Free Web NovelChapter 31: Chapter 31: It’s That Young Female
Shi Lan didn’t notice Bai Rao’s gaze.
She dutifully took her place with the group in the middle of the stage, waiting for the Dean to award the certificates.
The Dean of the Imperial Capital School was a female. She appeared to be of a certain age, with a few strands of white woven through her coiled black hair. She wore a regal, emerald-green satin qipao and had a kind, benevolent face.
Bai Rao was first in line. The Dean patted her shoulder and praised, "A good child." freewebnovel.cσ๓
Bai Rao’s lips curved into a smile. "Thank you, Dean." freeweɓnøvel.com
She wasn’t the type of stunning beauty you’d notice at first glance, but her smile was very approachable.
As the heroine of the book, her image was more akin to the girl next door: a slightly rounded face, light-colored eyes, and long, straight black hair, perfectly matching the pure first-love image in the hearts of many males.
The moment she smiled, a stir went through the males in the audience, many of whom stared at her with infatuated expressions.
The Dean motioned for the audience to quiet down and handed her the certificate.
Shi Lan and Jiang Yan were fifth and sixth in line, with Shi Lan standing behind Jiang Yan. The Dean, careful to treat everyone equally, gave a few words of praise to each student before quickly moving past Jiang Yan and arriving in front of her.
She read out her name. "Shi Lan?"
Shi Lan subconsciously blurted out, "Here!" and then blushed in embarrassment under the Dean’s gentle and kind gaze.
’A conditioned reflex from military training.’
The Dean also patted her shoulder. "Keep up the good work. I’ve heard Ah Ming and my primary Beast Husband mention you. They both have high praise for you."
Shi Lan blinked in confusion. She knew Ah Ming must be Ye Ming—he had messaged her yesterday saying the Dean was his teacher. ’But who is the Dean’s primary Beast Husband?’
’Surely it couldn’t be one of the people from the prison?’
The Dean saw her confusion and explained, "Oh, it’s that old man you met yesterday."
’So it was Grandpa Lu.’ Realization dawned on Shi Lan.
Seeing that she understood, the Dean added, "Spiritual power is just a bonus. What truly matters is being a good person. You’ll eventually find a male who is on the same wavelength."
The Dean spent a lot of time at the school and occasionally even taught a class on how males should serve their wives. As such, she’d heard of Shi Lan’s reputation. She had even reprimanded several males for mocking Shi Lan in the classroom, calling her a "useless female."
In her view, high spiritual power and a high Fertility Value didn’t guarantee one would find a good partner. These wet-behind-the-ears youngsters certainly didn’t understand how important having a good wife was.
At first, Shi Lan was a little dazed. It was only after the Dean handed her the certificate and moved on to the next person that she belatedly realized the Dean might have been trying to comfort her.
People are always moved by the kindness of strangers, and a faint warmth spread through Shi Lan’s heart.
While the graduation ceremony on stage was a heartwarming affair, the mood in the audience was entirely different.
The Dean had lingered the longest with Shi Lan, so quite a few people had taken notice of her.
On the surface, she was the Dean, but in reality, she was so much more. As a female with S-level spiritual power, her several Beast Husbands were all prominent figures. The recently retired and highly decorated Admiral Lu was one, and her very first primary Beast Husband had been the current Monarch.
Although the Dean had divorced her husband for certain reasons, the Eldest Prince, as her bloodline, was still inextricably linked to the Imperial Family.
And now, Shi Lan, having caught the Dean’s attention, had become the focus of secret scrutiny from the audience.
Mr. Bai had originally wanted to see which female had stolen his daughter’s spotlight, but when his gaze fell on Shi Lan’s face, his pupils suddenly contracted and his expression changed drastically.
"What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?"
Mrs. Bai noticed his odd reaction and asked with concern.
Mr. Bai quickly shook his head, but the hand hanging by his side was clenched into a tight fist.
Just then, another female sitting next to Mr. Bai, who was crossing her legs and wearing an extravagant sun hat and sunglasses, curled her lip and taunted, "Yoo-hoo, Bai Youyou, this Beast Husband you found is so useless. Is he going to get heatstroke from a little sun?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Bai Youyou’s expression shifted. She turned her head to look. The female slowly took off her sunglasses, revealing heavily made-up, almond-shaped eyes and a look of pure arrogance.
She ground her teeth. "Du Yi, your second son is in prison from a spiritual power collapse, and you’re still in the mood to attend a graduation ceremony? I wonder which of your sons you’re here for."
Before Du Yi could get angry, the Beast Husband next to her who had been fanning her grew annoyed. "Bai Youyou, watch your mouth. I don’t hit females, but if you say another word about my son, that sickly Beast Husband of yours won’t be having such an easy time."
"You, you..."
Mrs. Bai glared, fuming with an anger she couldn’t release.
It was true that Mr. Bai’s health was poor. She and Mr. Bai were cousins from the same family. Back then, the Bai Family had said that if she married Mr. Bai and made him her primary Beast Husband, they would hand control of the Bai Family over to her.
At first, Mrs. Bai had been quite dissatisfied with Mr. Bai. But over the years, seeing how the daughter he’d given her brought the family so much prestige, she had started to come around to him.
’If I’d known Du Yi was here, I absolutely would not have come.’
The onlookers sitting around Du Yi, Mr. Bai, and Mrs. Bai didn’t dare to make a peep. Everyone in the Imperial City knew these two females had once fought over the same Beast Husband. After years of constant bickering, they had long since become mortal enemies.
Before, Du Yi had kept herself completely covered, so all attention had been on the Bai Family, and no one had noticed her. But now, seeing that Du Yi and her primary Beast Husband, Jiang Hua, were also present, some of the people who had been speculating that the Jiang Family would have to yield to the Bai Family fell as quiet as church mice. They wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
Mr. Bai glanced at Mrs. Bai’s expression and said cautiously, "It’s so hot, why don’t you head back first? I’m all Ruoru needs here."
Mrs. Bai was seething with anger. Venting it in front of Du Yi would only make her a laughingstock, so she took Mr. Bai’s cue and hurriedly left with her other Beast Husbands.
Mr. Bai glanced at the stage again and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Du Yi sneered again. "Leaving after just one remark. How boring."
Jiang Hua immediately popped a grape into her mouth. "Don’t worry, wife. If you’re bored, I can always entertain you."
Du Yi swallowed with satisfaction and leaned back into her primary Beast Husband’s arms. Watching Shi Lan on the stage, she whispered, "So that’s the female Xiaxia was talking about, right? That boy... he flat-out rejected every female we introduced him to before. How come he seems to be finally getting a clue now? He even asked me to help him send a gift."
Jiang Hua held her. "That’s wonderful. It proves he’s grown up."
As Jiang Hua spoke, his thoughts drifted to his child in prison, facing spiritual power collapse. He didn’t know when he would be released—or if he ever would be. He couldn’t help the bitterness that welled up inside, and his eyes reddened.
Du Yi seemed to know what he was thinking. She immediately hugged him back and comforted him, "It’s okay, it’s okay. The doctor said that if a male is in a good mood, the rise in his spiritual power collapse value will be much slower. Maybe a professor will develop a cure soon."
"Let’s hope so."
To the side, Mr. Bai watched the two of them being so intimately happy, oblivious to everyone else. He was so furious his eyes turned red, and he nearly broke the armrest of his chair.
’Damn it! Can’t you be all lovey-dovey at home?’
