Chapter 282: Jiang Xia is Here
The day at the palace flew by, and for once, Shi Lan wished it wasn’t over. The palace was huge, with so many places to explore, and Ye Ming had even played hide-and-seek with her.
Playing hide-and-seek in such a large space was genuinely fun. However, in the middle of the game, Shi Lan accidentally ran into the Monarch. She was hiding inside a grotto within a fountain, which was shaped like an arched bridge with hollow spaces perfect for concealment.
As it turned out, the Monarch had come to the Night Nether Palace and passed right by her hiding spot.
She hid awkwardly inside the fountain, praying he wouldn’t see her. But just as the thought crossed her mind, the Monarch turned his head, his gaze meeting hers directly. Shi Lan had no choice but to come out and greet him. "Greetings, Monarch."
The Monarch’s expression was gentle, and his deep green eyes—so similar to Ye Ming’s—regarded her with amusement. "What are you doing hiding in there?"
Shi Lan explained sheepishly, "I’m playing hide-and-seek with Ye Ming."
"Oh, are you looking for Ye Ming? He should be just up ahead, not far from here."
The Monarch shook his head. "Never mind. Since you and Ming’er are playing, I won’t disturb you. It’s nothing urgent, anyway."
With that, he left.
Shi Lan was relieved that Ye Ming hadn’t found her yet, and she cautiously moved to a new hiding spot.
’If the Monarch could spot me that easily, Ye Ming definitely could too.’
Thanks to the Monarch’s "help," it took Ye Ming a few dozen extra minutes to find her in her new hiding spot.
That night, after finishing dinner, Shi Lan received a message from Jiang Xia: "Lanlan, should I come over and pick you up? Or would you like to rest a little longer?"
Since they had registered their marriage, Shi Lan had noticed he seemed to have matured and grown more composed. He wasn’t as clingy as before, though he still enthusiastically sent her messages about trivial things every day, occasionally telling her he missed her and sharing bits and pieces of his life.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Jiang Xia in several days.
’Even though the palace is a lot of fun, I kind of miss him, too.’
Shi Lan didn’t really need to rest. Absorbing their Spiritual Poison helped improve her own spiritual power, and even after a Deep Healing session, the Treatment Pod made it easy to recover her energy.
’But I didn’t expect Jiang Xia to be so thoughtful all of a sudden. He’s actually asking if I need to rest?’
Shi Lan teased in her reply, "You don’t want to see me tonight?"
Jiang Xia seemed to have been waiting by his chip for her reply, because he responded instantly. "I do! I really, really want to!"
"But I was worried you’d be tired from running around all the time, Lanlan. Even though I really want to see you, what you want comes first."
Shi Lan’s expression softened. "Then hurry up and come get me. I miss you too~"
The moment she sent the message, a soldier escorted Jiang Xia into the room.
The moment he saw her, Jiang Xia was like an eager puppy, rushing over to nuzzle against her and pull her into a tight hug. "Wife, wife, I missed you so much."
Seeing him act so cute and dependent, Shi Lan patted his hair. "Weren’t you just asking for my opinion? How did you get here so fast?"
Jiang Xia’s pale face flushed. "Ahem, well, I was actually already waiting at the gate when I messaged you. I just didn’t want to keep you waiting, you see."
Shi Lan was left a little speechless, though she also found it amusing. She didn’t say anything more on the subject, simply turning to say goodbye to Ye Ming. "I’ll be leaving now."
Ye Ming watched them, his gaze fixed on their intimate embrace. The light in his eyes dimmed slightly. "Mm. Alright."
Shi Lan’s eyes flicked to his face. She slipped out of Jiang Xia’s arms, hurried over to Ye Ming, cupped his face, and gave him a quick kiss. "There now, Little Mingzi. Be a good Eldest Prince."
She whispered softly in his ear.
Ye Ming felt the warm, damp breath against his ear, which instantly flushed hot. The gloom and bitterness in his heart vanished, and he let out a low "mm-hmm."
Seeing his reaction, Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief and left with Jiang Xia.
’Being the wife to so many males isn’t as easy as it looks,’ she thought. ’The problem is I’m too soft-hearted. I can’t bear to see any of them looking disappointed right in front of me, so I always have to placate them a little.’
’Still, I’ve gotten much better at it than I was at the beginning.’
Jiang Xia, of course, was taking her to his own home.
In the Hovercar, however, he got a little jealous and couldn’t resist making Shi Lan cup his face and kiss him, too. He didn’t stop until his lips were bright red, at which point he rested his head on her shoulder, his expression dazed. "I love you so much, Lanlan..."
He murmured softly.
He was tall, and Shi Lan worried he’d be uncomfortable hunched over like that, so she tried to get him to adjust his position. But Jiang Xia absolutely refused. Even for a ride that was only a dozen minutes or so, he insisted on staying put. "No, I’m not uncomfortable."
"I’m very happy."
Shi Lan mentally took back her earlier assessment that he had become less clingy.
In reality, he was still the same. It was just that now that they were all married, the Beast Husbands had secretly agreed not to interfere with Shi Lan’s time when she was staying with one of the others.
That’s why Jiang Xia could only resort to chatting more often on his chip.
However, he truly wasn’t as idle as he used to be. After registering the marriage and buying a planet, his savings had been more or less wiped out. To support his wife and prevent people from mocking Shi Lan for marrying a "kept man" like him, he had started earning money in earnest, even borrowing some capital from his parents to invest in the stock market.
Mr. Jiang’s bodyguard company would be Jiang Xia’s to inherit one day, so the Jiang Family was not short on money. Mr. Jiang gave his son however much he asked for to fund his ventures, and couldn’t help but remark with feeling that his son had truly matured after marriage, now that he knew how to earn money and support his family.
In just a few days, Jiang Xia had already multiplied his initial capital several times over.
He tilted his head and took a cord bracelet out of his Space Stone.
Shi Lan was very considerate of each of her Beast Husbands. When she was with one, she did her best to avoid wearing gifts from another. For instance, she had temporarily put away the bracelet Yan Huoshui had given her, and she didn’t wear Ye Ming’s diamond necklace every day.
The Space Chain was different, of course; she felt more secure wearing it.
At the moment, she was only wearing the simple dress Ye Ming had made for her; the coronet and necklace were put away. Aside from the Space Chain hidden beneath her clothes, she had no other adornments on.
Jiang Xia’s lips curved in a pleased smile as he took Shi Lan’s hand and fastened the new cord bracelet around her wrist.
"Lanlan, it’s a matching one. You gave me a red cord bracelet with a cat charm last time, so I got the same for you."
As he spoke, he showed her his own wrist, happily pressing it against hers to compare the red cords.
"See? My little cat charm is gold, and so is yours. But mine is edged in black, and yours is edged in white."
"Do you like it, Lanlan?"
Shi Lan lowered her gaze to their hands, held close together. The red cords made both their skin appear very fair. Hers had a healthy, rosy tint, while Jiang Xia’s was pale due to his poor health in childhood.
’But there’s no denying the cat charm bracelets are beautiful,’ she thought. ’Of course I like it.’
’If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with it at first sight in the shop. I just never expected Jiang Xia would actually find a matching one to give to me.’
Shi Lan took his hand with the one now wearing the matching red cord. Her fingers gently slid between his, lacing them together tightly. Then, she snapped a picture. "I love it. Thank you, Jiang Jiang."
Hearing this, Jiang Xia felt so happy he thought he might pass out.
’Sniffle... Having a wife is the best thing ever.’