Chapter 404: Main Story Finale

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Main Story Finale

Seeing the confusion, Jiang Yan swapped the two little ones around again.

"Liu Liu, stand in front of Wu Wu — just like that, don’t move. Good girl."

Both Liu Liu and Wu Wu stared up at her with wide, genuinely puzzled eyes. "But Aunt Yan, why? Wasn’t I always standing behind Wu Wu?"

"Wu Wu always stands in front of Liu Liu."

They both objected at the same time.

Tiny kids, but surprisingly opinionated.

Jiang Yan buried her face in her hands. Over on the left, Lai Yilian was keeping the other line in order — San San, Er Er, and Yi Yi, in that sequence.

Those three were a bit older and understood more, so they weren’t nearly as chaotic.

Jiang Yan could see there was no time for any more reshuffling, so she just had them stand in order and called it done.

That, at least, got Wu Wu and Liu Liu to stop firing off an endless stream of questions.

The little squad of cubs set off together. Jiang Yan watched them anxiously the whole time, half-convinced something would go wrong — but thankfully, when it counted, they all came through. Each one found their way to their parents on their own and took their place, flower baskets raised in their little hands.

The moment the guests in the audience caught sight of so many cubs, the noise level surged. Hearts melted on the spot. Most of them had never seen this many little ones in one place in their entire lives.

One, two, three...

Who would’ve thought they’d ever have the problem of losing count?

Oh my gosh, they’re so adorable — so many cubs, and a little female baby too, the future Monarch.

The guests who’d been floating in a haze of romantic sweetness just moments ago were now completely fixated on the children.

With parents that good-looking, it was no surprise — not a single cub had missed out on the genes. Every last one of them was stunning, like a finely carved porcelain doll, impossibly pretty and utterly impossible not to love.

Bai Feng, sitting at the registration desk in the corner, nudged Levito’s shoulder and muttered under his breath, "Holy crap, you see the cub standing in front of the Admiral? That’s literally a miniature version of him — hahaha, too cute."

He shook his head, eyes full of envy. "I used to think the Admiral was going to be a bachelor for life, and look at him now — barely past thirty and he’s got it all. Career, family, kids. A clean sweep."

"Man, I’m almost thirty myself. When’s my luck gonna turn around like that?"

Bai Feng’s voice dripped with sour grapes. Levito shot him a sideways look. "First of all, you’d have to actually talk to a female. No female, no cubs. It’s really not complicated."

"Oh, so now you’re coming for me?"

Bai Feng clicked his tongue, then leaned in conspiratorially and dropped his voice even lower. "Are you really over Shi Lan?"

Levito genuinely wanted to smack him. Of all the places to bring that up — if the Admiral overheard, the misunderstanding alone would be a nightmare.

He immediately clapped a hand over Bai Feng’s mouth. "Shut up. How many times have I told you? It’s over, it’s been over — some people are just out of my league, alright? Get it through your head."

"Mmph, mmph..."

Bai Feng, hand firmly over his mouth, couldn’t get a word out and just nodded frantically.

He was only asking out of curiosity. Though honestly, Bai Feng figured that with the Admiral’s instincts, there was no way he hadn’t picked up on whatever feelings Levito might have had back then.

But if the Admiral had still invited him here, to an occasion like this, that was proof enough that he trusted Levito — and proof that Levito had never really registered as a rival in his eyes.

So it seemed Levito genuinely had moved on.

Bai Feng didn’t dare say another word. He’d only asked because Shi Lan looked so stunning today and he’d been momentarily curious.

Now he was keeping his mouth firmly shut.

Truth was, Levito hadn’t spent that much time around Shi Lan to begin with. Maybe he had genuinely liked her at some point, but whatever he’d felt couldn’t hold a candle to what the Admiral meant to him. And after all this time, with Shi Lan being a 3S Female — he was nowhere near her level. Whatever feelings had once stirred in him had long since drifted away.

Life wasn’t only about romance. What he truly valued was the friendship he had with the Admiral.

Since there were five Beast Husbands, Shi Lan had to place a ring on each of their fingers. The rings had been custom-made — her set consisted of five individual bands that could be stacked together into one.

After she’d slipped a ring onto each Beast Husband’s finger, the five of them took turns placing hers on her hand one by one.

When the last ring slid into place, all five bands on Shi Lan’s finger merged into one perfect heart.

Just as she had always told them — they were a family, and they were whole.

——

Once the ceremony wrapped up, the reception toasts began. Shi Lan didn’t drink much — her tolerance was terrible — so she took only the tiniest sip from each glass and left the rest to her Beast Husbands.

The guests, drinks in hand, took the opportunity to ruffle the cubs’ hair and pinch their cheeks, absolutely delighted by them.

Yi Yi, however, was a different story. He’d tolerate a pat on the head at most. His face, as always, was off-limits to outsiders — and he was clever enough to dodge every attempt without fail.

The cubs’ energy only went so far. After eating, drinking, and running around at the reception for a while, they started dropping off one by one.