Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 1

Near the cool mountain, the Graviton Research Institute was heavily surrounded by the Jinyiwei.

The powerful Zhongshu Yu hurried to the perimeter of the sealed-off area. By then, the search inside had ended, and the chief scientist, Sima Yanzuo, along with others, had been taken into custody by the Jinyiwei.

The leading Jinyiwei commander, with a grim expression and urgent steps, whispered a few words into Yu Yuangui’s ear.

Zhongshu Yu’s face changed drastically.

Despite the Jinyiwei’s swift arrival, they discovered that one person had still managed to escape. The escapee left two days ago, taking an unknown amount of scientific data, and their destination within the provinces was also unknown.

“Sima Yanzuo!” Yu Yuangui stared at the detained Sima Yanzuo, gritting his teeth and growling, “Traitor! Collaborating with external provinces and betraying the nation!”

Sima Yanzuo fearlessly sneered:

“The decline of the Jin dynasty, isn’t it due to you ministers? Instead of loyalty, you think of eliminating the royal family, oppressing the Emperor’s clan, and centralizing power. What sense does this make? Yu Yuangui! The late Emperor treated you well! Yet, the night he passed, you burned down our Sima family’s server! How could you betray the late Emperor’s trust?”

Yu Yuangui almost spat blood in rage. The destruction of the Emperor’s server had nothing to do with him!

Sima Yanzuo was clearly trying to confuse the situation, knowing his death was imminent.

The evidence of Sima Yanzuo’s collusion and conspiracy within the clan was already irrefutable. With the situation under control, Zhongshu Yu felt no need to entangle with this doomed man further. He waved his hand in disgust, and the Jinyiwei swiftly gagged Sima Yanzuo and escorted him away.

Listening to the muffled protests, Yu Yuangui looked up at the sign of the Forty-Seventh Research Institute—the Graviton Research Institute.

According to Jinyiwei’s intelligence, this institute specialized in “anti-gravity,” a core technology for warships, significantly reducing the energy burden of keeping these ships afloat.

After the Jin dynasty moved south, many research institutes and military factories were abandoned in the north, causing severe technological gaps in warship-related industries, including anti-gravity components.

Therefore, the Forty-Seventh Research Institute was commissioned by the late Emperor Sima Jingwen (the current Emperor’s grandfather) to collaborate with the Shendu Cheng family to redevelop anti-gravity technology.

Could there be members of the Cheng family involved in Sima Yanzuo’s rebellion?

And what about the Cheng family patriarch, the son of the demon…

“Interrogate them thoroughly upon return!” Yu Yuangui coldly commanded the Jinyiwei to inform the Deputy Minister of Justice, Zhong Yanzhou. “Ensure the suspects reveal everything, without sparing anyone!”

…

Elsewhere, in the Cheng family’s estate, Cheng Jinyang was doing his morning exercises with Li Qingwan.

“Exhale when exerting force, inhale when relaxing.” Li Qingwan placed her hand on his stomach, guiding his breathing. “Exhaling should be forceful and complete; inhaling should be slow and full, filling the lungs without haste.”

Cheng Jinyang followed her instructions, breathing rhythmically.

“Now, do you feel the heat in your dantian?” Li Qingwan asked, pleased with his progress.

I don’t feel the heat in my dantian, but the heat below it is off the charts, thought Cheng Jinyang, grateful for his foresight in wearing loose training pants.

No wonder people say, who goes to the gym with a personal trainer of the opposite sex?

These moves involve close contact, and with the physical strain and hormones, it’s easy for problems to arise over time.

Of course, that’s not always the case. Upright and morally steadfast individuals can certainly train with a trainer of the opposite sex without issues.

Like me and Li Qingwan, we’re completely innocent…

“By the way,” Li Qingwan said, demonstrating a punch, “I heard a noble family wants to recruit you as a son-in-law?”

Cheng Jinyang was startled: Heard? From whom? Could it be from Qingqing?

No, with Li Qingwan’s gentle nature, if Qingqing had mentioned it privately, she wouldn’t bring it up to me, avoiding unnecessary drama. It must be another source. So, apart from Qingqing’s thoughts, another family is eyeing me for the same reason?

A torrent of thoughts flashed through Cheng Jinyang’s mind, but he ambiguously said:

“Is that so? I wasn’t aware. Who wants me to become their live-in son-in-law?”

“Haha,” Li Qingwan laughed a few times and casually said, “Probably afraid you’d feel insulted, so they didn’t dare bring it up directly before testing the waters. After all, these days, as long as a man has some pride, who would willingly become a live-in son-in-law to a powerful family and live under someone else’s roof?”

“You’re absolutely right,” Cheng Jinyang agreed, coldly laughing, “If someone suggested that to me, I’d turn against them immediately. I’m the head of the Shendu Cheng family, the leader of the Cheng clan. What sense does it make for me to become a live-in son-in-law? Do they really think the Shendu Cheng family is on the verge of decline and about to fall into obscurity?”

He spoke indignantly, noticing Li Qingwan’s somewhat approving expression, and secretly felt relieved.

It wasn’t a malicious test; she must have just brought it up casually.

“Ahem, speaking of which, the Longxi Li family is preparing to take in a live-in son-in-law,” Li Qingwan began to chat idly, and soon started venting her frustrations.

It turned out that about 20-30 years ago, something happened within the Longxi Li family, causing the birth ratio of newborn boys to girls to reach 4:6, with a noticeable increase in the number of female infants.

Despite extensive investigation, no issue was found, so they had to let it be. Recently, many young women had reached marriageable age.

The clan leader, Li Xuanshen, decided to allow a small number of less promising girls to marry out freely, while for the more promising ones, since the clan and other prestigious families couldn’t accommodate them all, they planned to recruit talented men from outside.

Some young men had excellent potential, but their families were of the fourth lower grade, fifth grade, or even commoners. Due to the mismatch in status, they were brought in as live-in sons-in-law, with the promise that if they could advance to the fifth grade in the future, they would be allowed to return home and rejoin their own family register.

Li Qingwan herself had a bloodline talent that was just in the middle: better than those girls allowed to marry out freely, but not as exceptional as those for whom the family would specially recruit live-in sons-in-law. So, the core members of the clan approached her to inquire about her situation.

“Qingwan, do you have someone you like? Which noble family is he from, and what is his talent according to genealogical assessments?”

If his bloodline talent barely met the standards, then becoming a live-in son-in-law or allowing her to marry out would both be acceptable, since Li Qingwan herself was not widely known among the aristocracy, and marrying into a lesser family wouldn’t affect the Li family’s reputation.

Of course, if his talent wasn’t up to par, then as a daughter of the Five Great Families with decent talent, the decision would be up to her father: either let her marry someone of lower status or make her break up with the unsuitable partner.

The family steward who came to handle the marriages of the young members just casually mentioned this to her father, suggesting it offhandedly. If Li Qingwan truly refused to marry, the Li family wouldn’t bother forcing her.

However, her father took it seriously, pestering her over the phone yesterday, asking if she really had someone she liked.

Being a gentle and shy person, she couldn’t bear to discuss such matters directly with her father. To avoid the disturbance, she switched her phone to airplane mode early this morning.

She had just turned it back on and saw a bunch of missed calls, which made her unable to resist venting her frustrations to Cheng Jinyang.