Chapter 437: Taking Turns

Jiang Qingli never expected Xie Youchen to do something like this with such a straight face.

Her heart raced. She glanced up, pretending to be calm as she scanned her surroundings.

The group was still arguing, Chen Mi was taking notes, and Yi Nuo had his eyes closed, resting... It seemed no one had noticed.

The pen he had just used was resting beside him, where he’d set it down.

Jiang Qingli picked up the pen and was struck by how familiar it looked.

It was pitch-black and well-maintained, but you could tell it had been used for a long time.

It looked... like the one she had given Xie Youchen before he joined the military.

The girl’s heart softened. She asked quietly, "Have you kept it with you all this time?"

Xie Youchen propped his chin on one hand and watched her. Against the backdrop of the noisy argument, his handsome face radiated a gentle, reassuring calm.

He thought for a moment. "I don’t take it in the shower."

Jiang Qingli, who had been feeling a little sentimental, couldn’t help but laugh when she heard that.

She uncapped the pen, wrote a line of words, tucked the pen back into his suit pocket, then closed the folder and handed it to him.

Xie Youchen opened it, saw the neat handwriting inside, and his lips curved into a smile.

Yuan Liang, having finally managed to mediate the conflict, turned around just in time to witness this scene.

His eyes went wide, as if he had just seen a monster.

’Good heavens, am I going blind?’

’Is this the same Xie Youchen who’s usually like an iceberg?’

As far as he could remember, he’d rarely seen Xie Youchen wear any expression other than a deadpan one.

He was a young man, but he always seemed to carry some suffocating burden that made him so meticulous he never made a single mistake.

Even at gatherings and other events, Yuan Liang had never seen him truly relax.

’This person now... this person with the easy smile... is that Xie Youchen? Is it really Xie Youchen? Could he have been replaced by a Mutant Beast?’

Just as a series of exaggerated exclamation points popped into Yuan Liang’s mind, he looked up and met Xie Youchen’s dark eyes.

When he looked over, Xie Youchen’s voice had returned to its usual rippleless calm. "Have you reached a conclusion?"

Yuan Liang fell silent for two seconds. He was sure now. This was definitely Xie Youchen.

He shook his head. "Not yet. It’s almost noon, and there’s another meeting later. Let’s call it a day for now."

The group got up to leave.

As soon as Jiang Qingli stepped out, she was surrounded by several researchers. They were quite supportive of her and eagerly invited her to the research department to continue their discussion.

Jiang Qingli was also keen to learn more, so she scheduled a time with them.

The head of the research department was a female about ten years older than Jiang Qingli. She greatly admired Qingli and, pushing up her glasses, began to carefully explain her ideas to the young and promising adviser.

The girl listened intently, nodding from time to time.

Xie Youchen stood just a few steps behind her, his gaze softening unconsciously as he watched her back.

When Jiang Qingli happened to glance to the side and see him, she would give him a little, secret wink.

It was as if an invisible thread connected them.

Even when they weren’t close, they were linked, each one pulling at the other.

Yuan Liang had intended to talk to Xie Youchen, but seeing the situation, he slapped his forehead and walked away, shaking his head.

’With things like this, it’s only a matter of time before Xie Youchen joined the Jiang Family.’

He felt he should find some time to console their Prince.

-

「Outside the glass wall.」

Ye Linyuan stared in their direction, his expression so chillingly dark he looked like an insidious villain who was about to smash through the wall and kill everyone inside one by one.

Baili Jing had stepped away to take a call. When he returned, Ye Linyuan was still staring inside.

He walked over and smiled. "Linyuan, everyone’s here. They’re just waiting for us."

After the matters here were resolved next month, they would return to the First District.

Baili Jing would be attending as a witness.

The military hoped the other test subjects would also be able to attend and testify, so they had invited all of them to discuss the matter.

Ye Linyuan grunted noncommittally, his eyes still fixed on the scene.

Noticing a passerby, Baili Jing couldn’t help but frown. "Do you want everyone to find out?"

The usually gentle young man’s tone turned lightly mocking. "And let rumors spread, giving Xie Youchen the chance to use public opinion to squeeze his way into the Jiang Family?"

Only after hearing this did Ye Linyuan finally retract his gaze. With a cold expression, he walked toward the elevators.

...

The meeting went smoothly.

They reached a consensus.

The test subjects would return to the First District together, attend the testimony, and also help manage the Mutant Beasts in the Roaring Forest.

In return, the military had to provide them with housing and positions to help them reintegrate into the Empire.

After the agreement was signed on their terminals, the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

Marshal Sun stepped forward to shake Ye Linyuan’s hand, saying with a smile, "I really didn’t expect you to agree to help."

Ye Linyuan disliked being in the public eye, so his agreement to help, on the condition that there were no cameras, was already a pleasant surprise for them.

Moreover, with Ye Linyuan’s involvement, several test subjects who had been hostile toward the military also signed the agreement.

Ye Linyuan shook his hand, saying flatly, "It’s mutually beneficial, that’s all."

...

After the meeting, Baili Jing called out to Ye Linyuan, saying he wanted to talk.

Ye Linyuan had been planning to go back to keeping an eye on Jiang Qingli. Hearing this, he looked at Baili Jing with some annoyance. "What’s there to talk about?"

"There’s no need to be so hostile, is there?" Baili Jing smiled. "It doesn’t seem like we have any conflict of interest."

Ye Linyuan scoffed. "That doesn’t stop me from finding you annoying."

"The feeling’s mutual," Baili Jing said. "I never planned on being friends with you either."

He looked at Ye Linyuan and said slowly, "I just want to remind you that the Seventh Prince is currently in the East District, Yuan Shimo is at an academic conference in the Second District, and Gu Nian is tied up with social practice..."

"For the next month, we are the only two Beast Husbands who will be by Xiao Li’s side."

He stressed the two words "Beast Husband" more heavily than the others.

Ye Linyuan understood his meaning. He raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue.

Baili Jing continued, "I hope that from now on, we can take turns accompanying and taking care of Xiao Li."

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ye Linyuan spat out his refusal: "No."

His meaning was just as clear: he had no intention of tolerating such a rule. He wanted to have Jiang Qingli all to himself.

The smile on Baili Jing’s lips faded slightly. "Have you been watching too many idol dramas in the lab? Are you starting to imagine some fantasy about being the one and only couple for a lifetime?"

Just earlier, W-103 had mentioned that the main source of entertainment in the lab was watching old TV dramas when the staff was in a good mood. They only had a few idol dramas that they played on a loop.

Ye Linyuan’s brow tightened. "Are you looking for a fight?"

Baili Jing said, "You can think it over carefully. Either you agree with me, or you let the others take advantage of the situation."

"But I should be upfront with you. This matter... has already been approved by Xiao Li."

A vein throbbed on Ye Linyuan’s forehead.

He could just imagine Baili Jing in front of her, spouting some bullshit like, ’Just leave it to me, baby,’ or ’This is my duty. How could I let my female master worry about such things?’

Establishing himself as a reliable male in front of Jiang Qingli while simultaneously putting down the other Beast Husbands.

’I want to tear this vixen apart with my bare hands.’

The two males stared at each other, both seeing the disgust in the other’s eyes.

A moment later, Ye Linyuan said, "I’ll take tonight."

A cunning glint flashed in Baili Jing’s eyes, but he furrowed his brow, pretending to think for a moment before saying reluctantly, "Well... all right then."