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

To avoid causing a panic, Ke An kept the surprise attack a secret. The student council trip therefore continued.

As for the injured Yuan Shiyao, Ke An personally entrusted him to Jiang Qingli’s care.

That evening, when Chen Mi arrived to pick them up, he found Ke An holding Jiang Qingli’s hand and exhorting, ”I’m entrusting our student council’s secretary to you, Qingli. Feel free to torture him however you like.”

Jiang Qingli felt strangely as if she were being entrusted with a son-in-law by his mother. ’And why torture him? Shouldn’t it be ’take good care of him’...?’

She nodded. ”Okay, I will.”

Ke An patted her on the shoulder, a wicked smile on his face.

Yuan Shiyao, who was already in the car, felt his face darken. Fearing Ke An would let something else slip, he whipped out his terminal and furiously tapped out a message.

Yuan Shiyao: [Shut up.]

Ke An ignored the BEEP BEEP BEEP from his terminal. Only after waving goodbye to Jiang Qingli did he take it out and leisurely reply: [I’m just creating an opportunity for you.]

Yuan Shiyao: [...And I’m supposed to thank you for this?]

[You’re welcome,] Ke An replied shamelessly. [As repayment, by next week I want to see reports in at least three media outlets saying I’m more capable than Xie Guanqi. Thanks.]

Yuan Shiyao: ”...”

He took a deep breath. ’With a president like this,’ he thought, ’the future of the student council is in jeopardy.’

”What’s wrong?” Hearing him inhale sharply, Jiang Qingli looked over with concern. ”Is your wound hurting?”

”It’s nothing.” Yuan Shiyao smiled, changing the subject. ”Have you thought about what you’re going to do for the summer break?”

Jiang Qingli said, ”I’ll most likely be interning at the Political Affairs Department.”

Yuan Shiyao nodded, unsurprised.

The Political Affairs Department was a popular choice for the children of noble families who planned to enter politics. An internship there would allow them to accumulate experience, paving the way for their careers after graduation.

As the only current SSS-Level female and the president of the Melt Star Association, Jiang Qingli would most likely be assigned to work alongside the City Lord of the First District.

”What a coincidence.” Yuan Shiyao’s lips curved into a smile. ”I’ll probably be interning at the court. The two departments work very closely, so we should see each other often.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt Gu Nian’s gaze on him, brimming with displeasure.

Yuan Shiyao smiled as he looked back at him. ”And what about you, Gu? Any plans?”

Special admission students had a unique status; the academy would arrange their internships, but they would most likely be entry-level assistant positions, responsible for all sorts of odd jobs.

It was a world of difference from Jiang Qingli’s prospects.

Any male with an ounce of ambition would have been ashamed.

But Gu Nian’s handsome face showed no trace of shame. He leaned his head on Jiang Qingli’s shoulder, nuzzling her affectionately. ”I’ve never cared about any of that. My most important duty right now is to serve my sister well.”

The smile on Yuan Shiyao’s lips faded slightly. He frowned, adopting the tone of someone giving earnest advice. ”Gu, being a good husband is certainly important, but we live in a new era. We have housekeeping robots to handle chores now. A male should be independent and pursue his own life’s ambitions.”

”But the meaning of my life is my female master,” Gu Nian said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. ”Besides... my sister spent fifty million to buy me, so it’s only right and proper that I do these things. I think only the free, cheap ones get jealous and preach from their moral high ground, pretending to offer guidance when they’re really just trying to slander and tear others down.”

Gu Nian looked both shy and earnest, like a doting young husband from a traditional drama. Yet, the sideways glance he shot Yuan Shiyao was filled with nothing but provocation and disdain.

”Wouldn’t you agree, Secretary Yuan?”

Yuan Shiyao: ”...”

Seeing his reaction, Gu Nian reached out to tug on Jiang Qingli’s fingers, blinking his pitiful, rose-crystal eyes. ”Sister, if I spend my whole life revolving around you, will you think I’m not independent enough? I’m not like Secretary Yuan, who has his own career. All I have is you...”

Jiang Qingli, who didn’t quite understand why their conversation had suddenly escalated to the meaning of life, thought for a moment before saying, ”No, of course not. You can do whatever you want, Nian. I’ll support you in anything.”

From the time they had spent together as children, Jiang Qingli knew that Gu Nian was exceptionally clingy because he had been abandoned in the past.

If he wanted to make her his life’s purpose, Jiang Qingli was fine with that.

Gu Nian had only said all that to provoke Yuan Shiyao, but hearing Jiang Qingli’s sincere reply made his eyes sting.

He couldn’t help but break into a smile and throw himself into her arms.

The girl glanced at Yuan Shiyao, then straightened Gu Nian up, reminding him with a look that they weren’t alone.

”I know,” Gu Nian said with a brilliant smile. ”I’ll be more careful in front of outsiders.”

Yuan Shiyao: ”...”

Annoyed by Gu Nian’s theatrical and malicious posturing, he took a deep breath and turned to look out the window, needing some air.

As his gaze shifted, he unexpectedly met Chen Mi’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

Chen Mi held his gaze for only a second before quickly looking away.

Yuan Shiyao frowned, a wave of irritation washing over him.

’Isn’t Chen Mi married? Why is he sneaking glances at Jiang Qingli? Or... did Xie Youchen order him to watch her?’

’Absolutely no morals. No wonder he’d choose trash like Gu Nian.’

Yuan Shiyao’s lip twitched. ’It must be so hard on my brother,’ he suddenly thought, ’having to face these immoral, shameless Beast Husbands all by himself in that house.’

’If I could marry into the family sooner, I would definitely help Yuan Shimo share the burden.’

...

After arriving in the First District, Chen Mi dropped Gu Nian off at his home first. He had planned to take Yuan Shiyao back to the Yuan Family residence next, before driving Jiang Qingli to the Xie Family estate.

However, Jiang Qingli was worried about Yuan Shiyao’s wound and had Chen Mi drive to the hospital first.

She was about to contact the hospital to prepare a room when she received a call from Yuan Shimo. He told her everything was already arranged and that they should just head straight over.

When they arrived at the top-floor hospital room, Yuan Shimo was standing at the doorway with a nurse.

Jiang Qingli took the medical files to the attending physician in the next room and then waited for the results of the new examination.

The nurse quickly finished her examination with a medical device and left, leaving only the two Yuan brothers in the room.

From behind the privacy curtain, Yuan Shiyao finished buttoning up his hospital gown and spoke to his brother, who was standing a short distance away. ”Thank you, Brother. But I’m really fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

”I know,” Yuan Shimo stated calmly. ”If you’re not dying, then get discharged. Our female master is very busy; she has no time to waste on you.”

Yuan Shiyao said earnestly, ”Brother, I won’t let our female master waste her time.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shimo nearly let out a laugh of pure exasperation.

’How on earth has the Yuan Family been educating him all these years? How could they raise someone to be so... utterly shameless?’

’No, perhaps it wasn’t the Yuan Family’s upbringing that’s to blame.’

The smell of hospital disinfectant suddenly reminded Yuan Shimo of something from long ago.

Once, he had fallen ill in class during the change of seasons, but Du Yushan had refused to call a doctor, saying that getting sick a few times would teach him a lesson and prevent him from embarrassing himself again.

Yuan Shiyao had run to their mother and grandmother, throwing a fit until the family was forced to get him treatment... The guy had been stubborn since childhood.

Perhaps it was the memory of that past incident that had prompted Yuan Shimo to book the hospital room in advance this time.

He paused. In the end, he held back his scolding and simply said, ”Watch your wording.”

”My apologies,” Yuan Shiyao immediately conceded. ”I shouldn’t be saying that now. I’ll save it for the future.”

Yuan Shimo: ”...”

-

While the two brothers were at a standstill, Jiang Qingli finished transmitting the files.

Not wanting to disturb the doctor’s evaluation, she got up to leave.

Just as she stepped out of the office and rounded a corner, she walked straight into a warm embrace that smelled of woody agarwood.

The young man made no move to dodge, instead simply scooping her up and spinning her around once before setting her gently back on her feet.

Xie Youchen straightened up, his eyes filled with tenderness as he gazed at her. ”You’re back.”

”I’m back!”

Seeing that no one was around, Jiang Qingli threw herself into his arms and ordered him without a hint of hesitation, ”Again! I want to go for another spin!”