Chapter 299: Strange Ye Yan
On the other side of the video call, He Hanshi’s gaze unconsciously drifted from her face to the bed, his mind flashing back to what had happened between them on that very bed a few days ago.
Beneath his slightly damp, silver hair—fresh from washing up—the rims of his ears turned red. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and it took him a long moment to suppress the desire in his eyes.
They hadn’t seen each other in days. The Beast Husbands had agreed on the rules amongst themselves beforehand, so He Hanshi had restrained himself from video-calling her. Now that they were finally talking, the conversation flowed more and more freely.
After who knows how long, He Hanshi glanced at the time on his chip and said softly, "Lanlan, you should get some rest. We can talk more tomorrow."
Shi Lan felt like she hadn’t had enough either, but He Hanshi’s job was demanding. He patrolled the Border Defense Star from dawn till dusk; he needed rest more than she did.
So, however reluctant she was, she went along with him. "Okay, you get to sleep soon, too. And remember to dry your hair. Even though it’s short, it’s colder where you are, so you need to be careful."
"Mhm, I know."
He Hanshi’s gaze was gentle, his azure eyes looking deeply at her. It made Shi Lan’s face grow hot again, and she was the one to end the conversation.
The moment the call ended, he took a deep breath, tugged at his bathrobe, and looked down at his body with a wry smile before heading back to the bathroom.
’I always thought my self-control was excellent. I was completely unfazed even during the male susceptibility period resistance training. Who’d have thought that just a few more glances at my mate’s soft, sweet face would be enough for lust to overwhelm me like a relentless tide?’
The sound of water began to trickle again from the bathroom. On the Capital Star, Shi Lan was completely oblivious. After her chat with He Hanshi, her longing was somewhat soothed, and she lay down to sleep with a peaceful mind, quickly drifting off to dreamland.
Suddenly finding herself with free time, Shi Lan found it a bit strange not to have Jiang Xia and the others making a racket.
After a simple breakfast, she idly browsed her chip, checking to see if the trending topic about her had died down. It turned out it was still on the front page.
Just then, her chip vibrated. A notification appeared on her message screen.
Shi Lan assumed it was a message from Jiang Xia or one of the others. She tapped it open, only to find that it was from Ye Yan.
’Ye Yan?’
Shi Lan thought she had misread it. She even rubbed her eyes, but when she looked again, it really was him.
She tapped into the message. The original owner of her body hadn’t added Ye Yan as a friend, but she had joined an alumni group that Ye Yan was also in. That was the source of his message.
Shi Lan glanced at the message he’d sent.
Ye Yan wrote, "Miss Shi Lan, good morning."
The message was simple, just a few words. Shi Lan was baffled, having no idea what he wanted.
’People don’t just show up for no reason. Ye Yan never used to give the original owner the time of day, so for him to suddenly contact her now definitely meant he was up to no good.’
It was like when someone you hadn’t heard from in ages suddenly sent a "You there?" message—the next line was probably going to be a request for money.
Shi Lan had no intention of replying. Instead, she went to He Hanshi’s large garden to pick flowers for the vases Mu Tangfeng had given her.
She had placed a few of the vases around He Hanshi’s house. He hadn’t said anything about it; in fact, he had even helped her with the flower arrangements before.
About ten minutes later, perhaps because he hadn’t received a reply, Ye Yan couldn’t help but send another message: "Hasn’t Miss Shi Lan woken up yet? Did I disturb you? My apologies. I was just thinking, since we were classmates and it’s been so long, I’d like to invite you to a class reunion."
Shi Lan was still in the garden. Sensing the vibration from her chip, she took a moment to look at it. When she saw Ye Yan’s message, she felt even more suspicious.
’Been a long time?’
’I remember seeing him just recently at Ye Ming’s birthday banquet.’
’Besides, we’re not friends. There’s no reason for us to see each other.’
Shi Lan was speechless. She was even less interested in a class reunion. She looked down and simply blocked Ye Yan.
In the past, she might have been more cautious, considering Ye Yan was the original novel’s male lead. But after everything she’d been through, she had confidence in herself. Her Beast Husbands were also very powerful, so she wasn’t afraid of him.
Besides, the book had said Ye Yan’s spiritual power would advance to 3S, but from what she could see, she didn’t sense any potential for a breakthrough in him at all.
Most importantly, Ye Yan’s spiritual power was supposed to increase *before* the female lead got her Golden Finger. But now, Bai Rao had seemingly obtained the Energy Body Golden Finger, yet Ye Yan’s Spiritual Power Level hadn’t changed at all.
’The plot divergence is a bit much. Sometimes I wonder if I transmigrated into the wrong book.’ Regardless, she wasn’t going to have anything to do with Ye Yan.
On the other end, Ye Yan couldn’t wait any longer for Shi Lan’s reply and impatiently sent another message, only for the interface to inform him he’d been blocked...
When Ye Yan saw those words, his expression was complicated.
He had rarely—if ever—lowered himself to proactively reach out to her, to respond to her infatuation, and she had actually blocked him.
Shock, disbelief, and embarrassment quickly turned to fury, then crystallized into deep resentment and bitterness. "Damn you, Shi Lan! You’re just as annoying as Ye Ming!"
’She used to go on and on about how much she liked me, and now she’s changed her mind this quickly.’
’I was going to use this chance to say a few bad things about Ye Ming, but she didn’t even give me the opportunity.’
’Damn it, why is Ye Ming so lucky?’
If not for the soldiers guarding the door, Ye Yan would have started screaming curses. In the end, he couldn’t stop himself from kicking a nearby gilt chair.
The chair was heavy, but as an S-level male, his kick still sent it flying into the corner of the room. It dislodged several famous paintings from the wall and knocked over a porcelain floor vase nearby.
In an instant, the palace was a mess. A housekeeping robot trembled as it began to clean up.
After Shi Lan blocked Ye Yan, everything was peaceful.
She carried the various fresh flowers she had picked back to her room to arrange them nicely in the vases.
She had just finished when the doorbell rang.
Shi Lan checked her chip and saw that it was, surprisingly, Jiang Yan.
She immediately opened the main door and went to greet her. "Yanyan, what brings you here all of a sudden?"
Jiang Yan beamed. "I figured you’d be free today, so I was hoping to ask you to go shopping."
Shi Lan blinked in confusion. Jiang Yan gave her a teasing look. "Did you forget? You just registered your marriage with several Beast Husbands a few days ago. You definitely wouldn’t have had time to go out."
Understanding what she meant, Shi Lan’s face immediately turned red.
"Yanyan!"
Shi Lan called out her name, slightly exasperated. Jiang Yan waved her hand. "Alright, alright, I won’t say any more. Judging by how you look, newlywed life is treating you well."
"So, are you free today?"
She extended the shopping invitation again. Shi Lan nodded; she didn’t have anything else to do anyway.
The two of them headed out together. Figuring it wasn’t far to the city center, they decided to walk.
Perhaps because Shi Lan would soon be building a new house herself, when they passed a site bustling with robot construction crews, she asked curiously, "Huh? Whose place is this?"
The house was already taking shape. It was huge, so it must have belonged to one of the great families.
Jiang Yan glanced over. "Oh, that’s the Bai Family’s. Didn’t the Insect Clan destroy their home last time they came to the Capital Star? They moved somewhere else for the time being while this place is being rebuilt."