[DING! — Sheng Yiqing has sent you a friend request.]

「On the Starship」

Yu Lan had just finished washing up in the bathroom.

Her fair, beautiful face was flushed pink and damp from the hot steam, and a single, crystalline droplet of water clung to the tip of her delicate nose.

As she moved, it slid quickly down her skin, disappearing into her collar.

When Yu Lan heard the chime and opened her phone, the first thing she saw was the friend request from Sheng Yiqing.

A flicker of confusion crossed her pretty brow. She hadn’t expected Sheng Yiqing to contact her.

In fact, if she hadn’t seen this message, she would have long since pushed Sheng Yiqing to the back of her mind and forgotten about him completely.

She almost didn’t even remember who he was at first.

She had heard that Belina sent people to East Origin Star to bring him to the Central Star for their wedding.

’So he’s already here?’

Many questions flashed through Yu Lan’s mind, but her hands didn’t stop moving.

Her fingertip tapped the screen, accepting Sheng Yiqing’s friend request.

The instant she accepted, a message from Sheng Yiqing came through, as if he couldn’t wait.

Sheng Yiqing: [Hello, I’m Sheng Yiqing.]

Sheng Yiqing: [I heard you once promised your Beast Husbands that you wouldn’t look for any other males?]

Yu Lan’s face couldn’t help but flush as she read the message.

She had indeed made such a promise.

But the final outcome was clearly not as she had hoped.

For a moment, she almost suspected Sheng Yiqing had sent the message just to mock her.

After a moment of thought, Yu Lan replied:

Yu Lan: [That is true.]

Yu Lan: [But for my own reasons, I wasn’t able to keep that promise.]

Sheng Yiqing had already made contact with the Peace Starship and was currently under the guards’ close watch. He was taken aback by her reply; he hadn’t expected Yu Lan to answer that way.

’What is this? An explanation for me?’

’Saying she couldn’t keep a promise for some reason... it’s just an excuse females use. They’re fickle, falling for anyone new they see.’

’Thankfully, males of the Fox Clan are known for their handsome, charming looks. Once he finds a pretty little female, he’ll surely be able to secure a place by her side.’

At this thought, Sheng Yiqing’s heart soared with excitement. He couldn’t care less about the explanation Yu Lan had sent.

He quickly stated his own position.

Sheng Yiqing: [It’s fine. I can step aside, let you and your Beast Husbands live your lives in peace.]

Sheng Yiqing: [You know our marriage was arranged by the Queen, right?]

Sheng Yiqing: [I’m stuck on East Origin Star and have no way of directly refusing the Queen, but you can.]

Sheng Yiqing: [If you’re willing, we can cancel the engagement. I’m sure your Beast Husbands would be happy about it.]

’Sheng Yiqing understood males. They were possessive. No one wanted too many rivals crowding into their home with their female.’

And it just so happened that he had no feelings for Yu Lan either.

Since that was the case, why not just let them have what they wanted?

’As long as Yu Lan agrees.’

As soon as Sheng Yiqing sent the message, he stared intently at the screen without blinking.

He held his breath, his hands resting on his knees clenching into tight fists with nervousness.

’Will Yu Lan agree to cancel the marriage with me?’

’Does she really dote on her Beast Husbands as much as the public believes?’

「Meanwhile」

Yu Lan genuinely hadn’t expected to receive a message from Sheng Yiqing asking to call off the engagement.

To put it bluntly, this was the first time she had ever been rejected by a male—one who seemed desperate to get away from her, no less.

But not only was Yu Lan not angry, she actually let out a sigh of relief.

’This is great.’

’This way, I can avoid another round of my males getting jealous and moody, then pestering me for attention.’

Besides, she and Sheng Yiqing didn’t know each other well; they were only being forced together by a decree from the Queen.

She was against such an arrangement and resented it.

If Sheng Yiqing was also unwilling and wanted to cancel the marriage, she actually felt a faint sense of relief.

’Huo Zhanting and the others will definitely be very happy when they find out.’

Thinking of this, Yu Lan quickly tapped out a reply.

Yu Lan: [If you’re willing, I agree to cancel the marriage.]

Yu Lan: [I’m on my way back to the Central Star right now. We can set a time to discuss the details in a few days.]

Canceling an engagement had almost zero impact on a female.

On the contrary, the male would face many harsh, judgmental stares.

People would wonder why his Female Master would abandon him and refuse to marry him if there wasn’t something wrong with him.

A male abandoned by a female would face a layer of invisible discrimination in both his work and personal life.

Even if they had done nothing wrong.

This was also why Yu Lan had hesitated to bring up canceling the engagement with Sheng Yiqing herself.

But if he was the one to propose it, he must have already been prepared to face the consequences. Naturally, she was happy to grant his wish.

Sure enough, the second Yu Lan agreed, a new message from Sheng Yiqing arrived, as if he couldn’t hold back.

Sheng Yiqing: [Great. How about we meet in three days at ten in the morning?]

Sheng Yiqing: [Address.]

Sheng Yiqing: [Annulment Agreement.]

Sheng Yiqing: [This is an annulment agreement I just drafted. See if there’s anything that needs to be changed. The compensation amount is still negotiable.]

Sheng Yiqing: [If there are no issues, we can just sign the agreement when we meet in three days.]

A series of messages came in rapidly.

It was enough to show just how eager and serious Sheng Yiqing was about calling off the marriage.

If Yu Lan were on the Central Star right now, he would probably rush over to her villa and wait at her doorstep just to get this settled first thing in the morning.

Yu Lan glanced at it. The location he sent was a well-known, upscale cafe on the Central Star—a quiet and refined place, convenient for discussions.

As for the so-called annulment agreement, the only thing that dissatisfied Yu Lan was that Sheng Yiqing would have to compensate her with assets worth over a hundred million.

It was a staggering amount.

Yu Lan: [No compensation is needed.]

Yu Lan: [Marriage should be about mutual affection and letting things happen naturally. We are both victims of Her Majesty the Queen’s decree. Now that we have the power to cancel the marriage, there’s no need to talk about compensation.]

Yu Lan: [We don’t owe each other anything. This isn’t necessary.]

Yu Lan: [Other than that clause, there are no problems with the rest of the agreement. If you’re worried, I can sign a digital copy first. It has the same legal force.]

Sheng Yiqing was taken aback by Yu Lan’s reply.

He hadn’t expected her to be so easygoing.

She was just as gentle and kind as the rumors on the Star Network claimed.

’If he didn’t already have a beloved female in his heart, perhaps living with Princess Yu Lan wouldn’t have been so bad after all.’

A gentle, kind, and reasonable female could completely transform a male’s life.

But Sheng Yiqing quickly shook his head, firming his resolve to end the engagement.

’The Royal Family’s power is immense. With a digital file, who knows if they could just manipulate it through the backend and change it directly?’

’It has to be a paper agreement, signed in person. That’s the best way.’

Sheng Yiqing: [No need. Let’s just stick to meeting in three days to sign the annulment agreement.]

Sheng Yiqing: [I look forward to meeting you.]

Yu Lan: [Alright. As you wish.]