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

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: So Many People

’Cat Teacher?’

Jiang Qingli hadn’t expected Yuan Shimo to come, so she answered with pleasant surprise, "I’m here. What are you doing here?"

"I heard from one of your classmates that you were on your tiptoes the whole time," Yuan Shimo said, keeping his voice low. "I was worried you might have hurt yourself, so I brought some medicine."

"You’re so thoughtful."

Jiang Qingli’s lips curved into a smile. As she turned, Yuan Shiyao stood up and backed away, his movements stiff and tense.

He had the flustered look of a child caught misbehaving.

Jiang Qingli asked, puzzled, "Did you and your brother have a fight?"

Yuan Shiyao pressed his lips together, looking like he didn’t want to talk. "It’s... not a good time for us to see each other right now."

Jiang Qingli thought for a moment. ’There are a lot of people milling about outside. It would be bad if they ran into each other and started fighting in here. Who knows what kind of strange rumors might start spreading.’

She pointed further into the room and lowered her voice. "Why don’t you hide for a bit?"

Yuan Shiyao followed her finger and saw a large wardrobe standing silently in the corner.

Yuan Shiyao was speechless.

’In his entire life, this was the first time a female had ever ordered him to get into a wardrobe.’

’Especially under circumstances like these.’

’No matter how he looked at it, this felt like a cliché, melodramatic scene straight out of a TV drama.’

But he truly didn’t want to run into his twin brother. Yuan Shiyao pressed his lips together, muttered a quiet "My apologies," and strode over to the wardrobe, opening it and stepping inside.

The wardrobe was two meters wide. Inside hung only two of Jiang Qingli’s spare formal dresses, one casual outfit, and the pair of broken shoes.

It was quite spacious, but the moment he slipped inside, the sweet fragrance lingering in the confined space made him feel a wave of dizziness.

Yuan Shiyao held his breath, carefully pushed the clothes to one side, then stood with his back straight against the wardrobe wall and closed his eyes.

CLICK.

Just as the wardrobe door clicked shut, the dressing room door opened.

When Jiang Qingli’s gaze met a pair of jade-green eyes, she was momentarily dazed.

When she came to her senses, she saw his brow furrow slightly behind his gold-rimmed glasses before he suddenly bent down and swept her into his arms.

Caught off guard, Jiang Qingli let out a short gasp of surprise, then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth as she remembered there was someone else in the room.

Yuan Shimo lifted Jiang Qingli with ease, closing the door behind him with his free hand. His voice was soft. "Sorry, did I startle you?"

"No..." Jiang Qingli wrapped her arms around his neck, darting a glance toward the wardrobe behind him. "I just didn’t expect you to suddenly pick me up," she whispered.

"The floor is cold, and you’re barefoot." Holding her, Yuan Shimo’s shoe bumped against the silver high heels on the floor. "Were you about to put these on?"

"Yes. After the play, I have to speak with the leadership and all that. There’s a banquet tonight," Jiang Qingli nodded.

"You’ve been working hard."

Yuan Shimo turned his head to kiss her on the cheek, his eyes discreetly sweeping the room behind her.

’The room was empty, but the lingering presence of another person hadn’t had time to dissipate.’

’Who was it?’

’Someone was here before me. Someone who brought her shoes.’

’Baili Jing is in the control room monitoring the play right now. Qin Muye is by His Majesty the Emperor’s side, probably half-asleep. Gu Nian should be on stage performing...’

’Could it be Ye Linyuan? He hasn’t been around in a while.’

’He always did seem to enjoy giving his female master clothes and jewelry, as if he couldn’t wait to cover her from head to toe with his brand.’

’But a man like Ye Linyuan wouldn’t hide just because I arrived.’

As a certain possibility occurred to Yuan Shimo, his gaze, hidden from Jiang Qingli’s view, turned sharp.

His expression unreadable, Yuan Shimo lowered his eyes, bent down to pick up the silver high heels, and carried Jiang Qingli over to the sofa to sit down.

He set the shoes aside, took the medicine from his pocket, and held the girl’s calf with one hand. With the other, he dabbed some ointment on his long fingers and gently rubbed it in circles over the scrape.

The medicine worked quickly, forming a protective film as soon as it was applied.

Yuan Shimo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. "It should be fully healed in five minutes—"

He looked up and met her smiling eyes.

The young man’s eyelashes fluttered, and his heart skipped a beat. His voice softened. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Do I need to report my reasons for looking at my own Beast Husband?" Jiang Qingli stated matter-of-factly, before concluding, "Cat Teacher is so strict."

His fingers holding her calf seemed to lose their grip for a moment before slowly tightening again.

Yuan Shimo lowered his eyes, looking perfectly obedient. "No need. My female master can look as much as she pleases."

Since they had a few minutes to kill, Jiang Qingli slid out of his lap to sit beside him, studying him intently.

The girl’s unwavering gaze slid down from his soft hair, past the straight bridge of his nose and his thin lips, before coming to rest on his dense, long eyelashes.

Her gaze held no trace of desire; it was the pure appreciation one would have for a work of art.

Few people had ever studied him so closely. Unsettled by the scrutiny, Yuan Shimo felt the tips of his ears grow increasingly hot.

Seeing his ears turn redder and redder, Jiang Qingli’s mischievous side took over. She teased him in a breathy whisper, "Cat Teacher, why are you so easy to fluster?"

Yuan Shimo didn’t answer. Instead, he raised one hand and slowly took off his gold-rimmed glasses.

’Having spent so much time with him, Jiang Qingli was all too familiar with that gesture—’

’He wanted to kiss her again.’

’Was he serious? How could he want to kiss her just from being looked at for a little while?!’

’It would be one thing if they were the only two in the dressing room, but there was someone else here!’

Seeing Yuan Shimo gently set his glasses on the coffee table, a smile blooming in his eyes as he looked at her, Jiang Qingli’s scalp tingled. She slapped a hand over his mouth before he could lean in.

But Yuan Shimo, who usually indulged her in these matters, didn’t stop. He maintained the posture and pressed closer, pushing her down onto the sofa and bracing himself with one hand beside her.

Just like that, the girl was trapped between his arms.

Yuan Shimo slowly lowered his head, stopping just inches from her face. His eyes crinkled into a smile.

Jiang Qingli saw the amusement in his eyes and, assuming this was his revenge for her staring earlier, glared back with all her might. She stared so hard her eyes began to ache, a reaction that only deepened the smile in the young man’s eyes.

What she didn’t know was that from behind, it looked as if they were intimately kissing.

Nor did she notice the faint rustling sound coming from inside the wardrobe.

The pose didn’t last long. Yuan Shimo pulled back and glanced down at her ankle.

The skin on her ankle was already as good as new.

Yuan Shimo ignored the pair of shoes lying on the floor. "Do you have another spare pair?" he asked.

His gaze drifted toward the wardrobe.

Jiang Qingli grabbed his hand and shook her head. "No, the other pair was broken by someone."

Yuan Shimo frowned and stood up.

Jiang Qingli grew tense. "Where are you going?"

"To the security room. To check the footage."

As Yuan Shimo spoke, Jiang Qingli quickly slipped on the shoes Yuan Shiyao had brought, then grabbed his shoulders and began pushing him toward the door.

"Thank you, Cat Teacher! I’ll leave finding the culprit to you, then!" she said with a beaming smile. "I’ll just change into a dress that matches these better..."

Just as they reached the entrance, the door was knocked on again.

A young man’s breathless voice came through the door. "Sister!"

Jiang Qingli was about to open the door, her hand on the doorknob, when she heard an unfamiliar voice. "Miss Jiang, I’ve been sent by Marshal Jiang to deliver new shoes to you."

Jiang Qingli froze.

But that wasn’t all. Qiao Lan’s voice followed. "Chairman, I just went to pull the surveillance footage."

Then someone else shouted, "Chairman Jiang, do you have a moment for an interview?"

’This... This is too many people...’

Jiang Qingli looked at Yuan Shimo. The tips of his ears were red and his eyes were glistening, making him look as if he’d just been bullied.

’With him looking like this, if they said nothing happened, would anyone... believe them...?’

After a split second of thought, Jiang Qingli pressed her palms together pleadingly and whispered, "Can you please use your shadow travel to get out? I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done here!"

"That won’t be necessary," Yuan Shimo said.

He turned and walked straight back into the room.

’This is bad,’ Jiang Qingli thought.

Before she could stop him, Yuan Shimo had already opened the wardrobe door—