She focused her gaze on the one man among the five who, although indifferent, still looked at her with relatively gentle eyes.
Dressed in beige loungewear, his hair curled in soft orange waves, he wore gold-rimmed glasses and his blue eyes were as calm as a still lake.
It was her fifth Beast Husband, Huaiqing.
Noticing Xiao Jinsheng's gaze, Huaiqing asked with a warm smile, "Aren't you coming over to eat?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Having been starving half the day, Xiao Jinsheng quickly walked over. Since four of the five men had nothing resembling a friendly expression for her, she decided to sit next to Huaiqing.
As she sat down, Huaiqing's brows furrowed imperceptibly, but he quickly collected himself, maintaining his warm smile.
Under the guise of getting up to pour tea for himself, Huaiqing returned to his seat and discreetly dragged his chair farther away from Xiao Jinsheng.
A fragile college student, unfairly plunged into this dangerous apocalypse, now saddled with five husbands who—according to the plot—could kill her at any moment.
The current Xiao Jinsheng was nothing but a delicate and emotionally sensitive girl.
Even though Huaiqing's rejection wasn't obvious, she caught onto it instantly.
In an instant, Xiao Jinsheng felt like crying, though she also affirmed one thing: she couldn't get divorced from Huaiqing.
"Why aren't you eating?" Xiao Jinsheng soothed herself for a few seconds, looking at the untouched dishes on the table.
"You weren't here. How could we dare to eat?" Su Ye sneered.
He turned and walked into the kitchen, soon returning with a covered dish that he placed in front of Xiao Jinsheng: "Here, the dinner you specifically requested me to make."
Customized dinner? Really?
Surprised and delighted, Xiao Jinsheng found Su Ye's hostility momentarily lessened, leaving only his handsome appearance.
She thought about how Yu Yunxiao wanted a divorce, Mo Jiao wanted to kill her, Que Zelian ignored her completely, and Huaiqing rejected her subtly.
Now, among the five executioners... uh, Beast Husbands, Su Ye was harsh, sure, but at least he was communicative—that was better than emotional coldness.
Brimming with anticipation, Xiao Jinsheng lifted the lid, only to be confronted with a circle of skinned rabbit heads, freshly dripping with blood. Horrified, she fell from her chair.
"Why aren't you eating? Didn't you request me specifically to cook for you?" Su Ye's sinister smile spread as his large hand pressed against the chair, leaning over to cast a mocking gaze at the pale and terrified Xiao Jinsheng.
"You!" After the shock wore off, all Xiao Jinsheng felt was fury toward Su Ye.
From above her, Su Ye cast her an icy glance before arrogantly sitting back in his seat.
After being married for six months, he'd tolerated Xiao Jinsheng for six long months. This woman's malice was one thing, but selling her Beast Husbands? That was pushing it.
The relationships among the five men weren't exactly good.
After all, before being forcibly matched with Xiao Jinsheng through the Terminal, none of them had known each other.
Su Ye simply felt a deep distress over Mo Jiao being sold today.
If Xiao Jinsheng could go crazy enough to sell Mo Jiao today, she could just as easily sell him tomorrow.
Su Ye, being a headstrong loner by nature, had already reached his limit tolerating Xiao Jinsheng for half a year.
He thought to himself: if he didn't teach this woman a lesson soon, the next time she could push them all to mutual destruction.
Watching Xiao Jinsheng's panicked expression with satisfaction, Su Ye smiled cruelly.
Xiao Jinsheng meanwhile fumbled through her memories of Su Ye, recalling the protagonist's original antics.
Because the original Xiao Jinsheng loved competing with the heroine Bai Yan, she grew envious of how Bai Yan's snow leopard Beast Husband treated her with such gentleness and devotion. In contrast, Su Ye, her black panther Beast Husband, was too handsome in a way that seemed aggressive, coupled with his nasty attitude.
Thus, she devised a plan to "grind down" Su Ye's personality by assigning him the impossible task of making dinner for everyone, despite being a kitchen disaster.
If the dinner was good, there'd be no praise; if it wasn't, punishments—either beatings or scolding—were guaranteed.
For the past six months, Su Ye's cooking was bad but at least not this gruesome.
Xiao Jinsheng knew today's bloody spectacle stemmed from Su Ye's anger after Mo Jiao was sold, and the other four Beast Husbands deciding to stop tolerating her altogether.
Right now, Xiao Jinsheng just wanted to kick Su Ye square in the face.
But she was fragile, and couldn't muster the strength or ability to take such action in the short term. Fighting him wouldn't end well, and if she pushed these five men too far, she might end her own life alongside theirs.
If her husbands died, they could be replaced, but her own survival wasn't guaranteed.
Seeing Su Ye's obvious intent to toy with her and frighten her, Xiao Jinsheng seethed, biting her lip while crafting a plan.
She lifted the plate of bloody rabbit heads and slammed it in front of Su Ye. "Redo this. I want spicy rabbit heads."
"You're making dinner orders now?" Su Ye sneered. "This is the extent of my cooking skills—eat it if you want, or feed it to the dogs if you don't."
"You won't redo it, huh?" Xiao Jinsheng coldly countered, lifting her hand to point at the other four men in the room. "If you won't redo it, I'll divorce the other four of them."
Su Ye's fierce gaze froze.
The other four men had varied reactions. Yu Yunxiao was delighted. "Really?"
"If you won't redo it, I'll start divorcing them, starting with Mo Jiao!" Xiao Jinsheng glared at Su Ye threateningly.
"Why start with Mo Jiao? If you're divorcing someone, shouldn't you start with me?" Yu Yunxiao protested.
"Because Mo Jiao wants to kill me." Xiao Jinsheng glanced back at Mo Jiao—sure enough, from his observing violet eyes emanated undisguised murderous intent.
Su Ye, already arrogant, was driven to exasperated laughter by her outrageous move. "Fine! Excellent! Xiao Jinsheng, you're truly vicious!"
"That's right. Don't try to sweet-talk me now. Get to work on that redo!" Xiao Jinsheng lifted her chin defiantly.
Grinding his teeth in fury, Su Ye shot her a venomous look with his shimmering golden eyes before getting up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as he reluctantly picked up the bloody rabbit heads.
"Spicy rabbit heads, right? I'll make it so spicy it kills you!" He slammed the rabbit heads bare-handed, started the wok and poured in an excessive amount of chili.
The intense fumes from the frying peppers forced everyone in the house to flee the dining area.
The choking spiciness wafted from Xiao Jinsheng's home to their neighbor Bai Yan's place, even affecting her family.
"Fighting again next door?" Snow Leopard Xue Ruiyang rushed to soak a handkerchief in water before covering Bai Yan's mouth and nose, ensuring that she wouldn't be overwhelmed by the pungent spice.
"When isn't there a fight next door?" Flood Dragon Jin Ao mocked.
Bai Yan held her heart with dramatic sorrow, crying delicately. "Rest assured, I would never treat my Beast Husbands the way Jinsheng treats hers. You are all very important to me, occupying cherished places in my heart."
"No matter which of you gets hurt, my heart would break." Bai Yan lamented, tears trickling like a scene from a tragic painting.
"You six are all my darlings."
"You five… each want to divorce me and want me dead now, huh?" Back in the living room, Xiao Jinsheng surveyed the soot-smudged but still attractive face of Su Ye by the kitchen, then turned her eyes to the other four indifferent men.
"Let me make this very clear today."
"I admit I've been bad before—too harsh on you guys. But after today, I've realized my mistakes and am willing to change. So I hope you'll give me a chance to turn over a new leaf. Whether you agree or not, you still have to agree."
"You kneel—" Catching her verbal slip, Xiao Jinsheng hurried to correct herself. "You sit down—I need to ask something of you."
"From now on, let's live harmoniously and peacefully. Whoever behaves the worst, I'll divorce him and stay with the other four."
The five men were dumbstruck, too speechless with rage.
Her repentance was the most audacious display they'd ever witnessed.
"You don't need to sleep in the living room anymore. This house has plenty of spare rooms—choose one for yourselves." Xiao Jinsheng added.
The original Xiao Jinsheng had despised her five husbands so much that she forbade them from having their own rooms. Four of them made do by sleeping on the living room floor, while one was relegated to the basement.