Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 31

“You shouldn’t think that Jinyang is yours alone!” Cui Jinqi said angrily.

“When did I ever say that? And even if I didn’t say it, with the engagement, how could he not be mine?” Xing Yuanzhi replied dismissively.

“As long as you’re not married, he’s not yours,” Cui Jinqi said seriously. “Besides, even if you were married, it doesn’t mean you can keep him locked up.”

“I’ve already said I didn’t lock him up!” Xing Yuanzhi said impatiently. “He was seriously injured at the time, didn’t you all know that? It’s quite normal for him to be resting nearby.”

“By your logic, if I tricked Jinyang into coming to my house and then drained him every day until he couldn’t get out of bed the next morning, that wouldn’t count as confinement, right?” Miss Qingqing interjected, unable to hold back.

The other young women’s faces turned red, and even the usually good-natured Zheng Qiupei couldn’t help but exclaim, “Qingqing! Be reserved! Be reserved!”

“I don’t think it counts,” Cheng Jinyang, who was tied to the bed, said. “It’s mutual consent, so how can it be called confinement?”

“Be quiet, I didn’t ask you,” Miss Qingqing roughly pushed him back. Miss Wang, who was still looking in the mirror, took the opportunity to lift her leg and pin Jinyang down.

“Qingqing is right,” Cui Xiaoniang said angrily. “Resting is understandable, but why didn’t you bring him back for recovery? You didn’t answer the phone or reply to messages, how are we to know if he’s recuperating or being ‘trained’ by you?”

“I don’t think I have an obligation to report to you,” Xing Yuanzhi said, crossing her arms and looking at her coldly.

“You may not have to tell me, but you can’t stop Jinyang from telling me, can you?” Cui Jinqi retorted sharply, showing no sign of backing down.

“Or do you plan to argue that Jinyang couldn’t make a phone call at that time?” Miss Qingqing added fuel to the fire, trying to cut off Xing Yuanzhi’s other excuses.

“I also think that in such a situation, at least Jinyang should have sent a message saying he was safe,” Li Qingwan, who had been standing by, suddenly said. “Otherwise, everyone would indeed be worried.”

Xing Yuanzhi’s face turned ugly, and Zheng Qiupei quickly stepped in to mediate: “Forget it, maybe Yuanzhi just forgot. She’ll pay more attention next time.”

“Next time?” Cui Jinqi jumped with anger. “If you can’t come up with a convincing explanation this time, who knows who will be the one to confine him next time.”

Miss Qingqing also had a displeased look on her face as she threatened, “You’re allowed to do it on the first day, but others can’t do it on the fifteenth?”

“Actually,” Lu Qingyun, who had been silent, finally spoke up, “If you’re so worried about him, why not agree on shared custody?”

Cheng Jinyang: !!!

He suddenly realized the terrible situation he was in and started writhing wildly on the bed.

Miss Wang, who was made uncomfortable by this, impatiently lifted her leg and gave him a hit.

“Shared custody might work,” Cui Xiaoniang pondered.

“Keep him under strict surveillance,” Miss Qingqing agreed with a narrowed gaze.

“Yes, indeed, he shouldn’t be allowed to run around,” Xing Yuanzhi thought about how he had once suddenly flown south to rescue the Princess Sister and nearly lost his life. She couldn’t help but feel anxious. If she hadn’t secretly followed him and carried him back, he might have already become a puppet’s food!

“I protest!” Cheng Jinyang, emerging from beneath Miss Wang’s leg, shouted with all his might. “I am the General of Jingkou Town and the Commander of the Northern Army. You can’t gang up on me and imprison me!”

“Even if Jinyang, you’re not outside handling affairs, it doesn’t seem to matter much,” Xing Yuanzhi said thoughtfully. “Don’t you already have a mature administrative team?”

“Although the administrative team works efficiently, someone still needs to make decisions,” Cheng Jinyang said seriously. “A nation cannot be without a ruler for a day, and an army cannot be without a commander for a day. For example, if Clerk Wang and Registrar Xie have a disagreement and neither will back down, who should be listened to?”

“Listen to me,” Miss Wang Wanrou said, pressing her calf against his back.

Cheng Jinyang: ???

“Indeed,” Cui Xiaoniang said, crouching by the bed and smiling at him. “Jinyang, with the highly intelligent Miss Wang helping you manage things, you should be able to relax a bit, right?”

“No, no, no,” Cheng Jinyang quickly shook his head. “Decision-making is one thing, but the personal charisma of the leader plays a huge role in boosting the morale of the entire administrative team and the Northern Army. If I’m absent for a long time, the troops will definitely start to suspect something’s wrong…”

“Then we’ll just make sure you have regular meetings with the outside world,” Chu Qingqing said seriously. “Of course, I mean video conferences. For the rest of the time, you should stay at the governor’s residence and keep us company, rather than running around everywhere.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m an unfaithful husband who stays out all night,” Cheng Jinyang said helplessly. “I don’t just go out for fun; there are legitimate reasons. For example, if I hadn’t gone to Jiankang City to help, Princess Sister would have been in danger, alright?”

“Jinyang,” Xing Yuanzhi said with concern, “Originally, we were all very happy about your promotion to the fifth grade. But after this battle, we realized that the fifth grade in this world is far from enough to be untouchable. A single high-level demon can easily overpower us.”

“So you’d better not go out,” she continued. “Stay home and level up with us. Once we all reach the third grade, you can go out and save the world then.”

This was starting to sound a bit like the “Sword God of Shili Slope.”

The current dream bloodline bonus is ten thousand Ma per night, while the third grade threshold is one hundred million Ma.

Ah Zhi’s suggestion meant that they wouldn’t be able to leave for thirty years. After spending thirty years in the dream world fighting demons, and coming out at over fifty, how could one still strive for dominance or establish a harem?

What utter nonsense!

Since you all plan to unite against me, I’ll use a counter-strategy to break up your fragile alliance!

“Yuanzhi,” Cheng Jinyang smiled, “At the current pace, reaching the third grade will take about thirty years.”

“We have an engagement, so I’m not worried,” he continued, “but they don’t have any say in their clan. Their families won’t let them stay unmarried and single for thirty years.”

As soon as he said this, Cui Xiaoniang seemed to come to her senses and immediately started shouting:

“Right! Watching over Jinyang is one thing, but there’s no need to confine him in the governor’s residence!”

Confined = everyone watching = no chance to escape = once the time is up, Xing Yuanzhi will naturally win. Cui Jinqi had completely woken up to this realization.

Her situation was different from Xing Yuanzhi’s. The latter had almost absolute authority in her clan, while Cui Jinqi had no such power in the Qinghe Cui clan. If Yuanzi managed to drag things out, she would certainly be dragged out by her own family first!

So, Cui Xiaoniang’s strategy should not be to stop others from escaping but to find every possible way to escape herself!