Chapter 2 – Begging the Madam
The orcs exchanged uneasy looks. Yan An, who was in charge of cooking, had gone completely pale.
After several tense breaths of silence, Yu Jin stepped forward.
“Madam, are the dishes not to your liking?”
Hua Mian glanced at the beautifully presented meal and was just trying to think of something to criticize when she happened to look up—and saw Yan An swaying, his face ghost-white. The moment their eyes met, his body stiffened, then collapsed to the ground.
Hua Mian shot to her feet in shock, her chair falling over with a loud crash.
“Yan An!” Chi Rui shouted.
The other beast husbands rushed over as well.
Before Shen Xueji could kneel to check his condition, he shot Hua Mian a cold, cutting glare.
Hua Mian’s expression chilled as well.
Yu Jin immediately sensed her displeasure. He hated her, but he still had to step forward to calm her down.
They could not let her hold a grudge against Yan An—otherwise, even if he survived, he’d lose a layer of skin.
“Madam, how about I make you a small cake instead?”
Seeing Yu Jin’s cautious, evaluating gaze only made Hua Mian even more frustrated.
Divorce.
She had to get a divorce.
She couldn’t live like this!
She was just an innocent little succubus!
“No.”
She started to move forward to check on Yan An, but Yu Jin blocked her path.
“Madam, Yan An is very young. I am willing to take the punishment on his behalf. Please forgive him.”
Seeing the unconcealed anger and hatred in Chu Fufeng’s eyes, Hua Mian immediately lost interest in checking Yan An’s condition.
“Get a doctor.”
Yu Jin stared at her in surprise.
“Or would you rather he die here?” Hua Mian sneered, stepping around him and leaving the dining room.
Once her figure disappeared from sight, Chi Rui asked blankly,
“She said to get a doctor for Yan An?”
Yu Jin finally recovered from his shock. After exchanging a look with Shen Xueji, he quickly dialed the doctor.
…
“Doctor, what’s wrong with Yan An?” Chi Rui asked anxiously as he looked at Yan An’s pale, motionless face.
“Is his heat cycle coming soon?” the doctor asked.
The group fell silent. The doctor sighed heavily.
To be matched with Hua Mian… what a curse.
“He only just reached adulthood. It’s very difficult for him to control himself. Normal soothing potions are too weak for someone at his level.”
“If nothing else works, go ask Miss Hua Mian for help. A beating is better than dying.”
After giving them further instructions, the doctor left. He was old and traveling back and forth was exhausting, so he simply spent the night in one of the guest rooms.
“What do we do?” Chi Rui was so anxious that he paced around the bed in circles. He had a good relationship with Yan An and couldn’t stay calm.
“Don’t worry. I’ll beg Madam.” Yu Jin patted his shoulder.
“But she rejected your idea of making her a cake just now. She must still be angry. I should go—I can survive being grabbed bald…” Chi Rui said despite his fear.
“I’ll go and bite her to death!” Chu Fufeng bared his teeth, looking murderous.
“Don’t be impulsive.” Yu Jin grabbed his arm. “If she dies, we’ll be buried with her.”
Shen Xueji said nothing but turned toward the stairs with an icy face.
“Xueji, your wounds aren’t healed yet,” Yu Jin warned.
“I won’t die.”
Without looking back, Shen Xueji climbed the stairs. The second floor loomed like the gaping jaws of a dark beast, swallowing him step by step…
Chi Rui’s eyes reddened.
“Are we going to live like this forever?”
“No. Absolutely not.” Yu Jin’s expression turned cold.
Even a rabbit would bite when pushed too far—let alone beastmen.
Shen Xueji walked numbly down the long, luxurious hallway. His gaze brushed over a painting of vivid red roses, and memories surfaced—the first time he met Hua Mian five years ago.
She had worn a bright red dress, a vivid rose tucked near her ear. Her eyes had been clear, carefree—like a beautiful little princess.
When she saw him, she tilted her head and asked sweetly,
“Who are you? Why are you all dirty?”
He had just fought several of his cousins, his body covered in blood and mud—like a stray dog from a trash heap.
But in that moment, all he saw was her smile. He hadn’t even dared open his mouth, afraid his pounding heart would leap out and frighten her.
“I—” He had opened his mouth but was cut off by Shen Yunzu.
“Miss Hua Mian! Injuries need to be treated.”
She had only left those words and hurried away. Later, he learned she was the precious princess of the Hua family, a female expected to become an S-rank soothing master.
And he was nothing more than a lowly, ugly beastman—discarded by his own family, unnoticed and uncared for.
He thought their lives would run on parallel lines forever.
But then three years ago, an unexpected match had made him her husband.
He remembered the excitement and anticipation he felt then.
Now, all he felt was sorrow.
That single sentence—“Injuries need to be treated”—had turned to dust after three years of torment.
He knelt quietly at her door. The cold of the floor seeped through his kneecaps, into his lungs, draining away the warmth in his lips.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Hua Mian frowned as she scrolled through her light-brain interface.
There was no such thing as “divorce” in this interstellar beast world.
To separate from a matched beast husband… the only option was widowhood.
Had the original owner planned to torment all five beast husbands to death just to become single again?
The idea startled Hua Mian.
In the book, after they imprisoned “her,” the five beast husbands each achieved great success in their fields—becoming powerful, influential figures.
With this frail body, how could she possibly kill five of them quietly?!
Feeling more defeated the longer she thought, Hua Mian rolled twice on the soft bed, then decided to take her time.
Step by step.
If nothing else, she could aim for a relationship of “respectful as ice” with all five of them.
They could walk their wide royal roads, and she could walk her small, narrow bridge.
She had just managed to soothe herself and was drifting toward sleep when—
Thud.
Something struck the door.
Hua Mian shrank under the blanket.
A ghost?!
She checked the light-brain—2:17 AM.
Not exactly a cursed time like 4:44…
After hesitating a moment, she carefully got up, picked up the candle-shaped bedside lamp, and opened the door.
The moment she turned the handle—a dark figure slammed through the door and fell inside.
“Ah!”
Hua Mian yelped, falling backward onto the rug.
Thud!
The dark figure hit the floor hard.
Something furry brushed her toes, and all her hair stood on end.
It was a ghost!!
She scrambled away on hands and knees.
They stared at each other motionlessly for two minutes—well, she stared, and the figure didn’t move at all.
Finally, she relit the lamp and crept forward—
“It” wasn’t a ghost.
It was a person.
“Shen Xueji?” Hua Mian poked the beastman’s shoulder, seeing the blood on his forehead.
Showing up at her door in the middle of the night, and if he fell—how was that her fault?!
But seeing him unresponsive, Hua Mian panicked.
If he died here, she’d never be able to explain!
“Don’t die! I’ll get the doctor!” She jumped up—but her body was too weak, and she collapsed again as her vision blackened.
Ugghhh!
This useless body!
She braced herself for pain and shut her eyes.
“Mm—”
A pained groan sounded beside her. She realized she had fallen into Shen Xueji’s arms.
“Ow…”
Her shoulder hurt a little, but the rest of her seemed fine.
She turned on the lamp again—and froze.
He was spitting blood.
He was bleeding!
She—she—she had killed him!!
Hua Mian, hands trembling, did what she’d seen in dramas—checked his breathing.
Very warm.
Still alive.
She exhaled in relief.
She pushed away the arm he had wrapped around her waist, caught her breath, and waited for the dizziness to settle.
“What is wrong with you?! It’s the middle of the night—why are you lying outside my door?! How are you not dead from that fall?!” she shouted angrily, stepping around him to run downstairs for the doctor.
When she returned with the doctor, Yu Jin, and Chu Fufeng, they saw Shen Xueji unconscious on the floor—then turned to look at her with expressions filled with shock and condemnation.
“Why are you all looking at me?” Hua Mian glared.
“He fell by himself!”
