Chapter 32

It was the little nephew who lived under the same roof as him.

Shen Tingyu paused, then simply beckoned to the child who had just come home. "Come here."

Xu Qingran had noticed the child too.

He was about four or five, with dark hair that looked a little lighter than Shen Tingyu's under the light. His face was fair and tender, with baby fat that looked highly pinchable. His eyes were big and round, making him look a little innocent and easy to bully.

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

"Let me introduce him. This is my little nephew, Shen Tianyi. He's also the person the Soulmate System matched you with at 99% compatibility."

"But he's only just turned five. It's too early for him to get married or engaged, especially since you've never even met. After discussing it with the Shen Family, I decided to have you live with him for the year while you wait for the reexamination, starting with getting to know each other."

After Xu Qingran heard him out, a giant question mark slowly rose in his head: ?

At the same time, a clatter of pots and bowls falling to the floor came from the distant kitchen.

Shen Tingyu wasn't distracted by the noise. If anything, the smile on his face deepened.

He said, "Nothing is certain yet, anyway, so you can keep addressing me as usual for now."

"Of course, you can also follow Tianyi's lead and... call me Little Uncle."

Whether by chance or design, there seemed to be a hint of teasing in the slight upward lilt of his last sentence.

The system was so shocked it nearly crashed.

What the heck was going on?!

How had its host's target for conquest suddenly gone from future hubby to Little Uncle?!

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

Then he puffed out his cheeks, planted his hands on his hips, and asked haughtily, "Y-you're the one Little Uncle said would be my wife in the future?"

Shen Tianyi remembered that his little uncle had said yesterday that someone who might be his future wife would be coming to the house today.

He had asked his little uncle what a wife was. Could he eat one?

His little uncle had told him that wives were no good, and some of the scarier ones even ate people.

He had also asked his classmates during class. A girl had told him that a wife was someone who would boss him around for the rest of his life.

That sounded so scary that he had already made up his mind on the way home: when this person called his "wife" arrived, he definitely wouldn't be nice to him!

But when they finally met, he almost had to eat his words.

This gege was so good-looking.

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

...If he didn't eat people, maybe having him as a wife wouldn't be so bad?

Chapter 15: Don't Come Near Me

Xu Qingran simply didn't care whether any of the people trying to screw him over lived or died.

But he wasn't so perverted that he was a pedophile.

So when Shen Tingyu pushed his five-year-old nephew in front of him, he was genuinely stunned for a moment.

Xu Qingran said, "System?"

The system was feeling the pressure too. "It's just... that shouldn't be possible? I reported the information the administration provided. There's no way I got it wrong!"

But on closer thought, the initials of Shen Tianyi's pinyin were STY too...

The little intern system suddenly felt a little unsure.

And if it was right, Shen Tingyu and Shen Tianyi's sample chips might even have been right next to each other.

Could it really have made a mistake?!

If the system had a face, it desperately wanted to clutch it in horror.

For the sake of becoming a full-fledged employee and meeting its KPI, it quickly found a point to add: "It's not a big problem. No matter who you're matched with, the data was fake to begin with!"

"Our original goal was just to find an opportunity and an excuse to get close to Shen Tingyu. Isn't this perfect? Besides, being matched with his nephew will save you a lot of trouble, and Shen Tingyu won't be wary of you out of rejection."

While he was lost in thought, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Shen Tingyu glanced at the display screen inside the house, then chuckled, his words full of meaning. "Xu Qingran, it's for you."

Xu Qingran looked up at that, puzzled again.

How did anyone besides him know he was at Shen Tingyu's place?

A man stood outside the door.

The first thing that caught his eye was the man's immaculate silver-and-black outfit. It was elegant and dashing, complete with a well-fitted long coat—even an ordinary person would have looked imposing in it, let alone a man with such an outstanding, upright figure.

The silver badge on his chest looked substantial and weighty.

This time, Xu Qingran finally got a clear look at the Silver Dragon badge.

It depicted a silver dragon with its head and tail joined, its wings spread slightly behind it. Its four claws were sharp, and its gaze was fierce, inspiring awe.

Xu Qingran fell into thought.

So the Silver Dragon Military Department's uniform can look this cool.

The visitor had quite a handsome face, with refined features and deep-set eyes. The beauty mark at the outer corner of his left eye gave him a distinctive charm.

The man became unusually excited when he saw him. He seized both his hands and checked him over. "Qingran, are you all right?"

As he looked him over, he frowned and asked, "How did you get so badly hurt?"

Xu Qingran studied the anxiety on his face, and a sudden realization struck him. He spoke hesitantly. "Lu Cheng?"

The man didn't correct him.

At the same time, he noticed Shen Tingyu leaning against the doorway, watching the show with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

He instinctively tried to pull Xu Qingran to his side, but didn't notice that he couldn't quite move him this time, too focused on watching the man in the doorway warily.

Though he was clearly displeased, he still tried to keep his voice calm. "Admiral Shen, Xu Qingran is a member of our Silver Dragon Camp. You shouldn't have brought him home without authorization."

After saying that, Lu Cheng felt that his words sounded a little ambiguous.

For some reason, he felt a little agitated and kept asking himself: When had Xu Qingran gotten involved with Shen Tingyu? Had they known each other for a long time? Had things progressed to the point where they could visit each other despite being in opposing camps?