof boy had grown into a mature man.

’His features were deep and defined, his nose was high and straight, and those beautifully shaped thin lips... they looked so soft, so kissable...’

’Wait, why am I thinking about kissing again...’

Her brain turned to mush again, bubbling and simmering. GURGLE... GURGLE...

Jiang Qingli thought she was being subtle, but she had no idea that the moment her gaze fell upon Xie Youchen, his entire body had tensed up.

He didn’t know when it started, but whenever they were in the same room, his senses would become incredibly acute.

So acute that he couldn’t ignore a single one of her breaths, a level of awareness that he himself found almost sickening.

After staring for several minutes at the message he had already sent, Xie Youchen heard footsteps. It sounded like she was about to leave.

His head snapped up.

Thankfully, she wasn’t leaving because she found him silent and dull. She was standing on the terrace, looking down.

Xie Youchen’s breathing steadied as he walked to her side and looked down as well.

Below, celebrities from all circles of society crowded together, clinking glasses and chatting. It was a boisterous scene.

”Wow, so many people. Marshal Xie is really popular.” Jiang Qingli tilted her head to look at him. ”But I think it’s a little loud. What should we do about it?”

Xie Youchen saw the familiar, wicked smile appear on her lips, and his own expression softened into a smile without him realizing it. ”I’ll follow your lead.”

”Let’s sneak away! How about we go somewhere else?”

The girl leaned in, and the look in her eyes was more brilliant than all the stars combined.

As if spellbound, Xie Youchen asked in a low voice, ”Where to?”

After Jiang Qingli gave her answer, Xie Youchen said, ”Alright.”

’The answer wasn’t really that important, though.’

’As long as he was with her, anywhere would be fine.’