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

It was silent all around, with only the soft crackle of burning wood from the dying bonfire.

Staring at the open palm before her, Jiang Qingli pursed her lips.

It was just a dance with a friend, yet she felt an inexplicable nervousness creep over her.

’I have a feeling that if I accept, a situation will arise that I can’t handle.’

’But rejecting him in front of everyone would be incredibly embarrassing for him...’

As if sensing Jiang Qingli’s hesitation, Gu Nian wrapped an arm around her waist from the side and said politely, "I’m sorry, Senior Yuan. My sister only came to the bonfire tonight to keep me company. She’s actually exhausted from the trip and needs to go back and rest... I’m sure you can understand, right?"

Yuan Shiyao looked at Jiang Qingli and asked, "Is that true?"

He didn’t miss the evasiveness in Jiang Qingli’s eyes. ’I was too hasty,’ he thought to himself. Outwardly, he remained considerate and polite, saying, "My apologies, I wasn’t being considerate. You two should go back and rest."

As he spoke, he withdrew his hand and stepped aside to let them pass.

As she passed by, Jiang Qingli felt a strange sense of familiarity and looked at him.

The young man’s eyes were half-lidded, the polite smile on his lips so taut it seemed forced. The curve of his lowered eyelashes was strikingly similar to Yuan Shimo’s.

The thought of Yuan Shimo made Jiang Qingli’s fingers tighten. A sudden panic seized her, and she quickened her pace to leave.

The bonfire’s light was about to die out.

Seeing Yuan Shiyao standing there like a statue, the others felt too awkward to continue their merrymaking. The atmosphere turned silent and heavy.

Ke An cleared her throat. "All right, everyone, we were supposed to wrap this up half an hour ago. We’ve had our extra fun, so let’s hurry back to bed. We have a practical combat exercise tomorrow! Don’t oversleep! Whoever’s late tomorrow has to buy everyone milk tea!"

She gave them an out, and everyone took the opportunity to disperse.

Lin Xiyue asked, "What practical combat exercise?"

"Oh, it’s a practical combat simulation game," Ke An said, pointing to the nearby forest. "They’ve been running an event over there recently. Players are split into two teams and shoot each other with simulation rounds."

She glanced at Yuan Shiyao, who was still standing there, and asked enthusiastically, "Want to join?"

Lin Xiyue saw right through her. "Hey, the person you really want to invite is Qingli, isn’t it?"

Ke An didn’t deny it, just chuckled. "Well, it’s a lot of fun anyway. Ask Qingli for me. It’s a new event, and the first-place prize is pretty generous."

Lin Xiyue nodded and waved goodbye.

After seeing everyone off, Ke An was about to leave too.

A tug on her finger made her turn around. She saw Ai Bin jerk his chin toward Yuan Shiyao, who was still standing in the distance, and ask worriedly, "Is Secretary Yuan okay? He seems to have taken a pretty big hit..."

"I took a big hit, too," Ke An said. "Who knew Secretary Yuan, who’s usually so confident, would fail on the very first step? I thought I was going to win all of your money."

Ai Bin disagreed. "You only lost a few hundred thousand. Secretary Yuan lost his shot at love!"

Ke An: "..."

Ke An was speechless. "I swear, you males always treat love like it’s the most important thing in the world. You should watch fewer soap operas. When you ask someone out, you have to be prepared for rejection."

The young man in the distance seemed to hear her words and turned to leave.

Watching their Secretary Yuan’s dejected back, Ai Bin was filled with sympathy. "Poor Secretary Yuan. Is he going to die old and alone...?"

Ke An said dismissively, "Didn’t I just have Lin Xiyue ask Qingli if she’s going to the practical combat exercise tomorrow?"

"If he seizes the opportunity, he still has a chance."

-

After freshening up, Lin Xiyue was lounging on the sofa, playing on her terminal, and she relayed Ke An’s question.

Jiang Qingli’s eyes lit up. "I’m in!"

She had noticed this activity before she arrived, but with just a few of them, it wouldn’t have been fun. Now, with her two friends, her Beast Husbands, and the senior student council members, there were more than twenty people. It was the perfect number for this game!

The forest behind the beach had a great environment and a large area, so they could play for a long time.

"Alright, if you’re going, I’m going too." Lin Xiyue rolled over and glanced at Jiang Qingli’s slender waist, visible in her pajamas. She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it. "Hehe, so slim..."

"Stop it, that tickles," Jiang Qingli said, lightly swatting her hand away.

Lin Xiyue couldn’t help but touch her again. "Tsk tsk, for Miss Jiang to grace me with her favor on the first night... Gu and what’s-his-name must be dying of jealousy right now."

A little while ago, Lin Xiyue had brought over two milk teas, planning to chat with Jiang Qingli, but she walked in on Gu Nian and Ye Linyuan each holding one of Jiang Qingli’s hands, trading passive-aggressive barbs.

Gu Nian sneered, "It’s Friday. If Professor Ye’s memory is failing in his old age, he’s free to check a calendar."

Ye Linyuan raised an eyebrow. "If I recall correctly, before we left, you personally told Yuan Shimo that when our female master is on vacation, it counts as a break. The schedule is void, and everything comes down to skill."

Gu Nian’s eyes widened. "You were eavesdropping!"

The silent-moving snake-like man just raised his brows. Far from being ashamed, he smirked, his eyes full of mockery. "So you admit you have no skill. Now get lost."

With that, he started to pull Jiang Qingli toward the bedroom.

Jiang Qingli had been planning to slip away while they were arguing, but she was caught red-handed.

Her two Beast Husbands stared straight at her.

Catching sight of Lin Xiyue approaching out of the corner of her eye, Jiang Qingli threw an arm around her, pulled her into the bedroom, and shut the door on the two men.

It had been a long time since they’d had a good heart-to-heart chat. They curled up on the sofa, scrolling through videos and sharing stories about the weirdos they had run into.

After finishing her milk tea, Lin Xiyue decided to take a shower too.

Jiang Qingli told her to pick a nightgown from her closet.

Lin Xiyue walked into the closet and immediately spotted the stained dress draped over the sofa. "Wow, that’s a bad stain..."

"It’s fine, I’ll just have it machine-washed." Jiang Qingli said as she walked over, picking it up and preparing to call for a hotel attendant to collect it.

Quick as a flash, Lin Xiyue grabbed her arm. "Wait, isn’t this made with some kind of Feather Clan weaving technique? You can’t machine-wash it; it needs special treatment." Seeing Jiang Qingli’s blank look, she added, "Didn’t anyone tell you when you bought it? A piece of fabric this size would take a few of those bird-people over half a year to weave."

Jiang Qingli thought for a moment. "They probably told Yi Nuo."

"Then you should ask him." Lin Xiyue winced in sympathy just looking at the dress.

Jiang Qingli really liked this dress too. She’d heard from Old Qin that Xie Youchen had ordered it a long time ago. It would be a shame to ruin it after wearing it only once.

While Lin Xiyue was in the shower, Jiang Qingli took a picture and sent it to Yi Nuo: [The dress got juice on it. Can it be saved? [Image]]

She thought Yi Nuo was out enjoying himself and probably wouldn’t check his messages.

But he replied almost instantly: [What happened? Miss, are you hurt?]

[I’m fine.]

Jiang Qingli briefly explained what had happened.

The person on the other end paused for a moment: [I’ll come over now.]

[No, don’t. You’re still on vacation. I just wanted to ask you for the method so I can wash it myself!] Jiang Qingli really didn’t want to trouble him. [If it doesn’t wash out, it’s okay. It’s just a piece of clothing.]

[But you really like this dress.] Yi Nuo was typing slowly; the "is typing" indicator stayed on for a long time before his message appeared. [I’m also in the Third District. I’ll be there soon. I’ll leave as soon as it’s clean. I won’t take up any of your time, Miss.]

[Please, allow me to come over.]