Chapter 453: Brother’s Regret

"Advisor Jiang, Advisor Jiang."

Her secretary knocked on the door and called out softly.

Jiang Qingli was pulled from her memories of the previous night. She looked over. "What is it?"

Her secretary said, "It’s almost four-thirty. We should be heading out to see Marshal Xie off."

Jiang Qingli then remembered that Xie Youchen was departing for the East District today.

There was no official military protocol for send-offs, but Yuan Liang was a man of strong camaraderie. Since he didn’t have much work this afternoon, he had invited Jiang Qingli to come along.

Since she had already agreed the night before, Jiang Qingli acknowledged him, straightened her uniform, and headed out.

The group took a vehicle to the hangar.

Yuan Liang was standing by the vehicle. When he saw Jiang Qingli approach, he opened the door for her like a gentleman and invited her in.

Jiang Qingli glanced inside the vehicle.

It was a seven-seater. Xie Youchen was in the back row, his presence cold and imposing, but when his dark eyes landed on her, they held a blazing intensity.

Lately, Jiang Qingli had always sat right beside him, so Yuan Liang was fully prepared to sit in the front row by himself.

But to his surprise, Jiang Qingli merely glanced at Xie Youchen before sitting down in the front row.

Acting as if she hadn’t even seen Xie Youchen, she smiled at Yuan Liang, her eyes curving. "Uncle Yuan, may I sit with you?"

Yuan Liang quickly said, "Of course, of course."

At the same time, however, a question mark practically appeared over his head.

’What’s going on?’

As he climbed in, Yuan Liang glanced back at Xie Youchen and sent him a message on his terminal: [Youchen, what’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?]

The young man’s lips thinned slightly.

Clearly, he didn’t know the reason either.

Yuan Liang was a natural worrier, and he quickly typed back: [Did you do something to make Miss Jiang unhappy? You young males are all so hot-headed; it’s easy to upset a female, especially with a personality like yours that isn’t exactly charming...]

After reading the message, Xie Youchen put his terminal away.

His lips pressed into a thin line without him realizing it.

’He truly didn’t know why Jiang Qingli was angry.’

’Could it be because of another male?’

’Baili Jing had been busy last night, so the only males with her were apparently Yuan Shiyao and Ye Linyuan.’

’Yuan Shiyao wouldn’t have the guts to badmouth him.’

’Was it that snake?’

Frankly, of all the males surrounding Jiang Qingli, Xie Youchen detested Ye Linyuan the most.

’A cold-blooded snake, low-born, with a dark personality, despicable methods, and intense jealousy...’

’Aside from a passably handsome face and barely adequate strength, the man had virtually no redeeming qualities.’

’But no matter how loathsome he was, he was still one of Jiang Qingli’s Beast Husbands, and someone she cared for.’

’No matter how hostile they were toward one another, they would soon all be Jiang Qingli’s Beast Husbands—a so-called "family," by conventional standards.’

’Since they were to be family, they would have to learn to get along in the future, whether they liked it or not.’

’It was normal for Beast Husbands to get jealous and compete for attention, but affecting their female master was a dereliction of duty.’

Xie Youchen had always lived by the principle of fulfilling the duties of one’s station.

’When I was just her secret lover, I could fight and compete for her openly.’

’But to be her Beast Husband, I have to let her see my magnanimity in these matters.’

’I’ll show her that I can be more than just a thrilling secret lover; I can also be a reliable husband who puts her at ease.’

Therefore, after considering the possibility that Ye Linyuan had instigated this, the flash of killing intent that surged through Xie Youchen lasted only a few seconds before he forcibly suppressed it.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and resolved to have a proper talk with Jiang Qingli later.

-

Yuan Liang was now certain the two of them had really gotten into a fight.

Throughout the entire ride, Jiang Qingli hadn’t spared Xie Youchen a single glance.

After all, for a while now, even though the two didn’t outwardly act like a couple, whenever they weren’t dealing with official business, it was as if they were in their own bubble that no one else could penetrate.

’I never thought the two of them would have a falling-out.’

Although he didn’t want to create a rival for Qin Muye, Yuan Liang had always admired Xie Youchen. So, upon reaching their destination, he found an excuse to take Chen Mi and his own secretary to go find some other officers, leaving the two of them in the vehicle to resolve their issues.

Xie Youchen would be in the East District for two months, and Jiang Qingli was heading back to the First District next month. He couldn’t just let this conflict fester.

After the well-meaning Uncle Yuan departed, only the two of them remained in the vehicle.

Xie Youchen moved to sit beside her.

He knew her every expression and could tell she was in a very bad mood.

He raised his hand and took hold of her fingers.

The moment he touched them, Jiang Qingli snatched her hand back with a huff.

Xie Youchen lowered his voice, his tone like he was coaxing a child. "What’s wrong, Ah Li?"

"What do you think?"

Having been spoiled by him her whole life, Jiang Qingli could never hide anything from him. Her face was taut with anger.

Xie Youchen understood immediately. ’This is probably about me. It’s something between us.’

Dismissing his theory about Ye Linyuan’s meddling, Xie Youchen asked gently, "Alright then. Tell your big brother, how did I make you so unhappy?"

Jiang Qingli shot him a furious glare. "You know perfectly well what you did!"

When Xie Youchen looked back at her, stunned, Jiang Qingli demanded, "Let me ask you, did you alter my list of Beast Husbands?"

Recalling Yuan Shimo’s confession from last night, Jiang Qingli felt her heart ache for the Cat Teacher, but she was also furious.

’This man, Xie Youchen... Back when my soul hadn’t yet returned, I could let it slide that he had arranged my Beast Husbands. I wouldn’t hold it against him.’

’But I’m back now, and he still didn’t come clean about it!’

’I had to hear it from one of my own Beast Husbands—the very one who had been a victim of his tyranny!’

Although, Yuan Shimo had been smiling when he brought it up.

He had even expressed his gratitude toward Xie Youchen. "If it weren’t for Marshal Xie’s directive, I never would have met you, nor would I have... fallen in love with you. So, I should really thank Marshal Xie for tying the red string of fate between us."

That’s what he’d said, but last night, Jiang Qingli had even felt guilty toward Yuan Shimo on Xie Youchen’s behalf.

’No wonder Yuan Shimo’s attitude toward me was so awful when he first arrived at the house.’

’The man just wanted to conduct his research for the rest of his life, and then, right in the middle of his work, he was suddenly dragged away and forced to marry a strange, infamous female.’

’Who would be happy about that?’

’And the worst part was, at the time, I thought Yuan Shimo was just being arrogant with me. To subdue him when he went into heat, I groped him and injected him with drugs...’

Just thinking about it now made Jiang Qingli flush with cringe-worthy embarrassment.

Her hand was suddenly pulled up and pressed against the young man’s chest, right over his heart.

"Ah Li, I was wrong about this."

"And I’ve always regretted it."

Jiang Qingli hadn’t expected him to admit his mistake so quickly and sincerely. She was stunned for a moment before putting on an interrogator’s air. "Alright, tell me exactly what you did wrong and how you regret it."

’I need to teach Xie Youchen a good lesson.’

’I can’t let him make this kind of mistake again.’

’Otherwise, what would become of my dignity as a female master?’

But in the next second, Xie Youchen looked into her eyes and said, word by word—

"I regret not putting my own name on the list directly."

"That way, we would have fallen in love much sooner."