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

Two identical pairs of jade-green eyes met.

Yuan Shimo frowned slightly. It seemed that whenever Jiang Qingli was involved, his shadow became disobedient.

It was clearly a part of his body, yet it defied his command, clinging to his female master and refusing to let go.

Who taught it to be so shameless?

Seeing the shadow try to stuff the cat tail into Jiang Qingli’s hand, Yuan Shimo lost his patience. His tone grew heavy. "Down."

But this only seemed to provoke the shadow’s rebellious streak.

The long, slender arms—identical to Yuan Shimo’s—tightened around the girl’s waist. Not only did it refuse to let go, it even turned and bared its teeth at its master, like a cat protecting its food.

This was utter insolence.

Yuan Shimo’s eyes darkened. He strode forward, grabbed the shadow by the back of its collar, and in a few swift movements, crushed the form identical to his own into a thin line beneath his foot, forcing it back into a shadow.

Jiang Qingli found it fascinating, never having expected to see a shadow fight its master.

But Yuan Shimo was clearly displeased. He sat down and immediately asked, "What were you two doing just now?"

At that, Jiang Qingli’s smile widened. She put her hands behind her back and said playfully, "Take a guess. There’s a reward if you’re right."

Yuan Shimo’s expression darkened even more. "Did it initiate it?"

He made it sound as if his own shadow were some detestable villain.

Jiang Qingli froze for two seconds before it dawned on her. The little cat’s jealousy was immense—he was even jealous of himself.

She didn’t keep him in suspense any longer. Suppressing a laugh, she opened her palm to show him the cat fur. "I caught you making your shadow do manual labor. It probably pounced on me to try and stop me."

Yuan Shimo paused, explaining with some embarrassment, "I... I do clean often."

Normally, he used a lint roller, but he had been in a hurry to pick her up today and hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

Not wanting her to think he was a male who didn’t like to clean, Yuan Shimo pressed his lips together, his tail sweeping awkwardly across the sofa’s surface.

Jiang Qingli saw through him at a glance and laughingly reached out to stroke his tail. "What little kitty doesn’t shed? Shedding just proves you’re a real one."

As she spoke, she also scratched his chin.

Yuan Shimo let her soothe him, leaning in close and scooping her into his arms.

The young man had just showered, and his body still radiated a damp warmth. His soft pajamas were unbuttoned at the top two buttons, revealing pale skin and a collarbone. The half-hidden view was paradoxically more alluringly restrained than if he were fully undressed.

Jiang Qingli’s desire stirred, and her hand slid upward along the opening of his clothes...

A few seconds later, her hand suddenly froze.

Yuan Shimo had already lifted her and was heading for the bedroom. Sensing her hesitation, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Jiang Qingli blinked. "...N-nothing."

After saying that, her face grew faintly hot, and she didn’t quite dare to meet his gaze.

She had lied.

Just now, as she touched him, Yuan Shiyao’s words had suddenly echoed in her ear: "Between my brother and me, who feels better to the touch..." Then, before she could even react, her brain had automatically started making a comparison.

For the first time, Jiang Qingli was a little disgusted with her excellent memory. Why did it have to be so good?

The texture, the temperature... she remembered it all with crystal clarity...

It was too sinful.

Placed on the desk, Jiang Qingli came back to her senses. She instinctively propped herself up with her hands and looked up into Yuan Shimo’s beautiful eyes.

He took her by the wrists, pulled her hands free, and guided them to wrap around his waist. At the same time, he lowered his head slightly. "Help me take off my glasses."

Taking off his glasses was the signal for a kiss.

Jiang Qingli removed the gold-rimmed glasses. Before she could even set them down securely, he tilted her chin up and kissed her.

The moment their lips met, it was as if a tiny electric current shot through her, making her heart go numb.

Having not seen each other for a few days, Yuan Shimo was more aggressive than before, as if something had provoked him.

It was like he was trying to defeat someone, using every trick he had.

The scene before her blurred, and the shadows on the wall danced in disarray.

The night was long.

...

But during this night of tangled intimacy, there were some unexpected situations.

Occasionally, Yuan Shimo’s shadow would freeze, trying to break away from his body.

But each time, just as a tendril began to emerge, Yuan Shimo would suppress it back down.

...

When Jiang Qingli woke again, the sun was already shining brightly.

She rolled over, burying herself in Yuan Shimo’s embrace, too sleepy to open her eyes.

"Sleep a little longer?" Yuan Shimo’s voice, on the other hand, held a note of satisfaction.

Jiang Qingli expertly pinched his waist and grumbled, "I’m a little angry."

"Are you uncomfortable?" Yuan Shimo raised a hand to stroke her hair. "Was there something I didn’t do well? Tell me, and I’ll improve."

His attitude was so sincere, as if he were conducting some kind of research.

It was a world away from his absorbed state last night.

Jiang Qingli sighed. "Please stop evolving, Cat Teacher. Take pity on your poor, delicate student..."

Her melodramatic words made Yuan Shimo laugh out loud, his chest vibrating slightly.

Jiang Qingli discovered that this cat, at times, had a surprisingly low bar for humor.

Anything she said seemed to make him laugh.

It was strangely cute.

Listening to his laughter, Jiang Qingli slowly woke up and casually grabbed his cat tail to play with.

After a moment, Jiang Qingli suddenly remembered something. "Should we go see your brother today?"

"No need." Out of her sight, Yuan Shimo frowned in disapproval.

His shadow nodded as well, agreeing there was no need to see that homewrecker who was trying to poach his partner.

Jiang Qingli hesitated for a moment, then heard Yuan Shimo say, "The doctor sent his medical report this morning. He needs to rest quietly, so it’s better if we don’t disturb him."

"If you want to show your gratitude, we can go pick him up on the day he’s discharged."

He had a point. Jiang Qingli nodded in agreement. "Okay, we can invite him over for a meal then."

"The meal won’t be necessary," Yuan Shimo said. "We’re all family; there’s no need for such formalities."

He certainly knew when to pull out the ’family’ excuse.

Jiang Qingli didn’t overthink it, deciding she would just give Yuan Shiyao some gifts as thanks when they picked him up from the hospital.

Sensing this wasn’t a good topic, Yuan Shimo changed the subject.

The two of them were lovey-dovey in bed for a while longer before Yuan Shimo got up to make some food, leaving Jiang Qingli lying on the bed, waiting to be fed.

After breakfast, Baili Jing arrived to take Jiang Qingli home.

Downstairs, the two males stood facing each other.

"Thank you for taking care of our female master last night." Baili Jing smiled gently and returned the book he had borrowed last time.

Once inside the car, Baili Jing pulled her onto his lap. His fluffy fox tail wrapped around her from behind, stroking her here and poking her there, as if he could never get enough of playing with her.

Jiang Qingli was a little drowsy. She nestled in his arms, letting him have his way with her as she idly chatted with him about what had happened over the past few days.

When he heard that Ye Linyuan hadn’t replied to any messages these past few days, Baili Jing’s brow furrowed slightly, and he seemed to be holding something back.

As they were talking, Jiang Qingli’s terminal vibrated.

She glanced at the screen, and her expression immediately turned serious.

The message was from one of Ye Linyuan’s subordinates:

[Miss Jiang, the City Lord has gone missing in the Twelve Cities.]