Chapter 80: Didn’t You Already Know?

The Wolf Clan’s nature of taking only one mate for life can be truly fatal at times.

They are loyal, obstinate, and utterly inflexible.

Even when the other person shows no affection whatsoever, they still expect them to change for their sake.

But people don’t change for others. Those deep-seated traits, even if they are changed... it’s only temporary.

When faced with a similar situation, they will subconsciously make the same decision as before.

In fact, it can’t even be called a change. It’s... a disguise.

They disguise themselves as the person you want them to be, just to get more out of you.

It could be for affection, it could be for personal gain. Who’s to say?

Wen Qian suddenly felt mentally exhausted. With an uncle like this, Chi Heng must have his hands full.

Everyone took turns trying to persuade him, time and time again.

"You two deserve each other," Chi Heng said, resisting the urge to smoke. His uncle was the kind of person who could drive you to chain-smoke.

"I agree. So what if a woman makes a few mistakes... as long as she changes, it’s fine, right?" Wen Qian smiled. She could feel her patience wearing thin. She had truly underestimated a Werewolf’s capacity for tolerance.

Chi Ye said, "But she found another Beastman this time..."

"Did she tell you that herself?" Wen Qian leaned against Yin Zhi, clearly a little sleepy.

"No..." Chi Ye frowned. After a moment’s thought, he answered honestly, "She brought that Beastman home, and I caught them."

Wen Qian was instantly wide awake. But remembering Chi Ye’s behavior from a moment ago, she feigned calmness and continued to reason with him. "It’s a small issue. She’ll change... Maybe they’re just friends. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill."

Chi Ye said, "But she lied to me... And don’t people say that for cheating, it’s either zero times or infinite times?"

Wen Qian was nodding furiously in her head, but her words were the exact opposite. "Think about it. She only lied to you because she was afraid of making you angry, right? She doesn’t lie to other people... That’s a sign of her love for you!"

Ling Xuan and Chi Heng were listening from the side, completely dumbfounded. Only Yin Zhi was staring, mesmerized, at Wen Qian’s lips as they moved.

Just when everyone thought Yin Zhi wasn’t listening at all, he suddenly grabbed Wen Qian’s hand. "I think Qianqian has a point!"

Wen Qian: "..."

’Wait, what? Did my little act actually convince a genuine simpleton?’

Ling Xuan and Chi Heng looked like they couldn’t bear to watch. Only Chi Ye reached past Ling Xuan and gave Yin Zhi a shove. "Dude, are you stupid?"

Then, as if that wasn’t enough to vent his frustration, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out, "Isn’t this just f*cking PUA!"

Chi Ye said, "When you meet someone like that, why don’t you just love yourself instead? Love isn’t a necessity!"

Wen Qian pretended to wave her hand nonchalantly. "No, no, that won’t do. If you break up, wouldn’t all those years of effort be wasted?"

"What nonsense! If I stay with her, my whole life will be wasted!" Chi Ye slammed his hand on the table.

"You’re a true genius," Ling Xuan said, giving Wen Qian a thumbs-up.

Chi Ye frowned. "Are you my friend or not? Why have you stopped trying to talk me out of it?"

Ling Xuan let out a long breath. "Didn’t you just do a perfectly good job of talking yourself out of it?"

Chi Ye: "..."

Just as the group was getting up to leave, Chi Ye’s ex-wife approached again, her new flame in tow.

She signaled the waiter behind her to put down the alcohol in his arms.

Everyone refused except for Chi Ye.

"Oh, come on, don’t be like that," the woman said, leaning in toward Chi Heng. She winked at him. "It’s been a while. You’re still as handsome as ever."

A look of disgust flashed across Chi Heng’s face. He used his arm to block her, then got up and sat next to Wen Qian.

Now, the only empty seat was the one next to Chi Ye.

He looked at the beer on the table and, without any ceremony toward the woman, grabbed a bottle, bit the cap off, and chugged it down.

The liquid trickled down his jaw and onto his chest. The woman’s eyes burned at the sight. Just as she reached out to lean against him, he blocked her with his arm, the same way Chi Heng had.

Ling Xuan and the others all looked surprised. ’Has Chi Ye finally grown a spine?’ they wondered.

The man lowered his head, not looking at her, and muttered, "I won’t be coming here again."

The woman froze for a second, the playful glint in her eyes replaced by cold indifference. The corner of her mouth twitched. Her bright red lips moved. "You’d better mean it."

She stood and took the arm of the unfamiliar Beastman waiting beside them, leaning against him as if she didn’t have a bone in her body. She waved her slender fingers at Chi Ye. "See you never."

The next second, she headed straight for the dance floor, her bright red skirt a flash of color in the crowd. She swayed her hips wantonly, as if Chi Ye’s words meant nothing to her.

But only the two of them knew that this was the first time Chi Ye had ever made such a promise to her.

"Stop drinking," Ling Xuan said, snatching the bottle from his hand.

The man froze for a second, then knocked over all the remaining bottles on the table and, grabbing Ling Xuan, began to sob his heart out.

Yin Zhi was startled. He shrank into Wen Qian’s arms at top speed, looking as if he were pretending not to know the other two.

The momentum sent Wen Qian stumbling back, and she landed squarely in Chi Heng’s arms. But it was only for an instant before Yin Zhi noticed.

He immediately sat up straight, pulled Wen Qian back into his own arms, and glared at Chi Heng warily.

Seeing this, Chi Heng narrowed his eyes. ’This mother-hen-protecting-his-chick act is really getting old,’ he thought.

Once Chi Ye had cried his fill, he sniffled and finally let go of Ling Xuan.

Chi Ye had a high tolerance for alcohol. Back in the Beast World, he could easily drink a dozen or so Beastmen under the table.

Clearly, he was genuinely heartbroken, which was why he was using the alcohol as an excuse to let it all out.

"Ac-actually, there’s another reason I came here." The man lowered his eyes, teardrops still clinging to his long eyelashes.

"In pursuit of true love. I get it," Ling Xuan sighed.

"No." The man shook his head. Then he said with a serious expression, "That’s all in the past. Don’t mention it again."

Ling Xuan nodded and agreed, then rolled his eyes where he couldn’t be seen.

After a moment of contemplation, the man seemed to have made a decision. He lowered his voice, and his words were quickly drowned out by the surrounding music.

However, Yin Zhi’s sharp hearing still caught the key point: Chi Ye had said the Critical Stone was here.

"What do you mean?" Yin Zhi looked up, his eyes darkening.

The Critical Stone wasn’t a secret among Beastmen, but he never expected... that a trace of it would appear in South City’s largest nightclub.

Chi Ye was silent for a long moment before speaking. "My people have had their eyes on this place for three months."

It was just a suspicion at first, but he had recently confirmed it.

At the very beginning, Chi Ye had indeed been sold here by his ex-wife.

The second and third times he came back were because he hadn’t given up and wanted to find his ex-wife to demand an explanation...

But from the fourth time on, everything changed.

Back then, he was placed in the Beast Fighting Arena and forced to participate in five consecutive matches... But no matter how badly he was injured, he would heal completely within a few days.

Humans don’t possess the ability to accelerate a Beastman’s healing. Only the Critical Stone does...