"You don’t have to be so reserved like before. I promise I won’t scold you anymore. Scoot closer, so you don’t fall off in the middle of the night and hit your head."

’My sister has really changed!’

’I love her so much now.’

Jiang Tang was overcome with emotion. She shuffled closer and hugged one of Jiang Yunnuan’s arms.

’RUMBLE...’

Suddenly, a stomach rumbled in the room. Jiang Yunnuan looked over at Jiang Tang and saw her face turn bright red with shame. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Hungry? Didn’t you drink your Energy Liquid?"

Jiang Tang was mortified, but she still answered in a small voice, "The Energy Liquid my brother and I had was all stolen by those bad guys..."

’Those bastards. Beating people up wasn’t enough for them; they had to steal all the Energy Liquid, too.’ Jiang Yunnuan was furious, adding another black mark against that team in her mental ledger.

She gritted her teeth, opened her Light Brain, and sent a message to Si Xie.

"Is there still a lot of fruit outside? Bring me an apple, a banana, and a strawberry. Give some to Jiang Wang, too. All of his Energy Liquid was stolen."

"I brought Energy Liquid. Your fruit contains pure Energy; anyone who eats it can tell it’s extraordinary. Are you sure you want to give it to them?"

He replied instantly.

Jiang Yunnuan replied, "It’s fine. They’re my own people. It’s good for them to get stronger quickly. You never know when I might need them."

’To secure her throne, Jiang Huan contracted over thirty men. In this lifetime, Jiang Wanwan will eventually contract thirteen as well.’

’I don’t plan on contracting that many men, so my only option is to nurture my own siblings.’

’In the original story, Jiang Wang and Jiang Zhan died without ever having a Contract Master, and Jiang Yan was abandoned by his. That means none of them will have that kind of weakness.’

’If I raise them right, they’ll be far more dependable than a bunch of contracted men.’

"Okay, wait a moment."

Seeing she had clearly thought it through, Si Xie dropped his reservations.

Soon, there was a knock on the door.

Jiang Yunnuan turned off her Light Brain, got out of bed, and opened the door to see Si Xie standing outside, holding an apple, a banana, and a strawberry.

"Give them here."

As she reached for them, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Jiang Yunnuan: "..."

’This guy is getting bolder and bolder with his advances!’

Si Xie’s lips curled into a faint smile.

He ducked his head, kissed her again, then turned and left.

Once the door was closed, Jiang Yunnuan handed the fruit to Jiang Tang.

"Go on, eat. It’s not Energy Liquid, but it’ll fill you up."

"Thank you, sister."

Jiang Tang froze for a second, then took the fruit. She took a small bite of the strawberry, and a sweet and tangy flavor instantly flooded her mouth, so blissful it made her want to cry.

’How could anything in the world taste this good?’

As she ate, she keenly sensed a pure Energy surging into her body, refining it.

A flicker of astonishment crossed her eyes.

’What is this?’

’Where did my sister get this?’

Though her mind was filled with questions, she didn’t voice any of them.

Outside the room, Jiang Wang was having a very similar experience.

After taking the fruit from Si Xie and thanking him, he took a bite. An unfamiliar, sweet flavor and a wave of pure Energy washed over him simultaneously.

He was utterly shocked, but he lowered his gaze and said nothing.

After quietly finishing the apple and banana, he felt the bottleneck in his Realm, which he’d been stuck at for so long, finally begin to loosen.

’Is this... a breakthrough?’

A tumultuous wave crashed through the black-haired, wolf-eared youth’s heart. He immediately closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began to focus his energy on breaking through to the next Realm.

The wave of energy emanating from his breakthrough attempt immediately drew the attention of the other men.

Jiang Yunnuan sensed it too, but couldn’t be bothered to go outside. Instead, she opened her Light Brain and sent a message to her harem group chat.

King Jiang: "Who’s advancing? Jiang Wang?"

Rebel Concubine Si Xie: "Mm, yes. The kid’s only seventeen, right? And he’s already pushing for the Eighth Rank of the Beast Transformation Stage. His talent’s not bad."

King Jiang: "Of course it’s good. If he hadn’t been suffering from long-term malnutrition and wasn’t saddled with a huge debt to the foster care center, leaving him no money for resources, he might be pushing for the Ninth Rank or even the Deformation Stage by now."

She had just sent the message to the group when she received a private message. Tapping it open, she saw it was from Si Xie.

"Nuannuan, I want to sleep with you. Why don’t we go sleep in the Flying Device?"

Jiang Yunnuan: "..."

"If I go to the Flying Device with you, do you think it’s appropriate to leave Jiang Tang, a girl, here alone with the rest of them?"

"What’s not appropriate? Jiang Wang is still here. They won’t make a move on Jiang Tang."

Si Xie replied briskly, the corners of his lips hooking into a cunning smile.

’It would be great if they actually did make a move,’ he thought. ’That would get rid of a few of my rivals.’

"Forget it. I’m staying with Jiang Tang. I’m not going with you."

Jiang Yunnuan had just finished replying to Si Xie when she received another private message from Jun Yao.

"Chatting with Si Xie?"