Jin Dathui claimed that it would be faster, but the speed of raising the flag indeed didn't slow down. Two days later, Xia Yanyun sent a message, requesting cooperation with Shayo to take revenge on the main character and her father. After learning that her mother's death was a conspiracy by the main character and her father, Xia Yanyun's once deep affection for the main character had turned into disgust and hatred.
"[The probability of Mu Yan and the main character falling in love has dropped to 50%, please, host, keep up the efforts.]"
Ye Zhizhou had become numb to the idea of "pie in the sky." "Why did Mu Yan's flag drop? The main character should have just left Mu Yan's side. Besides, their relationship develops later on, so why did Xia Yanyun's message cause Mu Yan's flag to drop immediately?"
"Mu Yan loves peace and hates conflict," Shayo said as she handed him a completed prescription and poured him a cup of tea. "Although Xia Yanyun will never fall in love with Cold Mei'er because of the vendetta for his mother's death, there should still be some lingering affection in his heart. If Cold Mei'er employs some tricks, the flag she pulled out of him might very well be restored. To eliminate any future problems, I've arranged for Xia Yanyun to visit Mu Yan's Divine Healer Valley, where he'll witness Cold Mei'er's pursuit of Mu Yan's affections and learn about some of her misdeeds. Xia Yanyun, who is thoroughly disappointed with Cold Mei'er, might confront her. As long as there's a confrontation, Mu Yan's perfect image of Cold Mei'er will be shattered. These three people—Xia Yanyun with hatred for Cold Mei'er, Mu Yan with anger towards Cold Mei'er and sympathy for Xia Yanyun, and Cold Mei'er herself, who wants to manipulate them and continue to use them—there's bound to be a tangle of emotions. Given Mu Yan's personality, it won't be long before he gets annoyed and extricates himself from this mess. When that happens, the flag will naturally be pulled out."
Ye Zhizhou, who was being fed like a pig every day, listened to this long explanation with a bewildered expression. He then glanced at the prescription placed in front of him, looked at the tea and exquisite pastries on the table, and sighed with admiration and reluctance, saying, "You even sent someone to Mu Yan's place... What's your plan for Yu Shuang, the prince of an enemy nation? I don't believe a lover's reach can be so long!"
Seeing through his thoughts, Shayo picked up her tea cup, took a sip, and kindly reminded him, "Although the Radiant Glory Royal Family despises the Moonlight Royal Family, they still treat the Moonlight Shrine with great respect and have a 'better safe than sorry' attitude towards it. As long as I send a divination in the name of the Moonlight Shrine..."
"...That should reduce the flag's influence as well," Ye Zhizhou interrupted, "but it will likely only be cut in half..."
Putting down her tea cup, Shayo pinched his cheek and smiled, asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You're just too amazing, and I'm at a loss for words." Ye Zhizhou swatted her hand away and pondered for a moment before continuing, "Actually, there's no rush with Yu Shuang. As long as we ensure that Cold Mei'er doesn't interfere with the military camp, they shouldn't meet. Four out of nine flags have been removed now. We need to be cautious with Xia Yanyun to prevent him and the main character from following the path of tortured lovers. What's difficult now is handling the situation with the eccentric young master, Ke Qi. He's a mix of good and evil, and once he sets his heart on something, he's determined to get it. After the main character saved him, he's been infatuated with her. In the original plot, he actively pursued the main character, but right now, we're too far from him and the main character to exert any influence. Then there's Ruan Wanhe..."
"Ruan Wanhe dreams of a life as free and unrestrained as a woman's. He wants to do business, travel across the entire Moonlight Realm, and explore the broader world. What he least desires is to marry and have children obediently. Cold Mei'er gained his favor because she once said that even men should have ambitions. I'll interrupt your thoughts here," Shayo said, pointing at his forehead. "I don't like it when you frown. Rest assured, I've already calculated Ruan Wanhe's marriage line. They will meet soon, and after that, they'll have the freedom to roam the world, and they won't have any further interactions with Cold Mei'er. You don't need to worry about Ke Qi either. Seven of the undercover agents that Ruan Yue sent us are already on their way to the cult."
The more Ye Zhizhou listened, the dumber he felt. He hurriedly asked, "When did you arrange all of this?" And trying to sabotage Ruan Yue's daughter's marriage by burying it among their affairs, that's quite a ruthless move.
"On the day we met Cold Mei'er, we took care of Ruan Wanhe's marriage arrangements as well," Shaya casually mentioned, then stood up, picked up a prescription, and waved it. "Let's go, I'll accompany you in practicing alchemy. Your alchemy techniques are not quite up to standard; I'll help you correct them."
Ye Zhizhou followed him passively, his mind going through the current situations of all the male leads. He realized that he seemed to be doing nothing while the flags were rapidly disappearing. Nine flags had been reduced to five, with four remaining. The flag concerning Yu Shuang was temporarily beyond their control, the one related to Mu Yan was in the process of being removed, and the arrangements for Ke Qi and Ruan Wanhe were already in place. The mission was nearing completion, but he felt as if he hadn't done anything at all. It didn't feel real, and he had a sense of detachment.
"You feed me, you teach me, and you spoil me like an idiot. These days continue."
"[The probability of Ke Qi falling in love with the main character has dropped to 0%, the sixth soul flag has been removed. Congratulations, host. Please continue your efforts.]"
Ye Zhizhou put down his chopsticks and looked at his lover.
Shayo continued to peel crab shells, asking casually, "Whose flag was removed?"
"Ke Qi... What did you do with the undercover agents the emperor sent? How did the flag come off so quickly?" Ke Qi had feelings for the main character, and it went from 100% to 0% so quickly, it was even more thrilling than a roller coaster ride; it was surreal.
"I had the agents kill Ke Qi's mother," Shayo said, placing a peeled crab in front of him and taking another one to peel. "Ke Qi's mother was extremely wicked and deserved to die. You don't need to think too much about it."
Ye Zhizhou thought Shayo sent the agents to stop Ke Qi from approaching the main character, but he hadn't expected them to go as far as murder. He was momentarily at a loss for words.
Noticing his silence, Shayo paused in his crab peeling and observed his expression. The smile on his face faded, and he removed his gloves to hold Ye Zhizhou's hand. Leaning closer, he asked, "Do you think it's wrong for me to kill?"
His hand was being held tightly, and he snapped out of his daze. He furrowed his brows slightly, then shook his head slowly. "No, you're right. Ke Qi's mother truly deserved to die. To be more precise, everyone in that cult deserved to die for the many evil deeds they committed... Dongfang, besides having the agents kill them, did you do anything else? Ke Qi's flag disappeared too quickly."
Shayo's grip on his hand relaxed, and he lightly stroked the back of his hand. He put on a smile again and said, "I didn't do much else. I just made sure the agents left some clues during the killings, hinting that they were sent by the emperor to teach a lesson to those who dared to lust after the emperor's daughter."
Ye Zhizhou was still in shock, "Did you reveal Cold Mei'er's true identity to Ke Qi?"
"Yes, I had to give Ke Qi a direction for revenge," Shayo said, raising his hand to touch his hair, then leaning in to kiss his earlobe and neck, moving downward gradually.
When his sensitive spot was touched, Ye Zhizhou snapped back to reality. The plot slipped his mind, and he couldn't help but swat him with his paw. "Let's focus on business, no more distractions! Sit down and eat! Otherwise, you won't be allowed in bed tonight!" He finished speaking but then froze, and Shayo did too.
It seemed like... it had been a long time since he swatted his lover like this. Ye Zhizhou's eyes revealed a hint of confusion. He couldn't help but swat him again, then looked at his own hand in bewilderment. "I used to do this all the time; why does it feel a bit unfamiliar now?"
Suddenly, Shayo got up and carried him towards the inner room.
"Hey, what are you doing?" After swatting his lover's face twice, Ye Zhizhou's courage grew, and he raised his hand to pinch his handsome face, tugging it forcefully. "What are you up to in broad daylight? Put me down! If you keep this up, I'll resort to domestic violence!"
Shayo held him tightly, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "We have an afternoon and an evening to take things slowly."
Ye Zhizhou hesitated for a moment, then blushed and became angry. "You beast! You're planning to do this all afternoon and evening? Aren't you afraid of kidney deficiency?"
"Since you asked for it, let's do it all afternoon and evening."
"I didn't mean that!"
Shayo placed him on the bed, pressed him down, met his angry gaze, and slowly lowered his head. "Xiao Zhou, you belong to me, only me."
"I'll tell you, sweet talk won't work on me! I... mmph..."
He lowered his head to silence Ye Zhizhou's next words with his lips, gazing into his eyes, which were gradually tinted with a hint of ambiguity. In his heart, he sighed. Yes, keep looking at me like this, continuously, continuously...
"[The probability of Ruan Wanhe falling in love with the main character has dropped to 50%. Please continue your efforts, host.]"
Ye Zhizhou blinked and swallowed a pill before sitting up, feeling the empty space beside him. He sat expressionlessly for a while, then suddenly asked, "Tongtian, are you hiding something from me?"
The small mirror under the pillow remained silent.
Ye Zhizhou touched it and, after glancing at the ceiling for a moment, muttered, "Something's not right... Life has been so dreamlike lately, with my lover not getting jealous or throwing tantrums, and I don't have to worry about the mission. Six flags have been removed in such a short time, and the remaining ones should be easy. However, during this time, I haven't even met most of the male leads..."
With the knowledge that his lover knew the identities of the nine male leads, he had only interacted with Cold Mei'er apart from the initial meeting. If it weren't for the fact that Cold Mei'er was given to him by the emperor, he probably wouldn't have had even that interaction. It seemed that his lover was trying to prevent him from meeting the male leads, or more accurately, trying to prevent him from meeting anyone other than himself. He hadn't seen Delightful Noble for a while either...
Upon closer reflection, it seemed that his lover had taken over all external matters and given various reasons for him to avoid any contact with the outside world. If this continued, he might gradually become less independent in his thinking and increasingly dependent on his lover, turning into a canary by his lover's side...
"Is it because I didn't do something right, making him feel insecure?" He blinked slowly, pressed his hand against his forehead, and continued, "Or is it that my lover, after regaining his memory, didn't become normal but instead became more abnormal?"
There was a faint scent of mint in the room. He looked at the incense burner on the table not far away and absentmindedly fiddled with the small mirror. "My lover made this for me because he knew I liked it. I can't sleep without smelling this scent now..."
His gentle lover was hard to resist, and life had changed drastically in a very short time.
"Tongtian, on the day we went to the Flower Boat, was there something wrong with the wine I drank?"
The small mirror remained silent.
"And about the mission, he always tells me what he has arranged only after I receive the flag removal notification, including this time..."
"[The probability of Ruan Wanhe falling in love with the main character has dropped to 30%. Please continue your efforts, host.]"
The door was gently pushed open, and Shayo entered with a tray. Seeing that he was awake, he immediately showed a gentle smile. "Why are you sitting on the bed lost in thought? Are you hungry? I brought you porridge."
"East." Ye Zhizhou reached out to him and also smiled. "I just received a notification. Ruan Wanhe's flag is still at 30%. What's going on? Has his marriage partner found him?"
"Still at 30%?" Shayo walked over, held his hand, and sat on the edge of the bed after placing the tray down. He said, "Ruan Wanhe's marriage line is connected to a down-and-out merchant who is quite capable but has been burdened by his family. I arranged for them to meet a while ago and created a few opportunities for them to cooperate in business. Their relationship has developed quickly. The remaining 30% should be related to the opposition from Ruan's family. Don't worry; once I create some opportunities for that down-and-out merchant to prosper, Ruan Wanhe's flag will be removed."
"You arranged for them to meet a long time ago?" Ye Zhizhou looked at him in surprise. "When did you do all this? I had no idea. Dongfang, you're amazing!"
Shayo reached out to tidy his hair. "During the time we went to the theater to watch the play, you were so engrossed in it that I didn't want to disturb you."
He then lifted Ye Zhizhou into his arms and kissed his forehead affectionately. "If you've had enough sleep, it's time to get up. I've ordered the signature dish from the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. You always wanted to try it, right? If you sleep in, you'll miss it."
"You ordered from the Drunken Immortal Restaurant?" Ye Zhizhou smiled happily and then pushed him playfully. "Then go get me a different outfit. I don't want to wear this light-colored one; it gets dirty easily. Get me a darker one."
Shayo chuckled and ruffled his hair before turning to fetch the clothes.
After Shayo turned away, the smile on Ye Zhizhou's face gradually faded. He bent down and took out the small mirror that had fallen onto the bed, tucking it into his embrace. He turned his back, pretending to fold the blanket, and deliberately spoke loudly, "Dongfang, how about we visit the palace after we finish eating? I haven't seen Father in a long time. And for Rong Guangyan, I've prepared some calcium-rich snacks. He's at the age when he needs to grow taller; he should get more nutrients."
"Let's do it another day." Shayo walked over with a deep blue robe from the wardrobe and held his hand. "You don't need to fold the blanket; let the servants take care of it. These days are the days of ceremonies at Mingyue Hall, so Rong Guangyan should be quite busy. If you're in a hurry for the snacks, I can have someone deliver them for you. As for Delightful Noble, he just visited the palace a few days ago for a family visit, so he might be tired these days. I doubt he can tolerate any disturbances."
"It's not like he's a real prince; I can't even fold the blankets." Ye Zhizhou grumbled, then asked in confusion, "Family visit? Did you arrange that? I remember Mother has never liked the consorts in the palace meeting their families."
"Delightful Noble kept mentioning it, so I arranged it for him." Shayo walked behind him and started helping him put on the robe. "In the afternoon, I've scheduled a play that you like. After dinner, I'll take you to watch it."
"Sounds good." Ye Zhizhou smiled at his lover and inhaled the faint scent of mint emanating from him. He lowered his eyes slightly. "But I've seen quite a few plays, and I'm getting a bit tired of them. Let's watch something different next time."
Shayo smiled indulgently, fastening his belt and then giving him a kiss. "Whatever you want."
Ye Zhizhou smiled back at his lover, but the hand hidden in his sleeve tightened slightly. His lover... something was definitely not quite right.