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

The corpse that had just been lying there intact was now visibly decaying. Its face was a bloody, mangled mess, and a foul stench of rot filled the air.

Although Jiang Qingli wasn’t afraid, the sight still disgusted her.

Before she could look for more than a few seconds, Gu Nian covered her eyes from behind and said softly, ”Don’t look, Sis. The enemy most likely anticipated failure and came fully prepared.”

”Some organizations apply a special drug to their Assassins before a mission. Once they lose their life signs, the drug activates and causes the body to decay, making it impossible to trace them.”

Gu Nian raised his hand. A rift opened in the floor, and the corpse fell through.

Inside the auction house, a group of people were slacking off.

A small group had gathered in the hallway, gossiping and pestering the doctor for secrets about their boss and Miss Jiang. After being shot down, they launched into exaggerated complaints about the sappy scenes they’d witnessed when occasionally helping with deliveries or other tasks.

’An alpha male turning into a coddled husband... It’s all because he’s become so love-struck...’

Just as a few of them grinned, about to continue, a rotting corpse suddenly fell from the sky!

The underground auction house was used to dealing with troublesome guests, but a rotting corpse falling from the ceiling was a first!

Everyone stared, wide-eyed with shock. They looked up from where the corpse had come, their gazes meeting a pair of cold, sharp pink eyes.

Gu Nian’s eyes were icy, but his voice was gentle. ”Instead of standing around chattering, find out where this corpse came from.”

The man in the lead covered his nose, his pupils trembling. ”Boss, th-this... How are we supposed to investigate this?”

”I imagine... you’re not supposed to investigate it with your mouths,” Gu Nian said, his eyes curving into a gentle and kind smile. ”Good luck.”

The auction house staff had never seen Gu Nian act like this. Their legs went weak, and they hastily agreed.

Once the spatial rift vanished, several of them collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.

Someone cried out, ”I’m not seeing things, am I? He smiled at us?! Am I about to die?!”

”The last person who saw the boss smile... I think it was the *former* boss...”

As the group shivered in fear, the doctor said coolly, ”It’s only because Miss Jiang is with him that he’s acting like this.”

”R-Really?”

”Really.” The doctor stuck a trembling hand into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. ”I heard the boss acting all spoiled just now when I was taking a bullet out of another male.”

”At that moment, I thought I was in Hell.”

...

Even after the corpse was dealt with, Jiang Qingli still felt a little uneasy.

The faces from Fang Chi’s memories and the man who had just tried to assassinate her all strongly resembled Ye Linyuan.

Last time, Ye Linyuan had said he would take care of it, but Jiang Qingli couldn’t shake the feeling that something was dangerous.

She searched the villa but couldn’t find Ye Linyuan.

Her terminal had been left with the staff before she entered the forest for the exercise. Jiang Qingli used the hotel room phone to call Lin Xiyue, wanting to ask for her help in getting it back.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain to everyone how she had suddenly vanished from the forest.

Lin Xiyue answered quickly, her voice thrilled to hear her. ”Babe, where’d you go? We’re all waiting for you to come out and get your prize!”

Jiang Qingli froze. ”What prize?”

”The prize for first place!” Lin Xiyue was also stunned. ”Huh? You don’t know? Everyone else was eliminated, and the staff saw you leave the forest on the monitors. We were just wondering when you’d be back.”

Jiang Qingli looked at Gu Nian, who shook his head frantically.

She glanced at the young man’s wristband. His health points were already at zero; she didn’t know when that had happened.

Jiang Qingli furrowed her brow. ”Okay, wait for me. I’m at the hotel changing. I’ll be there soon.”

”It’s fine, you don’t have to hurry back...” Lin Xiyue lowered her voice. ”Let me tell you, Ke An is so bummed out right now. She keeps asking the staff what was wrong with her tactics and demanding to see the surveillance footage, but they won’t let her. She’s raising a huge stink.”

Even from a distance, Jiang Qingli could clearly hear Ke An’s forceful, ringing voice in the background.

After hanging up, Jiang Qingli thought for a moment and said, ”It seems this really was a kidnapping attempt aimed at me.”

”They eliminated everyone else first, then faked my departure from the forest, and finally planned to sedate me with a bullet and take me away.”

”Why didn’t they lure Yuan Shiyao away first?” Gu Nian asked. ”Yuan Shiyao is highly skilled; he should have posed a major threat to them. Didn’t they consider that?”

”During the fight just now, I felt like that man... was a bit dull. His movements were mechanical and not very agile.” Jiang Qingli pointed to her own head.

”Some organizations intentionally turn their Assassins into imbeciles to make them easier to control. I used to have a few colleagues in the same situation,” Gu Nian guessed. ”They probably thought Yuan Shiyao was too much of a nuisance, so they decided to just kill him...”

As he spoke, a soft touch suddenly caressed his face.

Lifting his eyes to meet Jiang Qingli’s gentle, pitying gaze, Gu Nian flinched as if he’d been burned. He pressed his lips together and asked in a small voice, ”What is it?”

”I was just thinking about how much my Nian has suffered.” Jiang Qingli pulled him into her arms and ruffled his hair. ”Not anymore.”

A warm wave spread through his chest. Gu Nian wrapped his arms around the girl’s slender waist and nuzzled his lips against the base of her ear, murmuring softly, ”From the moment I was reunited with you, Sis, my life has been nothing but sweet.”

He cupped Jiang Qingli’s face and tilted his head to press a kiss on her.

Jiang Qingli raised a hand and pushed him back slightly. ”Alright, let’s go get the prize and my terminal first.”

”Just one kiss before we go,” Gu Nian persisted. ”Just one.”

Jiang Qingli glanced at Yuan Shiyao, who was lying on the nearby bed.

He was covered by a thin blanket, his face pale as he lay there.

There was no sign of him waking up, but Jiang Qingli still felt a little embarrassed. ”I don’t think that’s a good idea...”

”Those people won’t be back a second time so soon. Besides, Senior Yuan has his eyes closed right now. He can’t see anything.” Gu Nian raised his voice slightly. ”Sis—”

Jiang Qingli smiled, tilting her head up to meet his lips. He caught her wrist as their lips and tongues intertwined.

A few minutes later, Jiang Qingli pushed Gu Nian away, entered the walk-in closet, and warily closed the door.

Gu Nian reluctantly tore his gaze away and walked over to the bed. He looked down at the other man and said coldly, ”If you’re awake, get lost. Stop eavesdropping.”

When Yuan Shiyao didn’t move, Gu Nian’s lips curled. ”Is it because you’re used to peeping on other people’s happiness? How pitiful... How is it that you and your brother have the same face, yet Sis only likes Yuan Shimo? No matter how you look at it, the problem must be you.”

Yuan Shiyao opened his eyes, turned his head, and stared coldly at him. ”Are you finished?”

Gu Nian blinked innocently. ”What, did I say something wrong? Don’t tell me I hit a nerve.”

Looking at the other man’s punchable face, Yuan Shiyao took a deep breath. Just as he was about to speak, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Jiang Qingli leaned out. ”Nian, I can’t seem to find my socks...”

Noticing something was off, her gaze fell on Yuan Shiyao.

Before she could ask, Gu Nian feigned surprise. ”Senior Yuan, you’re awake?”

”Looks like you’re okay. It’s not convenient for you to be here, so let me take you back—”

As Gu Nian spoke, he helped Yuan Shiyao up, his hand landing precisely on the bandaged wound on his back.

The young man’s long fingers pressed lightly on the wound, carrying a hint of a warning.

Logically, his control was excellent; the pain should have been well within a male’s tolerance.

But in the next second, Yuan Shiyao suddenly let out a muffled grunt of pain.

Jiang Qingli asked, ”What’s wrong?”

The young man lifted his long lashes, coughed weakly a few times, and said in a hoarse voice, ”I’m fine, Sister-in-law. I’m sure Gu didn’t mean to.”

Perhaps because his coughing was too vigorous, the thin blanket covering Yuan Shiyao’s body suddenly slipped off, revealing his pale, beautifully toned physique directly to Jiang Qingli...