Chapter 107: Chapter 107: A Chaotic Confrontation

Qin Muye arched his body, completely enveloping the girl in his shadow.

He leaned closer and closer, his nose brushing against her delicate skin as he made a careful inspection.

His warm breath tickled the side of her neck.

Jiang Qingli gave him a little push. "What are you doing?"

"I’m smelling you," Qin Muye said, his brows furrowed. "Ye Linyuan, Baili Jing, and a scent I don’t recognize..."

Jiang Qingli was speechless.

’This guy’s sense of smell is way too sharp!’

For a moment, Jiang Qingli had the strange feeling of having petted another dog outside, only to come home and be cornered at the door by her own large dog for an interrogation.

She raised her hand, tracing along Qin Muye’s face to his high-bridged nose, and pinched it gently to create some distance.

To stop him from sniffing any further, she changed the subject. "Are you done with your work? When did you get back?"

"I’ve been back for two hours," Qin Muye said, bending down to meet her gaze.

Jiang Qingli had already raised her hand to pat Qin Muye’s head, but her movement froze when she heard him. "You... you haven’t been waiting for me this whole time, have you?"

Qin Muye turned his face away and denied it in a muffled voice, "Of course not."

Looking a little guilty, he lowered his eyes and nudged his head under Jiang Qingli’s hand, letting her pat him.

In reality, Qin Muye had lied.

He had waited for more than two hours.

There was supposed to be a banquet after the Imperial Family’s event, but he’d wanted to come back and see Jiang Qingli sooner, so he feigned illness and skipped it.

Qin Shu had even teased him, "Tomorrow, the media will report that not only are you illiterate, but you’re also frail and delicate. The future of the Imperial Family is truly worrying."

Qin Muye couldn’t be bothered to respond. The Imperial Family’s future had been "worrying" countless times already.

Besides, males couldn’t inherit the throne anyway, so what the hell did it have to do with him?

He just wanted to get home early and see what that passive-aggressive rabbit from the group chat looked like in person.

He also wanted to prove to Jiang Qingli that he was strong and healthy—definitely better than the others.

But who would have known that after rushing back, he wouldn’t see a single soul.

Never mind the other Beast Husbands; he didn’t even see Yi Nuo.

Qin Muye could guess with his toes that Yi Nuo had definitely run off with Jiang Qingli. As for that fox spirit, he had most likely tagged along too, trying every trick in the book to seduce their innocent female master.

The thought of all these people getting more time with Jiang Qingli than he did made Qin Muye burn with impatience, but he couldn’t just go looking for her.

Every member of the Imperial Family wore a wristband linked to an internal monitoring system. It wasn’t usually watched closely, but if they went somewhere they shouldn’t, the system would send their location to the Emperor.

It wasn’t like Qin Muye hadn’t run off before. When he was feeling rebellious, he would even throw a tantrum in front of the Emperor; being put in confinement was a regular occurrence for him.

He was already in the driver’s seat when it suddenly occurred to him that if he showed up there, he might draw attention to Jiang Qingli, giving someone with ulterior motives a chance to cause trouble for her.

The Prince, who had always done as he pleased, felt as if he’d been shackled the moment he thought of her, suddenly becoming hesitant and cautious.

He was afraid of making her angry, afraid of being hated by her.

Most of all, he was afraid she would be wronged because of him.

Frustrated, Qin Muye squatted in the garage and waited for over two hours.

He smoked several cigarettes there, already imagining that those bastards would leave their scents on Jiang Qingli.

But he never expected the strongest scent to be a completely unfamiliar one.

A cough sounded from nearby.

Qin Muye turned to see a pale-faced boy wrapped in a coat getting out of the car, his steps unsteady as if he was completely drained of strength.

He stood by the hovercraft, his long lashes trembling as he looked down. His voice was slightly hoarse. "Sister, can you take me to my room...?"

The boy bit his lip, a blush creeping up to the tips of his ears. "Just now... it made me so uncomfortable. I want to take a shower."

He looked utterly feeble.

But Qin Muye could clearly smell that the boy’s scent was the same as the one on Jiang Qingli.

This was enough to prove they had been very close just now.

Qin Muye’s expression darkened instantly. "So this is Gu Nian?"

"Y-Yes, that’s me." Gu Nian acted as if he had just noticed Qin Muye’s presence. He stepped forward, tugged on Jiang Qingli’s sleeve, and asked timidly, "Sister, which brother is this?"

Hearing that affected, two-syllable "brother," Qin Muye felt a vein throb in irritation on his forehead.

’Another two-faced, scheming little beast.’

Qin Muye had seen his share of concubines fighting for favor in the Empress’s harem, and this kind of act instantly annoyed him.

When he gave Jiang Qingli those eighty million, he never imagined this was the kind of creature she would buy!

But with Jiang Qingli standing right there, Qin Muye clenched his jaw, took a deep breath, and forced himself to swallow his curses.

"This is Qin Muye," Jiang Qingli said. "Yuan Shimo seems to be away for a meeting. He’ll probably be back in a few days. I’ll introduce you two then."

"Mm-hm," Gu Nian replied, nodding obediently.

But there wasn’t a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

The three of them rode the elevator upstairs, each with a different expression.

When they reached the third floor, just as Jiang Qingli was about to move, Qin Muye suddenly spoke up. "You go back and rest. I’ll take him to his room."

Jiang Qingli was surprised he had offered to help on his own initiative.

’Has this guy had a change of heart? Did he realize he needs to get along with the others?’

Qin Muye felt a little awkward under her gaze. He rubbed the back of his neck and managed to squeeze out, "You’ve... worked hard, too."

"I’ll leave him to you, then." Jiang Qingli felt the same sense of relief one gets from seeing a problem student turn over a new leaf. She resisted the urge to pat his head and praise him, instead giving his fingers a little shake. "Go on, go on."

Then she said to Gu Nian, "You two get along, okay?"

Gu Nian was silent.

Just as the boy was about to speak, Qin Muye reluctantly released the girl’s slender, soft fingertips and scoffed, "Let’s go."

His gray-blue eyes stared over, suppressing a thick, cold fury.

Gu Nian complied and stepped out.

The doors closed behind them.

The moment the elevator moved up a floor, Qin Muye could no longer maintain his cold expression.

The Prince spoke coldly, "Since you’ve been bought, you’d better behave."

"What do you mean, ’behave’? Have I done something?" Gu Nian looked back at him, his expression blank. "Or are you afraid my place in Sister’s heart will surpass yours?"

Qin Muye let out a scornful, incredulous laugh.

’This little beast really thinks he’s something, doesn’t he?’

Qin Muye was annoyed, sure, but he didn’t consider Gu Nian a serious rival at all.

Whether in terms of status or strength, the superficial gap between them was just too vast.

The young man crossed his arms, looking down at him condescendingly. "You think I can’t see what you were trying to do today? I’ve seen plenty of whores like you trying to climb into someone’s bed. She won’t even give you a second glance."

"Your Highness, just because you failed doesn’t mean you should maliciously wish for others to fail as well." Gu Nian blinked his crystal-like eyes, his voice soft as he delivered his sarcastic barb. "A whore might get a chance to climb into bed, but what about a dog? Even if one climbs up, I’m afraid it can only ever be a pet..."

Before he could finish, an enraged Qin Muye grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up. "Are you fucking looking for death?!"

"Then kill me," Gu Nian said, looking straight into his eyes and actually smiling. "But if I die, Sister will definitely remember me forever."

Qin Muye couldn’t stop a curse from escaping his lips.

’He’s definitely insane,’ Qin Muye thought.

There was no point in talking further. Qin Muye shoved Gu Nian away by the collar and turned to head upstairs.

He raised his hand to call the elevator, only to find it was descending.

The other Beast Husbands were probably back.

Today was Saturday, so Jiang Qingli’s time was her own to schedule.

Qin Muye was determined to claim her for the night. Not bothering to wait for the elevator, he strode quickly toward the stairs.

But just as he reached the stairwell, he ran into someone unexpected.