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

There was no comment moderation for this charity event. The moment a skeptical comment appeared in the live chat, voices of agreement followed—

[I agree. It’s obviously an act. The little girl’s movements are incredibly stiff.]

[Seriously, isn’t this kind of script way too outdated? Is Jiang Qingli planning to go into politics? Just trying to burnish her credentials here!]

[Am I the only one who remembers things? Does nobody recall her stealing her cousin’s fiancé in the Upper City District? And now she’s all whitewashed?]

[Oh my god, the little girl’s eyes are all red. She looks so scared of Jiang Qingli. She’s a confirmed evil female...]

The staff member in charge of the livestream went to get a cup of water for a child. When he returned to a screen full of accusations, he was completely stunned.

Just as he was about to start manually blocking them, a voice spoke up. ”No need to block them. Leave it as is.”

Startled, the staff member turned to see Yuan Shiyao standing beside him. Knowing he was from the court, the staffer hesitated. ”But it’s obvious someone is trying to manipulate the narrative. There are a lot of sock puppet accounts.”

”I know. I’ll take care of it. Just keep the stream running with the audio on,” Yuan Shiyao said, his voice steady as he looked down and scrolled through his terminal’s contact list.

The staff member froze for a few seconds before doing as he was told.

On the livestream, the class was drawing to a close.

Jiang Qingli and the other volunteers packed up the teaching aids while the children stood nearby, either exchanging their completed drawings or continuing to work on them.

After washing her hands, Jiang Qingli turned and nearly bumped into a small figure.

Recognizing the little girl from before, she crouched down and asked gently, ”What’s the matter?”

”I...” the girl stammered, clutching her drawing and lowering her head.

Jiang Qingli noticed the ink stains on her clothes and smiled. ”Are you worried the stain won’t wash out? Don’t worry, you’ll all be getting new washing machines very soon.”

The orphanages in the Twelve Cities were short on funds, and their washing machines were old clunkers that frequently broke down. When one failed, clothes had to be washed by hand.

The teachers washed the girls’ clothes, but the girls here were all very thoughtful and tried not to get them dirty.

When Jiang Qingli heard about this, she bought them the latest models with her own money. They were scheduled to be shipped from the nearby Central District next week.

The girl’s eyes lit up at her words.

But she didn’t leave, scuffing the ground with the toe of her shoe, hesitating to speak.

Jiang Qingli waited patiently. ”It’s okay, I’m not in a hurry. Take your time.”

She wiped her fingers clean on her own clothes and gave the girl’s back an encouraging pat.

After nearly three minutes of silence, the girl leaned forward and gently pressed her cheek against Jiang Qingli’s before shoving the drawing into her hand.

At the same time, a sentence tumbled out in a tiny, rushed voice. ”M-Miss, this is for you.”

Having used up all her courage, she covered her face with one hand and buried herself in the arms of the approaching director.

The director, not understanding the situation, asked worriedly, ”Advisor Jiang, this child is very reserved. I hope she wasn’t any trouble?”

The girl hadn’t known who Jiang Qingli was, but she sensed something from the director’s words and looked cautiously toward her.

Jiang Qingli smiled, put a finger to her lips in a ”shh” gesture, and winked at the girl. ”This will be our little secret, right?”

The girl stared blankly for a second, then nodded, her face flushing. ”Mhm!”

「Outside the door.」

Yuan Shiyao’s terminal received a notification that the troll accounts had been dealt with.

When he looked up at the live chat again, the tide had already turned—

[OMG, this is so adorable... My heart is melting...]

[I don’t think this is staged. Did you all not see the Moon Festival gala? Given Jiang Qingli’s acting ability, there’s no way she could pull off such a touching scene!]

[Sexy, gorgeous males online! ** Click now for a chance to win ten million! URL**//%...]

[To be honest, aside from being a bit promiscuous a few years ago, Jiang Qingli hasn’t really done anything wrong lately, has she? The Jiang Family donates to charities every year, and Director Jiang is the one sponsoring my little sister’s schooling.]

[You can only say Jiang Qingli is a normal person. The comments section doesn’t need to be this over-the-top.]

[Qin Shu shared the livestream! I trust Sister Shu’s taste. Count me in for support!]

[Wifey’s side profile is so gorgeous ahhhh >< Mwah mwah mwah!]

...

After the livestream ended, public opinion regarding Jiang Qingli on the Star Network shifted once again.

Although many still believed she was putting on an act, overall, between the earlier Moon Festival livestream and the current event, her reputation as an ”evil female” was fading further and further away.

The subject of all this discussion only found out about it just before dinner.

Her secretary, having relayed the news excitedly, felt they should strike while the iron was hot and put out more press releases.

Jiang Qingli, who was about to head into the changing room, smiled at her. ”That won’t be necessary. Let’s post more about the orphanage instead. I don’t really care what people say about me online.”

At these words, the secretary’s eyes went wide with adoration. ”Advisor, I’m going to fall in love with you!”

Jiang Qingli playfully tickled her chin with a finger. ”Oh yeah? How about I marry you and have you work for me for free?”

”On second thought, being love-struck seems like a bad idea,” the secretary said, her expression turning serious. ”My apologies, Advisor Jiang. Let’s stick to our cold, professional relationship. The kind where I still get a paycheck.”

”I’ll give you a raise next time,” Jiang Qingli said with a laugh as she entered the changing room.

This changing room had been prepared exclusively for Jiang Qingli.

Therefore, she was very casual about it.

However, after pushing the door open, she discovered someone else was in the room.

Yuan Shimo was changing clothes.

The hem of his loose shirt was lifted halfway, revealing dazzlingly pale skin. A clear bead of sweat trickled down the taut, elegant line of his waist, disappearing beneath the waistband of his buttoned suit pants.

Yuan Shimo’s role earlier had been to assist the teacher, so he was still in his white shirt.

’Taking a shirt off by pulling it over your head is more difficult than just unbuttoning it.’

’Besides, she’d been chatting with her secretary in the hallway for at least five minutes. Would a normal male really take this long to undress?’

’And I just happened to walk in on him. He saw me, but he didn’t cover up. He just held the pose, letting me look.’

’So...’

’Yuan Shimo could only be doing this on purpose.’

’So the little cat is trying to seduce his master.’

Jiang Qingli closed the door, her gaze traveling slowly between his face and his waist. She waited until he pressed his lips together and began to shyly lower the shirt to cover himself before she spoke.

”Cat Teacher, you’re making me think of that photo again.”

Yuan Shimo had sent her three selfies recently.

And she had a favorite.

That night, after a seminar he was attending had ended, Yuan Shimo had uncharacteristically had a few drinks.

While on a video call with Jiang Qingli, as if possessed, he had masturbated to the sound of her voice.

After she found out, she’d made him take a photo for her afterward ”as a memento.”

In the photo, the tips of his ears were beet red. He had used his arm to hide his face, taking the shot from a low angle, looking up.

Jiang Qingli’s assessment consisted of just two words: ”Utterly delectable.”

Yuan Shimo, the one who’d taken the picture, hadn’t kept a copy for himself. He didn’t even dare to think back on it.

If the teacher who had taught him Male Virtue found out, he would surely be so furious his hair would stand on end, and he’d curse Yuan Shimo for being ”utterly shameless.”

And yet.

At this very moment.

Looking at the way she was watching him, what Yuan Shimo was actually thinking was—

’I’m already shameless.’

’So why not, right here and now, try to truly seduce her?’