Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Husband, What Are We Going to Do?

The message flashed onto the screen, and the surrounding atmosphere instantly grew frigid.

In the dim light, the villainous man drew closer, his cold, slitted pupils fixed on her.

Jiang Qingli hadn’t thought anything of it, but under his intense gaze, she felt inexplicably sheepish. "What is it...?"

"Who?" Ye Linyuan bit out a single, cold word.

"Yuan Shiyao," Jiang Qingli explained. "He’s Yuan Shimo’s younger brother. The student council found out Gu Nian was missing, and he told me he would help me rescue her."

She added with a sigh, "The student council members are always putting on airs, but they’re surprisingly responsible when it counts."

Ye Linyuan wasn’t interested in why Yuan Shiyao was messaging her. He asked coldly, "Is that what he usually calls you?"

Jiang Qingli thought for a moment. "He used to just call me by my name. I think he only started calling me ’sister-in-law’ recently."

Hearing this, Ye Linyuan let out a cold laugh. "And you have no idea why he calls you that?"

He looked for all the world like a devoted husband who, having picked up on subtle clues that some troublemaker was interested in his beautiful, innocent wife, was now forcing her to confess every detail—all while mentally fetching a club, already planning how to dispose of the outsider.

Jiang Qingli found the question very strange. "Er... maybe he’s starting to accept me? Besides, I *am* his sister-in-law."

Ye Linyuan: "..."

His brow furrowed even tighter. Just as he was about to speak, a furtive voice sounded from nearby. "Ma’am, Ma’am."

It was the waiter to whom Jiang Qingli had given the chips earlier.

He glanced around before whispering, "I just asked. They haven’t bought anything else. Their conversation was mainly about the female asking for information on the final male ’pet’ of the auction."

The "they" the waiter mentioned was, of course, Bai Yiyi and Yu Chenglan.

Jiang Qingli nodded to show she understood, grabbing a few more chips and handing them to the waiter. He took the tip and tactfully departed.

Once the waiter was gone, Jiang Qingli spoke up before her suspicious, serpentine companion could. "Number 013 is Bai Yiyi. I was just curious what they were up to."

Ye Linyuan had recognized the pair back in the elevator but couldn’t be bothered to pay them any mind.

Seeing her rush to explain herself, the corner of Ye Linyuan’s mouth twitched into a barely perceptible smile. "I know."

As one "pet" after another was sold, the auction drew to a close.

Just as the crowd was growing weary, the auctioneer ripped the black cloth from the final cage and announced in a booming voice:

"Next up is our grand finale—a Peacock Beastman of noble blood!"

The moment she saw the glamorous male Beastman, Bai Yiyi’s eyes lit up.

She asked her system internally, ’This is one of the male leads, right?’

The system replied, ’Correct. Raise his affection level to 90 to restore your charm value.’

Hearing this, Bai Yiyi excitedly clenched her fists.

For some time now, Chi Yun had been hospitalized. Every time she visited him, her Superpower would go haywire, causing her to act erratically.

Her other two Beast Husbands were busy in other districts, while Ling Qing and Yu Chenglan, the two by her side, were no longer as attentive as they used to be.

’It’s all Jiang Qingli’s fault! She’s the one who drove Chi Yun mad, and now I’m the one suffering the consequences of my charm value dropping and getting the cold shoulder from my Beast Husbands!’

BEEP BEEP BEEP—

The sound of bidding pinged from the screen.

Bai Yiyi’s gaze fell on the screen.

As the grand finale, with his rakish good looks, Su Jue looked like a real player. The bidding had already surpassed thirty million.

She glanced at her own balance: over fifty million. Based on the prices from previous years, that was more than enough to win Su Jue.

Confident of victory, Bai Yiyi’s lips curled into a smirk.

’Once my charm value is restored, I’ll definitely teach that cannon fodder a lesson!’

When the price climbed to nearly forty million, only bidders 025 and 014 remained.

Bai Yiyi was just about to enter a number on her screen when the auctioneer’s voice faltered.

The auctioneer spoke with some hesitation, "...VIP number 011 bids sixty million..."

Perhaps because the sum was so large, the auctioneer’s hand trembled as he pulled out a handkerchief to nervously wipe his brow. His voice seemed to slow to a crawl. "Six... ty... mil... lion... go... ing... once..."

Not expecting someone to suddenly jump in, Bai Yiyi quickly tugged on Yu Chenglan’s sleeve. "Chenglan... can we increase the budget a little?"

"Yiyi," Yu Chenglan frowned. "He’s just a ’pet’."

The main issue was that after his recent fight with Qin Muye, Her Majesty the Empress had personally disciplined the Yu Family, and Yu Chenglan’s allowance had been cut. He was vain and a spendthrift, and he had already put up nearly half of his personal savings for this.

Spending too much on a mere "pet" just wasn’t worth it.

’Bai Yiyi is usually so obedient. She should understand his predicament and not make things difficult for him.’

However, as the auctioneer stammered through the second call, Bai Yiyi gritted her teeth and entered sixty-one million.

Yu Chenglan’s eyes widened.

"Yiyi—"

Just as Yu Chenglan started to speak, Bai Yiyi grabbed his hand, her voice soft and delicate. "I’m sorry, Chenglan, but this ’pet’ is very important to me."

Seeing Yu Chenglan’s brow tighten, Bai Yiyi, worried her affection level would drop, rushed to say, "He... He’s actually a childhood friend of mine! You know I used to live in the other districts, and people bullied me... he was the one who protected me... I can’t just abandon him... Your money... I’ll definitely pay you back in the future..."

As she spoke, her eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over.

’—But didn’t she say she only loved the five of us?’

’Does it make sense to upset her loved ones for another man?’

The moment the doubt surfaced in his mind, Yu Chenglan felt a sudden pang in his chest as a strange emotion washed over him.

A second later, a magnanimous smile appeared on his face. "It’s alright. I know you’re just too kind..."

"VIP number 011 bids sixty-five million!" the auctioneer’s voice cut through their conversation. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "Are there any other VIPs with a higher bid?"

The auctioneer launched into an effusive speech, extolling the Peacock Beastman’s virtues and lavishing a heap of adjectives on every single strand of his hair.

Bai Yiyi squeezed Yu Chenglan’s hand, her voice full of grievance. "Why are they competing with us... I don’t want you to spend any more money for me..."

"Don’t worry, I’ll go have a word with them." Yu Chenglan straightened up. "Once they know who I am, I’m sure they’ll show me some respect."

It looked like the auctioneer would be talking for at least another five minutes. Brimming with confidence, Yu Chenglan walked over to booth 011.

As he drew closer, Yu Chenglan recognized the pair as the two he had encountered in the elevator.

Yu Chenglan straightened his tie and spoke with an elegant air, "Good evening to you both."

"What is it?" The man leaning back in his chair spoke, his voice distorted by a mask into a low, hoarse tone that was clearly tinged with annoyance at being disturbed.

The woman beside him was sipping a drink with her head down, not even bothering to look up.

Yu Chenglan understood. Most of the VIPs here were big shots in the First District. The females, in particular, were used to being put on a pedestal, so it was normal for them to ignore others.

"Here’s the situation. My female master has taken a great liking to this Peacock Beastman, and I was hoping you two might consider letting him go." Yu Chenglan smiled. "The current price has already far exceeded the ’pet’s’ intrinsic value. You both seem like intelligent people, so why squabble? It would be better for everyone to take a step back."

"You may not know who I am. I am—"

Before he could announce his lineage, the girl threw herself into the arms of the cold, somber man beside her and asked in a deliberately pouty voice—

"Hubby~ He said you’re poor, and he called us stupid! Is he looking down on us?"

For a moment, the air seemed to fall silent.

Beneath the young man’s black-and-gold mask, his perfect, thin lips curled. A large, veined hand wrapped around the girl’s slender waist.

The girl breathed against his ear, "Hubby, what are we going to do...?"

The fingers gripping her waist tightened. Without a single glance at Yu Chenglan, the young man keyed another number into the bidding interface.

BEEP—

On the stage, the garrulous auctioneer saw the number, his eyes popping as he shouted out the bid in a trembling voice:

"Ninety million! VIP number 011 bids ninety million!"

The entire hall erupted in an uproar!

Countless eyes turned toward the private booth.

’Number 011 just spent fifty million on one "pet," and now they’re spending another ninety million on a second one... Just how much of a high-roller are they?’

After that, there were no more bids.

Even with the auctioneer dragging out his words as slowly as possible, after ten minutes, he swayed on his feet and finally brought down the gavel.

Yu Chenglan felt the whole situation was utterly absurd.

He returned to his seat and found Bai Yiyi pale-faced.

He took her hand and gently tried to soothe her. "It’s alright, Yiyi. As for your friend, I’ll find another way to help..."

"How can you help?" Bai Yiyi snatched her hand back, her expression turning cold. "You could have helped me just now!"

Having just been humiliated at booth 011 and now being blamed by the woman he loved, Yu Chenglan’s anger flared.

He suppressed his anger and tried to explain for nearly five minutes, but Bai Yiyi refused to give him the time of day.

Just as he was growing impatient, he heard the auctioneer suddenly exclaim in an excited voice:

"Wait!"

"VIP number 011 has, via a transaction, resold ownership of the ’pet’ to five different VIPs: numbers 025, 014, 173, 061, and 027!"