When Jiang Lijin opened her eyes, the bedroom was still pitch black. She lay there for a few seconds before reaching toward the bedside. Her optical computer screen lit up: 6:12 AM.
She had woken up on her own, without an alarm. Truth be told, she hadn't slept well last night. After lying down, her mind had kept tossing and turning over that email.
Five 3S-grade matched males. If the 3S-grades she matched with this time included someone with a violent temper, a strong desire for control, or a shrunken cerebellum like Arden...
"Host, you are getting anxious again," Xiao Yi's voice floated over lightly.
"I am not."
"Your heart rate has increased by eighteen percent."
"...Shut up."
Out of the five candidates, aside from the possibility of Chiron and Baal, the rest were completely unknown. Forget it, she would deal with whatever came her way. What kind of scenes hadn't she seen in this life? She had already time-traveled twice; how could she be scared by a few names?
She sighed, then suddenly thought of something.
"Right, Xiao Yi, where are we in the plot right now? At this point in the original novel, what are Felwin and those three ex-husbands doing?"
"I know this!" Xiao Yi perked up. "In the original plotline, right about now, Rex, Kieran, and Arden are secretly helping Felwin deal with her three original marriages."
"Deal with them? How?"
"Rex and the others used some... rather dirty methods to get Felwin's three A-grade beast husbands thrown into prison!"
Jiang Lijin knitted her brows.
"Wait, having multiple beast husbands isn't illegal in this world, right? Why would they do that?"
"The reason given in the original book was that those three A-grade males did everything they could to stop Rex and the others from dating Felwin. But looking at it now... it's probably because Felwin herself had wanted to divorce those three A-grades for a long time! However, the little green tea bitch didn't want to get her own hands dirty, so she found a way to make Rex and the others handle it."
"Pfft," Jiang Lijin was amused by Xiao Yi's logical analysis. "You're getting pretty good at this, Xiao Yi. Aren't you afraid of being too smart for your own good?"
"Hehe, of course! That little green tea doesn't look like a good person at all. She throws all the dirty work to the males while pretending to be an innocent little white flower! Besides, Rex and the others used pretty nasty methods—forging evidence and framing them, sending three clueless A-grade males to prison..."
Jiang Lijin fell silent.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—what Arden had yelled at her in the hallway yesterday, pointing right at her nose: "You're just a piece of trash who only knows how to shamelessly cling to men."
"Arden really is an interesting guy," she sneered. "Yesterday he said I only rely on men, but now, Felwin just has to move her lips, and they do all her dirty and tiring work for her."
"...Now that you mention it, Host, that does seem to be the case."
"What do you mean 'seem to be'? It is."
Jiang Lijin rolled over, not wanting to think about Felwin's messy affairs anymore.
She reached out to turn on her optical computer, opened her inbox, and refreshed it. No new emails; the list hadn't come down yet. She checked the time. It was seven o'clock. She might as well go find something to eat.
After washing up and changing her clothes, she opened her bedroom door and headed down the stairs.
To her surprise, she found that the living room lights were already on.
Jiang Lijin paused mid-step on the stairs. Chiron was sitting by the dining table. In front of him was a cup of dark liquid, either tea or coffee, and he was looking down at his optical computer.
At this hour, he was actually home?
According to her observations over the past few days, Chiron usually left the house before seven, sometimes even earlier. Today it was already seven, and not only had he not left, but he was also sitting at the dining table, looking entirely unhurried.
Jiang Lijin walked down the stairs. Hearing the movement, Chiron lifted his head.
"You're up this early too?" He put down his optical computer.
"Didn't sleep well." Jiang Lijin walked over to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, asking casually, "You're not going to work today?"
"I am." Chiron picked up his drink and took a sip. "But there's no rush."
Jiang Lijin gave an "oh" and didn't think much of it. She looked down and checked her optical computer again; the inbox was still empty. She closed her email and planned to go to the kitchen to find Xiao Bai.
Just as she stood up, Chiron's voice came from behind her, his tone as faint as ever: "What email are you waiting for?"
Jiang Lijin turned around and found that Chiron wasn't looking at her. He was swiping at something on his optical computer, asking very casually.
"A follow-up notice from the testing center," Jiang Lijin answered vaguely, not going into detail.
Chiron gave a small nod.
Jiang Lijin waited for two seconds, unable to hold back her curiosity. "What about you? Why aren't you in a hurry to leave today?"
Chiron's finger paused on the screen of his optical computer.
"Same as you." He looked up at her. "Waiting for an email."
Jiang Lijin froze.
Waiting for an email? What email?
A thought popped into her head, and she subconsciously pushed it back down. Impossible, it must be a pure coincidence. Chiron was a 3S-grade big shot, the dean of the Academy of Sciences. He had countless emails to deal with every day. Who said waiting for an email meant waiting for that specific one?
It was just a coincidence that today was the day the main brain would issue her matching list. Just a coincidence, right?
"Host!" Xiao Yi practically exploded in her mind. "He said the same as you! He's also waiting for the matching email!! He's looking forward to it, he's praying for it, he loves you!!"
"Shut up."
"What a coincidence," she tossed out expressionlessly, then turned and walked into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Xiao Bai detected her footsteps and turned around, flashing its signature crescent-moon eyes at her. Jiang Lijin ordered a bowl of noodles and went back to sit at the dining table to wait.
Ten minutes passed, and Chiron still showed no signs of leaving.
Xiao Bai brought over a steaming bowl of noodles and placed it on the table in front of Jiang Lijin. She habitually said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, guest!" Xiao Bai replied in a gentle mechanical voice, then swiveled its round body over to refill Chiron's coffee.
Chiron sat opposite her, his finger occasionally swiping across his optical computer screen.
The two of them sat across the table from each other, each looking at their own optical computer, each waiting for their own email. The atmosphere was a bit subtle.
Jiang Lijin slurped a mouthful of noodles and secretly stole a glance at Chiron.
He was wearing a dark shirt today, the collar buttoned neatly, and his hair was meticulously styled. He looked no different from usual, showing no signs of nervousness or anxiety, as if he really was just waiting for an ordinary work email.
But if it was just an ordinary work email, would it be worth waiting at home specifically for it?
"Host, stop peeking at him, he's looking up."
Jiang Lijin quickly snapped her gaze back to her bowl.
"Is the breakfast to your taste?" Chiron's voice rang out.
"It's fine," she said without looking up.
After another moment of silence, Jiang Lijin spent a long time organizing her words in her mind before finally speaking up, trying to keep her tone as casual as possible.
"Lord Chiron, the email you're waiting for... is it convenient to ask what it's about?"
Chiron set down his cup. He didn't answer immediately, remaining silent for a few seconds.
"Take a guess?"
The chopsticks in Jiang Lijin's hand nearly dropped onto the table. When did this guy learn to keep people in suspense? She looked up to glare at him...
Wait, was she seeing things?
Was he smiling?
Jiang Lijin was just about to press for an answer when the lightbrain on her wrist suddenly buzzed.
At that exact same moment, Chiron's lightbrain lit up across from her.
The two of them looked down at the same time.
Sender: [Central AI].
Jiang Lijin's heart gave a sudden, violent lurch.
