Although everyone might have been nursing their own little schemes, Jiang Qin and Long Yue were still having a great time.

Thanks to a group of people who were going so easy on them it was practically a flood, the two of them never lost.

When it came to games, of course, winning all the time was more fun.

Plus, after every round, there was a performance to watch. It couldn’t have been more fun.

Finally, it was Axiu’s turn to lose this round. He smiled, feigning distress. "Oh dear, it seems I’ve lost. I don’t think I have any talents. What am I to do?"

"Hah! Isn’t singing what you Mermaid Beastmen are best at? Just sing!

When it comes to singing, who here could possibly compare to a Mermaid like you!"

Jiang Qingming said with an exaggerated expression. Anyone with eyes could see his passive-aggressive sarcasm.

But Long Yue didn’t seem to get it. After hearing him, she was the first to express her displeasure. "Just because you’re tone-deaf doesn’t mean you can lump us in with you.

There isn’t a single person here who can sing better than my sister-in-law!!

Do you people not go online? Don’t you know my sister-in-law was the champion of last year’s composer competition?

And since last year, my sister-in-law has topped the new song charts every single month!"

Uh... Jiang Qingming froze.

’No, that’s not what I meant at all! I was just mocking Axiu’s beast form, saying it’s useless for anything other than being a pretty little thing to amuse people. I wasn’t actually complimenting his singing!’

’This was clearly meant as an insult to a male Beastman, but now it’s been twisted into something else entirely.’

Seeing the look on his face, Long Yue thought he was unconvinced. She immediately used her Light Computer to search for Jiang Qin’s songs and videos to show them.

"Hmph, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I admit that Mermaid Beastmen have outstanding achievements in vocal music.

But if you’re going to say no one here can compare, then I have to disagree. My sister-in-law is clearly the best."

Left with no choice, Jiang Qingming’s face turned red as he apologized, "Your Highness, I’m sorry. I spoke without thinking. I’m sorry!"

"Fine. As long as you recognize your mistake. You should know that there’s always someone better out there.

Don’t make such grand claims when you’re out and about in the future, or you’ll just make a fool of yourself."

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness. I’ll be sure to correct this bad habit!"

Axiu couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh. The others did too, and as they snickered, they also snuck glances at Jiang Qin.

She had been nestled in a corner playing games the whole time, and since she wasn’t one for talking much, they hadn’t really paid her much attention.

After all, she wasn’t their target, so it was only normal that they hadn’t noticed her.

Only now did the group begin to size her up in earnest, albeit discreetly.

’So this is the female the Third Prince was willing to leave the Empire for!’ they all thought.

’She seems to have a good temperament and looks nice, but as for anything else, we can’t tell for now.’

’But it was obvious that Long Yue was very protective of her.’

"Alright, we’ve been playing for a while now. Didn’t you all come with other people? You should get back to your friends. If you keep hanging around me, they’re going to get angry."

Long Lin said nonchalantly, "They’re just classmates, why would they be angry? They’d probably be thrilled if we stayed far away."

Besides, he’d already told them when he arrived that they just needed to get them in; they didn’t have to worry about anything else.

So, they weren’t important.

But Long Yue was clearly annoyed with him being in the way. "Then go play somewhere else, or just hurry up and go home."

’What kind of sister brings her own brother along to a club? Such a buzzkill...’

"Heh, if you try to kick me out, I’ll go tattle to the Third Prince that you brought his female master to a club."

Long Yue: ...He really had her there.

"Fine, fine, fine. You guys have fun. My sister-in-law and I are heading back."

Jiang Qin felt she’d seen enough of the world for one night, so she immediately got up to leave with her.

The young men quickly stopped Long Yue. "Your Highness, can we get your contact info? Let’s hang out again sometime."

"Yeah, next time we can take you two ladies somewhere else to have fun."

"When it comes to knowing how to have fun in the Empire, our group has the most connections."

Unable to fend off their pestering, Long Yue added all of them.

Axiu, after a moment’s thought, put on an innocent act and asked for Jiang Qin’s contact information.

"I heard Princess Long Yue say that you’re an amazing composer. Could I get your contact info to discuss some things about it with you?"

He blinked his eyes, his long, curled lashes utterly bewitching.

Jiang Qin smiled and didn’t reject him outright. After all, it seemed like he was already the outcast of the group.

If he were rejected again, his so-called friends would probably mock him for a long time to come.

’It’s just contact information, anyway. Whether or not I reply to his messages later is my decision.’

So, she added him as a friend.

Afterward, the young men were quite gentlemanly, escorting them all the way home before taking their leave.

...

Back at Long Yue’s villa, she immediately started wiggling her eyebrows at Jiang Qin suggestively. "So, sister-in-law, what did you think? Did you have fun tonight?"

"Yes, it was a lot of fun. I’ve never played Light Computer games with other people before."

"Hehe, I’ll take you to another place next time. By the way, were there any males you took a fancy to tonight? I’ll gift him to you," Long Yue said with a wicked grin.

"No thanks, I didn’t see anyone I liked!!" Jiang Qin quickly refused.

’She already had enough partners,’ she thought. ’She really didn’t want to add any more for the time being.’

"Are you sure? I think Axiu is pretty good. He’s devastatingly gorgeous, a real sweet-talker, but he just loves to flirt around too much.

But that doesn’t matter. Once you’re married, you can handle him however you want!"

"If you like him, you should try pursuing him."

Long Yue shook her head. "Nah, I’ll pass. I like his face, not his personality."

"What about the others?" Jiang Qin asked curiously.

"Tch, the others are even worse than him. Every single one of them has ’I want to climb into your bed’ written all over their faces.

If I actually let them succeed, wouldn’t I be the one losing out? After all, they’re so busy scheming because there’s clearly something in it for them. If I take the bait, they’ll just get all smug and then call me an idiot behind my back."

Jiang Qin found her perspective on the matter to be refreshingly unique and couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up.

"It’s good that you can be so clear-headed."

"Of course. If I weren’t, I’d probably have enough partners to fill an entire club by now."

"PFFT—"

***

Even though they had spent two days messing around, it had to be said that the sorrow of parting had dissipated quite a bit.

This was especially true for Long Yue. She had been crying that day, but today she seemed to have let it go.

After all, the outside world held far too many temptations.

For safety reasons, Jiang Qin was currently staying at Long Yue’s home. The two chatted for a while before heading to their respective rooms to rest.

She was so exhausted that when Long Hao returned late that night, washed up, and wrapped his arms around her as he went to sleep, she didn’t react at all.

She was always having bizarre, fantastical dreams, so deeply immersed in them that she couldn’t break free.

Yet upon waking, she could never recall what they were about.