Chapter 337: A Licensed Scum Woman

Chapter 337: Chapter 337: A Licensed Scum Woman

He Hanshi and Yan Huoshui exchanged a glance. They shared a wife, so in private, Yan Huoshui didn’t bother with the formality of calling him "Admiral," addressing him by his name instead.

He Hanshi nodded without saying much.

"You’re here for Lanlan, too?"

He asked gently. Yan Huoshui’s lips curled, his eyes narrowing. His tone held a hint of danger. "That’s right. I finally got the chance to come here and see her, but as soon as dinner was over, she ran off with those two brats, Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng. Who knows where they’ve gone off to have fun."

He Hanshi’s gaze darkened. He looked down at the location tracker on his chip. As romantic rivals, the two shared a moment of tacit understanding—they had both resorted to the same method to find their partner.

He Hanshi had originally wanted to be more magnanimous and not disturb Lanlan’s time with the others. But lately, whenever they had free time on the Border Defense Star, the two were inseparable. With her suddenly not by his side, he couldn’t fall asleep no matter how he tried.

Just then, Yan Huoshui reached out and pushed the door open.

Shi Lan heard the sound of the door opening. Though she didn’t know who it was, she was afraid of being seen with a man on her left and right, so she shyly and immediately pulled her hands back from where they were linked with Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng’s.

The three of them were tucked away in a corner, their line of sight blocked, so they couldn’t see who had arrived. They only heard two distinct sets of footsteps, clearly audible in the quiet rest area.

Jiang Xia’s golden eyes darted around. Mu Tangfeng started to get up to see who it was, but Shi Lan quickly grabbed him to keep him from running off.

’Maybe they’ll just come in and leave right away.’

If she went out now and was seen by other males, she’d be embarrassed. Who knew what they might think?

However, she had overthought it. Anyone else might not have noticed them there, but this was He Hanshi and Yan Huoshui, who had followed her location tracker straight to her.

They unerringly spotted the trio sitting on the floor in the corner. Shi Lan’s clear, almond-shaped eyes widened in innocent shock as she looked at them, unable to stop herself from blurting out, "What are you two doing here?"

Yan Huoshui wanted to stay calm, but seeing Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng sticking so close to Shi Lan made it difficult. He hadn’t seen her in just as long as they had, yet she only seemed to care about those two and didn’t seek him out, making him feel unimportant.

He couldn’t stop his fingers from stroking the wedding ring on his hand. A sour tone laced his words. "And why can’t it be us? Are we interrupting you and your two Beast Husbands being all lovey-dovey?"

Shi Lan’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. Seeing Yan Huoshui’s grief-stricken and hurt expression, and He Hanshi looking crestfallen beside him, she felt a strange discomfort, and a dull ache spread through her chest.

They were all her Beast Husbands; she didn’t want to see them so heartbroken.

Shi Lan stood up and explained, "I just felt that since Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng got punished with push-ups because of me today, I felt a little guilty and came here with them alone."

"I’m sorry, Yan Huoshui. I didn’t mean to ignore you, and I don’t think you two are interrupting at all."

As she spoke, she took He Hanshi’s hand with her right and Yan Huoshui’s with her left. The three of them walked back to the corner and sat on the floor.

The rest area had chairs, but the military base had heating, so the floor wasn’t cold. Besides, the corner gave them a sense of security and made it less likely they’d be seen by anyone who walked in.

Yan Huoshui hadn’t intentionally tried to make things difficult for Shi Lan. So, when she took the initiative to take his hand and soothe him, his anger vanished completely.

All he wanted was proof that he held a place in Shi Lan’s heart.

He subtly squeezed Jiang Xia aside and leaned against Shi Lan, his voice low, raspy, and laced with a hint of grievance. "Lanlan, I haven’t seen you in so long. I miss you, too. So, please, talk to me more, okay?"

Shi Lan didn’t notice his little maneuver. Her heart melted completely. "Of course. You can come find me anytime you want."

Then, afraid that He Hanshi would be upset too, she added, "The same goes for you, Han Shi."

’Han Shi?’

Yan Huoshui’s red eyes narrowed slightly. "Lanlan, how come you call Admiral He ’Han Shi,’ but you still use my full name? Won’t people think my relationship with my wife is terrible? Will the soldiers in the troop mock me?"

Shi Lan responded with quick wit, "Huoshui, Huoshui. I’ll call you that from now on, okay?"

"Mhm, Lanlan, you can call me Ah Yan, Huohuo, or Shuishui. As long as you like it, Lanlan, any nickname is fine."

Shi Lan nearly choked on her own saliva.

’Huohuo? Shuishui? Each one sounds more awkward than the last...’

She couldn’t bring herself to say them. The given names were more her style.

Just then, He Hanshi spoke up. "No soldier in the army would mock you for something like that. You’re worrying for nothing."

Yan Huoshui’s red eyes fell on him. He Hanshi looked back. For a moment, blue eyes met red, and silent sparks flew between them. But, mindful of their partner’s presence, they both quickly reined it in, leaving no trace of their conflict.

"Is that so? Then I can rest easy."

Yan Huoshui let out a low chuckle.

After that conversation, Shi Lan started to feel a bit awkward. Being with four Beast Husbands at once... that was one person too many for a game of mahjong.

’What could they even do?’

If she acted even slightly intimate with one, she could feel the other three staring. If she spent a little more time with any single one of them, the others, even if they didn’t say anything, would have eyes full of sorrow and resentment.

’It’s hard to treat everyone equally all the time.’

Shi Lan felt like a heartless player—a legally certified one at that.

She thought for a moment, then after sitting stiffly for a few more minutes, decided she was still no good at handling this kind of situation. She found an excuse and bolted. "I’m sleepy. I’m going back to the medical station to sleep. You all should get some rest, too. Life in the military is tough."

With that, she ran off at top speed.

He Hanshi had intended to walk her back, but by the time he got to the door, she was already out of sight. She ran faster than a rabbit. "..."

Jiang Xia came over, muttering, "Huh? Lanlan runs so fast."

Mu Tangfeng yawned, his crystal-clear, obsidian eyes narrowing. "This is boring. I’m going back to sleep, too."

Yan Huoshui said bluntly, "I think we should reschedule our time. We should go back to how it was before—taking turns being with Lanlan. Eating meals together is fine, but we shouldn’t interrupt each other’s free time with her."

He could clearly sense Lanlan’s discomfort when she was with all of them at once. He himself didn’t mind it as much, but he didn’t want to see Lanlan in such a difficult position.

He Hanshi nodded. He had no objection; he could sense it, too.

"However, your new recruit barracks are different from my private quarters. Lanlan can’t go to a place like that. There are too many males. It’s not safe."

He Hanshi’s point was that while they could take turns keeping Shi Lan company, they couldn’t bring her to the new recruit barracks at night or during midday breaks.

Even if He Hanshi hadn’t said it, Yan Huoshui had no intention of doing so.

He sneered, "I’m not that stupid. After all, those annoying males are still eyeing our wife from the shadows."

Having three rivals was annoying enough; he had no desire to add any more ’brothers’ to the mix.

Hearing this, Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng shivered and nodded immediately. "We won’t, either."