Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Your Hand Is So Soft

Seeing who it was, Qin Muye frowned in displeasure.

"What are you doing here?" His tone was hostile as he stepped forward to shield Jiang Qingli behind him.

"Relax. I’m not here on behalf of Her Majesty to discipline the Prince this time." Qin Shu glanced at him, not bothering to give him a proper look. "I’m here on official business."

Then she turned, extended a hand to Jiang Qingli, and her tone did a complete one-eighty, becoming instantly gentle and friendly. "Qingli, do you have a moment to chat?"

Jiang Qingli could tell she meant no harm and guessed what she wanted to talk about, so she placed her hand in Qin Shu’s.

Qin Muye watched coldly as Qin Shu poached someone right under his nose, and couldn’t help but snort.

"Your hands are so soft, how cute." Qin Shu squeezed her hand. "Want to come sit in my office for a bit?"

Jiang Qingli, a little embarrassed by the compliment, nodded.

Receiving her assent, Qin Shu turned back to Qin Muye, her expression growing indifferent again. "Well, Qingli and I will be going. You all do as you please."

She said "you all," but didn’t even glance at Yuan Shiyao.

Qin Muye clicked his tongue. He couldn’t stand Qin Shu’s smug attitude.

Ever since Qin Shu had met Jiang Qingli and shared a dance with her, she’d been constantly asking him about her, even asking him to act as a go-between to persuade Jiang Qingli to join the Melt Star Association.

Qin Muye was incredibly annoyed.

He already felt that competing with several male Beast Husbands for Jiang Qingli’s time was a huge headache. Now Qin Shu was bothering Jiang Qingli too!

But Jiang Qingli didn’t seem to mind Qin Shu, so Qin Muye couldn’t really stop them. He could only reluctantly let go and watch them walk away, hand in hand.

A sour feeling welled up in his chest.

’She hasn’t even held my hand yet.’

When he tore his gaze away, he noticed that the silent Yuan Shiyao was staring at Jiang Qingli’s retreating back.

At this moment, Yuan Shiyao’s brow was tightly furrowed, his heart in turmoil.

He had long heard that Qin Shu held Jiang Qingli in high regard. Everyone had assumed it was because of Jiang Youchen and her Superpower.

But now it seemed Qin Shu valued Jiang Qingli even more than they had thought.

No one at the Imperial Royal Academy didn’t know of Qin Shu. She was a rare female with an offensive-type Superpower, and she was the Empress’s niece. Barring any surprises, she was destined for great things after graduation.

At the same time, she had the foul temper common to members of the Imperial Family. She was arrogant, and over the years, the number of people who could catch her eye could be counted on one hand.

Previously, when Bai Yiyi was tested and found to have an S-level Superpower, the entire academy was shocked.

The student council sent three high-ranking male officers to recruit her, offering a mountain of benefits.

Bai Yiyi was also very clever. She didn’t accept immediately, instead approaching Qin Shu at a banquet, hoping to stir up tension between the two sides and gain even more benefits.

But when Bai Yiyi tried to speak with her, Qin Shu was dismissive, not even bothering to rise from her seat—an act of utter contempt.

It was a world of difference from the solicitous attitude she had just shown Jiang Qingli.

’Could it be that Jiang Qingli has more bargaining chips?’

’Or perhaps...’

’The Imperial Family just has a thing for her type?’

Yuan Shiyao stared at the spot where Jiang Qingli’s back had disappeared, recalling the way the girl’s eyes had looked at him.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his breathing unconsciously quickened.

"Hey."

A cold, hard voice shattered his thoughts.

Yuan Shiyao looked up to see Qin Muye walking toward him, a cold expression on his face.

"What the hell are you after?" Qin Muye demanded bluntly. "Are you stalking her?"

Yuan Shiyao was very calm. "I am simply on a routine patrol. The Prince is being overly sensitive."

"Don’t fucking play dumb with me! I can tell just by looking at you that you’re an ambitious bed-warmer!" Qin Muye wasn’t buying it, his tone dripping with contempt. "I’m warning you, tuck your tail between your legs and get lost. She wouldn’t give you the time of day!"

"Is that so?" Yuan Shiyao glanced sideways, his emerald eyes filled with mockery. "If you’re so sure she wouldn’t look at me, why is the Prince so vigilant?"

The Black Cat Beastman’s voice was sharp. "Could it be because... the Prince is afraid his female master might have ideas about me?"

As his words landed, sure enough, he saw a towering rage flash across Qin Muye’s face.

Yuan Shiyao smirked and turned to leave.

He wasn’t like aimless males such as Qin Muye, who did nothing but buzz around females. He had important things to do.

-

As he reached the student council building, Yuan Shiyao suddenly received a video call from Yuan Shimo.

The two brothers hadn’t spoken since the last time they’d hung up on each other.

Yuan Shiyao pressed the accept button.

On the other end of the video, Yuan Shimo was packing a suitcase.

Yuan Shiyao looked at the suitcase, his brow furrowing as he subconsciously asked, "You’re coming back?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized he sounded reluctant.

Clearly, Yuan Shimo noticed it too.

Those emerald eyes, so similar to his younger brother’s, narrowed for a moment before quickly returning to their calm state.

"Jiang Qingli’s Superpower has been detected. Father wants me to return to the First District quickly..." Yuan Shimo turned to look at his brother, his gaze faltering slightly, and finished word by word, "...to serve our female master."

Even though they had grown up together, his older brother rarely looked at him.

Yuan Shiyao’s brow twitched, and he averted his gaze.

"What’s wrong?" Yuan Shimo chuckled softly. "Are you not happy to see me?"

Yuan Shiyao forced a smile. "Ah, of course not. We haven’t seen each other in a long time."

Though he said that, his heart felt heavy and strange.

’It’s been a long time. I should be happy to see my brother.’

’Why is there not a trace of joy, but instead a wave of irritation?’

’It must be because that boorish Qin Muye shouted at me. I have a headache, that’s why I’m annoyed.’

Yuan Shiyao told himself.

On the video call, Yuan Shimo watched his brother for a moment, then suddenly said, "Besides me, another Beast Husband will be arriving in Central City soon."

"Who?" Yuan Shiyao looked up.

"Gu Nian."

Yuan Shiyao wracked his brain for any nobles in the First District with that name but came up empty. He couldn’t help but ask, "From the Second District?"

"He’s a resident of the Twelfth City." Yuan Shimo’s voice was flat and calm. "A Rabbit Beastman, just turned eighteen, Wind Ability, F Level."

"How pathetic."

Yuan Shiyao instinctively felt it was unfair to Jiang Qingli.

There were cases of nobles being matched with commoners, but those commoners were usually exceptionally talented. Who would send a low-ranking male?

’And his Beastification trait is a weak, harmless rabbit.’

’What good is that? Wiping out carrots?’

’Someone like that is worthy of being her Beast Husband? It would be better to—’

Yuan Shiyao suddenly froze, feeling a sharp, probing gaze. He looked up and met his brother’s eyes.

He lowered his gaze and said softly, "Sorry, Brother. I meant you’re the unlucky one, being matched with Jiang Qingli..."

"Is that what you really think?" Yuan Shimo asked abruptly, his tone lacking its usual gentleness.

But before his brother could reply, he smiled again and changed the subject. "Alright, I need to finish packing. We can talk more when we meet."

With that, Yuan Shimo hung up the video call.

Staring at his terminal, Yuan Shiyao pursed his lips.

He always felt that whenever the conversation turned to Jiang Qingli, his brother became sharp and pointed.

A strange thought flashed through his mind—

’Could it be that my brother likes Jiang Qingli too?’

’Strange, why do so many people like Jiang Qingli?’

Yuan Shiyao was lost in a state of confusion.

But the face that kept appearing in his mind was the girl’s as she looked at him.

’I clearly used to hate her, so why do I keep thinking of her now?’

Yuan Shiyao closed his eyes in frustration and walked quickly into the student council building.

As he entered, several officers were huddled around a screen, whispering to each other and occasionally letting out sounds of ridicule.

Seeing Yuan Shiyao enter, they wiped the smirks off their faces and greeted him. "Secretary-General."

Yuan Shiyao glanced at the screen in front of them, his voice cold. "What’s this?"

"Oh, this..." The man laughed contemptuously. "It’s what we talked about in the last meeting, the specially enrolled students from the Lower District... they’re all trash. There’s even an F Level. The Lower District is really scraping the bottom of the barrel."

Another high-ranking officer asked, "Secretary-General, do you want to look it over? The admissions department said if there’s anyone you don’t like the look of, we can just remove them, hahaha!"

Yuan Shiyao wasn’t interested and continued walking. "No need."

"Alright." The man nodded, gave the list a cursory glance, and submitted it.

If Yuan Shiyao had stopped to look at the list, he would have seen, on the very last line, a pure and delicate face, along with the name next to it—

Gu Nian.