166: He was waiting for her

Tu Nan hadn't expected Kong Jiamu to act so quickly. Covering her moistened lips, she inexplicably realized her plans had been disrupted.

That should be the case.

She looked up, trying to gauge Hain's expression.

But suddenly, she was pressed against the door panel.

Thud!

The door slammed shut with that force, and a figure completely enveloped her.

Hain could no longer control his emotions.

He thought he could wait for Tu Nan to properly explain things to Kong Jiamu, but it turned out that all of that was just him overestimating himself.

He thought he could wait, believing she was just stalling, perhaps having concerns.

But Tu Nan accepted Kong Jiamu's kiss, as if she were already used to his proximity.

Not to mention, this was happening right under his nose: his beloved Female Beast being touched by another Male Beast.

The line in his heart suddenly snapped.

He couldn't bear it anymore.

He thought about the past few nights, where he had counseled and scolded himself in the dark.

A latecomer shouldn't fight and snatch; they should fulfill and wait.

To hell with that, he refused!

That was the “virtue” of Sea Soul Star Male Beasts that he should have abandoned long ago!

Precisely because he couldn't completely become that kind of Male Beast, he couldn't understand, he was unwilling, which is why he broke free from those constraints.

Kong Jiamu was right: love requires fighting and snatching.

What part of him, Hain, was inferior to him?

Huh?

How dare he kiss Tu Nan right in front of him?

He kissed Tu Nan deeply, a reckless kind of kiss.

Abandoning his gentlemanly demeanor, he licked and sucked at her, striving to completely cover up all traces of the scent Kong Jiamu had left behind.

He felt Tu Nan pushing him away.

He ignored it.

At this moment, he didn't believe anyone could stop him.

"Black Spade, the perfume! I didn't spray the perfume Pearl gave me yesterday, did I? Oh, quickly go help me get it."

Gu Lvhai's voice came through. She almost walked straight out into the corridor, but now... she stopped, waiting there for the maid to return to the room to fetch something.

Tu Nan heard it. She frantically hit Hain, but Hain ignored her, kissing her unrestrainedly.

A figure who had been pretending to be a pilaster nearby could no longer hide, and strode quickly toward the two of them.

That was Lance. She had actually followed the group out earlier but had hidden behind them, simply unwilling to bother with Kong Jiamu.

Who knew... "Why are you still here! Hurry! I need you for something!"

Like a warrior, she practically snatched Tu Nan out of Hain's arms by force.

Tu Nan, unusually, was stunned.

Standing frozen in place, she stared straight at Hain, never expecting him to completely lose control at this time and place.

Hain withdrew the hand resting on the door, looking lost.

Looking at the Female Beast in Lance's arms, who appeared to have been roughly handled, he likewise didn't understand how he had suddenly erupted like this.

He lowered his head in shame.

"Tu Nan?"

Gu Lvhai, accompanied by her two maids, finally emerged from the corridor and spotted several people standing by the door from afar.

"Oh? Hain, you're here? Are you looking for me?" she asked, slightly surprised.

Hain didn't reply.

Lance was genuinely afraid that this seemingly calm and reserved Male Beast would suddenly erupt again.

That would ruin Miss Gu, the Female Beast Tu Nan had finally managed to secure, and Kong Jiamu, the Male Beast she had finally managed to snag, all with one sentence.

She rushed to answer.

"Ah! He came with Colonel Kong just now, but then Colonel Kong had an urgent matter and left immediately for the Star Port..."

Darn it! Tu Nan thought.

Sure enough, the moment Lance mentioned Kong Jiamu, Hain's hand hanging by his side instantly clenched... Tu Nan felt that something uncontrollable was about to happen.

"I might be in danger; Lord Hain will be staying here for a while."

She directly cut off Lance's words, establishing both her safety concern and the arrangement for Hain's stay.

Gu Lvhai nodded, walked closer, finally got a clear look at Tu Nan, and exclaimed.

"What happened to your mouth! Oh dear, that's terrible!"

Black Spade frantically tugged at her Young Miss's sleeve from behind.

Help! Her Young Miss was a major noble, how could she be so tactless?

What's wrong with a little passion between parting lovers?

Gu Lvhai wasn't completely dense. Prompted by her maid, she immediately realized... "Oh dear, I have things to do, things to do."

She mumbled awkwardly, her face flushed. She didn't bother greeting Hain again and hurried away, turning back to leave.

Thus, she didn't notice... Hain, standing there with his head lowered, whose lips were also moist and whose pale lips were bleeding red.

The two maids followed behind her. Red Spade silently looked back at Hain, feeling slightly strange.

Young Master Montoya didn't even offer a polite greeting today... This was truly an unprecedented situation.

What was wrong?

Only when Gu Lvhai and her three servants completely disappeared did Lance relax her tense arm.

She glared at Hain, highly displeased.

Male Beasts... truly... there wasn't a single good one among them! Even the seemingly decent Hain was no exception.

"Come on, I'll put medicine on you."

She dragged Tu Nan away.

Hain's aggressive demeanor faded. He stood there watching Tu Nan's retreating back, speaking helplessly.

"I'm sorry..."

he said.

Tu Nan paused her steps, but ultimately did not reply.

She really needed to give him the cold shoulder... otherwise, things would get very troublesome.

That's what she thought.

But that very night, she was proven wrong.

***

The swelling on her lips returned to normal immediately after applying medicine. Tu Nan spent the afternoon forcing herself to ignore Gu Lvhai's hesitant expression and handed her all the company's procurement orders.

This immediately made Gu Lvhai forget about gossip and immerse herself in a sea of numbers.

Lance wasn't so easy to deal with. She dragged Tu Nan into her room and aggressively questioned how Tu Nan planned to advance the “plan” they had discussed the other day.

"...I'm genuinely afraid you'll break down one day and actually develop feelings."

"I'm not panicking, so why are you making a fuss?" Tu Nan took a sip of water, trying to hold firm.

Isn't everything perfect now?

...It hasn't had a negative impact; it's actually lowered the difficulty.

She could only deceive herself like this.

Lance sneered, pinching Tu Nan's cheek.

"Keep pretending, will you?"

That's the downside of having a Best Friend who knows you too well: it becomes increasingly impossible to pretend in front of her.

"You're just relying on fate helping you out. Who knew Sophia would have such a massive problem that Kong Jiamu would have to personally lead people to investigate?" Lance sneered.

Tu Nan became serious.

"Lance, the Foster Mother is terrible, but the 'doll' situation is even worse."

"Didn't you realize? There's a group of people who are increasingly refusing to treat Females as human beings... I only hope Your Majesty truly cherishes the people like his own children, as they claim..."

"What if he doesn't?" Hearing her say this, Lance started to become anxious.

"If I said that, regarding this matter, I trust the judgment of both Kong Jiamu and Hain, would you hit me?" Tu Nan looked somewhat innocent.

But indeed, she was judging the person they admired based on the two Male Beasts she was familiar with.

Since she had already placed the bet, raising the stakes a little didn't matter.

"The report I asked for, hurry up with it, it's very important!"

Lance's response was to pinch her other cheek.

Tu Nan sighed in relief; this was Lance's angry yet helpless form of agreement.

This day had been too exhausting.

Tu Nan left Lance's room, intending to return to her own, but vaguely saw a familiar figure standing in the corner of the unlit living room.

It was the person who hadn't been seen since the afternoon.

Hain.

He... hadn't left, and reappeared before Tu Nan.

He was waiting for her.