"Get up, get up!"
Ye Tong hurriedly grabbed Jiang Huihui's arm and pulled her to her feet, still confused about what was happening.
Xu Mu couldn't help but laugh — so this was the "secret weapon" Jiang Huihui had mentioned.
If this were something ordinary, with Ye Tong's personality, she might actually agree right away. But this situation was far from normal, and even Xu Mu didn't know what she was thinking.
"What exactly is going on?"
Ye Tong held Jiang Huihui's hand and sat down with her on the sofa.
"Sister, I need Xu Mu's help. This matter concerns my lifelong happiness," Jiang Huihui said, clutching Ye Tong's arm.
"If there's something I can do to help, I'll do it," Ye Tong said with a gentle smile.
"My grandfather wants to hold a martial arts marriage tournament for me. I don't want to marry anyone, so I want Xu Mu to take part in it," Jiang Huihui said, giving her a pitiful, pleading look.
"What? A martial arts marriage tournament? What century do you think this is? Couldn't you come up with a more believable excuse?" Ye Yu said, pouting in disbelief.
"It's true. Jiang Huihui comes from… a hidden clan. The ancient martial arts families keep a lot of old traditions, just like in ancient times," Xu Mu explained.
He had been wondering how to describe the Jiang family — hidden clan seemed the most fitting term. It was simple enough for everyone to understand.
"Hidden clan?" Ye Tong asked, surprised.
"Yes. I'm good friends with Xu Mu, so I wanted him to enter on my behalf—"
"Wonderful! I agree! Since you're from a hidden clan, you probably won't care that I'm his wife, right?" Ye Tong suddenly grasped Jiang Huihui's hands tightly.
It hit her like a revelation — she'd been doing things wrong from the start. Why had she bothered trying to make women like Feng Yue or Meng Wanyue accept the customs of the hidden families? She should've just gone straight to a woman from a hidden family. That made things much simpler.
"Huh?"
Jiang Huihui was dumbfounded. What was happening? She hadn't even gotten to the part about the fake marriage yet!
"So you mind, then?"
Ye Tong's once-bright expression gradually calmed.
"Don't mind! Of course I don't mind!" Jiang Huihui said quickly.
How could she? She was depending on Xu Mu to save her — if she minded, how could she expect him to help?
"That's good. Sister, of course I agree to let my husband join!" Ye Tong smiled again. She hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. It seemed she'd have to get closer to more hidden-family women in the future.
"Sis! What nonsense are you talking about?" Ye Yu cried, jumping off the sofa to confront her.
"Adult business, children shouldn't interrupt," Ye Tong said calmly, glancing at her.
"I'm not a child anymore! I graduated high school — I'm an adult! Twenty years ago, people my age were already mothers!" Ye Yu said indignantly, cheeks puffed out.
"Don't worry," Jiang Huihui interjected. "It's a fake marriage between me and Xu Mu."
"What?"
Ye Tong and Ye Yu froze — then swapped expressions.
The excitement on Ye Tong's face faded into calm, while Ye Yu's displeasure turned into delight.
"What do you mean?" Ye Tong asked, confused.
"My goal is not to marry anyone. If Xu Mu wins the tournament, it'll look like I already belong to someone, and the others will give up. Don't worry, I won't even touch him. Once the time is right, I'll end the engagement," Jiang Huihui said with a smile.
"Good, good!" Ye Yu nodded repeatedly. "That works. She's a friend — I approve, Brother-in-law."
"Your approval means nothing," Xu Mu said from the sofa. "Your sister's the one who has to agree."
"She already agreed, didn't she?" Ye Yu said, hopping over and punching Xu Mu playfully on the arm.
"I didn't agree," Ye Tong said evenly, arms folded.
Jiang Huihui blinked in confusion. She had agreed — hadn't she? Why the sudden change?
Xu Mu studied her — why did Ye Tong suddenly have such a strong "main wife" aura about her?
"Sister, why? Didn't you just agree?" Jiang Huihui clung to her arm again.
"Little Sister, the Xu family also has its pride," Ye Tong said, glancing at her. "My husband works hard to win a tournament that might even be dangerous. After all that, if you just walk away, what would people say about him?"
She gave Jiang Huihui a sharp look. "Some might even say my husband wasn't good enough."
Xu Mu froze — she had a point. He couldn't argue with that.
Jiang Huihui was equally stunned. "Then what do you mean, Sister?"
"A real marriage," Ye Tong said firmly. "If you want help, then he helps all the way. But if you don't want to marry my husband for real, then don't ask him to help."
Her words left the room in stunned silence.
Ye Yu didn't even know what to say. Her sister — this generous? Shouldn't she at least glance at her own little sister, who'd happily volunteer for that position?
Even Xu Mu was speechless. Was she serious or being sarcastic? Because if she wasn't joking… this was a real wife talking.
Jiang Huihui thought she'd misheard.
Marry my husband?
What kind of rare expression was that? She couldn't process it for a few seconds.
"Wait, Sister, you—"
Jiang Huihui trailed off, sneaking a look at Xu Mu for help.
"Ahem! Honey, don't joke like that," Xu Mu said quickly. "Look, you've scared her."
"I'm not joking," Ye Tong said seriously, meeting his gaze.
"Wife, you're scaring me too. You don't really mean that, do you?" Xu Mu asked uncertainly.
"You asked for my opinion — that's it. Of course, Husband, you can choose to ignore it," she said calmly.
Truthfully, Ye Tong was reaching her limit. Xu Mu had been getting too energetic lately — she really did need someone else to take some of the firepower off her.
"Alright, I'll think about it," Jiang Huihui said quickly, nodding hard. Whatever happened later could wait — the immediate goal was surviving this marriage tournament. She absolutely refused to marry anyone else.
Ye Tong nodded lightly.
…
Xu Mu and Jiang Huihui left the villa together, heading back to Yang City.
The entire way, Jiang Huihui couldn't wrap her head around it. Why would Ye Tong think like that?
Were there really women who willingly shared their men?
"I don't get it. I really don't get it," she muttered, shaking her head, popping a piece of gum into her mouth.
"Don't worry. I'll ask her again when I get home," Xu Mu said with a laugh.
"Alright," Jiang Huihui nodded. That was all she could do now.
When they reached Yang City, Xu Mu dropped her off at his branch office, and she rode off on her scooter.
He still had his own matters to handle — particularly the cultivation arts in his mind, which required quiet study.
Returning to Jiang City, Xu Mu was on his way home when he spotted a familiar figure.
Xiao Ran.
The Dragon King's right-hand woman.
She wore a windbreaker, her short hair covering one eye — a style that only truly beautiful women could pull off.
Xiao Ran noticed Xu Mu's car and waved with a smile.
Xu Mu hesitated for a moment, then pulled over — it was the perfect chance to probe the Dragon King's intentions.