Yunyang could understand Fu Shiyi's transfer payment.
But what was the deal with Fu Jianyue and Fang Yanzhi?
Yunyang put down the bug core and forwarded the three messages to her new contact, Fu Shiyi: [What are these?]
He replied quickly: [A small token of my appreciation, along with gifts from my mother and father. I hope you, my esteemed mate, won't refuse.]
A "small" token?
Who in their right mind considers ten billion credits a small token?!
Yunyang suddenly felt a pang of resentment toward the rich.
Sure, she was technically a billionaire now too, but she could never just hand over ten billion like it was nothing.
Damn filthy rich people!
Wait, no—now she was the rich one.
Yunyang retracted that curse in her head before replying: [Then I'll graciously accept.]
Fu Shiyi: [It's my honor.]
[I still have some work to wrap up. Once that's done, I'll apply for my marriage leave and move in with you right away.]
As for not replying to her messages a few days ago, Fu Shiyi felt he should explain that in person.
[No worries, work comes first.]
Yunyang understood.
Designers—especially lead designers like Fu Shiyi—were often swamped with work.
Besides, she had plenty of beast-husbands already. Fu Shiyi could come whenever he pleased.
Fu Shiyi didn't reply again. Yunyang guessed he must have gotten busy, so she didn't push the conversation further.
After absorbing a few more bug cores, Qin Mo, who had been busy in the kitchen for the better part of the day, finally walked over.
"My mate, dinner is ready."
Yunyang reached out to him.
A flicker of joy passed through Qin Mo's eyes as he bent down and carried her to the dining room.
After the meal, seeing that the time was about right, Yunyang headed to the Purification Tower accompanied by Qin Mo.
The two males receiving purification today also had pollution levels as high as 99, and they too were former members of Federation Seventh Army.
When Yunyang asked Qin Mo, she learned that X92 Star was the garrison base for the Seventh Army.
Since even casual military watchers knew this tidbit, Qin Mo didn't feel any hesitation about sharing it.
Yunyang acknowledged it and didn't dig deeper.
The sensation of passing out from mental exhaustion was far from pleasant, so this time Yunyang restrained herself a bit, stopping when her mental energy dropped to 10%.
The two males' pollution levels fell to 82 and 80 respectively.
Although that was a smaller decrease than yesterday's pair, neither male voiced any complaint.
Lady Yunyang had already saved their lives—they couldn't ask for more.
Besides, if a female's mental energy dipped below 10%, fainting was all too likely. Neither wanted to see that happen to Yunyang.
The two males showered her with gratitude, then, almost in sync, transferred hefty compensation to her account.
Yunyang took it all without qualms, scheduled purification work for tomorrow afternoon, and left the tower.
Outside the Purification Tower, Xuan Yu—who had vanished for a full night and most of a day—was already waiting.
At the sight of Yunyang's figure, he surged forward, shouldering Qin Mo aside to take his place at her side.
He asked with concern: "My mate, do you feel any discomfort today?"
"Not too bad, just a little tired." Yunyang turned her head to look at him.
Despite Xuan Yu's best attempts to hide it, the keen sense of smell of a beast-kin picked up a faint hint of blood.
It wasn't until they were on the airship that she asked: "Xuan Yu, are you injured?"
Today, Qin Mo was at the helm, with Xuan Yu and Yunyang in the back seat.
"It's just a minor wound. Nothing to—" Xuan Yu was about to say "don't worry," but then he caught a scent in the air, and his expression shifted.
His familiar wolf ears appeared atop his head, drooping slightly.
"I'm feeling a bit poorly. Would my mate help apply medicine for me, please?"
Since Qin Mo had already bonded with their mate last night, tonight he absolutely wasn't going to give up the chance to serve her.
Yunyang's eyes lit up. She reached out and squeezed the wolf ears before nodding. "Alright, though I didn't bring any healing agent with me. I'll apply it for you back home."
At the helm, Qin Mo gritted his teeth internally. This shameless little wolf cub.
A scratch like that, and he dares trouble our mate.
Without turning his head, he said: "My mate, you've spent too much mental energy. Go rest well when we get back. Leave Xuan Yu's medicine to me."
Yunyang: "Well, that—"
She was about to agree when a fluffy wolf tail shoved itself into her arms.
Xuan Yu's eyes held a pleading look.
Yunyang immediately shook her head, changing her mind: "No, no, I'll do it myself."
She gave the tail an enthusiastic squeeze.
Heh heh. So fluffy.
The airship was fast, and Qin Mo couldn't afford to be distracted, so he had no idea what trick Xuan Yu had pulled.
All he could do was defer to Yunyang's wishes.
Half an hour later, the airship reached their destination.
Xuan Yu immediately scooped Yunyang up and carried her into the villa. After setting her down on the sofa, he excitedly revealed the healing agent.
Seeing the deliberately displayed wolf ears and wolf tail, realization hit Qin Mo.
He shot Xuan Yu a dirty look and then headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Yunyang pinched the healing agent, looking at Xuan Yu crouching in front of her.
"Where are you hurt? Let me have a look?"
"Right here—"
"Madam, one of your husbands is here to visit."
Steward One's voice cut off Xuan Yu's words. Without a second thought, Yunyang said: "Let him in."
The words "your husband" made both of Xuan Yu's wolf ears perk straight up.
Qin Mo also stopped mid-step in the kitchen, his gaze fixed intently on the door.
If Steward One put it that way, the visitor was definitely one of her legal beast-husbands—meaning, their romantic rival.
When it came to dealing with rivals, Qin Mo and Xuan Yu were shockingly united.
The villa door swung open under the watching eyes of the two males.
Walking through it was an excessively tall male.
Dark-gold short hair, golden-red eyes, and his near-signature silver-framed glasses—everything about him proclaimed clearly who he was—
"Fu Shiyi?"
"Fu Shiyi!"
Both of the beast-husbands spoke at once, one full of guilt, the other brimming with resentment.
Fu Shiyi's gaze swept through the villa, acknowledged the two love rivals, then deliberately ignored them and strode straight to Yunyang.
Watching this male approach, Yunyang was caught off guard: "I thought you said you still had work?"
"Already finished."
With no hint of first-meeting awkwardness, Fu Shiyi pressed a few spatial buttons into Yunyang's hands, then reached down and lifted her from the sofa.
He was taller than both Qin Mo and Xuan Yu. Though he spent most days cooped up in a studio, he was hardly the slouch—one arm was plenty to hold Yunyang steadily.
"My mate, your mental energy is extremely low right now. You need rest."
Yunyang blinked. "How do you know?"
Fu Shiyi motioned at his glasses. "These can detect it."
Yunyang: "...."
So Qin Mo had been lying—Fu Shiyi's glasses weren't prescription glasses at all. They had to be some bespoke high-tech gadget.
She glanced at Xuan Yu, who was inexplicably bristling with hostility. "I'll apply medicine for Xuan Yu first, and then I'll go rest."
Fu Shiyi didn't release her. He merely glanced at Xuan Yu, who had already stood.
"A minor injury, and you think it's acceptable to delay our mate's rest?"
Xuan Yu gritted his teeth. "What business is it of yours?!"
Damn it! This dead bird is also our mate's husband?!
Did the Federation Marriage Center really not fake those records?
Confronted with Xuan Yu's fury, Fu Shiyi stayed perfectly calm. He brushed off the insult, scanning the villa to figure out which room belonged to Yunyang, then headed upstairs with his mate in his arms.
Xuan Yu opened his mouth, struggling to retort, until he remembered last night's lesson and closed it with great reluctance.
Seeing him like this, Yunyang poked Fu Shiyi's chest.
“Do you have some sort of grudge with Xuan Yu?”
Though rivals in love are bound to glare at each other, the way Xuan Yu had bristled went far beyond a simple “glare.”
