Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Yu Lan Steps Forward

Shen Zueran still had that cool, otherworldly air, as elegant as jade.

Too bad for him, his mortal heart had been unknowingly captured and was now held tightly in the palm of a certain pretty little female.

His usually cold and distant eyes warmed the instant he looked at Yu Lan.

Seeing the discarded materials piled on the lab bench and noticing the pretty female’s slightly furrowed brow, Shen Zueran began to comfort her.

"What’s wrong?"

"Is the experiment not going smoothly?"

"It’s alright. It’s not a big deal if you can’t figure it out right away."

"Don’t get stuck on it. Why don’t you take a break? Do you like tea?"

"We have herbal tea, milk tea... and the breakroom just got some new little cakes."

Shen Zueran made the suggestion nonchalantly, as if he didn’t have the slightest ulterior motive.

God knew that if it were any other researcher who couldn’t produce results, he’d just assume they weren’t working hard enough.

Work them to death, and success was inevitable.

He only cared about results, not the process.

He couldn’t care less how frustrated a researcher might get after facing countless failures.

Yu Lan was the glaring exception.

Even the sweet, soft little cakes recently added to the breakroom were thanks to this cool-as-jade director pulling some strings.

A bunch of big, brawny male researchers—could they even appreciate pretty little cakes? It was a complete case of casting pearls before swine.

But if it were Yu Lan...

Shen Zueran’s gaze swept over the pretty little female’s lightly pursed, soft, crimson lips.

A moment later, he heard Yu Lan’s voice.

"Director, did you go to the welcome ceremony today?"

Shen Zueran gave a cold "mm."

He stood before the workstation, changing into his gear and preparing to run the experiment with her.

A moment later, he heard the pretty little female’s tentative, nervous voice.

"So... Su Xingye... is he really in rut?"

"I heard he refused Louisa’s soothing. If he isn’t soothed by a female, what will happen to him?"

Shen Zueran’s hand, which was adjusting his white lab coat, froze.

His well-defined fingers gripped a corner of the coat, his fingertips turning white.

Only then did the brilliant Scientific Research Institute Director remember that Su Xingye was also one of Yu Lan’s betrothed Beast Husbands.

’So, is Yu Lan worried about Su Xingye?’

’Then again, it makes sense. After all, she once went so far as to drug someone with an induction agent just to get Su Xingye.’

’Being a little concerned now is only normal.’

A surge of jealousy suddenly welled up in Shen Zueran’s heart.

A sour, bitter feeling spread through his chest.

The words that slipped out of his mouth were inevitably tinged with coldness.

"What will happen?"

"For a male who isn’t soothed by a female, there are only two possible outcomes."

"Either he loses his mind and degenerates into a feral beast, or he chooses to be released from his suffering—by dying."

"What, are you going to soothe him?"

Shen Zueran’s tone was deliberately provocative.

’Of course, he knew Yu Lan didn’t have any Healing Power. Even if she went to Su Xingye, she wouldn’t be able to soothe him.’

’He was simply annoyed that Yu Lan was worried about Su Xingye.’

’Since she likes him and is pursuing him now, all of her attention and thoughts should be focused on him and him alone.’

’As for those other males, who cared if they lived or died?’

Shen Zueran thought with cold indifference.

High-Level males, along with their formidable strength, possessed an unprecedentedly powerful sense of possessiveness and jealousy. They constantly schemed to have their Female Master all to themselves.

Males fought and competed with each other, all vying for their Female Master’s attention.

Sometimes, a Female Master would be run ragged just trying to mediate the conflicts between them.

Meanwhile, when Yu Lan heard the word "die," she froze completely, standing stunned in place.

’Su Xingye could die?’

She had considered ending her engagement with Su Xingye in the future.

After all, she was just a useless female with no Healing Power.

She was hardly a suitable match for Su Xingye, the Light of the Empire and an SSS-level Junior General of the First Legion.

If it weren’t for Queen Belina’s sudden decree of marriage, there would have been no chance for the two of them.

But Yu Lan had never imagined that Su Xingye could die.

’How could Su Xingye die?’

’And to die for a reason like this?’

She would rather see him die on the battlefield, his formidable body draped in a banner of sword and fire.

Absolutely not like this.

Yu Lan’s heart hammered wildly in her chest. THUMP THUMP THUMP.

Her fingertips, clutching her phone, turned white.

If she were truly powerless, she could only stand by and watch this brilliant star of the Empire fall.

’But that’s not the case at all.’

’So, even if there’s only a one-in-a-million chance, she has to try. She has to fight for it.’

At that thought, Yu Lan couldn’t stand it any longer.

Her mind was clearer than ever before. Standing at the lab bench, she rapidly began mixing and combining one reagent after another.

She was in such a rush that she didn’t even have time to put on protective gloves. As she grabbed one of the reagents, a stray droplet on the edge burned her skin. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She let out a soft HISS.

Shen Zueran stood nearby, his brow tightly furrowed in disapproval.

He was about to tell her to slow down and treat the burn on her hand first.

But he never got the chance.

He could only watch as Yu Lan quickly poured the contents of the last two test tubes together.

The mixture turned a mysterious, deep blue, refracting a strange light within the cold glass.

Shen Zueran was wondering just what kind of potion Yu Lan had managed to concoct.

He saw the tension on the pretty little female’s face vanish the moment she saw the potion was a success. Then she grabbed the test tube and started running for the door.

"Director, something’s come up! I have to go!"

"I’ll fill out the leave request form later!"

"Wait! Where are you going?"

But Shen Zueran’s voice couldn’t stop the determined female.

By the time he followed her out of the laboratory, Yu Lan had already taken the elevator down to the first floor of the Science Research Institute.

She ran out of the Science Research Institute building.

Yu Lan quickly opened the map on her phone, identified the route, and then ran straight toward Su Xingye’s home.

Thankfully, Su Xingye’s house was also in the core district, not far from the Science Research Institute, so it wouldn’t take her long to get there.

At the same time, her anxious expression had filled Shen Zueran with worry, and fearing something might happen to her, he had followed.

When Shen Zueran realized she was running toward Su Xingye’s house, his face turned livid.

He hesitated for a long moment, but in the end, his concern for her won out, and he silently followed.

「Ten minutes later」

Yu Lan arrived at the gate of Su Xingye’s villa.

This was the house bestowed upon Su Xingye by the Empire after his promotion to Junior General. From the outside alone, it looked magnificent and dazzling.

Its grandeur was not to be underestimated.

The pretty female stood before the massive villa, panting lightly. Her cheeks were flushed from the run, her forehead was damp with sweat, and strands of dark hair were plastered to her skin, making her look both pitiful and cute.

Yu Lan clutched the Deep Blue Potion she had brought with her and reached out to ring the doorbell.

*

「Inside the villa」

Mrs. Su and Louisa were gathered in front of an iron cage, trying every method they could think of to persuade the person inside.

"Xingye, I’m begging you. Please, just let the Princess perform a temporary soothing, won’t you?"