Free Web NovelChapter 58: Chapter 58: Provoked Another One
Jiang Xia wasn’t the only one who was distracted. The others felt a bitter taste in their mouths, too—especially Mu Tangfeng, who nearly crushed the mushroom in his hand.
’If I’d known Jiang Xia gave it to her, I never would have complimented the skirt.’
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. The others, too, hadn’t expected Jiang Xia to move so quickly and prepare a gift for Shi Lan this soon.
The beastmen berated themselves while silently envying Shi Lan’s affection for Jiang Xia. She didn’t even mind him calling her "Lanlan."
It seemed that compared to the rest of them, Shi Lan truly preferred lingering by the door of cell number four.
Ye Ming, in the cell opposite number four, felt this most keenly. Like a voyeur, he silently watched the two of them interact from the darkness. After long contemplation, he meticulously recorded his observations on his chip.
’Mother always said that only a male who can make his wife happy is a qualified Beast Husband.’
’I still have a long way to go.’
’Learning truly never ends.’
After admiring Tuxun’s adorkable appearance, Shi Lan walked toward cell number five. Yan Huoshui’s gaze was fixed on her. His narrow, foxy eyes seemed to be pools of warm spring water, shimmering with a soul-stirring light. He complimented her, "Your makeup today is the perfect finishing touch."
At first, Shi Lan was so captivated by his bewitching eyes that she didn’t even register what he’d said. It took her a moment to realize he was saying she was beautiful on her own and the makeup was merely an enhancement.
’I didn’t expect him to be so generous with his compliments.’
It was always nice to be complimented. Shi Lan’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "Thank you."
He had deliberately avoided mentioning the skirt. Even though it truly suited Shi Lan, he couldn’t bring himself to say it, knowing Jiang Xia had given it to her.
His gaze lingered on her eyes for a moment before he had a robot deliver an item to her.
"This is a sub-locator. As long as you’re on Black Star, it can pinpoint your exact location. If you’re in any danger, press the middle button immediately. My master locator will get an alert—it can send a signal even if there’s no network."
The locator came in a master-sub pair, and Yan Huoshui had the master unit. He knew the person who kidnapped Shi Lan had escaped. He felt this was a necessary precaution in case that person investigated Shi Lan and came here for revenge.
If he could have, he would have bought a complete tracking system, but those were only available to bonded mates. He and Shi Lan didn’t have that kind of relationship, so he didn’t have the clearance.
Shi Lan looked at it. It was from the batch of gifts she’d helped them buy last time. ’No wonder he wanted to buy a locator,’ she thought. ’So it was for me?’
Shi Lan was touched. She didn’t refuse his kind gesture. Though she didn’t plan on leaving Black Star for the time being, she was still worried about the man in the black trench coat coming back for revenge. "Thank you," she said. "Let me transfer you the money for it."
For the first time, Shi Lan clearly saw Yan Huoshui’s expression darken. The perpetual smile vanished from his lips, which tightened into a thin, straight line.
"Don’t bother. I’m just worried that if something happened to you, we’d get stuck with another troublesome new warden."
He spat the words out coldly. Shi Lan sensed his mood had soured and felt a bit flustered. "I’m sorry," she said. "I just feel like I haven’t done anything to deserve it. You all have already helped me so much. I didn’t mean anything else by it."
Yan Huoshui shot her a look. "Then just take it. You can accept a skirt from Jiang Xia, but you can’t accept something from me?"
At his words, Shi Lan was left speechless.
It was Jiang Xia who, unhappy, retorted from the side, "You have to compete over something like this? How childish."
Childish?
Yan Huoshui scoffed. He was in his thirties, yet someone was actually using that word to describe him.
He was a little stunned. It seemed he really was letting Shi Lan unconsciously get to him, to the point where he was competing with Jiang Xia over such things.
In his mind, his opinion of Shi Lan had always been that she was simply a little spice to liven up his boring existence. When she came to the prison, although it was just one new person, the place suddenly felt more alive, filled with a warmth it had lacked before. freēwēbnovel.com
Shi Lan possessed a unique vitality.
He didn’t love her, but for someone who had spent so long living a lonely life on the edge, her kind of presence was something to be cherished.
Yan Huoshui told himself it was just a passing interest. Even if he occasionally grew displeased when the object of his interest had its attention stolen by others, he didn’t think it was ’like’.
He deliberately ignored the occasional tightness in his chest, merely staring intently at the window, waiting for her to accept the gift.
With things having come to this, Shi Lan didn’t refuse again. She said another "thank you," but it sounded polite and distant.
Hearing her tone, a flash of anger flared up in Yan Huoshui again. He managed to suppress it, forcing a smile onto his face. It looked like his usual pleasant expression, but his eyes were devoid of emotion.
Shi Lan’s gaze paused on his smile for a moment before she took the locator. She felt a bit helpless. ’Everyone here is supposed to be an evolved, sapient Beastman,’ she thought, ’but honestly, I think simple animals are better. Their emotions are easier to understand, and you don’t have to waste so much energy guessing what they’re thinking.’
But she knew Yan Huoshui meant well. In the past, while she’d always seen him as a gentle person, she also felt he was the most inscrutable person in the entire prison.
Most of the time, she felt like he was wearing a mask, smiling at everyone equally.
Seeing such a genuine expression from him for once actually made Shi Lan a little happy.
’If you smile for too long, you can forget what you’re actually feeling,’ she mused. ’I almost fell into that trap myself once.’
’I’ll pick some nice flowers for him later to cheer him up,’ she decided.
’After all, I don’t want to disappoint those who are kind to me.’
Shi Lan collected her thoughts and headed to her office to eat her breakfast while it was still warm.
She had been in a hurry today and hadn’t had a chance to eat yet, so she was starting to get hungry.
She had just taken a few bites when she felt her chip vibrate. She opened the interface to take a look. After all this time, Leo had finally replied.
His message read, "Miss Shi Lan, what’s wrong?"
"Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. The Doctor sent me to a Deserted Star for a few days to find a certain medicinal herb. There was no signal on the Deserted Star, so I never saw your message."
Leo had no idea that the culprit was the very Eldest Prince he served. The Prince had sent him away precisely to prevent him from pursuing Shi Lan while she was on the Capital Star.
Shi Lan swallowed the food in her mouth and typed, "It’s about the gift you sent last time. I feel I haven’t done anything to deserve something so valuable. Is it possible for me to return it to you?"
After having just upset Yan Huoshui, Shi Lan was being especially tactful about returning this gift.
Leo replied in surprise, "Miss Shi Lan, why would you feel that way?"
"You deserve it."
He then added earnestly, "Everything I said last time was from the heart. Actually, if I may be so bold, I would like to pursue you. Would you be willing to give me that chance?"
Although the Eldest Prince’s interruption had derailed the conversation last time, Leo hadn’t given up. He felt that after being single for so long while following the Prince around, he had to take the initiative now that he’d finally met a female he liked.
Shi Lan was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Leo to be serious. From his expression last time, she had assumed he was joking.
She hesitated, trying to think of a way to let him down gently. After a moment, she replied, "I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for a relationship right now."
"That’s alright. I just hope that when it comes time for your Beast Husband matching, Miss Shi Lan, you might consider me. Would that be okay?"
