Transmigration:The Villain Wants A Happy End Without His BeastHusbands-Chapter 148: Our Ambitions Clash

Leaning against the balcony, Ningyan idly turned the flute in his fingers, his gaze drifting down to the street below.

A saleswoman had grabbed a goat beastman by the horn, yanking him back just as he tried to flee her stall.

The scene was already descending into chaos.

Beast folks gathered quickly, some eager to watch, others trying half-heartedly to break up the fight. The woman was a bear beastwoman. She was broad, towering, and built like she could snap bones without effort.

Even Ningyan wouldn’t step into that.

He glanced down at the flute again, rolling it lightly in his palm.

He had found it in a drawer. The same drawer he had checked over a dozen times.

And it definitely hadn’t been there before.

So who put it back?

"Come back here, you wretched beast!" the bear woman roared.

Ningyan looked up just in time to see her seize the goat beastman again as he tried to crawl away. The poor thing was already sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

Ningyan’s lips curled in amusement. Then someone stepped up beside him, leaning against the balcony just as casually. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

A tail swayed lazily behind him. Large feline ears twitched at the noise below.

Rong Yue.

Neither of them spoke at first. They simply watched.

Below, a few beastmen managed to restrain the bear woman for all of two seconds before she broke free.

She charged forward and slammed into the goat beastman, tackling him straight into the ground.

A collective groan rose from the crowd.

"Oof—" Ningyan winced.

Beside him, Rong Yue made the exact same expression.

"That must have hurt," they said at the same time.

There was a brief pause.

Then Ningyan let out a soft laugh. "I’m pretty sure he broke something."

Rong Yue turned to him, smiling.

Up close, the resemblance to Rong Chao was there. Not exact, but enough.

Ningyan missed him. ...Shenzhen too.

His fingers stilled slightly around the flute.

He wondered how Shenzhen would react if he found out. That he was now married to his brother.

Yeah.... That was still very strange.

Ningyan’s smile faded. "Are you preparing to leave?"

Rong Yue inclined his head slightly. "You could say that."

Ningyan frowned. "You really should leave."

Rong Yue exhaled softly. "Why can’t you forgive me?"

Ningyan let out a quiet scoff. "Because you ruined the image I had of you. At the academy... our conversations, the way I saw you. All of it." His gaze hardened. "You tracked me with the intention of killing me."

"I didn’t," Rong Yue said calmly.

"The crystal can’t be removed," Ningyan shot back. "Which means the only option was to kill me. And you didn’t look like you would hesitate."

Rong Yue held his gaze. "I was trying to understand what the crystal was reacting to."

Ningyan’s jaw tightened. He looked away.

"It wasn’t reacting to anything," he said quietly, his voice dropping.

Rong Yue watched him, something sharper flickering in his eyes. "Ningyan..."

"Wuhen scolded you, didn’t he?" Ningyan cut in immediately.

Rong Yue blinked, clearly caught off guard. "I..."

"That’s why you came to apologize."

"...Well."

Ningyan’s eyes snapped back to him. "Well what? Am I wrong?"

Rong Yue sighed.

"Yes, he did scold me. For stopping Meishan from helping you." He paused, his tone steady. "But I didn’t apologize because of him."

Ningyan didn’t look convinced.

"I apologized because I meant it," Rong Yue continued. "I regret what I did."

Ningyan gave him a flat, unimpressed look. "Why don’t I believe you?"

Rong Yue’s lips curved faintly, though there was no humor in it. "Because I told you the truth."

Ningyan stilled.

"I told you why I want the crystal," Rong Yue went on. "I told you I need it for power." His gaze didn’t waver. "Our ambitions clash. And you don’t want someone like me near you. Someone who wants the same thing."

Ningyan stared at him. Because he was right. Annoyingly, precisely right.

His fingers tightened slightly around the flute before he looked away again, refusing to respond.

"Everyone wants power," he said after a long minute. "But power doesn’t suit everyone."

Rong Yue studied him for a moment, a slow smile forming on his lips.

"You’ve changed, Yan’er," he murmured, drawing Ningyan’s gaze back to him.

Ningyan said nothing, allowing him to continue.

"You seem freer now. More decisive." His eyes softened, just slightly. "It’s... beautiful to witness."

Ningyan let out a quiet scoff. "And you seem more manipulative now that you want something from me. Have you always been like this?"

Rong Yue chuckled, unoffended.

"You have to be," he replied. "If you want someone like Wuhen at your side. He wouldn’t even look at me if I weren’t ruthless enough to hold his interest."

He paused, tone still easy. "I simply have boundaries. You’re right, though... it’s more obvious to you now, because I want something from you."

Ningyan watched him for a second, then shifted his grip on the flute.

"That precious thing you were trying to take back at the academy," he said. "The dragon crystal."

Rong Yue nodded. "Yes."

"When I was poisoned, that’s what you were looking for."

"Yes."

Ningyan looked away, his expression turning thoughtful.

"It wasn’t inside me back then. I don’t even know when it got there... or how."

Rong Yue’s gaze lingered on him.

That night. Shenzhen. The deal they had made. He must have hidden it inside Ningyan the same night Lan Tianheng and Lan Tianlong attacked. The same night Ningyan disappeared.

He wondered, briefly, how Ningyan would react if he knew.

He said nothing.

Ningyan lifted the flute to his lips. A soft melody flowed into the air. Gentle. Clear. Almost playful.

And yet... it carried something deeper.

It settled into Rong Yue’s senses, threading through him, making his pulse quicken as a faint chill rose along his skin.

Goosebumps.

He watched quietly.

Ningyan’s eyes were closed, his expression calm, almost serene as his fingers moved with effortless precision.

Then the music stopped. Just like that.

Ningyan lowered the flute slightly and glanced at him. "Did you hear Meishan and I last night?"

Rong Yue choked under his breath, caught off guard by the abrupt shift.

"...Yes," he admitted after a moment. "We all did."

Ningyan studied him, his violet eyes thoughtful.

The wind lifted a few loose strands of his hair as he tilted his head slightly. "How did it make you feel, Rong Yue?"