Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Dropping the Act
Yuan Shiyao ignored Gu Nian and curved his lips into a smile for Jiang Qingli.
He had become quite skilled at ignoring other people.
Catching sight of his grim-faced brother out of the corner of his eye, the young man said firmly, "Mhm, I’ll help you and Sister-in-law take good care of the kitten."
"Just do what you’re supposed to do. I don’t need your help," Yuan Shimo rejected him bluntly.
Yuan Shiyao adopted a docile attitude. "Helping you is also my responsibility, big brother."
He even smiled and nodded at Gu Nian. "Junior Gu, I look forward to working with you."
Yuan Shimo: "..."
Gu Nian: "..."
As if stunned by his shamelessness, Gu Nian’s pink eyes widened slightly. He was at a loss for words.
Ke An, who was standing nearby, felt his own lips twitch as he listened.
’Good grief. First, Secretary Yuan failed to ride his son’s coattails to success, and now he’s trying the same trick with a cat. And he’s not even bothering to act anymore.’
’How terrifying...’
-
After leaving the student council, the car first dropped Yuan Shimo off at Jiang Qingli’s private villa.
The young man got out of the car, his face tense.
Gu Nian had to grab something, so he got out here as well.
He stood outside but didn’t close the door right away. Instead, he leaned in and kissed Jiang Qingli’s cheek, nuzzling it affectionately with his lips. "Big Sis, I have a surprise for you tonight, so come back early, okay?"
"I know, I know." Jiang Qingli pinched his cheek. "You’re like a little concubine vying for favor."
"Then I want to be the noble consort, your favorite one." Gu Nian captured her lips in a lingering kiss, his voice a breathy whisper. His eyes were fixed on her. "You have to promise me, Big Sis. Even if other old men enter your harem, you still have to like me. Don’t you dare throw me away."
Perhaps feeling his words were a bit too forceful, he took Jiang Qingli’s fingers and pressed them affectionately to his own cheek. "I’m younger than them, and my prime will last longer... Big Sis..."
"Alright, I get it. I won’t throw our Nian away," Jiang Qingli said, ruffling his hair.
Having gotten her promise, Gu Nian finally smiled and closed the car door.
As the car’s exhaust fumes faded into the distance, Gu Nian opened his terminal and accessed his inbox.
Inside the empty inbox was a single unread message.
It was an invitation from the Xie Family.
Gu Nian’s status in the Upper City District was just that of a low-ranking exchange student, so he hadn’t been invited to any of the various banquets held recently.
And yet, Xie Youchen had sent him an invitation.
’Was it a provocation, or was there some other motive?’
What annoyed Gu Nian even more was that Xie Youchen hadn’t just sent one to him.
He had just hacked into Yuan Shimo’s email and discovered that Xie Youchen had sent an invitation to him as well.
’Looks like all the Beast Husbands received one.’
’What is he planning?’
A cold glint flashed in Gu Nian’s eyes as his finger unhesitatingly selected [Attend].
-
After finishing her review session with Lin Xiyue and returning home, Jiang Qingli received an invitation from the Imperial Palace.
The platinum-colored envelope, tucked with a few small, unknown blue flowers, was fresh and elegant.
In her memory, although the Emperor always had an amiable smile, her imposing aura never diminished. No matter the banquet, her appearance would plunge the surroundings into a tense, respectful silence.
When Jiang Qingli was younger, she would only follow her elders to offer blessings to the Emperor during holidays. The response she received was the same as any other noble female’s: a pat on the head, a few words of praise, and then she could bow and leave.
Those occasions were always crowded, and the atmosphere was fairly congenial.
Now, suddenly faced with having afternoon tea alone with the Emperor, Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
Besides not having seen her in a long time, the most important thing was that she suddenly remembered: the Emperor wasn’t just the Emperor, she was also Qin Muye’s birth mother!
Realizing this, Jiang Qingli instantly grew tense.
She smoothed her hair and sent Qin Muye a message: [Calling puppy, calling puppy!]
He immediately responded with a voice call.
When the call connected, Qin Muye’s voice came through, laced with a smile. "What’s up?"
"I’m going to the Platinum Flower Room in a bit, so I wanted to let you know," Jiang Qingli said in a low voice. "Is there anything I should watch out for?"
The Platinum Flower Room was where the Emperor received others for afternoon tea. It was named for its pure white roof, large, transparent glass walls, and the variety of precious plants inside.
Jiang Qingli remembered that Qin Muye and Qin Shiyi didn’t have a very good relationship, but Qin Shiyi was very protective of him. So, she still hoped to make a good impression.
’After all, Qin Muye is my man now. I should behave well and let his mother know she can entrust him to me without worry.’
On the other end of the line, after Qin Muye heard what she said, his breathing clearly deepened.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, all he said was, "...Just be your usual self. That’s good enough."
"You’re right, being natural is better," Jiang Qingli laughed. "Oh, right, I can’t decide which dress to wear. Can you help me choose? I’ll send you some pictures."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Qin Muye tossed his terminal aside, leaned back, and stared at the ceiling, falling into a rare silence.
The terminal vibrated a few times.
Qin Muye opened it and saw that Jiang Qingli had sent photos of several dresses.
White, mint green, lavender, light blue, beige...
Each one was beautiful, and he could imagine how gorgeous Jiang Qingli would look in them.
But—
The young man’s brow furrowed slightly as a rare, faint frustration spread through his chest.
Although he had agreed to help Jiang Qingli, he actually had no idea what the Emperor’s preferences were.
Or rather, for all these years, Qin Muye had deliberately avoided learning anything about his birth mother.
Just as the high-and-mighty Emperor never took the initiative to communicate with him.
However, before Qin Muye’s rare melancholy could spread, a discordant voice piped up, "Buddy, I think you should suggest Miss Jiang wear the blue one. Her Majesty has a lot of blue gowns, her favorite flower is the blue rose, and besides, both your and Her Majesty’s eyes are grayish-blue."
Qin Muye whipped his head around and saw the annoying redhead sitting on the edge of the bed. He instantly flew into a rage. "What are you doing here?!"
Que Feiling was stunned by his yelling. "I’ve been here the whole time! And you took a hit from that Mutant Beast for me, so the instructor told me to come!"
"I did that because I didn’t want to owe you anything! Don’t get all fucking sappy with me! Get the hell away!" The more Qin Muye thought about it, the angrier he got.
During the last operation, Que Feiling had been the captain. He’d blocked a sneak attack from a Mutant Beast for Qin Muye and broken a bone. So, on this mission, when a Mutant Beast came, Qin Muye kicked it away from the damn bird, getting a huge gash on his own leg in the process.
He thought everyone knew they were mortal enemies, but their superior actually thought they were best buddies and ordered Que Feiling to watch over him and not let him get out of bed until his wound healed!
’How could I possibly be best buddies with a guy like this, who’s just waiting for a chance to climb the ranks?!’
’These people have all lost their minds!’
"Still looking?" Qin Muye shot him a cold glare. "Get lost."
Que Feiling touched his hair. "But Miss Jiang needs help... Okay, fine, I’ll shut up."
Afraid that Qin Muye would get so angry he’d tear his wound open, Que Feiling silently lay back down on the other hospital bed.
Qin Muye lay flat for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the blanket, pulled it over his head, and made a frustrated noise.
’This is so damn annoying.’
’Any random person knows more about his mother than he does.’
A long while later, Qin Muye pulled the blanket down and sent a message to Jiang Qingli.
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