Chapter 14 Negotiation

Chapter 14 Negotiation

In the lavish hall, on a gold and silver adorned classical sofa, two strikingly handsome men, each with a unique style, sat facing each other.

Xu Qingran lounged with his legs crossed, his body sinking deeply into the sofa.

The man opposite him had one hand pressing on the communicator by his ear, lowering his eyes to respond, "Yes, there's something to handle at home today, so I won't be participating in the evening event."

His delicate fingertips unconsciously rubbed the black glove on his left hand, until the busy man finally hung up his last call and looked up to meet his gaze head-on.

The living room was inexplicably tense, as if a confrontation was brewing.

Auntie Song, holding a bowl of eggs, secretly peeked from the kitchen entrance at the distant hall, then frowned, puzzled.

This didn't seem like the atmosphere of a loving couple.

After a pause, Shen Tingyu spoke up, "Congratulations, Young Master Xu, on finally escaping the Tower of Evil."

Shen Tingyu had imagined all sorts of scenarios for meeting Xu Qingran again, but such a dramatic one was a bit unexpected.

He rarely returned home so early; if on a mission, he might be gone for weeks. But lately, the Silver Dragon had also been stepping up its efforts, and with no pressing tasks these days, he returned early to deal with Xu Qingran.

His return didn't overlap with Auntie Song's outing.

Moreover, Auntie Song had put Xu Qingran in the room rumored to be for the 'future lady of the house,' so that room shared a bathroom with his own.

Shen Tingyu hesitated.

As an E-type, he was highly territorial, and Shen Tianyi was already pushing his limits. But the Shen family had also been notified by the empire; if they didn't let Xu Qingran stay, any later trouble would be hard to handle.

As he pondered, Xu Qingran opposite him responded with a sardonic smile, "Yes, thanks to my dear inspector, who customized a fast-track route for me, otherwise I wouldn't know how much longer I'd have to stay inside."

His complexion wasn't much better than when they first met.

The struggles in the arena had left many external injuries on him, and he had become much thinner, but the sharpness he always had remained unchanged. The bandage on his neck had finally been removed, but the bruises on his skin hadn't completely faded, unevenly scattered here and there.

Paired with those cold yet affectionate peach blossom eyes, it was easy to let one's imagination run wild.

Shen Tingyu snapped back to reality, understanding the underlying meaning in his words.

He thought, this person really does have a bad temper as the rumors say.

And he's quite vindictive.

He smiled gently and replied, "You're welcome."

His skin was thick enough.

Xu Qingran had already had the system pour cold water on him to calm down in the room.

He thought the system was right; Shen Tingyu was just his upgrade tool. So now, seeing him, he only saw the words 'full-level spirit pool' on his left face and 'his thunder ability' on his right face.

Instantly, he felt at peace.

Moreover, he tried to put himself in Shen Tingyu's shoes.

If he were in Shen Tingyu's position today, encountering such a situation, he would probably do something similar. Maybe if he were in a bad mood, he could even be a bit harsher.

After all, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, unless one is male and the other female.

They're both men, so they can't get along.

The system whispered a reminder: "One top and one bottom could work too."

"Shut up," Xu Qingran replied, "Do I look like a bottom to you?"

The system thought the host was in the body of a rare treasure receptor, looking like a bottom from every angle.

But it didn’t dare say it.

Xu Qingran felt good thinking about his abilities, so he let it slide.

When he turned back to Shen Tingyu, his smile was a little more genuine.

The charming smile made Shen Tingyu instinctively cautious.

Xu Qingran asked knowingly, "General Shen, you went through all this trouble to invite me here. What do you want to discuss?"

Shen Tingyu paused, then pulled out a delicate off-white envelope from under the low table and set it down.

The envelope was sealed with a pink-blue illustration of two souls meeting on a magpie bridge—romantic but a little tacky.

It was even animated, which was pretty fancy.

"The Shen family got a notice from the Empire, and it’s about you," he said, glancing at the envelope on the table. "This is a confidential letter meant for your home, but I didn’t want any leaks before we agreed, so I brought it to you myself."

Xu Qingran didn’t take it right away. The soulmate system’s love mark was stamped on it, so even without knowing, he could guess what it was about.

"General, are you saying I’ve been matched with someone from your family?"

"So? What’s the plan?"

Xu Qingran stayed calm, and Shen Tingyu couldn’t read his true feelings.

He shifted his clasped hands and replied, "The Shen family isn’t some small clan. Marriage is serious business, whether for kids or adults. Even high matches from the authorities need to be double-checked before they’re finalized."

Xu Qingran feigned concern, "You spring this on me, and now I’m confused."

"I thought even high matches could be refused, right?"

Shen Tingyu’s mood soured at the question.

He sighed silently, "I wish that were possible, but this match is 99%—no one in the Empire can refuse that."

The Empire doesn’t just force marriages—they arrange everything. The whole Empire watches the ceremony at the temple, and the soul contract is sealed on the spot. So, since they can’t just let you go, they’re pushing it onto my nephew, who’s not old enough to marry yet.

If anything goes wrong, they can still back out in time.

After a pause, he continued, "The soul samples were just taken, and they can’t redo them for a year. And given your age, marriage isn’t suitable yet. To avoid any issues and to keep an eye on you, you’ll need to move out of the Xu family and stay with me this year."

After listening, Xu Qingran did not immediately respond, but instead asked the system in his heart, "If they re-extract my soul information a year later, can you help me modify it?"

The system replied, "No, I can't."

"So host, you only have one year of safe time! In the worst case, if you can't completely win him over within a year, you must find a way to reach a level where you can still maintain contact!"

Xu Qingran wondered for the hundredth time why the mission wasn’t just to assassinate Shen Tingyu.

—Is this really a proper story of tormenting the bottom?

After a long moment of contemplation, he finally responded.

"Moving isn't an issue for me," he said. "But can General Shen guarantee that there won't be any 'accidental deaths' this year?"

Xu Qingran smiled as he spoke: "After all, the General doesn't seem very pleased with this news."

The smile in his eyes never reached his heart.

Of course, Shen Tingyu wasn't satisfied.

This year wasn't meant for observing Xu Qingran, but to find a chance to act, completely erasing the possibility of their high compatibility. Besides, if Xu Qingran turned into an extremist later, wouldn't staying in one spot just lead to constant fights?

Shen Tingyu openly admitted: "This situation is sudden, and I don't know anything about you. It's only natural to have doubts, and I hope you understand."

"As for your safety, in the whole Sirius system, aside from Jinwu City, there's probably no safer place than here."

Xu Qingran wondered, was he really concerned about others?

He was afraid Shen Tingyu might kill him to keep him quiet.

But Xu Qingran wasn't scared; if Shen Tingyu had the guts to invite him into his home, he had the guts to move: "Alright, I'll go back and pack my things tomorrow."

It was just a regular conversation, but Shen Tingyu, forced to deal with all these changes, felt more drained than clearing out a Class I devil in the area.

He masked his feelings and spoke gently: "Then let me introduce myself again, I'm Shen Tingyu, and I'm your..."

Before he could finish, the door opened, and a little boy with a mecha-style backpack dashed into the living room.

It was his young nephew, who lived with him.

Shen Tingyu hesitated, then waved the child over: "Come here."

Xu Qingran noticed the child too.

Around four or five, with dark hair that seemed a shade lighter than Shen Tingyu's in the light. His face was pale and soft, with pinchable baby fat, and his big, round eyes made him look somewhat naive and easy to pick on.

Then Shen Tingyu called the child over and turned back to him: "You're just in time."

"Let me introduce you; this is my nephew Shen Tianyi, and he's also your 99% high compatibility match in the soulmate system."

"But he's only five, so marriage or engagement is way too early, especially since you've never met. After talking it over with the Shen family, we decided to have you live with him this year while waiting for re-examination, starting with basic emotional bonding."

Hearing this, a big question mark slowly formed in Xu Qingran's mind.

At the same time, from the kitchen, came the clatter of dishes hitting the floor.

Shen Tingyu wasn't distracted by the noise, and the smile on his face deepened even more.

He said: "Anyway, it's all still uncertain. During this time, you can call me normally."

"Of course, you can also follow Tianyi and... call me Uncle."

Whether by coincidence or on purpose, there seemed to be a hint of teasing in his slightly raised tone at the end.

The system was so stunned it nearly short-circuited.

What the hell?!

How did its host's target suddenly change from a future husband to an uncle?!

Just as Xu Qingran was wondering if he had misheard, Shen Tingyu's little nephew blinked and suddenly walked up to him.

Then, puffing his cheeks and putting his hands on his hips, he asked proudly, "Are you the one my uncle said would be my future wife?"

Shen Tianyi remembered that his uncle had mentioned yesterday that someone who might be his future wife would come to their house today.

He had asked his uncle, "What's a wife? Can I eat her?"

His uncle told him that a wife wasn't a good thing, and some of the scarier ones might even eat people.

In class, he asked his classmates, and a girl told him that a wife was someone who would boss him around for the rest of his life.

That sounded scary, so on the way back, he decided that when this 'wife' person arrived, he wouldn't be friendly!

But as soon as they met, he almost had to change his mind.

This guy was really good-looking.

Shen Tianyi pretended to be mad, but he couldn't help thinking to himself.

...If they don't eat people, maybe having a wife isn't so bad after all?