By the time Jiang Lijin returned to the place she could loosely call home, it was already past four in the afternoon. The moment she pushed the door open, she sensed that the atmosphere in the living room was off.
Usually at this hour, those three gentlemen would either be drilling new recruits at the military base, accompanying their goddess Felwin at the hospital, or carrying out secretive missions in some obscure corner. In short, they would absolutely not be here.
But today, there were four people in the living room.
Rex sat on the single sofa, his long legs crossed, holding a glass of something in his hand. His posture was so noble and elegant it looked like he was shooting a magazine cover. Kieran sat on the other side with a book open on his lap, but his gaze was clearly not on the pages; it kept drifting in one direction. Arden stood by the windowsill, half-turned toward the living room. He looked as if he was admiring the view outside, but his little thoughts were practically written all over his face.
And right in the middle of the sofa sat a female.
The female was very petite, not a frail kind of petite, but a slenderness that seemed to radiate from her very bones. She had fair skin and almond-shaped eyes that tipped up slightly at the corners, naturally tinged with a bit of red as if she had just been crying. She wore a light apricot dress made of soft fabric that perfectly accentuated her figure. The neckline was just low enough to reveal a slender neck and delicate collarbones. Her hair was loosely pinned back, with a few stray strands falling softly around her face.
At this moment, she was tilting her head toward the door with a faint smile on her lips, as if she had known all along that Jiang Lijin would return at this time, and she was sitting right there waiting for her.
Jiang Lijin stood still at the entryway.
Subconsciously, she compared herself to the person in front of her. The original owner's face wasn't much different from her own, except for a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye that added a bit more charm. Her face wasn't bad at all; in fact, she could be considered quite beautiful. It was just that her frame was slightly larger than the woman before her, lacking that delicate frailty and possessing a bit more sharpness. She had high brow bones, a straight nose, and rather thin lips that made her look somewhat aloof when she wasn't smiling. Her eyes naturally slanted upwards at the corners, making it seem as though she was always scrutinizing people, giving her a hint of innate aggressiveness.
But such a face had been worn down over the past three years until it lost its luster. Long-term malnutrition left her skin with an unhealthy pallor, faint dark circles under her eyes, and dry, peeling lips. Standing by the door in her washed-out, faded old coat, she formed a glaring contrast with the radiant female in the living room.
[Host,] Xiao Yi's voice echoed in her mind, [it is detected that the female in front of you is the original novel's female protagonist, Felwin, an S-grade spiritual healer, currently matched to three A-grade beastmen.]
Jiang Lijin raised an eyebrow in her mind but said nothing.
Felwin spoke first, her voice soft and perfectly sweet: "Sister Jiang Lijin, it has been a long time since we last met."
Jiang Lijin didn't move, nor did she reply.
Felwin didn't seem to mind, or rather, she had anticipated this reaction. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Lijin.
"I heard you just signed the divorce agreement," she continued, her tone tinged with pity. "When I heard the news, I felt terrible. Although we have never met, as a fellow female, I can roughly imagine how difficult things must have been for you lately."
She paused, her eyes showing a bit more genuine heartache. "Being matched by the Main Brain to unsuitable partners must be very hard, right? Just like me..."
She lowered her head, as if recalling something sad, and her eyes slowly began to redden.
Seeing her like this, the eyes of the three men around her changed instantly. It was a complex emotion mixing heartache, anger, and the urge to rush forward and pull her into their arms, which they forcefully held back. Then, Arden and Rex simultaneously turned their glares to Jiang Lijin, looking as if they wanted to tear her apart. Only Kieran kept his gaze fixed entirely on Felwin.
Jiang Lijin looked at her harmless face, felt the hostile glares of the two males, and suddenly another face flashed in her mind.
Just as innocent, just as gentle, just as understanding.
Su Wanwan.
Jiang Lijin suddenly felt a bit nauseous.
[Xiao Yi.] She called out in her mind.
[Here, Host.]
[This thing is the female lead of this book?]
Xiao Yi was silent for a second: [Host, this was originally a sweet pampering romance novel. The female lead's description in the book is delicate like a weeping willow in the wind, inspiring tender affection.]
"A sweet pampering novel?" Jiang Lijin almost laughed out loud. "Her lines are written like an outstanding graduation project from a green tea training camp. Just listen to her tone, her pacing, her facial expression management."
Xiao Yi hemmed and hawed, unable to speak for a long time after her remark.
[Alright, I know you are a newborn system and do not understand these things.]
Jiang Lijin pulled back her thoughts and looked at Felwin again.
"So," she drawled lazily, "what exactly are you here for?"
Felwin looked up, her eyes sincere. "I heard about what happened to you, sister, and I couldn't stop worrying."
"Heard from whom?"
Felwin's words caught in her throat.
Jiang Lijin's gaze slowly swept over the three males in the living room before landing back on Felwin's face. "Did they tell you?"
Felwin's smile finally cracked. She subconsciously glanced at Arden, then quickly withdrew her gaze and said softly, "Arden and the others were just concerned about your situation and mentioned it to me briefly. Please don't misunderstand, sister."
"Misunderstand what?" Jiang Lijin tilted her head to look at her. "Misunderstand that they are showing favor to you? Misunderstand that the moment they divorce me, they are dying to become mates with you immediately? Isn't that glaringly obvious?"
The atmosphere in the living room suddenly froze. Arden's face instantly flushed red, Rex's hand holding the glass paused, and Kieran's gaze shifted from Felwin to Jiang Lijin's face.
Felwin's expression changed, but she quickly adjusted. She sighed softly, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness and grievance. "Sister, you really misunderstood. Arden and the others are just friends to me. I already have three beast husbands, how could I possibly—"
She stopped at the perfect moment and lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly as if she had suffered a massive grievance but was unwilling to argue.
Jiang Lijin almost laughed out loud.
The way she spoke denied their relationship yet left the door open, while conveniently hinting that she already had beast husbands, placing herself on the moral high ground. Textbook. It was truly textbook.
[Host,] Xiao Yi's voice sounded. It had just secretly gone to look up some data and was confident it could show off in front of its host this time. [The information density of her statement is very high. First, she clears the relationship; second, she implies she has beast husbands, so it's impossible to once again—]
[Once again,] Jiang Lijin finished the thought in her mind, [she is telling those three idiots: it's not that I don't want to accept you, but I have my difficulties. You guys need to work hard, you need to make me get a divorce.]
[...] Xiao Yi was silent for a second. [Host analyzes things very thoroughly.]
[Of course,] Jiang Lijin held back a smile in her mind. [I saw this kind of trick way too often in my past life.]
She pulled her thoughts back and looked at Felwin. That face was still just as innocent, just as fragile, and just as pitiful.
"Fine, friends it is," she said in a lazy tone. "Take your time making friends with them, then. I am going upstairs."
She turned and headed up the stairs, her pace neither hurried nor slow, her retreating figure radiating a detached aura that clearly said, This has nothing to do with me.
"Sister," Felwin's voice called out from behind, laced with a hint of urgency. "Are you mad at me? I really didn't mean anything else, I just..."
Jiang Lijin stopped in her tracks and looked back at her. "Miss Felwin, you don't need to explain. You came to see me, and I thank you for that. Now that you have seen me, you can leave."
She paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and added, "Oh, right, do your three beast-husbands know you are here?"
Felwin's face instantly drained of color.
[Xiao Yi, what is with that expression of hers?] Jiang Lijin asked in her mind.
[According to my analysis, her three beast-husbands are extremely possessive. If they knew she came alone to meet other males, especially three S-rank ones, it could spark a serious domestic dispute. She most likely sneaked out behind their backs.]
Jiang Lijin chuckled inwardly.
Interesting.
She said nothing more and turned back to the stairs. Faintly, she heard a suppressed sob from behind her. Then came the commotion of three males standing up simultaneously, the screech of chairs scraping against the floorboards, hurried footsteps, and hushed, unbelievably gentle voices offering comfort.
Jiang Lijin walked up the stairs without a single backward glance, leaving all of it behind her.
