Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Introspection

Lu Xiao slept until the afternoon. When she woke up and went to check the time, she discovered a message from Admiral Hans.

She opened it and saw the latest report on Dean. Lu Xiao sat up straight. After carefully reading it, she couldn’t help but smile. Her theory had been correct after all.

Releasing their emotions was, in itself, a form of therapy for S-Class Beastmen.

’If that’s the case, could they conduct similar experiments at the shelter?’

Lu Xiao felt she needed to discuss this with Admiral Hans. But first, she had to organize her thoughts and try to come up with a detailed procedure.

With that thought, Lu Xiao was instantly filled with drive.

After quickly freshening up, she came out of her bedroom and, just as she expected, saw a busy figure downstairs. “Ares, what delicious thing are you making? I’m starving.”

Hearing her voice, Ares looked up. “Did you sleep well, Lu Xiao?”

“Yeah, I feel completely revived! And guess what, Ares? Admiral Hans just sent a message. He said Dean’s condition has improved! His Half-beastification has disappeared, and his Spirit Sea risk assessment value dropped from Mid-Advanced to somewhere between Mid-stage Junior and Intermediate. This means our method is working!”

Watching the little female bounce over to him, overflowing with joy, Ares could clearly feel her delight.

Her cheer was infectious, and a smile touched his eyes.

“That’s amazing!”

Lu Xiao excitedly threw her arms around Ares. “I know, right? Haha!”

The little female’s undisguised joy made Ares feel that he would do anything to preserve her smile forever, no matter the cost.

Stared at by Ares’s burning gaze, Lu Xiao slowly realized something. Feeling a bit awkward, she lightly tapped his shoulder. “I’m hungry, go get me some— Mmph!”

Ares suddenly grabbed her wrist, and before Lu Xiao could finish her sentence, he kissed her.

The sudden kiss sent a jolt of panic through Lu Xiao, but Ares’s kiss soon left her unable to think at all.

When it ended, Lu Xiao could only lean against Ares’s chest to catch her breath. With his arm around her waist, Ares spoke with restraint, “Sorry, I…”

Lu Xiao wrapped her arms around his waist and tilted her head to look at him. “What are you apologizing for? Do you regret kissing me?”

“How could I? That’s not what I meant. I just… I acted on my own without asking your permission. I was worried you’d hate it.”

“You’re worried about whether I’d hate it *after* you’ve already done it? If I hated it, I would have pushed you away. Do you think I’d just let you kiss me like that, you idiot!” Lu Xiao lightly tapped Ares on the head. “From now on, don’t apologize after kissing me. Otherwise, I’ll get angry!”

“Okay, I won’t apologize again. I’ll go get you some food!” Ares pretended to release her casually, but he was so flustered that he walked stiffly toward the kitchen, his arms and legs moving in unison.

Lu Xiao couldn’t hold back a laugh when she saw him. ’What a dummy.’

’And here I thought he was so bold when he was kissing me!’

But she also found this side of Ares incredibly cute.

Ares’s cooking was getting better and better. Lu Xiao hardly ever had to cook anymore.

Ares took care of all the meals.

For Lu Xiao, this life—where she didn’t have to worry about daily chores and could just focus on her work—was simply bliss.

*

The next morning, Lu Xiao returned to her office at the Fifth Research Institute. The moment she walked in, she heard Teacher Ai Li and Teacher Sherry discussing the latest plot developments in After the Main Husband Runaway:

“After Morian left home and moved into a rental, Belle initially thought he was just trying to get her attention. She believed he didn’t genuinely want a divorce and was only doing all this to win back her favor.

A week later, however, she received a court summons to witness Morian’s sentencing. Only then did she realize that Morian was serious about divorcing her. He would rather accept the legal penalties for divorce than stay with her.

At that moment, Belle could no longer doubt Morian’s resolve. Still, she couldn’t understand *why* he was doing it. Aside from being a bit of a flirt, she had no other vices, and philandering was perfectly common among females. Why was *he* the only one who couldn’t accept it? Every family was like this! Her own mother had many attendant husbands, and she’d never heard her own Father complain!

But if Morian actually went through with the punishment and they divorced, she would be utterly humiliated. At this moment, Belle wasn’t thinking about how to win Morian back, but how to stop him.

After a long separation, she messaged Morian for the first time: ’Can you please stop this? I’ll give you whatever you want. Just come back. Can we start over?’

When Morian saw the message, his expression remained blank, as if nothing Belle did could affect him anymore. He had no intention of replying. In Belle’s eyes, he was still just throwing a tantrum. She probably thought that after her ’generous’ offer, he should just sensibly give in. But how could she possibly know that he genuinely wanted a divorce and couldn’t stand to drag it out a moment longer.

Belle didn’t get a reply from Morian and finally couldn’t sit still any longer. She decided to go find him in person. She *had* to stop the divorce. Otherwise, she would become the laughingstock among the other females, a topic for their idle gossip. She couldn’t afford that humiliation!”

“Seriously, reading up to this point, I’m really starting to hate Belle. She still hasn’t figured out why Morian wants a divorce and thinks he’s just throwing a fit. As if he’s going to give up just because she said that. How can she be so arrogant?”

Teacher Ai Li looked completely baffled. “The author writes too slowly! If only there were ten updates a day. I just want to see the look on Belle’s face when the truth comes out and slaps her right across it!”

Teacher Sherry sighed. “I can’t argue with you there. At first, I also thought Morian was just being unreasonable, but I didn’t expect him to be serious. I originally thought Belle was just making a mistake that, frankly, all females make. Why did Morian have to take it this far? Every family goes through things like this, couldn’t he just tolerate it? But looking at it from Morian’s perspective… he gave up a prestigious family for Belle and did so much for her. In return, Belle didn’t restrain herself at all and even got worse. It really feels like too much. It’s like Morian’s devotion was all for nothing!”

“But isn’t that the reality for many families these days?” Lu Xiao chimed in at the right moment. “A lot of males probably have experiences similar to Morian’s, but they just don’t have his courage.”

Hearing Lu Xiao’s words, Teacher Ai Li nodded. “You’re right. A lot of males have unhappy marriages.”

After saying this, Teacher Ai Li seemed to zone out for a moment. She was reflecting, wondering if she had ever been like Belle, doing something hurtful without even realizing it.

It wasn’t just Teacher Ai Li. The other females in the office also couldn’t help but dwell on the matter, and they all seemed a little distracted.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep