Yun Miao slowly stood, his gaze fixed tightly on Jiang Wangyue. “I have an objection. You’re not fit to be a student at the Central Military Academy.”
The line plunged the living room into instant silence. The look in Lan Xue’s eyes as he watched Yun Miao glinted cold, a faint silver light flickering through it. Feng Yan wore a trace of amusement at the corner of his mouth, eyes full of anticipation for a good show.
Jiang Wangyue, for her part, had little reaction. She didn’t know whether the original host was fit, but she certainly was. She watched him calmly. “You’re entitled to your objection, but it won’t change my decision. Besides, I haven’t even enrolled and you’re already calling me unfit, isn’t that a bit too arbitrary?”
It was the first time they’d seen such a reasonable Jiang Wangyue, even Su Hui’s eyes flashed with wonder. How rare, rarer than the Beast God himself returning.
She knew full well that Yun Miao’s prejudice against her was higher than the Himalayas, a few days and a few words could hardly change her image in his heart. She could give ground on some things, call it a contribution to patching up this household, and a way to make amends to him on the original host’s behalf. But enrolling at the Central Military Academy was one thing she wouldn’t yield, couldn’t possibly yield.
Yun Miao clenched his fists, Jiang Wangyue stubbornly glared right back. So you, hot-tempered little lion, get to have a temper, and she doesn’t? If you’ve got the guts, go have another mental-power rampage.
Yun Miao would have liked to, but those red algae rooted in his mental sea kept devouring the still-forming mental storm, giving him no chance to rampage at all. He drew a deep breath, turned, and strode back to his room, slamming the door with a bang.
And so the family’s first meeting broke up on bad terms. Denied his show, Feng Yan curled his lip, rose leisurely, and put on a hollow, insincere smile, giving Jiang Wangyue a slight bow. “Then I’ll go rest too, Female master.”
Su Hui and Ji Li left one after another, until the only one still sitting beside her in the cavernous living room was Lan Xue. She leaned back, tipping her head up at the high ceiling, feeling thoroughly worn out. Suddenly she felt a touch of cool warmth on the back of her hand. Lan Xue had taken it.
“Don’t mind him. If this is something you want to do, then go do it.”
Jiang Wangyue turned and couldn’t resist throwing her arms around his. Booo-hoo, a leopard that isn’t scheming is the best.
District 2 of the Central Star, Night Tryst bar. Under the glaring lights, beastmen sporting all sorts of beast-form features writhed in the center of the dance floor, trying to show themselves off to the females seated in the surrounding booths.
A blonde female in heavy makeup swirled the glass in her hand, glancing now and then at the terminal on her wrist, her tight frown announcing that her patience was nearly spent. The blue-haired female across from her was all smiles. “Tinar, that idiot isn’t going to be a no-show, is she?”
The blonde called Tinar gave a soft scoff. “She’s a C-grade reject. My letting her tag along is an honor for her, she’d dare not come?”
“Although she really is lucky. The Mainframe even matched Yun Miao to her. I wonder what the cold, aloof Major General is like in bed. I’d love to see.”
Tinar lifted her chin haughtily, malice glinting in her eyes. “That day will come.”
The words had barely left her when screaming erupted outside, and a squad of fully armed patrol officers came charging in. Tinar’s face changed, damn it! Why today, of all days, without so much as a heads-up?!
In less than half a star-hour, the squad captain turned and walked back out of Night Tryst, bowing slightly to a red-haired male beastman leaning against the wall and reporting respectfully in a low voice: “Sir, we did find a great deal of illegally smuggled goods inside, and beastmen from other planets.”
The red-haired beastman didn’t look at him, he simply took out a cigarette and lit it, a point of crimson flickering between his sharply jointed fingers.
The captain kept his head down. “We also saw Miss Tinar of the Rodriguez family.”
The red-haired beastman blew out a smoke ring, and his low, raspy voice followed. “The Rodriguez family died out tens of thousands of years ago.”
The captain understood at once and answered yes in a grave voice.
For Tinar and the other females, it was a night that could only be called humiliating: they were hauled off to the Security Patrol Bureau, and only after the Female Protection Center stepped in did they leave in disgrace.
At first Tinar didn’t suspect Jiang Wangyue, she didn’t think the idiot she’d led around by the nose had the brains for this. But when the little white flower mentioned she’d deliberately fussed over Lan Xue in front of Jiang Wangyue and Jiang Wangyue hadn’t reproached him at all, Tinar gradually grew suspicious, her face darkening. She opened her terminal and fired off a message demanding to know why Jiang Wangyue hadn’t shown up tonight.
【You are not yet this user’s friend. Please add them before sending.】
The red exclamation mark and the system prompt made Tinar kick the husband kneeling beside her in fury. Damn it! She’d actually been played by Jiang Wangyue!
Unlike the seething Tinar, Jiang Wangyue slept very soundly that night. Sunlight filtered through the off-white gauze onto the bed, and feeling the warmth, she lazily opened her eyes. Releasing the body pillow in her arms, she stretched every which way before finally rolling over and getting up. She drew back the gauze and squinted, in a great mood, at the wide stretch of lawn outside, and the figure by the wall. Her movements paused, she was a little surprised. Was that Ji Li?
She walked out onto the balcony, and just as she was about to call to him, she saw the black-clad Ji Li suddenly bend double and drop to his knees in pain.
“Ji Li!”
She spun around and dashed downstairs. His mind in a haze, Ji Li seemed to hear someone calling him in the distance, but the jumbled, piercing sounds in his head left him no attention to spare. No, not here… He braced against the wall, straining to stand and leave, but his legs gave out, and he was about to topple again, when a pair of warm hands caught him in time, sparing him a face-plant.
Looking at his unfocused eyes, Jiang Wangyue quickly made her judgment. This wasn’t like Yun Miao’s rampage, it looked more like he’d been hurt somehow. She softened her voice. “Easy now, let me take a look, okay?”
As she spoke she moved to undo his clothes to check, only for him to clamp a hand around her wrist, the force so strong she thought her bones would be crushed.
Ji Li murmured low, “Don’t… touch… me…”
She bit back the pain and let him grip her wrist, saying again and again, “Okay, I won’t touch you, but what on earth is wrong? Where does it hurt? Can you tell me? Or should I call Lan Xue back?”