Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Waning Interest

“Not going back? Then where do you plan on going?”

Lan Yuyan spoke softly. “Just send me back to the Lan Family. Then you can tell Qinqin I’m away on business and won’t be back for a month or two.

If Fox Ear gets the medicine on time, I’ll come back. If not… just tell her I had an accident.”

Yun Xie shot him a cool glance, then began arranging their return to the Federation.

Just then, a call came in from Jiang Qin.

She hadn’t rushed them to come back, not wanting to get in the way of their business. But for some reason, she’d been feeling anxious for the past two days.

At first, she thought something might have happened to Cang Hong, but he had already returned today.

Only Yun Xie and Lan Yuyan, who had abruptly said something came up and they couldn’t come back, were still away.

The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Jiang Qin decided to call them again and asked directly, “Are you two hiding something from me?”

“…” The two of them fell silent.

They might conceal the truth, but they would never choose to lie.

How could Jiang Qin not understand what was happening? She immediately said, “Send me your address.”

“Qinqin, you don’t need to come here. I’ve already arranged for a ship. I’ll bring Lan Yuyan back to see you immediately.”

Lan Yuyan, his face pale, tried to refuse.

He couldn’t bear the thought of his beloved seeing him in this state, and he wanted even less to cause her pain.

But this time, Yun Xie refused to listen to him.

He said, “You have to go back, no matter what. Do you not trust Qinqin? Do you think she’d despise you for this, or abandon you?

So what if you can never walk again? It’s better than being dead.”

Besides, the Interstellar world has devices to help paralyzed people move around normally.

Robots could handle their daily care, and assistive machines could help them get around. The impact on their lives wouldn’t be that great. It’s just that some males can’t accept such a reality and would rather choose death.

After all, a male who could no longer use his beast form, serve his female master, or even hold down a normal job would truly feel like he was completely useless.

But Yun Xie didn’t think Lan Yuyan needed to worry about any of that.

Aside from the blow to his spirit, the physical disability wouldn’t detract from his other qualities.

***

Cang Hong arrived home before Yun Xie and the others.

The moment he saw Jiang Qin, he started whining, leaning against her and pitifully telling her how much he’d missed her. As he spoke, his eyes even started to turn red.

He already looked like a little wild wolf, and with those reddened eyes, Jiang Qin’s heart instantly melted.

She had to admit, everyone appreciated beauty, and she was no exception.

She was unmoved by the seductive advances of outsiders, but when it came to her partners, she was a goner in an instant.

By the time she snapped out of it, Cang Hong had already coaxed her back to their room, where she now sat on the bed, waiting for him to finish his shower.

She felt a little awkward about this in the middle of the day, especially with other people in the house.

But the words of refusal caught in her throat.

A man with black lion ears atop his head, a single black bath towel wrapped around his waist, walked out of the bathroom, his body glistening with droplets of water.

…

At dinner, Long Hao looked at Shi Lichuan and Yuan Ling across the table and felt the profound threat posed by Cang Hong.

’Yuan Ling… I heard he has some issue where he can’t stand physical contact with females. That makes him little more than a future handyman for the family. Nothing to worry about.’

’Shi Lichuan is pretty docile. He doesn’t fight or compete, and he’s usually quiet. Also not a threat.’

’But this Cang Hong is different. He’s a male who loves to cling to females, act cute, and cry!’

’They say a male’s tears are a female’s stimulant. He’d seen proof of that today. But as for learning Cang Hong’s tricks—sobbing his eyes out and whining constantly—he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.’

’So, is the household battle finally about to begin?’

Long Hao felt his heart begin to race with an inexplicable excitement.

However, his two rivals at the table seemed completely oblivious to his combative mindset.

Shi Lichuan mistakenly thought he was about to ask if Jiang Qin was coming down for dinner and thoughtfully started listing off many of her little habits and preferences.

He even advised him not to disturb their female master’s good mood right now…

Yuan Ling, meanwhile, had silently taken out his Light Computer and started taking notes.

Looking at the page already filled with notes about her, he felt a wave of satisfaction.

’This means I’m getting closer and closer to her.’

’After all, how could you get the chance to learn everything about someone unless you were close to them!’

Only Long Hao suddenly lost all his enthusiasm.

’Forget it,’ he thought. ’There’s no glory in winning a competition against these two. I’m from the Imperial Family, after all. I have plenty of strength and cunning.’

’Hmph. If I used even a little bit of strategy, those two would be left out in the cold, looking completely baffled and not even knowing why.’

’Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. The more likely outcome is that neither Jiang Qin nor these two would even notice I was scheming in the first place!’

This reminded him of his eighth-ranked younger sister in the Imperial Family.

That sister had once mocked him.

She had said, “Males have to marry out eventually. Third Brother, you should spend your time learning from Her Majesty the Empress’s three hundred-some partners on how to properly vie for affection.”

“Not fighting on the battlefield all day, deluding yourself into thinking you can compete with your sisters for the right of succession.”

“Have you even thought about it? Is that something a male, who is destined to go live in a female’s home, should dare to covet?”

Long Hao, being naturally rebellious, loved to defy people like her.

So, not only did he not go learn anything from Her Majesty the Empress’s partners, he went and participated in several more military campaigns, earning numerous commendations.

Even now, after he had announced his departure from the Empire, the Empress had still told him, “As long as you come back, I will always have the position of Marshal reserved for you.”

But there was no way Long Hao would ever go back.

The reason he thought of this was that he was, in fact, starting to regret not visiting the Empress’s harem to ask for advice.

After all, her most favored partners had clawed their way to the top out of hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of rivals.

And yet here he was, completely clueless about how to even start vying for affection in a household of only a few people.

After he’d viciously shoveled down a few mouthfuls of food, another dish was placed in front of him.

Shi Lichuan advised him, “Next time, don’t wait until you’re starving to eat. If you get stomach problems, Qinqin will worry.”

And just like that, a perfect little idea for winning favor came straight from the mouth of his rival…

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Long Hao eagerly sent a message to Jiang Qin.

:[Qinqin, I feel dizzy.]

Upon receiving the message, Jiang Qin quickly pushed Cang Hong away, hurriedly threw on a nightgown, and ran to his door, knocking anxiously.

“Long Hao, are you okay?”

Long Hao, secretly delighted, quickly checked his appearance before opening the door with a listless expression.

Jiang Qin asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you very dizzy? Is it a problem with your Spirit Sea again?”

Interstellar People rarely got fevers or colds, and even when they did get sick, they recovered quickly.

But Long Hao was saying he felt dizzy, which was clearly a serious symptom, especially since his Spirit Sea was already damaged and needed time to heal.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep