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

The morning sky was overcast, and the air was suffocatingly muggy.

Jiang Qingli and Yi Nuo arrived at Zone F-07.

Time had flown. The once-naïve boy had grown into a tall, handsome man, and Zone F-07, formerly a research institute, was now a recreational park dotted with flowers and plants.

Jiang Qingli walked with Yi Nuo for a while along a cobblestone path that wound through the park, then they sat on a bench by the lake.

Military officers holding coffee or other drinks passed by in twos and threes. Occasionally, someone would recognize Jiang Qingli and greet her.

Yi Nuo stared at the lake the entire time, not saying a word.

He remained silent, and Jiang Qingli didn’t interrupt, quietly keeping him company.

As noon approached, a faint rumble of thunder echoed in the distance.

Yi Nuo, like a statue finally stirring to life, felt his gaze slowly come into focus.

Yi Nuo glanced to his side.

Jiang Qingli was still sitting beside him.

Sensing his gaze, she turned to look at him. She leaned in closer, studying his expression with concern. ”Have you remembered anything?”

”No, I still only have fragmented memories,” Yi Nuo said. ”I have no memory of the incident. Marshal Yuan Liang was the one who told me where it happened.”

Jiang Qingli nodded.

Yuan Liang and Yi Nuo’s mother, Yin Shen, had been friends for many years, so he had given Jiang Qingli a rough outline of the situation.

Yin Shen was the most brilliant researcher at the institute, having fought her way up from the Ninth City to the Upper City District.

Yi Nuo’s father was a pure-blooded, S-rank Gray Wolf Beastman. But in order to be with Yi Nuo’s mother, he had voluntarily renounced his noble status to be with his female master.

Perhaps for that reason, or perhaps because she was too busy with work, Yi Nuo’s mother only ever had his father as her Beast Husband.

After Yi Nuo was born, the three of them formed a family of three, a rare sight in their society.

’If the incident hadn’t happened, they would have been so happy...’

A fine drizzle began to fall, the cool droplets pattering against their skin.

Summers in the Lower District always carried a damp chill, and the highly polluted rainwater was turbid and foul.

But Jiang Qingli showed no sign of wanting to leave, simply asking him, ”Want me to get an umbrella?”

She took a transparent umbrella from her Space Ring. A small, smiling bear charm dangled from its tip, swaying as she opened it.

A light shadow fell over them, blocking out the rain, which began to patter softly on the umbrella.

She drew nearer, and her light fragrance completely enveloped the Gray Wolf’s keen senses.

Yi Nuo held his breath, and at the same time, he felt her fingertips, resting on the wooden bench, unintentionally brush against the side of his hand.

He inevitably thought of a similar moment from long ago.

When he first arrived at the Jiang Family estate, he would often spend the entire day sitting in one place, just staring into space.

Sometimes indoors, sometimes outdoors.

Xie Youchen had put in a word, so the Jiang family didn’t restrict him, allowing him to wander about like a ghost.

Everyone ignored him, with one exception.

At first, Jiang Qingli would only watch the taciturn boy from a distance.

Then one day, her ball landed beside Yi Nuo. She walked over, and he picked it up and handed it to her.

After a moment of surprise, she suddenly broke into a laugh. ”So you’re really not a robot after all!”

Of course, her comment went unanswered.

After that, however, a girl’s figure could occasionally be seen by Yi Nuo’s side.

Jiang Qingli saw Yi Nuo as someone she could be friends with. She would wave hello when she passed him, sit beside him to watch the sunset together, and later, she even started telling him about interesting things that happened...

From the moment she was born, Jiang Qingli had received endless love and kindness, so she was willing to share some of that kindness with others.

Even if Yi Nuo almost never responded.

Until one evening.

Yi Nuo stepped outside and saw the girl sitting on a bench in the long corridor, her legs curled up, her chin resting on her knees as she stared up at the overcast sky.

He was supposed to head back after delivering some documents for Housekeeper Qin, but as he passed her, his steps faltered. Then, as if guided by an unseen force, he sat down beside her.

It was as if some kind of habit compelled him.

Jiang Qingli didn’t smile at him like she usually did. She only sighed.

Yi Nuo remained motionless.

After a few minutes, Jiang Qingli asked, ”How come you’re not asking me why I sighed?”

Yi Nuo asked, ”Why?”

He was so stiff, only reacting once he’d been given a command. A robot would have been more empathetic.

Jiang Qingli was already used to his personality, so she said frankly, ”I’m in a bad mood...”

She didn’t elaborate.

Yi Nuo waited a few minutes before asking, ”Why?”

The girl buried her face in her knees, saying nothing more.

The rain came down in a fine, dense drizzle, covering their skin with a light chill.

A shadow fell over her.

Jiang Qingli looked up to see that Yi Nuo had opened an umbrella.

He was as silent as a statue, his movements stiff and precise. He would never take the initiative to ask her about anything, preferring to just listen quietly.

But the umbrella, he had unconsciously tilted it toward her.

Jiang Qingli’s lips curved. ”You know, I think you’re quite well-suited to being a butler.”

”The butlers in manga are always like you—handsome, quiet, and very thoughtful... Oh, right, and you’re a big dog!”

Yi Nuo wanted to ignore that, but he felt compelled to correct her on a matter of principle. ”...Wolf.”

”Fine, you’re a wolf!”

Jiang Qingli had deliberately set a trap for him, and hearing his retort, she laughed even more happily. ”Wolves are very loyal, too!”

’Well, that was a compliment at least.’

The boy’s lips twitched into a faint smile.

The rain grew heavier, and the distance between them grew smaller, until their shoulders were gently pressed together.

His thoughts drifted for a moment before he lowered his gaze and spoke in a low voice, ”Miss.”

Jiang Qingli: ”Hm?”

His knuckles stiffened. Yi Nuo slowly tightened his fingers, asking in a tone that he himself could hardly understand or describe, ”What do you want me to do?”

The young man’s eyes were downcast, his expression unreadable.

But Jiang Qingli saw his tightly pressed lips.

Yi Nuo probably didn’t realize he always did that whenever he was dejected or nervous.

In the past, it was because of his deceased parents.

Now, it was clearly because of her.

Jiang Qingli thought Yi Nuo was worried about his future, so she reached for his hand and held it, saying earnestly, ”Yi Nuo, even though you’re my butler, you could have left the Jiang Family long ago. You’ve always been free.”

”So I will respect whatever you decide.”

”I know I said before that I’d have a hard time if you left, but now that I think about it, that wasn’t right of me to say. You have your own life to live, so you can go—”

”I don’t want to.”

The young man cut in abruptly.

In all the time they had known each other, this was the first time Yi Nuo had ever interrupted Jiang Qingli.

He lifted his gaze and saw the surprise in Jiang Qingli’s eyes. He pursed his lips. ”I’m sorry, Miss.”

”But...”

”I don’t want to be separated from you.”

’He had already lost his family. Lost his home.’

’He didn’t want to go through another separation.’

Yi Nuo paused, then took her hand and pressed it against his heart, gazing into her eyes.

His gaze was as pure and unreserved as hers had been when she’d looked at him all those years ago.

”In this entire world, you are the most important person to me now.”

”I want to stay by your side.”