Lethal Stunner: Kicking Off with Five Beast Husbands
Chapter 78: The Art of War is the Way of Deception.

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Art of War is the Way of Deception.

Que Zelian quickly finished writing seven numbers on paper balls and scattered them across the table: "Pick in the order of the numbers you receive, no using superpowers to cheat and peek."

At his words, Li was the first to reach out.

When he saw the number 2 on the slip, he nodded with satisfaction.

Soon, the other men each picked a paper ball.

Su Ye and Shi Xie reached for the same paper ball at the same time. Shi Xie withdrew his fingers, politely smiling: "You’re the senior here, please go first."

Su Ye, uncharacteristically agreeable, graciously said, "You’re the new guy, go ahead and pick first."

Hearing this, Shi Xie smiled gratefully at him and took the paper ball Su Ye initially aimed for.

When the paper ball was opened and revealed the number 7, the smile on Shi Xie’s face instantly froze.

He quickly glanced at Su Ye and saw that Su Ye had taken the last paper ball left on the table, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.

Shi Xie: ...

Beast husbands can be wicked!

Shi Xie thought his luck wasn’t that bad...

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have competed for the paper ball Su Ye had chosen.

Everyone opened their paper balls; some were pleased, others frowned.

Mo Jiao, with his calm purple eyes, asked, "Who got number one?"

"It’s me," Huaiqing pushed up his glasses, smiling as he placed the paper ball with the number one spread out on the table.

Shi Xie stared at the number one, then looked at the number seven in his hand, his heart full of regret.

"What’s everyone’s order?" Xiao Jinsheng asked curiously.

The seven men each unfolded their slips of paper, and Xiao Jinsheng hurried to annotate their orders on the Star Map.

Better to avoid confusion later on when things get chaotic and not remember whose turn it is for the day’s duties.

1. Huaiqing

2. Li

3. Que Zelian

4. Mo Jiao

5. Su Ye

6. Yu Yunxiao

7. Shi Xie

The draw decided the order, so the nightly fixed Q&A sessions they used to have were canceled.

Xiao Jinsheng followed Huaiqing upstairs, her hands nervously clasped behind her back.

Huaiqing opened the door and turned back to ask her warmly, "Is there anything you need to bring with you?"

"No," Xiao Jinsheng shook her head.

Most of her belongings were in her space, making it convenient to carry everything she needed for daily life.

"Come on in," Huaiqing reached out to her with a smile.

Xiao Jinsheng placed her hand in his warm palm. As soon as she stepped inside, the door closed behind her.

Having experienced several beast husbands pulling her in and shutting the door for an intense kiss, Xiao Jinsheng instantly tensed up.

"Do you want to take a bath?" Huaiqing asked softly.

"I’ll shower in my space," Xiao Jinsheng answered nervously, without even paying attention to the room’s layout, and vanished in front of Huaiqing.

Huaiqing froze for a moment, then laughed helplessly, thinking of Xiao Jinsheng’s flustered reaction with her flushed face.

By the time Xiao Jinsheng finally finished getting ready and emerged from her space wearing a nightgown, Huaiqing had already bathed, dressed in a white silk robe, and was reclining against the bedboard reading a book.

Noticing Xiao Jinsheng’s return, he smiled and lifted the corner of the blanket beside him.

Feeling slightly nervous, Xiao Jinsheng shuffled closer.

Once she slipped into the silky cool bed, despite it being the start of a hot June, the nearby warmth from Huaiqing was unmistakable.

Even so, Xiao Jinsheng bundled herself tightly in the blanket, only her head peeking out.

"Aren’t you hot?" Huaiqing shifted his gaze from the book to her.

"No, I’m fine," Xiao Jinsheng shook her head, though she was already beginning to sweat.

"Don’t cover yourself completely, you’ll overheat," Huaiqing gently tugged at the blanket a bit and only ruffled her hair lightly without further action: "It’s late, get some sleep."

Xiao Jinsheng was surprised.

Is he really planning to keep things platonic tonight?

She remembered how the seven men eagerly drew lots, and how Huaiqing, drawing first, didn’t linger in the living room and rushed to bring her upstairs.

Xiao Jinsheng thought, even with multiple beast husbands, it all helps to boost her spiritual power.

She wasn’t losing anything, so despite her nerves, she followed along.

But here Huaiqing seemed completely absorbed in his book, showing no intention?

"Can’t sleep?" Seeing Xiao Jinsheng’s wide-eyed gaze at him, Huaiqing asked gently.

"A little," Xiao Jinsheng replied.

This world doesn’t have smartphones to pass the time.

Lying in bed really means just lying there.

She dared to tease and touch the muscles of the other six men—sometimes poking at chests, sometimes kneading abs.

But facing Huaiqing, she didn’t dare to reach out.

"I do have an effective sleep trick," Huaiqing said.

"What’s the trick?" Xiao Jinsheng asked, curious.

"How about I tell you a bedtime story?" Huaiqing suggested.

Xiao Jinsheng’s eyes lit up.

Such a considerate service!

She quickly found a comfortable position to lie down, closed her eyes, and eagerly said, "I’m ready, go ahead and start."

"Alright," Huaiqing chuckled, flipping to the first page of his book. His warm voice began softly: "War is the way of deception. Thus, display capability as incapability, employ activity as inactivity, show proximity as distance, and distance as proximity."

Feeling something was off, Xiao Jinsheng opened one eye to look at him.

Huaiqing continued reading aloud: "Tempt with gains, seize advantage from chaos, prepare against reality, avoid strong points..."

"Wait," Xiao Jinsheng interrupted, sitting up against the pillow, "You’re calling this a bedtime story?"

"Is it not hypnotic?" Huaiqing smiled.

Xiao Jinsheng nodded, "Kind of."

"Then it serves as a bedtime story," Huaiqing replied with a grin.

Xiao Jinsheng mulled over it, finding some truth in his words. Indeed, in school, the ten minutes between classes or impromptu naps during lectures often brought the best quality sleep.

One second felt like three days of regular rest.

Convinced, Xiao Jinsheng nodded, settled back into the blanket, and said, "Alright, carry on then."

"Sure," Huaiqing chuckled again, continuing warmly under the soft light of the bedroom: "Provoke anger to distract, feign inferiority to foster arrogance, exhaust complacency with labor, estrange attachment... Attack where unprepared, appear where unexpected."

"Next is the stratagem of borrowing knives to kill."

Xiao Jinsheng couldn’t hold it in, opening her eyes: "Are you seriously planning to use this to lull me to sleep?"

"Alright, how about smiling with hidden daggers then?" Huaiqing suggested.

"Change it again," Xiao Jinsheng shook her head.

"Counter-espionage?" Huaiqing asked.

Finally, Xiao Jinsheng nodded.

It turns out ancient texts can indeed be hypnotic.

With such a soft-toned, handsome man lying beside her reading them, the effect was even stronger.

Hearing Xiao Jinsheng’s gentle breathing, Huaiqing stopped the tactics from The Art of War to let her sleep.

He reached out to lightly brush aside her hair, smiling, "She really fell asleep."

He set his glasses down, turned off the bedside lamp, and lay down next to her.

With a casual stretch of his arm, Huaiqing easily pulled Xiao Jinsheng into his embrace.

Lowering his head, he pressed a light kiss on her serene sleeping face and shifted her in his arms for a more comfortable position: "Goodnight, sweet dreams."

Huaiqing had certainly noticed Xiao Jinsheng’s nervousness when she entered the room.

So, as far as Xiao Jinsheng wasn’t ready to accept him fully yet, he was willing to wait.

After all, steady and enduring progress was the way to go.

Without a single dream, the next morning Xiao Jinsheng opened her eyes to find Huaiqing was no longer there.

She glanced at the time—it was nine-thirty in the morning.

Slipping on her shoes, Xiao Jinsheng headed to the bathroom to freshen up and discovered everything was already prepared.

Hot water was ready, toothpaste had been squeezed, and the towel was warm.

Even her skincare items were meticulously organized on the washstand.

At that moment, Xiao Jinsheng finally noticed Huaiqing had arranged ten matching sets of outfits in the walk-in closet, each perfectly aligning with her taste.

She casually picked a comfortable loungewear outfit, completed her morning routine, and dashed downstairs—just to bump straight into Huaiqing, who was on his way up to check if she was awake.

Huaiqing caught her effortlessly, noticing she was wearing the clothes he had paired for her. The smile on his lips deepened: "I was just coming up to see if you were awake."

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