Free Web NovelChapter 104: Chapter 104: He’s Reading an Indecent Book
The prison fell silent. Even Mu Tangfeng, who had been rummaging around in cell #2, froze.
His words were a clear signal to everyone in the prison: he had made up his mind to accept Shi Lan as his wife.
"Scheming."
Jiang Xia muttered under his breath, but his mind was already replaying Ye Ming’s words.
’Did the teacher really say that?’
’How come I don’t know anything about it?’
Jiang Xia scratched his head, annoyed. If he had known this would happen, he would have paid attention in his male etiquette training courses back at the academy. But he had looked down on all the females back then, so he figured learning that stuff was pointless. He slept through class nine times out of ten.
Jiang Xia was kicking himself, but he kept up a brave front.
The afternoon in the prison was surprisingly peaceful. Everyone was as quiet as a mouse, each busy with who-knows-what. Even Jiang Xia, normally the most playful of the bunch, had found a book somewhere and was reading.
Shi Lan glanced over curiously, but with a lightning-fast movement, he hid the book under his stomach.
Jiang Xia looked at her, his eyes a mixture of shame, annoyance, and guilt. His voice trembled slightly. "Lanlan~"
She pursed her lips and quickly explained, "I didn’t see anything."
As Shi Lan spoke, she glanced discreetly at Jiang Xia’s fluffy stomach. She thought of what a beautiful young man he was in his human form, and her expression softened with understanding.
’At his age, this is precisely when a boy’s fancies turn to romance and his passions begin to stir.’
’Back when I was in school, plenty of boys passed around smutty stories or shared files on USB drives. Maybe that’s what Jiang Xia is reading. Why else would he hide it?’
The thought made her feel a little uneasy for some reason. It was as if the wholesome, upstanding young man she’d imagined had been unknowingly sullied by filth somewhere beyond her sight. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Suddenly, everything felt bland. The fluffy Pallas’s cat in the cell seemed to have lost some of its endearing, simple-minded charm.
Jiang Xia had no idea her thoughts had taken such a turn. Seeing that Shi Lan hadn’t gotten a look, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
What he was reading was a textbook for the academy’s "Service to a Wife" course. If Lanlan found out, she would guess that he hadn’t taken his courses on females seriously at all.
’Thankfully, Mom was thoughtful enough to send this to me. It’s a good chance to brush up so I won’t be so easily outdone by the others later on.’
Jiang Xia was filled with ambition, even if he had already gotten drowsy three times in the last thirty minutes.
He buried the book and ran happily to the protective barrier. "Lanlan, what’s for lunch today?"
Shi Lan’s eyes flickered over to the corner of a blue book cover that was sticking out. She lifted a hand and set his meal on the delivery shelf.
"It’s about the same as usual. You can see for yourself."
"Huh?"
Jiang Xia blinked, hurt and confused, but Shi Lan had already moved on to the next cell.
Being ignored so coldly by Shi Lan for the first time made Jiang Xia’s heart ache. His ears drooped sullenly as he replayed the shift in her mood, his thoughts eventually settling on the book.
’Lanlan must have seen it.’
’She must think a male like me, who didn’t want to study the courses on females, is a bad student.’
Miserably, he shifted back into his human form and stood numbly by the protective barrier, as if facing a wall in penance. He completely ignored the food that he usually found so enticing.
When Shi Lan passed by on her return trip, he quickly stopped her and confessed his mistake. "I’m sorry, Lanlan! I might not have studied hard in the academy, but I’m not a bad student."
’My slacking only ever affected me; I never disrupted class for anyone else. Besides, this was the only course I didn’t really care about.’
’Of course, I can’t say that out loud. Lanlan would misunderstand and think I don’t have the proper dedication to be a good Beast Husband.’
"My other grades at the academy were really good! It was only the courses related to females that I didn’t fully grasp."
"But don’t worry! I’ll study hard. I can be a good male in the future."
As he spoke, Jiang Xia sheepishly retrieved the hidden book. He held it solemnly against his chest, his tone earnest as if making a vow to Shi Lan.
Shi Lan listened to his whole speech with a look of utter confusion.
’What is Jiang Xia talking about? Why bring up his grades all of a sudden?’
She watched him bend over to find the book. His long, silver hair, as smooth as satin, cascaded to the floor. Reflected by the snow in the room, it seemed to glow.
As he walked toward her, a few snowflakes clung to his hair, making him look as beautiful as a snow sprite.
Shi Lan stared, captivated for a moment. When she snapped out of it, her eyes fell on the blue book he was holding against his chest.
Her gaze fell upon it, and her eyes widened slightly.
*How to Better Serve Your Wife*...
Shi Lan stared at the subtitle—’A Designated Textbook for Third-Year Academy Students’—and fell silent.
’Wait, academies in this world actually teach this stuff?’
’Is this for real?’
If not for the serious, flustered expression on Jiang Xia’s face as he explained he wasn’t a "bad student," she might have still gotten the wrong idea just from the title alone.
’The word "serve"... is that really the right word to use?’
Shi Lan remained in a daze for a long moment. Jiang Xia had said every reassuring thing he could think of, but she still hadn’t responded.
’No way. Don’t tell me Lanlan really thinks I’m completely unworthy of being her Beast Husband now?’
’After all, if it were any other book, it might be explainable. But this is an academy textbook. For me to be reviewing something I should have already learned... it’s hard for a female not to read into that.’
’In this world, any male serious about finding a wife studies this course diligently.’
’And my textbook is still brand-new.’
At this thought, Jiang Xia guiltily shifted his arm to hide the book’s pristine, uncreased spine. But as he waited for Shi Lan’s response, his fingers resting on the cover tightened, the knuckles turning white.
The artificial snow continued to fall inside the room. Jiang Xia stood like a silent statue, not daring to speak and disturb Shi Lan. He was filled with regret. ’I should have hidden it sooner.’
’No, I should have just studied seriously in the first place.’
’But I truly never thought I’d find a female to spend the rest of my life with, so I didn’t care back then.’
After a thin layer of snowflakes had collected on Jiang Xia’s head, Shi Lan finally looked at his pale, flawless face. She had just been doing some self-reflection of her own.
She felt guilty for suspecting that Jiang Xia was reading *that* kind of book.
And now, looking at the dejected Jiang Xia who had been waiting so long for her response, Shi Lan said with a double meaning, "I’m sorry."
"I was just thinking about something else, but I heard everything you said."
Jiang Xia’s golden pupils shifted, and he cautiously peeked up at her.
"I don’t think you’re a bad student. After all, the definition of a ’bad student’ isn’t someone who dislikes studying, or even dislikes one particular subject. If that were the case, I’m afraid most people would be bad students, myself included."
After all, she used to hate physics. She’d get drowsy the second class started. Back then, she’d mark tons of key points with a red pen—a classic case of fooling herself—to the point that now, seeing the red text in the prison management manual is enough to make her feel sleepy.
Shi Lan was deliberately joking to put him at ease. Jiang Xia listened intently, and seeing her smile, he gradually looked relieved and couldn’t help but smile back.
’Great! Lanlan doesn’t look down on me.’
"But... then why did you ignore me earlier, Lanlan?"
Sensing Shi Lan’s mood had improved, Jiang Xia decided to press his luck, his tone turning into a pout.
