Chapter 266: Not a Little Angry
She followed suit and cleared her throat, her gaze landing on the living room TV. "Let’s watch some TV. It’s still early."
"Okay."
Without another word, Mu Tangfeng turned on the TV and got the holographic glasses ready.
Shi Lan put on her glasses and sat on the main sofa. He chose the single armchair to the left.
Shi Lan blinked. ’Something feels off.’
’What’s with Mu Tangfeng’s reaction? It’s as if he thinks I have some ulterior motive, that I’m going to force myself on him or something. He used to be so fearless, so lawless, but right now he’s acting like a timid little bride, sitting with his knees pressed together and his hands resting obediently on his lap. He’s not even sneaking glances my way; his eyes are just glued to the TV.’
Shi Lan opened her mouth to say something, but Mu Tangfeng beat her to it. "Lanlan, what do you want to watch?"
As a Beastman with keen senses, Mu Tangfeng could naturally feel Shi Lan’s gaze on him. He didn’t dare meet her eyes. The moment he looked at her, the moment he thought about Lanlan being here, in his territory, surrounded by his scent, he felt a strange discomfort. For some reason, his mind kept replaying dreams he’d had before.
In his dreams, Shi Lan would press against him, sharing tender, intimate moments in a room, a space that was uniquely theirs.
A strange heat rose in his body. He couldn’t help but bite his lip, not daring to let his thoughts wander any further.
Shi Lan’s words died in her throat. Seeing his reaction, she felt it wouldn’t be right to ask him to sit next to her anymore.
She shook off the strange thoughts and went back to the show she hadn’t finished at He Hanshi’s place.
This drama was different from the "single, doting husband" plots that males typically enjoyed. This one was about a wife with multiple husbands. Although, calling them multiple husbands wasn’t quite right, since they were all fragmented parts of the main male lead. Each fragment had a different personality, but they all loved the female lead deeply.
So, while it looked like the female lead had several husbands, you could also say she only had the one.
Of course, the actors playing the male lead’s fragments all looked different.
Shi Lan found the plot quite exciting, especially how the main male lead was always getting jealous of his own fragments.
She focused on the show. At first, Mu Tangfeng’s mind was still wandering, but his gaze eventually landed on the TV, and he slowly got absorbed in it too.
And wow, the plot was pretty angsty.
The episode Shi Lan was watching was the one where Male Lead #2 finds out about Male Lead #1. Believing the female lead only loves #1, he’s utterly devastated and decides to leave for good. But unexpectedly, his arch-nemesis finds out how much he loves the female lead and kidnaps her to force him to self-harm.
To save the female lead’s life, Male Lead #2 willingly cut himself over ten times. Then, his nemesis mocked and ridiculed him, stomping on his body and trampling all over him...
Mu Tangfeng’s brow furrowed as he watched. He gritted his teeth in anger. "Useless!"
’It was bad enough having to look at these ugly people, but what was this garbage plot?’
"What kind of male can’t even protect his own female? What’s the point of self-harm? He gets himself all cut up, and he still doesn’t save the female..."
His red lips parted, and a stream of criticisms poured out. "A male like that doesn’t deserve a female’s love! Weak and stupid as a pig! No wonder he can’t win against others. He has no ability, and he’s not even good-looking..."
Shi Lan: "..."
Uh...
’As for the part about his looks,’ Shi Lan decided to reserve judgment. ’He was a star, after all; his looks were decent enough. But he was nowhere near the level of He Hanshi and the other four.’
In this world, movie stars weren’t a particularly admired group of people. It was considered a normal job, often taken up by males with lower-Level spiritual power who couldn’t find better work.
The interstellar people valued strength above all; the admiration of power was ingrained in them. In their eyes, soldiers were the real idols—especially He Hanshi, who had guarded the Border Defense Star for years. He was a figure of public reverence and admiration.
In fact, when He Hanshi and the others’ spiritual power collapse values became High Level, the morale of most interstellar citizens plummeted. Online discussions were filled with people lamenting their fate and praying for their recovery.
Back then, an inexplicable panic had gripped the populace. Everyone felt the Insect Clan was about to destroy every planet. The movement of people between planets intensified, and many began building safe havens to defend against the Insect Clan. The Bai Family, for example, started constructing their underground base at that time.
Fortunately, He Hanshi’s army was well-trained, and Bai Feng and the others took good care of the Border Defense Star. Plus, it hadn’t been long since the last great war with the Insect Clan, so the Insect Clan was relatively quiet during that period, mostly recuperating. The situation wasn’t as dire as people imagined.
Furthermore, the Monarch was constantly reassuring the public, saying that medical teams were working on a cure and that there was hope for their recovery. Even if the people felt it was unlikely, they still prayed for a miracle.
So, for the public, only the soldiers who could protect them and eliminate the Insect Clan deserved to be called idols.
Shi Lan pulled her thoughts back to the present. Mu Tangfeng’s scornful commentary was growing more and more agitated. He was clearly taking this more seriously than she was.
To be honest, Shi Lan also felt the plot was angsty for the sake of being angsty. But she wasn’t as invested as Mu Tangfeng. She mainly enjoyed watching the interactions between the leads, and the setup with the male lead’s multiple fragments was interesting enough to keep her watching.
Afraid that Mu Tangfeng might actually get himself worked up, she quickly said, "Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. It’s all fake."
Mu Tangfeng was indeed furious, but it was born more from a sense of frustrated disappointment. He couldn’t help but put himself and Shi Lan in the show’s scenario. If he were in that situation, he would stop at nothing, even risking his own life, to save Shi Lan first.
’Forget being threatened. A person who’d resort to such a threat definitely has no integrity. On what grounds should he gamble both their lives on a single promise from someone like that?’
He gritted his teeth, his eyes red with anger. He couldn’t stop himself from moving next to Shi Lan and hugging her tightly. "Lanlan, I’ll protect you. I will never let my arch-nemesis hurt you."
He even started to think about who his own arch-enemies were. He had to nip the danger in the bud, not give them any chance.
’But then he thought about it. The only person I really hate and consider an enemy is the Second Prince, and the Second Prince is only S-level. He isn’t even worthy of being my arch-nemesis.’
’As for the past, Jiang Xia might have barely qualified, but since he likes Lanlan too, that’s not a problem anymore.’
’At that thought, Mu Tangfeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Good. I don’t have an arch-nemesis.’
He relaxed. Shi Lan, nestled in his arms, didn’t laugh at him for projecting everything onto himself.
Instead, she said happily, "Okay. I believe you. You’re all so powerful, you can definitely protect me."
"But, you shouldn’t worry too much or underestimate me. I’m someone who survived the Garbage Star. I won’t let myself get into that kind of danger."
Mu Tangfeng’s arms were still holding her tightly. He grunted in agreement, but his hands were still trembling slightly. He was clearly still fuming.
Shi Lan obediently snuggled against him. After a while, his emotions slowly calmed, and he belatedly realized that Shi Lan was right there in his arms.
’So close. So fragrant.’
As if burned, he shot up and rushed into the bathroom. "Lanlan, I’m going to take a shower first!"