Chapter 7: Come to My Place Tonight

It took ten whole hover-cars to haul back everything from Ruan Nan’s place.

Suddenly, dozens of hover-cars appeared in the sky, one after another, their engines churning the air with a sound so distinct it was impossible to ignore.

Que Qing watched the bustling scene and asked in confusion, "What’s all this about?"

Yan Luo, sitting nearby and fiddling with a hand-held mecha model, glanced up. "No idea. Judging by the direction, it looks like they're heading toward Hua Susu's place."

Su Yu, unfazed by the grand spectacle, said calmly, "Perhaps the Queen is sending gifts to the Princess again."

Hua Li often sent things to Hua Susu, sometimes by the carload, and the several beast-husbands had long since grown accustomed to it.

Ye Xi squinted, shook his head, and remarked, "Doesn't look like it. These don't seem like the Queen's vehicles; they look more like the ones from our own estate."

No sooner had he spoken than the butler hopped out of one of the cars. Yan Luo, curious, asked, "Butler, what are you hauling? We've been hearing a roaring sound all night."

The butler was Hua Susu’s private steward, sent by the Queen to manage the daily affairs of the villa. Though they didn't have a good relationship with Hua Susu, they got along quite well with the butler.

The butler bowed immediately and said with a smile, "Master Yan Luo, this is everything the Princess ordered me to retrieve from Mr. Ruan."

Retrieving things from Ruan Nan?

Yan Luo looked puzzled. "Didn't she insist on giving the best of everything to that gigolo? Why is she taking it all back now?"

"Mr. Ruan felt the Princess was insulting him, so the Princess took back everything she had given him. She even reclaimed the dormitory and instructed me that, from now on, her belongings have absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Ruan."

The butler was more than happy to share the details, as the relationship between the Princess and her husbands was strained, and he was eager to mention her recent changes.

"Is she trying to force his hand?" Que Qing asked, raising an eyebrow. Taking back everything she’d given Ruan Nan to make him realize that everything he possessed came from her—Hua Susu was finally being clever, though it was still quite disgusting.

"Not at all. The Princess said Mr. Ruan is a gigolo and unworthy of using her things, so she had them all brought back."

As they spoke, a beast-man responsible for moving the items came to ask for instructions: "Butler, how should we handle this bed?"

The butler glanced at it with disdain. "The Princess said to chop it up for firewood."

"And these clothes?"

"Tear them up and throw them in the trash."

"What about the jewelry..."

"Find a charity and auction them off to donate to the people on the Garbage Star."

The men exchanged glances. Was Hua Susu actually serious? To force Ruan Nan's hand, she was burning everything to the ground. This act was far too realistic.

Ye Xi looked at the butler and said mockingly, "She’s throwing away so much, and you’re not stopping her? She’ll just have to buy it all over again. Our budget can't handle that; don't let us end up with nothing to eat."

To ensure Hua Susu learned to manage her finances, Hua Li had placed strict regulations on her spending, with a limited monthly allowance. Previously, because Hua Susu kept buying things for Ruan Nan, they had indeed run out of money for food.

The butler was all smiles. "That won't happen. The Princess is serious this time; I believe she won't go looking for Mr. Ruan again."

Yan Luo hadn't believed it, but when he saw a pair of underpants among the clothes, he figured Hua Susu hadn't gone to such lengths just for show. He twitched his lips and pointed at the undergarments. "Maybe she really has turned over a new leaf, even taking back the underpants."

*Ding! Yan Luo’s favorability +5. Current favorability: -95.*
*Ding! Que Qing’s favorability +4. Current favorability: -96.*
*Ding! Su Yu’s favorability +5. Current favorability: -92.*
*Ding! Ye Xi’s favorability +2. Current favorability: -97.*
*Ding! Xin Bai’s favorability +5. Current favorability: -89.99.*

Hua Susu was pondering how to establish a connection with a spirit body when the system's "dings" began to chime one after another.

"Congratulations, Host! The favorability of several targets has increased again."

"System, where did this favorability come from?" She hadn't done anything; why was it suddenly rising?

"It is because you had the butler retrieve Ruan Nan’s belongings, and the beast-husbands saw it."

So that was it. She had only told the butler to bring the things back because she didn't want the "phoenix man" to benefit, never expecting it to be seen by the others by sheer coincidence. Not bad; she was one step closer to becoming wealthy.

Hua Susu listened, then turned her attention back to the problem at hand: how to establish a spirit-body connection with a beast-husband for the first time.

She opened her light-brain, initially intending to ask the original owner's mother, Hua Li, but reconsidered—if there were any "indescribable" aspects to the process, it would be too awkward. Fortunately, information was as accessible in this world as it was in the modern age.

Hua Susu browsed the light-brain, found a forum, registered an anonymous account, and clicked in without hesitation. Just as she was about to type her question, a thread marked with a #Trending tag caught her eye. It looked like gossip, so she clicked it.

*#Shock! Hover-cars appeared above the school! The Princess is playing hard to get! She took back everything from Ruan Nan!*

*L1: If this can make the headlines, the forum really has nothing new to talk about.*
*L2: HSS is so disgusting, always threatening people. What about my school hunk?*
*L3: It’s just bullying.*
*L4: Don’t you think these hover-cars are a bit ridiculous?*
*L5: I’ve hated that phoenix man for a long time. This female HSS finally has some brains.*

Hua Susu read through it, her eyelids twitching. Gossip was truly timeless; it was the same everywhere. She scanned it quickly, exited, and searched a different section: *How to establish a spirit-body connection with a beast-husband for the first time.*

*L1: Why bother establishing one? Just 'clap for love' with your beast-husband.*
*L2: Don't be so crude, upstairs. You still need to build emotional rapport.*

Hua Susu quickly added a pinned post: *My relationship with my beast-husband isn't very good; it's a family-arranged marriage.*

*L3: In that case, you should follow this guide for an initial connection. Females can take a look.*
*SSS: Thank you, I will study it carefully.*

With the guide in hand, Hua Susu read it diligently. After finishing the text, she stretched, suddenly filled with confidence. It didn't seem so difficult after all.

She flipped through her contacts on the light-brain and found Xin Bai. Just as she was about to send a message, she saw three red exclamation marks!

Had he blocked her?

Hua Susu had to send a new request, which was approved by the system a few seconds later. Without further ado, she typed: "Come to my room tonight."

*This... is it happening this fast?*

Xin Bai was stunned when he saw the message. He felt torn, wondering whether he should go. After much deliberation, he decided to take the gamble.