Chapter 42: Chapter 40: Su Xingye and the Golden Lion’s Confrontation

Yu Lan was no fool.

How could she believe something like that?

But in the next second—

A pair of deer antlers suddenly materialized on the mature, handsome man’s forehead.

They were a beautiful, pale blue.

They seemed to shimmer in the air with a faint, starlike glow.

"These are..."

Yu Lan’s beautiful eyes widened, lighting up the moment she saw the antlers.

’I really want to touch them.’

Even though it was hardly the time for it.

Still, Yu Lan couldn’t help but stare.

"Dean, is your beast form a deer?"

A cool, mysterious elk.

Paired with Shen Zueran’s flushed, dazed expression, it created a cool yet sensual allure that was utterly captivating.

Yu Lan swallowed hard.

In the next instant,

the sharp-eyed man grabbed her wrist and placed her hand on his antlers.

He let out a low gasp, his voice generous and magnanimous. "If Lanlan likes them, you can touch them as much as you want."

The antlers felt firm to the touch, yet there was a faint softness to them. The texture was strange.

Stranger still, perhaps because Shen Zueran was in his mating season, the antlers were also scorching hot.

It was almost like...

When Yu Lan gave one of the antlers a squeeze, Shen Zueran immediately let out a low gasp.

She snatched her hand back at once.

’So strange.’

’This is too strange.’

Yu Lan’s face was bright red. Meeting Shen Zueran’s probing, questioning gaze, she stammered, not knowing what to say. All she could think about was finding an excuse to escape.

"You seem to be doing much better now. I’ll head out first."

"Mm,"

Shen Zueran responded quietly, letting Yu Lan go.

His large hands, resting on the lab table, suddenly clenched into fists. The backs of his hands strained, veins bulging prominently.

The oblivious Yu Lan had no idea that the antlers were the most sensitive part of Shen Zueran’s entire body.

’To be held by such a soft, smooth little hand... it’s simply...’

The man’s prominent, sexy Adam’s apple bobbed hard. A long moment passed before he let out a heavy, ragged sigh.

*

While one male was trying every trick in the book to make Yu Lan fall for him...

On the other...

Su Xingye woke up the next day, his thoughts immediately turning to what had happened the day before.

It felt as if a soft feather had gently brushed against his heart.

Hot and soft.

Tinged with a faint sweetness.

’Since Yu Lan touched me, that means I’m now one of her Beast Husbands.’

When a beautiful female helps a male through his arduous, tormenting mating season, his possessiveness toward her reaches its absolute peak. He wants nothing more than to cling to her, never separating for even a moment.

When Su Xingye emerged from his room, Mrs. Su happened to be sitting in the living room.

Seeing that Su Xingye was back to normal, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Xingye, you’re awake."

"Mm."

Su Xingye gave a slight nod.

He had reverted to his usual aloof and stern demeanor, the powerful, icy bearing of the Light of the Empire.

His deep, captivating, emerald-like eyes quickly scanned the living room, but he didn’t find the graceful figure he was hoping to see.

Only then did he ask, feigning nonchalance:

"Where’s Yu Lan?"

"Is she resting?"

He put on a strong front of indifference, but his ears were pricked, extremely attentive.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. ’I only used her hand yesterday... Is she already tired enough to be resting?’

’Then again, beautiful females are quite delicate. Her little hands were so soft and smooth, it felt like sinking into the fluffiest of clouds.’

As Su Xingye was lost in speculation, Mrs. Su spoke up, seeming a little too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

"Ahem, Yu Lan went home yesterday."

"Why?"

Su Xingye’s brow furrowed.

’Isn’t this her home?’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Mrs. Su’s gaze flickered away for a moment; she didn’t dare tell Su Xingye how she and Louisa had been gossiping about Yu Lan.

Of course, she felt that, in truth, Yu Lan probably hadn’t taken the matter to heart.

’Perhaps she simply... doesn’t like Xingye that much?’

That would explain why she’d mercilessly abandon a man who had just finished his mating season.

Mrs. Su carefully watched Su Xingye’s expression and offered some encouragement.

"It’s alright, son. You’re so exceptional, you can definitely win her over."

Su Xingye’s thin lips pressed into a tight line. He didn’t respond to his mother’s encouragement.

After a long moment, Su Xingye said,

"I’m going to find her."

He was like a jilted husband, seeking out the female who had taken his "innocence" to demand she take responsibility.

Yet his face still held a hint of unconcealable bliss.

Carrying a bouquet of flowers, Su Xingye walked toward Yu Lan’s house, feeling as though his heart were soaking in honey.

He was filled with an anticipation so sweet it was almost unreal.

The tall, upright man’s expression was relaxed, marked by a lazy, sated satisfaction.

「At this very moment」

「Inside the villa」

The Golden Lion’s sharp senses detected the approaching scent of the Silver Wolf.

’That damn mutt who seduced Yu Lan and made her come home late.’

’I hadn’t even gone to track him down and beat him up, and now he has the gall to come here, courting death.’

’What is he trying to do?’

’Does he really think that just because he shamelessly tricked Yu Lan into touching him once, he can just waltz up to the door and demand to be recognized as part of the family?’

’He’s practically begging to be killed.’

Rage surged within the Golden Lion. His golden eyes filled with a merciless light, his entire being enveloped in a violent, frenzied fury.

From the top of the villa’s second-floor staircase, he descended, his steps slow, deliberate, and elegant.

As befitting a king at the top of the food chain, his every move exuded an air of absolute authority.

At that moment, Su Xingye was already standing at the villa’s entrance.

He gripped the flowers in his hand tightly. Thinking of the female he was about to see, he felt a rare flicker of anxiety.

The next second,

his fingertip firmly pressed the doorbell.

His powerful, 3S-level spiritual power allowed him to sense something approaching from within the house.

It carried a terrifying rage, powerful enough to engulf and tear apart everything in its path.

Su Xingye frowned. ’This is Yu Lan’s villa. How could something so dangerous be in a beautiful young female’s home?’

The next second,

the villa’s front door was thrown open with a BANG by the furious, tyrannical Golden Lion.

A pair of golden eyes stared down at Su Xingye, fixing him with a cold, merciless gaze.

It opened its jaws, aimed at the aloof and stern man, and let out a furious roar.

"ROAR!!!"

The roar was earth-shattering.

The birds in the vicinity of the villa instantly took flight, flapping their wings frantically as if they’d received a terrible shock.

This was undoubtedly the Golden Lion’s little show of force, a warning to the male who dared come to the door demanding a position and trying to join the household.

But Su Xingye was completely frozen in place.

The naive and clueless Yu Lan might actually believe that the big lion that suddenly appeared in her house was just a zoo animal.

But Su Xingye would not make that mistake.

From his very first glance at the golden beast, he had immediately identified the lion before him.

This was none other than the beast form of Huo Zhanting, Marshal of the First Legion.

"Mar... Marshal Huo."

"What are you doing here?"

"How are you? Are you alright?"

Su Xingye had been the one to push himself to the limit to handle the aftermath of the Thirteen District riot, but all the soldiers dispatched to find Huo Zhanting had returned empty-handed.

Everyone said Huo Zhanting had been sacrificed.

He had never, in his wildest dreams, expected to see the man’s beast form here, and looking so incredibly well-cared for at that.

In contrast to Su Xingye’s excitement, the Golden Lion remained cold and unmoved.

Instead, looking at the tall, handsome man with his broad shoulders and narrow waist, it felt a spark of jealousy. An overwhelming desire for destruction surged from its heart.

It snarled at Su Xingye, raised a paw, and lunged, its massive jaws snapping at the man.

Su Xingye’s pupils contracted violently.