Chapter 528 - 525: What-If: Did the Big Shots Compete for Favor Today? 94

Chapter 528: Chapter 525: What-If: Did the Big Shots Compete for Favor Today? 94

"Also? Who else? Jiang Xia?"

Mu Tangfeng’s eyes burned with fire. The thought of Shi Lan being all touchy-feely with Jiang Xia, just like she was with him, made his heart sour with unstoppable jealousy. His words came out tart and tinged with anger.

Seeing his reaction, Shi Lan understood everything.

She couldn’t be bothered to figure out who else had transmigrated into Ping’an’s body. All she knew was that her dear Ping’an had been possessed so many times he was like a sieve—it couldn’t be stopped, it just couldn’t.

No wonder she had suddenly attracted so many romantic prospects.

Faced with Mu Tangfeng’s insistence that she take responsibility, Shi Lan made up an excuse to placate him on the spot, then guiltily started avoiding him.

But Mu Tangfeng simply wouldn’t take a hint. She had already told him that she thought he was her cat back then, which was why she was so intimate—who knew his soul was possessing her Ping’an? But Mu Tangfeng refused to listen. When Shi Lan didn’t show up, he would go to her shop every day to find her.

Jiang Xia also joined the fray. Once they both realized they liked the same person, they became afraid the other would get a head start and began to view each other with mutual disdain.

During this time, Ye Ming was the only one who was relatively hassle-free. Besides chatting with her occasionally about his experience of being a cat, he generally didn’t bother her.

Except for one time, when he said he saw a very strange cat that also seemed human-like and asked Shi Lan to go with him. The two of them ended up having dinner together.

That night, he gave her a bouquet of flowers and a necklace, and then... he confessed his feelings too.

Now Shi Lan was truly at a loss.

What’s it like to be pursued by five men at the same time?

Now, she was afraid to open her messages, afraid to leave her apartment, and afraid to order takeout, worried it might be one of her suitors.

But what baffled her even more was that she found it surprisingly difficult to dislike the five of them. She had already rejected them all as she should have, yet as they kept finding new ways to pursue her, she couldn’t bring herself to feel any real aversion.

Shi Lan suddenly felt like a slag, stringing five men along at the same time.

Chen Xinyi had known about the five suitors for a while. Her attitude was much more composed than Shi Lan’s, and she even eagerly advised, "Hey, five of them! Five handsome guys! Lanlan, what are you hesitating for? It’s just dating. Date them one by one, see which one is good for the long haul, and marry him. Dating isn’t illegal, you know."

Chen Xinyi admired her friend’s top-tier romantic luck. Each suitor was handsome and rich. Most importantly, Yan Huoshui had suddenly announced his retirement from showbiz. She had been lamenting that she’d never see her idol again, only to discover he was now part of her best friend’s legion of suitors.

This thrilled her to no end.

She wasn’t a toxic solo stan; she didn’t oppose Yan Huoshui dating, especially not if it was with her best friend. Among the guys, he was the one she recommended the most, driven by a little bias for her idol.

Shi Lan felt a bit helpless. She wasn’t worried about the dating part; she was afraid she’d fall for them too easily. What if she ended up liking all five of them?

Chen Xinyi clutched her chest, a look of mock heartbreak on her face. "Sis, we’re just dividing our love among five people. It’s a mistake all women are bound to make. You’re just too amazing and likable for your own good. How can anyone blame you?"

Chen Xinyi’s arguments, one after another, were starting to sway Shi Lan.

’Liking someone isn’t always something you can control. It’s like how you can be a fan of several celebrities at once. That should be normal, right?’

’But love is different. Isn’t love supposed to be exclusive?’

Shi Lan wavered back and forth, completely unable to reach a conclusion. To make matters worse, the five men refused to give up, and their persistence was even starting to shake her resolve.

He Hanshi would look at her with deep, gentle affection, his usual coldness gone from his brow. He would silently handle all her troubles for her—powerful yet mild, he was the rock she trusted most.

Yan Huoshui, who was venomous and fierce toward others, was endlessly patient with her. One time, he accidentally hugged her. Shi Lan, overly defensive, slapped him across the face. But he just smiled, his expression particularly brilliant as he touched his reddening cheek. "Thanks for the reward. Now that you’ve hit me, you have to take even more responsibility for me, Lanlan."

Shi Lan felt that beneath Yan Huoshui’s gentle, handsome facade hid a crazy, obsessive heart. Yet, that was precisely what appealed to her. In that instant, she didn’t know if her heart was racing from the anxiety of slapping him or from fluttering in romantic excitement.

With Jiang Xia’s ’Big Sis’ this and ’Big Sis’ that, his youthful energy seemed to effortlessly take her back to her younger days. The time she spent with him felt like she was making up for the youthful romance she never had, and it made her feel younger herself.

Mu Tangfeng was more like an irascible, fierce little bird, chirping at her all day to take responsibility. But if Shi Lan accidentally snapped at him, his eyes would widen in disbelief, and he’d go off to sulk by himself, occasionally muttering, "Fine, you don’t have to take responsibility. Tit for tat. Just let me touch you back."

Shi Lan rolled her eyes at him. "What are you thinking about all day?"

As for Ye Ming, like He Hanshi, he adopted a "boiling the frog" approach. However, perhaps because Shi Lan had first confided in him about the cat transmigrations, the two of them often discussed the cat issue privately and had shared the most meals together.

Once, they were at a restaurant when Shi Lan nearly slipped and fell. Ye Ming caught her, and in a reflex, she clung tightly back to him, accidentally kissing him on the lips.

Both of them blushed on the spot. Ye Ming blushed even more than she did, his ears burning hot, before he gently and with restraint helped her stand upright.

...

Shi Lan truly felt she had become a slag.

Because as she recalled her time with each of them, she felt her heart stir a little for all of them.

Just as her best friend had said, she had really fallen for five people.

’I’m such a slag.’

Her conscience couldn’t take it, so she decided to look for some polyandry novels.

Ever since getting so many suitors, Shi Lan had been busy dealing with the five men, taking care of her cat, and occasionally visiting their homes to see the cats she had once transmigrated into. She no longer had any time to read novels.

She randomly opened an interstellar fluffy-creature novel that caught her eye, but she fell asleep as she was reading.

The next day, her mind was filled with many strange, interstellar memories. It seemed she had five Beast Husbands, and she loved them all dearly.

In the morning, as she was making breakfast, more and more memories surfaced. It seemed that her five Beast Husbands were none other than He Hanshi and the others.

Shi Lan didn’t know if these chaotic thoughts were caused by the novel she read or by the pursuit of these five men.

But soon after, the doorbell rang.

When she opened it, five tall, handsome men were standing neatly outside her door—it was He Hanshi and the other four.

The moment he saw her, Jiang Xia clung to her arm with gooey familiarity. "WAAAH, wife, I missed you so much! I dreamed that you didn’t want me anymore..."

Mu Tangfeng said sourly, "Get lost, you short-legged beast. You’re taking up so much space. She’s not your wife alone, is she?"

He Hanshi gazed at her, his eyes focused and full of deep affection, and said gently, "Lanlan, my wife."

Yan Huoshui touched his forehead, looking a little unaccustomed to something. His red lips curled into a wanton smile. "Well, it’s a little strange without that thing on my forehead. But it doesn’t matter, as long as Lanlan is by my side."

Ye Ming also shed his usual reserve and bravely declared his love: "My Queen, my only wife and beloved."

Shi Lan’s eyes were filled with confusion for a moment, but they gradually cleared as she listened to them speak.

So, it was all real. She really had once had He Hanshi and the others as her five Beast Husbands.

Only, times were different now. This was modern society; she couldn’t marry five men anymore...

Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Yan Huoshui tossed out a critical question. "Lanlan, this society is monogamous. Which one of us do you want to marry?"

Shi Lan looked up at the sky. How could she possibly choose?

Jiang Xia said excitedly, "Great! Lanlan is finally going to be mine alone."

Mu Tangfeng glared at him furiously. "In your dreams, short-legged beast! You think you can beat me?"

Even Ye Ming and He Hanshi’s expressions turned serious. "In that case, may the best man win."

Hearing that they were about to start arguing, Shi Lan quickly raised a hand and cleared her throat. "AHEM, can’t I just not get married? That way, I can be with all five of you in rotation..."

Hearing this, the men calmed down a bit.

In truth, they didn’t want to fight. They were just worried that Shi Lan would abandon them because the new society’s laws didn’t tolerate polygamy.

Thankfully, Lanlan had no such intention.

The men exchanged a tacit glance, their lips curving into gentle smiles. "Okay, we’ll listen to whatever Lanlan says."

After all, wherever Lanlan was, that was their home.