The man had sharp, defined brows and bright, clear eyes. His forehead was smooth, his nose high-bridged, and his pale, thin lips were pressed into a straight line.
His brow was slightly furrowed, a strange, confused expression on his face as he looked at the crowd gathered at the door.
"What are you all doing?"
His gaze shifted to the woman still kneeling on the ground, his confusion deepening.
"Mother, what are you doing here?"
"And what's all this about?"
This man was none other than… Su… Su Xingye.
Louisa, who had been poised to treat Su Xingye and display her female charms, was stunned.
Mrs. Su, who was in the middle of banging her head on the floor as she kowtowed, was also stunned.
The Interstellar Daily reporter nearby, whose camera was clicking away as they prepared to file a story, was even more dumbfounded.
"So, you're saying… Major General Su… he's really okay?"
"Then why didn't Yu Lan say anything before? Was she just messing with us for fun?"
"If I remember correctly, Yu Lan said so from the very beginning. We were the ones who refused to believe her."
"So Major General Su is fine. It was all a false alarm."
The Interstellar Daily reporter's gaze even roamed over Su Xingye, sizing him up.
They discovered that the strands of dark hair falling across Major General Su's forehead were damp, as if they'd just been washed. His thin shirt was also dotted with water, clinging to his body and vaguely outlining the contours of his toned abs.
His handsome face was faintly flushed, as if he were in the afterglow of an intimate encounter.
And the only person on the scene who could have been with Su Xingye like that was Yu Lan.
'Could it be… that just now…'
The Interstellar Daily reporter gave free rein to their powerful imagination, their mind racing with wild conjecture.
At that moment, Su Xingye quickly pieced together what was happening from the surrounding chatter.
His gaze swept across Yu Lan's youthful face. He remembered how, in his beast form, he had clung to her like a dog, licking and nuzzling her incessantly. A flicker of unease crossed his face.
'This was his first time with a female…'
Su Xingye's gaze fell on Louisa, his expression instantly reverting to its usual aloof coldness.
"Thank you for your concern, Princess Louisa. My Female Master treats me extremely well."
The mere fact that Su Xingye could appear before them looking perfectly normal and unharmed was enough to make the rumors of Yu Lan abusing him collapse on their own.
Louisa bit her lip, never having imagined it would turn out this way.
'Su Xingye called Yu Lan his Female Master. Does that mean he's already accepted her?'
'I clearly switched the soothing agent in Yu Lan's possession beforehand; it shouldn't have produced any effect. Su Xingye should have been waiting for me to soothe him.'
'A male beast develops a powerful fondness for the first female who soothes him. It's highly likely he'll commit to that female for life.'
'The title of Female Master was supposed to be hers.'
'What in the world was going on?'
'Could it be that Yu Lan's destroyed Healing Power has returned?'
'Impossible. The doctors had already confirmed it. There was no way it could recover. Yu Lan was destined to be a useless female for the rest of her life.'
A million thoughts flashed through Louisa's mind, but she maintained her considerate smile.
"As long as Admiral Xingye is all right, that's what matters."
"I just didn't want the Empire to lose a Genius Lieutenant General with such a distinguished service record. I was just a bit anxious."
"Please forgive my recklessness."
"Wow, Princess Louisa is so gentle. She really deserves her title as the female voted most popular with male beasts in the entire galaxy."
Before Su Xingye could answer, the nearby reporter from the Interstellar Daily was already sighing in admiration, their camera clicking away as they snapped photo after photo of Louisa.
Su Xingye's expression didn't change in the slightest. He remained as aloof and cold as ever, his deep green eyes watching Louisa without a trace of emotion. He even nodded in what seemed to be a gesture of approval as he reminded her:
"Princess Louisa, please just continue to call me Major General Su."
"A male beast who has a Female Master needs to maintain distance from other females in order to give his own Female Master a sense of security."
"Also," Su Xingye pointed out bluntly, "you're apologizing to the wrong person tonight."
"You should be apologizing to my Female Master. We were supposed to be having a pleasant and wonderful evening."
Although Su Xingye's own mind was a complete mess and he hadn't yet figured out how to treat Yu Lan.
He had rejected the marriage arranged by Queen Belina, but not because he looked down on Yu Lan for being a useless female with no Healing Power.
He only wanted to find that one female, his other half, who could make his soul tremble. Then, he would submit to her completely, body and soul, and swear to protect everything about her with his life.
But just moments ago, when he had lost his reason in his beast form, he had been so shameless. He was nothing like the proud, cold Silver Wolf. He was more like a dog, utterly bewitched by a pretty girl, kissing and licking her incessantly.
Su Xingye did not hesitate to protect Yu Lan in front of outsiders.
A crack appeared in Louisa's smiling facade. In front of everyone, she took a deep breath, turned to face Yu Lan, and sincerely bowed her head to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Lanlan. I was wrong. I showed up here without understanding the facts and disturbed you and Major General Su."
"I hope you can forgive me."
Louisa's attitude was exceptionally sincere, and not far off, the Interstellar Daily staff were still snapping pictures, their cameras clicking away.
Of course, Yu Lan had no choice but to forgive her magnanimously. She waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh, it's fine. I'll go ahead and forgive you this time."
"But you'd better be careful next time. Try not to develop such a strong desire to care for another female's man, okay?~"
When it came to passive-aggressiveness, Yu Lan was a pro, too.
The words that came from her soft, red lips, set in such a pretty little face, were just so infuriating.
She had all but directly accused Louisa of coveting her male beast—otherwise, why would she be paying such close attention?
'A little mischievous, but so cute.'
Su Xingye himself didn't even notice that as he looked at the smile tugging at the corners of Yu Lan's mouth, his own thin lips couldn't help but curve upward as well.
Hearing this, the reporters from the Interstellar Daily who had come along exchanged glances, quickly sensing that something was off.
At first, they had seen Princess Louisa through a filter—beautiful and kind, gentle and considerate, the perfect female beauty pursued by countless male beasts.
But now, after what Princess Yu Lan had said, why did it all feel so wrong?
CRACK, CRACK. It sounded like a filter shattering.
*
「Ten minutes later.」
After seeing off Princess Louisa and Mrs. Su, they returned to the villa's main hall.
The guards all sensed the atmosphere and discreetly withdrew.
Only Yu Lan and her two male beasts remained in the hall.
Huo Zhanting and Su Xingye.
Golden eyes and deep green eyes watched her, one from the front, one from behind, with Yu Lan caught between the two men.
'Either of these two men could crush her to death with a single finger.'
Yu Lan couldn't fight either of them. Just as she was about to timidly open her mouth to apologize for the night's events…
Su Xingye spoke first:
"There's a traitor in the villa."
"Huh!?" Yu Lan's face went blank.
"Yes."
Huo Zhanting affirmed with a slight nod, a cold glint flashing in his golden eyes.
"I've already sent someone to handle it."
The words had barely left his lips when a wail of agony instantly echoed from the villa's backyard.
"AGH! I was wrong! I was wrong!"
"I won't do it again! I'll never do it again!"