"So, you want to sleep on the sofa?" Que Zelian asked.
"Is that okay?" Xiao Jinsheng looked up at him. "I’m scared to sleep alone in the tent."
"Then sleep inside." Que Zelian shifted to make room.
The sofa had enough space for one person, but for two, it would be cramped.
However, Xiao Jinsheng’s goal wasn’t the sofa. Seeing Que Zelian relent, she kicked off her shoes and flipped herself onto the inner side of the sofa.
Que Zelian turned his head and saw her settled in, but he didn’t lie down next to her.
"Aren’t you tired?" Xiao Jinsheng lay on the sofa, but her gaze lingered on his face.
Noticing Que Zelian’s face flushing red again, the corners of her lips curved upward. She gently tugged at the corner of his smooth, thin sleepwear. "If you don’t lie down, I’m scared to sleep by myself."
"Really?" Que Zelian smiled faintly, asking in return.
Yet Xiao Jinsheng noticed that his embarrassment had reached his ears, which were now completely red. Her smile deepened. "Of course."
With that, she lowered her gaze and sighed softly. "Even though I have five Beast Husbands, I trust you the most."
"Hmm?" Que Zelian chuckled lightly but allowed himself to follow her gentle tug towards lying down beside her.
"Que Zelian, do you know what your current score is?" Xiao Jinsheng turned onto her side, resting her head against folded clothes as a pillow, her eyes fixed on his flawless profile.
"No, I haven’t paid attention to it," Que Zelian replied.
"I’ve said before, whoever reaches a hundred points, I’ll agree to divorce him."
"Among the five, your score is currently the highest—already at 66 points."
"I believe you’ll soon reach the full score."
"But..." Her voice choked as tears welled up. "Que Zelian, will you really divorce me?"
Hearing her trembling voice, Que Zelian turned his head. At that moment, he saw Xiao Jinsheng’s eyes reddened, barely holding back her tears.
Yet, because she was lying on her side, tears trailed down her eyelashes, glistening as they fell.
Que Zelian softly called her name, but instead of wiping her tears, he said, "I remember you mentioned that you would change."
Faced with Que Zelian’s stoic expression, Xiao Jinsheng braced herself on the sofa and sat up. She bit her lips tightly, suppressing her crying. "I... I understand."
"When we return this time, I’ll divorce you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, an unexpected force pulled her into a warm embrace from behind.
Her remaining words were swallowed up as her lips were firmly sealed into a kiss.
Que Zelian gently brushed his lips against hers before pulling away.
As he looked at her smudged lipstick from the kiss, his eyes flickered slightly.
Lowering his head again, he softly kissed away the tears at the corner of her eyes.
"I also remember saying that I won’t divorce you."
"I mentioned it when you pulled us all into that scoring group," Que Zelian teased with a smirk.
Xiao Jinsheng blinked with confusion, her tone turning aggrieved. "I thought you only said that because I threatened you."
"After only a few days of change, you think I was easily threatened?" Que Zelian laughed lightly.
"So does that mean you won’t divorce me?" Xiao Jinsheng, tears still glistening, sought confirmation.
Seeing her vulnerable and insecure demeanor, Que Zelian gently pulled her into his arms, his voice calm and deliberate: "No, I won’t divorce you—from the moment you truly changed."
Xiao Jinsheng buried herself in his embrace, the corners of her lips curling up in triumph. She momentarily failed to notice the fine details of his wording.
Her voice remained choked and soft as she murmured, "I mean what I said, I’ll keep changing for the better."
"Yes, I’ve noticed," Que Zelian replied, holding her close and running his fingers through her silky hair. Lowering his gaze, he examined her nape but couldn’t find the glowing Contractual Totem that should have been there.
He steadied her on his lap, using a clean handkerchief to gently wipe her face. "I already said no divorce—stop crying now, okay?"
"Okay." Xiao Jinsheng tried to suppress her tears, though a few still trickled down as she nodded, her face flushed.
More tears rolled down her cheeks. As Que Zelian lowered his head to wipe them away, his gaze fell on the area below her right collarbone where a bright orange-red Cloud Bird Totem had appeared.
Xiao Jinsheng noticed the glowing totem as well, her expression a mix of surprise and nervousness. "What’s this?"
Since arriving on Mist Continent, her body had always been different from other females.
The Fog Corpses chasing her could always find Star Stones with near-perfect precision.
Even when she accepted Star Map Tasks via the terminal, the durability of the items she received was always higher than those of females of similar levels.
And now, a strange totem had appeared on her body, glowing brightly.
Xiao Jinsheng was genuinely worried something was wrong with her.
"Don’t be afraid. This is a Contractual Totem," Que Zelian reassured her.
"What does it mean?" Xiao Jinsheng asked, puzzled.
Seeing her genuine confusion, Que Zelian patiently began explaining: "On Mist Continent, when a female and Beastman share intimate contact, a contract is formed, leaving a unique Contractual Totem on both parties."
With that, Que Zelian casually began unbuttoning his sleepwear.
Under Xiao Jinsheng’s expectant gaze, he only undid one button, revealing his collarbone.
Que Zelian noticed Xiao Jinsheng’s look of disappointment and chuckled, gesturing for her to check below his collarbone.
In the same spot as Xiao Jinsheng, a matching orange-red Cloud Bird Totem glowed faintly.
"Even a simple kiss can create the contract, and the totem will linger on both of you for twenty-four hours," Que Zelian explained.
Noticing Xiao Jinsheng’s slightly panicked expression, he gently stroked her face, trying to comfort her. "Relax, the totem’s location is covered by clothing; no one will see it."
But Xiao Jinsheng couldn’t hear his reassurance. Her unease grew as she fiddled with her clothing hem.
She recalled her earlier contact with Li, realizing the twenty-four-hour period hadn’t yet passed.
It was possible that somewhere on her body, a Contractual Totem linked to Li was glowing brightly.
Pretending curiosity, Xiao Jinsheng asked, "Then females with multiple Beast Husbands would have glowing totems everywhere on their bodies, wouldn’t they?"
"Exactly." Que Zelian nodded, his tone still gentle. "Each Beast Husband leaves a distinct Contractual Totem, so if a female interacts closely with more than one Beast Husband within a short time, all their totems would appear on her."
As Que Zelian tenderly adjusted his grip from her arm to her slender waist, he sensed her subtle trembling.
Lowering his gaze, he asked doubtfully, "You seem to be shivering. Are you feeling cold?"
With that, he controlled the wind to fetch a spare blanket from the corner of the sofa.
"It’s not cold," Xiao Jinsheng shifted slightly on his lap, speaking softly. "I’m just not sitting securely."
"Then let me hold you steadier," Que Zelian replied with a warm smile, pulling her snugly into his embrace.
"Um..." Xiao Jinsheng leaned against him, nose-to-nose with his well-defined chest muscles through the thin fabric, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
Pretending curiosity again, she asked, "Do these contracts only work between married couples bound on the terminal?"
"If a female interacts with a non-husband, would it still create such a contract?"
"I find it quite interesting that you’d ask such a question." Que Zelian tilted his head, his gaze studying Xiao Jinsheng closely.