Ch. 2

The next second, my hand was squeezed tightly.

Lu Xingyao pulled down his mask, revealing a face so devastatingly handsome he barely looked human, and leaned in close.

“Hey, baby, don’t be mad anymore. It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

“I called you all night last night, but you never picked up. The second my concert ended, I booked the earliest flight back.”

“Don’t argue with Dr. Chu. Let him yell at me. Once he’s done yelling at me, he’s not allowed to yell at you anymore.”

The moment Lu Xingyao opened his mouth, he unleashed an entire arsenal of soft, syrupy sweetness that left Chu Yan standing there completely frozen, clearly still trying to process what was happening.

Meanwhile, the nurses around us were practically ready to explode.

“Oh my God, that’s actually Lu Xingyao! Aaaah! I watched his show a few days ago. He’s even more insanely handsome in person!”

“I’ve had his new song on repeat all day! I heard he was married, but I didn’t realize it was actually true. And his wife is right here in our hospital!”

The chatter grew louder and louder, turning the hospital hallway into what was basically a miniature fan meeting.

Chu Yan took a deep breath, shot me a look, and his voice turned cold.

“Family members aren’t allowed to interfere with the patient’s rest.”

Lu Xingyao kept his head lowered, his tone perfectly calm.

“Then transfer my wife to a private VIP suite.”

Without hesitation, Chu Yan replied,

“We’re full.”

Lu Xingyao narrowed his eyes.

“Then we’ll transfer her to another hospital.”

Chu Yan’s jaw tightened.

“She needs surgery immediately.”

Their eyes met, and the tension between them was so thick it felt like one more sentence would be enough to set the whole room on fire.

Even the nurse standing nearby sensed that something was off and cautiously asked,

“Dr. Chu… are you a little too concerned about this patient? Do you two know each other?”

“No.”

Chu Yan answered without the slightest hesitation.

The moment he said it, Lu Xingyao slowly turned his head.

His beautiful, almond-shaped eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Waaah… baby, are you seriously sick?”

“You were planning to hide it from me and break up with me, weren’t you?”

“I won’t allow it! We have money! Whatever illness you have, we can treat it!”

He got more and more into character, tears practically spilling over.

“No! We’ll go overseas for treatment!”

“If you don’t get better… I’ll die with you!”

Watching him put on that ridiculous melodramatic performance, my face went completely blank. I shoved his head away when he leaned in too close.

“Go get your brain checked first.”

“I only have appendicitis.”

Lu Xingyao froze for exactly one second.

Then he immediately switched scripts.

He threw himself into my arms, wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, and looked at me with tear-filled eyes, his voice full of righteous outrage.

“So it’s appendicitis!”

“Bad appendix! Rotten appendix!”

“We’re never playing with it again!”

I was both in pain and furious. I reached out and pinched the fat at his waist as hard as I could.

“Lu Xingyao!”

“Keep playing dumb and I’ll throw you out!”

At last, he seemed satisfied after getting his fill of acting.

The nurses around us were biting their lips so hard to keep from screaming that they looked like they might burst.

“Oh my God, he’s even more handsome in person than in photos!”

“I swear, he’s even more handsome than Dr. Chu!”

“They’re so cute! These two are seriously adorable together!”

Dr. Chu’s gaze landed directly on Lu Xingyao’s hand around my waist.

His eyes gradually grew colder.

In the end, all he said stiffly was,

“Come to my office later. We need to discuss this afternoon’s surgery.”

The moment Chu Yan left, Lu Xingyao immediately leaned close to my ear, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

“Your ex-husband got jealous and stormed off~”

I rolled my eyes.

“So what?”

“You’d better not take advantage of the situation and get handsy.”

I shoved his arm away from my waist.

Lu Xingyao pouted, looking deeply wronged as he obediently sat down and began peeling an apple for me.

“I’m your husband now. Can’t I even touch you a little?”

I glanced at him, my voice soft but sharp.

“Technically, we’re only in a contractual relationship.”

Lu Xingyao’s eyes sparkled like starlight, looking as though he was just waiting for one more word from me before bursting into genuine tears.

“Oh…”

“So, in your eyes, I’m just your ‘contract pet’? You’ve never even considered me a man?”

I rubbed my forehead and stared at him helplessly.

Lu Xingyao—my number one contracted beastman.

His current identity in the human world: a famous idol who had debuted three years ago.

With his talent, flawless looks, and crystal-clear voice, he had shot to fame like a rocket.

In this world, humans and beastmen coexisted.

It was just that ordinary humans had no way of coming into contact with beastmen, so they had no idea they even existed.

My family had a long-standing “unspoken rule.”

If a daughter turned twenty-five without a boyfriend, the family would force her to sign contracts with three beastmen.

Put simply:

If you were single, you got presents.

These beastmen looked exactly like humans on the outside and had completely legitimate identities.

But each one could only be contracted to me.

At first, the relationship was that of master and servant.

If I chose one of them, I could upgrade the contract into a romantic partnership.

There was only one difference.

A beastman under a lover contract had the right to live freely.

A beastman under a master-servant contract had no right to resist.

And Lu Xingyao was one of the three contracted beastmen assigned to me after my divorce from Chu Yan three years ago.

I knew exactly what he was thinking.

I reached over and lightly pinched his cheek, giving him a dry smile.

“If you’re an idol and you’re going to date, you might as well retire while you’re at it.”

“Don’t you have even a shred of professional ethics?”

“I made my debut on talent, not my face.”

“My company doesn’t ban dating, either.”

“If you’ll sign a lover contract with me, I’m willing to give up my entire celebrity status and go home to be a devoted househusband.”

He said it in the most carefree tone imaginable, but there was something strangely serious in his eyes.

I looked away and cleared my throat twice.

“I’m thirsty. Get me some water.”

He immediately sprang to his feet and happily ran off.

—

My surgery was scheduled for one in the afternoon.

And the surgeon was none other than Chu Yan.

Just before I was put under, he casually asked, pretending it was nothing important,

“Does he treat you well?”

The corner of my mouth twitched.

“Do I have to answer that, Doctor?”

He was silent for a beat before lowering his voice.

“…I was just asking.”

When I was wheeled out of the operating room, Lu Xingyao was standing guard outside the door.

He wasn’t playing with his phone.

For once, he looked completely serious.

He was about to take my hand when Chu Yan stopped him.

I was still groggy, barely conscious enough to hear Lu Xingyao sigh.

“Xiaoxiao, I have to go film something.”

“I guess… you’ve got plenty of people to take care of you.”

Before leaving, he gave Chu Yan a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“Thanks for taking care of her, ex-husband.”

“But remember—you have to wait your turn.”

Just then—

The hospital room door opened again.

A man in a custom-tailored suit stepped inside.

Sharp features. An aloof, intimidating presence.

I closed my eyes.

There was only one thought left in my mind.

…I’m screwed.

My second contracted beastman.

A real-life version of the domineering CEO straight out of a romance novel.

My family had apparently been bored enough to train our contracted beastmen according to the exact template of romance novel heroes.