Just as she entered the building, someone took her arm from the side.
"Qingli, you're walking so fast, I couldn't keep up." Du Xixi clung to her, asking, "Where did you just go?"
"Nowhere." Jiang Qingli pulled her hand back. "What do you want?"
Du Xixi froze.
Jiang Qingli had never spoken to her in such a tone before. For a moment, she had trouble processing it.
But Bai Yiyi was a thorn in Du Xixi's side.
Since she couldn't take down Bai Yiyi herself, she certainly wasn't going to give up a useful tool like Jiang Qingli.
Du Xixi sighed, putting on a resentful expression. "Qingli, Bai Yiyi stole your man. How can you just stand for that? Look, I remember that… uh, Senior Sister Qin is having a banquet tomorrow night. At the banquet, we can…"
She laid out the entire plan in one breath, but when she looked up, she saw Jiang Qingli watching her with a half-smile.
Somehow, that look made Du Xixi a little scared.
'It's like… she's become a different person.'
Du Xixi swallowed. "What's wrong, Qingli? Are you in a bad mood? I get it. Anyone would be like this after getting their man stolen. I'm just trying to help you stand up for yourself…"
Jiang Qingli's lips curled. "Are you trying to help me stand up for myself, or are you hoping we'll fight it out so you can reap the rewards?"
Du Xixi's heart dropped.
But Jiang Qingli didn't give her a chance to explain, heading straight into the shooting range.
Shooting class was usually done in pairs.
Chi Yun entered the classroom with a friend, feeling annoyed. His gaze kept darting toward Jiang Qingli.
Previously, whenever it was time for shooting class, Jiang Qingli would forcibly drag him into being her partner.
'This time, she'll probably…'
Chi Yun's brows furrowed as he tried to think of how to refuse Jiang Qingli.
He was with Sister Yiyi now, and they were going to get married in a year.
There was no way he would agree to partner with Jiang Qingli.
With this in mind, Chi Yun lifted his chin defiantly.
A few seconds later, a figure in daffodil yellow appeared in his line of sight.
Jiang Qingli was wearing a daffodil-yellow, off-the-shoulder top with puff sleeves and long jeans. It was a casual outfit, yet in the crowd, she stood out like an elegant yellow tulip, making it impossible to look away.
After entering the classroom, Jiang Qingli glanced around for a moment before her gaze suddenly locked onto his position.
A Beastman next to him jeered, "Chi Yun, Miss Jiang is clinging to you again. Miss Bai will be here later, too. Who are you going to choose?"
Chi Yun frowned, his fingers clenching at his side.
In his view, Jiang Qingli walked over quickly, a smile spreading across her face as she looked in his direction. "Found you—"
"I won't—"
Chi Yun began in a panic, but just as he uttered the first two syllables, Jiang Qingli walked right past him and approached the person behind.
His pupils constricted in that instant.
Chi Yun whipped his head around, his expression one of disbelief.
He saw Jiang Qingli grab the hood of Qin Muye's sweatshirt and say unhappily, "Don't think I didn't see you just because you turned your head. You're going to be my partner!"
Qin Muye, who had averted his gaze and pretended not to know her the moment their eyes met: "..."
Jiang Qingli leaned closer. "Prince, you're my Beast Husband now. Isn't it your duty to be your female master's partner?"
Qin Muye didn't take the bait, instead jutting his chin toward Chi Yun. "Your partner is over there."
"That's my 'ex'-partner." Jiang Qingli grabbed his sleeve. "My partner is you now."
She blinked her eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper as she feigned weakness. "No one will pair up with me. You're the only one left, Senior Qin—"
She didn't call him by his full name, nor did she address him respectfully as "Prince" like everyone else. Instead, she called him "Senior."
It was the first time anyone had ever called him that.
Qin Muye was stunned for a few seconds.
"It's decided then." In those few seconds of stunned silence, Jiang Qingli grabbed him and started pulling him toward the locker room.
The guy next to Chi Yun sneered. "One of them was held back a year, and the other only knows how to latch onto powerful people. They're guaranteed to be last!"
He laughed a few times, but when he noticed Chi Yun was silent, he turned to see his friend staring in the direction the pair had gone.
His face was dark, as if something important had been stolen from him.
「The locker room.」
Qin Muye took off his shirt and turned sideways to look in the mirror.
The young man in the mirror had powerful, well-defined muscles, and his back was covered in a dense network of old scars.
He looked for a few seconds before averting his gaze and changing into his combat uniform.
The base layer of the combat uniform was designed to be form-fitting and sleek. After putting it on, he pulled on a loose jacket and athletic pants over it.
As he fastened the straps on his wrists, Qin Muye suddenly recalled the faint fragrance he had smelled when Jiang Qingli grabbed his wrist earlier.
As if possessed, he lowered his head and sniffed his own wrist.
A few seconds later, his mind went completely blank.
Qin Muye realized what he was doing and shot upright.
The mirror faithfully recorded the young man's flustered expression.
Feeling inexplicably irritated and guilty, Qin Muye punched the wall.
BANG—
A large crater was smashed into the solid wall.
Qin Muye's hand was completely unharmed. Without a second glance, he walked out.
When he came out of the locker room, Jiang Qingli was already waiting, toying with the training gun she had been given.
She looked at it from every angle, like a child with a new toy.
Qin Muye walked over and snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"All done?" Jiang Qingli smiled. "Let's go, then."
'Jiang Qingli had only turned to Qin Muye because she had no other choice.'
'The original owner's so-called "sister squad" had a friendship as fake as plastic. As for the males present, most were already engaged, and the rest had a bad impression of her former self…'
'Qin Muye was her Beast Husband, wasn't familiar with the original owner, and could serve as a partner.'
'Although Qin Muye, the one who'd been held back a year, might be even worse than her, he would have to do for now.'
As the two of them walked toward the training grounds, they attracted a lot of attention.
Several people around were already looking their way.
An ordinary person's marital status might not be widely known, but Qin Muye was a member of the Imperial Family. The moment he was matched with Jiang Qingli, the entire interstellar community knew.
As Jiang Qingli got closer, people were still looking over, huddling together and whispering.
"A waste of a Prince paired with a useless female. Isn't it a perfect match!"
"Honestly, I thought it was a shame for Yuan Shimo to be paired with Jiang Qingli, but Qin Muye… those two are a match made in heaven."
"Have you heard? There might be a problem with Qin Muye's bloodline. They say his father might not have been a pure-blooded noble."
"Heard? It was all over the news last year! His dad was actually just an abandoned beastling that the Shen Family adopted in the Twelve Cities!"
"So he's a low-born bastard. No wonder His Majesty the Emperor couldn't care less about his marriage and matched him with trash like Jiang Qingli. The Jiang Family must be blind to not be picky…"
They didn't deliberately lower their voices, and Qin Muye heard every single word.
His fingers clenched into a fist, and a deep-seated disgust and irritation flooded his gray-blue eyes.
Qin Muye ground his canines, but just as he was about to rush forward, he suddenly saw the dark muzzle of a gun aimed at the two gossipers.
"What was that? Why don't you say it to me?"
The muzzle was aimed at one of their eyes. The person let out a short scream but fell silent the moment they saw who was holding the gun.
Jiang Qingli tilted her head. "Why did you stop laughing? Isn't it funny?"