Engagement Annulled? Now The Husbands Kneel and Beg for Her Favor

Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Hi, Wife

On the large, rectangular screen was a livestream of the Imperial Royal Academy’s festival.

Jiang Qingli, dressed in a long white formal gown, sat perfectly straight in the center of the second row below the stage.

The young woman’s soft, black hair was swept back, revealing a pale neck. With ruby-red lips and pearly teeth, her profile alone was captivating.

In just a few seconds, the screen was flooded with comments from every city district:

[Is that the nepotism hire from the Melt Star Association who replaced Qin Shu?]

[She probably got in because of her family, right? Nobles love pulling strings. Her mom is some kind of director or minister or whatever. Fucking bitch.]

[Baili Jing, ahhh! He’s so handsome! That profile is a killer!]

[Qin Muye is there too? That fucker’s still alive? Didn’t people say Jiang Qingli beat him to death?]

[She looks like she barely has any meat on her bones. When is she gonna kill Qin Muye? If the Prince dies, we’d get a few days off. That’d be a contribution to society.]

[Nepotism hires like her should just drop dead. A hero like Qin Shu, who fights Mutant Beasts, is the only one worthy of being chairman!]

Sitting in the fifth row, Lin Xiyue frowned as she watched the screen fill with comments praising Qin Shu while tearing down Jiang Qingli.

While residents of the Lower District often complained about the Upper City District, the fact that most soldiers fighting Mutant Beasts on the front lines came from noble families offset much of that negativity. On major holidays like the Moon Festival, at least, the Empire mandated a day off, distributed souvenirs and subsidies to everyone, and the overall atmosphere was harmonious.

In past livestreams of the Royal Empire College’s festival, the comments were usually appreciative, and the chat would be moderated. It was impossible for such widespread insults to appear.

Especially when they were so deliberately targeting Jiang Qingli, a female.

The camera showed no signs of moving away, and the comments kept pouring in.

Lin Xiyue couldn’t take it anymore. She rolled up her sleeves, about to grab the camera that was hovering in mid-air, fixed on Jiang Qingli.

Just as she stood up, she saw Jiang Qingli suddenly turn her head.

Amid the crowd, she precisely located Lin Xiyue, smiled at her, and mouthed the words, "I’m fine, Yueyue."

After that, Jiang Qingli’s lips curled into a smile for her.

Just then, the host invited her and Xie Guanqi to rise and open the ceremony.

The young woman’s eyes crinkled in a smile as a spotlight fell on her, illuminating every strand of her hair until it shone.

The comment feed stuttered for a moment, then a flood of exclamation marks erupted:

[F*ck, so beautiful!]

[Hey, wifey!]

[Qin Muye, you can rest easy on the front lines! I’m coming for your wifey!]

[Wifey, do you want a female Beast Husband!]

There were dissonant voices too: [Is she just marketing herself with her face? Does the Melt Star Association run on good looks now?]

[She’s half a head shorter than Xie Guanqi. What kind of presence is that?]

Bathed in the stage lights, Jiang Qingli and Xie Guanqi walked onto the stage side by side.

Just as they had climbed a few steps, Lin Xiyue suddenly noticed Jiang Qingli falter.

Beside her, Xie Guanqi seemed to smirk and abruptly quickened her pace.

Jiang Qingli paused for only a second before following, her expression unchanged.

The two stood at the front of the stage, facing the gazes of ten thousand people and dozens of densely packed cameras, and completed their task smoothly.

In the livestream, the nitpicking comments gradually dwindled, and the few accounts that had been stirring up trouble at the beginning faded into the sea of messages.

Lin Xiyue let out a sigh of relief.

Ai Li, who was next to her, leaned over to look at the comments and nodded in satisfaction. "The eyes of the masses are truly sharp. Now they should know what our chairman is made of, hmph."

As she watched, she suddenly saw a comment and spoke up, confused, "This comment says one of Qingli’s shoes lost its heel? But didn’t we pick those shoes out together? They have heels, don’t they? Is it some kind of internet slang?"

Lin Xiyue recalled how Jiang Qingli’s expression had faltered for a moment and looked toward the stage.

And there she saw it: lying on the dimly lit steps was a slender high-heel stem.

She remembered that the heels on Jiang Qingli’s shoes were twelve centimeters high. She hadn’t shown a thing the entire time.

-

The heavy curtains slowly parted.

As the narration and a heavy instrumental track played, Jiang Qingli and Xie Guanqi walked backstage.

Xie Guanqi glanced at Jiang Qingli’s feet and raised an eyebrow. "I never would’ve guessed. You’ve quite the talent for modeling."

"I have the student council to thank for this opportunity." Jiang Qingli’s lips curved, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Otherwise, I would’ve never known I could stand on one tiptoe for twenty minutes."

Xie Guanqi scoffed. "I don’t understand what you mean by that, Chairman Jiang. If you make a mistake and buy the wrong thing, you shouldn’t blame it on others."

Jiang Qingli raised an eyebrow but didn’t continue the verbal spar, turning and entering the dressing room instead.

She had just sat down when she received a message from Lin Xiyue.

Yueyue: [Babe, are you okay? How did your shoe break? Do you have a spare pair? Want me to bring some over?]

Jiang Qingli typed a reply: [I’m fine, it was just a small accident. No need to come see me, I have a spare pair here~]

Yueyue: [Okay, but let me know if you need anything!]

Jiang Qingli sent a heart-hands emoji in reply, then took off her shoes and looked down to assess the damage.

It had all happened so suddenly. She didn’t have time to think, and she couldn’t leave, so she had no choice but to stand there with the arch of her foot tensed the entire time.

Luckily, aside from the skin on her heel being scraped raw from the pressure, there was no other damage.

Jiang Qingli recalled the look on Xie Guanqi’s face when she realized she had stiffened for a moment, and how she’d suddenly sped up. She balled up her fist and punched the throw pillow beside her.

’And she calls herself the student council president. So petty, trying to make someone look like a fool in front of everyone.’

’Next time, I’ll see how she likes being embarrassed.’

’But for now, the most important thing is to get through the festival without any more problems.’

Jiang Qingli took off her other shoe and walked to the wardrobe.

When she opened it, however, her brows furrowed.

The spare pair of high heels, which had been placed neatly inside, had their soles destroyed and were tossed about in a mess.

’There are no other spares in the room. Qiao Lan and the others are probably out front right now...’

Just as Jiang Qingli was wondering whether she should go look for shoes in another dressing room, there was a sudden knock on the door.

She opened the door and met a pair of beautiful, jade-green eyes.

A black-haired young man stood at the door with one hand behind his back, his breathing a little unsteady. His eyes met hers for an instant before darting away.

He looked down, starting to speak a bit shyly, "Sorry, I..."

Footsteps passed by from behind him, and Jiang Qingli heard Xie Guanqi’s voice from a short distance away: "Where did Yuan Shiyao go?"

Without thinking, Jiang Qingli yanked him into the dressing room.

’If Xie Guanqi sees Yuan Shiyao at my dressing room door, she’ll lead the others in isolating him again.’

The door was flung open and then slammed shut with a loud BANG.

Yuan Shiyao’s arm was grabbed, and as he felt her hair brush against his cheek, his heart skipped a beat.

His gaze grew dazed for some reason.

It wasn’t until Jiang Qingli asked him what he wanted that he snapped back to his senses.

"Sorry, I just noticed that your heel broke. I happen to have..."

Yuan Shiyao said, raising his hand.

Only then did Jiang Qingli see that the hand he had been holding behind his back was carrying a pair of high heels.

They were silver stilettos, quite similar to the pair she had just broken.

"Thanks, this is just what I need!"

Jiang Qingli reached out to take them but grabbed at empty air.

The young man was a step faster, kneeling before her on one knee and holding out his hand.

His intention was clear: he wanted to help her put them on.

’This... he doesn’t have to be *that* helpful...’

Jiang Qingli was a little embarrassed, and the toes of her bare foot on the floor curled involuntarily.

Yuan Shiyao stared at her intently, his tone perfectly serious. "It’s fine. We’re friends."

"Even if we’re friends, you don’t have to. I can do it myself..."

Jiang Qingli bent down to take them, her fingers brushing against the young man’s long knuckles. Before she could pull away, the door behind her was knocked on again.

"Qingli."

Through the door, Yuan Shimo’s voice rang out, gentle and concerned—

"Are you in there?"