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

The air went still for a moment. No one expected Yuan Shiyao to suddenly appear and so naturally and skillfully wipe away Jiang Qingli’s smeared lipstick.

Yuan Shimo’s brows knitted tightly.

But before he could react, the silent shadow beside him lost its patience. It shoved Yuan Shiyao’s hand away, wrapped its arms around Jiang Qingli’s waist from behind, and leaned in to rest its chin on her shoulder. It stared warily at the man across from them, baring its teeth in a silent snarl, like a cat guarding its food.

Clearly, upon seeing its rival, the shadow revealed the intense hostility hidden beneath the young man’s gentle exterior.

At the same time, Yuan Shimo’s arm around her waist tightened slightly.

His all-encompassing scent enveloped her.

Her breathing quickened. Jiang Qingli turned her head and caught their reflection in the glass window—

In the dim light, Yuan Shimo and the shadow were layered one behind the other, holding her in a tight, protective embrace. Their pale gold-tinged white hair cascaded over her shoulder, swaying gently like a cat’s tail. For an instant, it was nearly impossible to tell which one was the real him.

And across from them, the young man with black hair and jade-green eyes hadn’t left after being pushed away. Instead, he took a step forward and stopped right in front of her.

Yuan Shiyao lowered his jade-green eyes—identical to his brother’s—cupped her face, and gazed into her eyes, his own swirling with infatuation and love.

The pad of his thumb caressed her lips, his touch so gentle it seemed he was afraid of hurting her.

Jiang Qingli was slightly taken aback.

Perhaps it was the strange sensation of being surrounded by three identical-looking people, but when his breath brushed against her face, Jiang Qingli’s cheeks flushed, and her entire body tensed up involuntarily.

In contrast to her, Yuan Shiyao was perfectly calm.

”You got some on your cheek, too.” Right in front of Yuan Shimo, the black-haired young man took a handkerchief from his pocket and even offered some advice. ”Brother, you should be more careful next time. What if someone saw? Sister-in-law is sensitive; she gets embarrassed easily.”

”If you know that, then what are you still doing here?” Yuan Shimo’s voice was uncharacteristically stern as he tried to drive him away.

Yuan Shimo snatched the handkerchief from his younger brother’s hand, while the shadow slapped Yuan Shiyao’s other hand away. The blow was hard enough to leave the back of his hand red.

As if he hadn’t noticed the hostility in his twin brother’s words, Yuan Shiyao just smiled. ”Our advisor just said he wants to have dinner with us, which is why I came looking for you. Don’t take too long.”

After saying this, he didn’t leave immediately.

Instead, he raised his hand, straightened a few stray strands of Jiang Qingli’s hair, and said softly, ”Qingli, see you next time.”

Their eyes met. Jiang Qingli paused for a moment, then nodded. ”Okay.”

Yuan Shimo cupped the girl’s face, wiped away the lipstick, and then took out a new tube.

”Is this color okay?” Yuan Shimo asked as he twisted up the lipstick.

Jiang Qingli was a little surprised. ”Did you buy this for me?”

”Mhm. I noticed you really like this color family.” Yuan Shimo’s breath hitched slightly. ”Is it okay?”

”Of course,” Jiang Qingli said, reaching for it. But when she realized he seemed to want to apply it for her, she drew her hand back. ”I love this color.”

Jiang Qingli had a lot of cosmetics, with bottles and jars piled high on her vanity. The last time Yuan Shimo had been tidying up, he noticed that most of her lipsticks were from the same color family. A few days ago, while buying books online, he had bought one on impulse.

’It was for an occasion just like this.’

This was the first time in Yuan Shimo’s entire life that he had ever applied lipstick.

Jiang Qingli stood there obediently, letting him apply it.

The vibrant, berry-red color brushed across her lips as he carefully traced their outline.

Before this, Yuan Shimo had watched several tutorial videos and even mentally rehearsed it. He’d thought it wouldn’t be that hard, but his application was clumsy and hesitant.

Waiting with great anticipation for him to finish, Jiang Qingli eagerly opened her terminal’s camera and pointed it at herself.

And then... she saw lips that could only be described as sausage-like.

’Even geniuses can be clumsy sometimes.’

Jiang Qingli originally wanted to comfort him, but she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw her reflection. She only stopped when he wiped the lipstick off.

”I’m sorry,” Yuan Shimo apologized quietly, the tips of his ears flushing red. ”Maybe... I shouldn’t do things like this anymore.”

”I wasn’t laughing at you,” Jiang Qingli explained, suppressing a giggle. ”It’s just that your hands are usually so nimble, who knew that when it came to makeup—”

Before she could finish, she realized how suggestive her words sounded. She quickly fell silent, took the lipstick, and applied it herself.

The word ”nimble” made the roots of Yuan Shimo’s ears turn bright red.

Meanwhile, the utterly shameless shadow beside him hugged the girl’s slender waist, its cat tail wrapping around her leg and rubbing back and forth.

Unable to watch any longer, Yuan Shimo retracted the shadow and forced himself to calm down.

After finishing her lipstick, Jiang Qingli glanced at him and then toward the door, looking as if she wanted to say something but was holding back.

Yuan Shimo pressed his lips together. ”Go find him.”

”Don’t be upset. He’s a really nice person.” Jiang Qingli swung his hand back and forth. ”Cat Teacher, don’t worry. Being with him won’t affect my time with you.”

After saying that, Jiang Qingli was even a little impressed with herself.

’She was really getting the hang of being a female master, to be able to say things like that so easily.’

Yuan Shimo lowered his eyes and said nothing.

His silence left Jiang Qingli at a loss. She wasn’t very good at placating people, so all she could do was lean closer, look up into his face, and try to think of something to say.

But in truth, no coaxing was necessary. Just the sight of her looking up at him was enough to soften Yuan Shimo’s heart.

”I will accept it,” Yuan Shimo said.

’Perhaps I’d sensed it long ago.’

’This was just confirming my suspicions.’

Yuan Shimo took her hand and led her out, his voice gentle. ”Do you need me to tell the other Beast Husbands for you?”

”No, that’s alright. I’ll tell them myself.” Jiang Qingli already had a rough idea of how she would break the news.

Yuan Shimo nodded without asking any further questions. He straightened her clothes, helped her put her mask back on, and then led her out of the lounge area.

Their advisor had sent a message saying to gather at the side entrance. They parted ways at the top of the stairs.

Yuan Shimo stood still, watching her figure recede and disappear around the corner before he finally turned and headed in the opposite direction.

’His old Mr. Fude used to say that if a Beast Husband wanted to be favored, he shouldn’t be a nag. He had to learn to be supportive.’

’Since when had he started recalling these concepts he’d once scorned so often?’

’She was an enchanting enigma.’

’And far too many people coveted her... ’

As he walked down the stairs, the shadow at his feet suddenly stopped and looked to the right.

Yuan Shimo lifted his gaze and saw Yuan Shiyao standing by the wall, clearly having waited for some time.

Their eyes met. Yuan Shiyao said, ”That was faster than I expected.”

Recalling the earlier scene, Yuan Shimo’s expression turned cold, and he walked right past his brother toward the exit.

’In front of Jiang Qingli, I couldn’t be blunt about telling him to leave, but now there’s no need to give my rival any face.’

Yuan Shiyao was also replaying the scene in his mind, but he felt no guilt at all for trying to seduce his sister-in-law—only for failing. He was already analyzing his mistakes.

He caught up with Yuan Shimo and hesitated for a moment before saying, ”Brother, Sister-in-law doesn’t dislike me. She didn’t reject my approach, either.”

”You’re imagining things,” Yuan Shimo said icily.

”Then is there anything I should change?” Yuan Shiyao asked, feigning an earnest desire for advice.

Yuan Shimo’s expression was blank. ”The most important thing for you to do right now is stay away from her.”

Yuan Shiyao: ”...”

Yuan Shiyao knew his brother was already furious because of Xie Youchen, so he decided not to provoke him any further.

His fingers, hanging at his side, rubbed together unconsciously, as if they could still feel the soft texture of her hair.

Remembering her scent from when he’d been so close, Yuan Shiyao’s heart fluttered. He took out his terminal and sent Jiang Qingli a message.