A roar went off in Qin Muye’s head.

He lowered his head and saw his own blood run over his thin lips and drip down his chin.

One drop, two drops...

The blood landed on the girl’s soft, fair skin, like crimson roses blooming in the snow.

Qin Muye was mesmerized, and the blood gushed from his nose even faster.

Seeing his dazed expression, Jiang Qingli pushed him away, stood up, and grabbed a wet wipe to clean his face.

Qin Muye didn’t want her treating him like a child; that was hardly befitting of a mature male. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

However, the "mature male" had barely turned his head a few inches when the girl, still standing, grabbed his chin and yanked it back.

Jiang Qingli frowned in warning. "Don’t move. Be good, hmm?"

Qin Muye: "...Mhm."

The girl bent over, her movements gentle as she wiped his face.

They were very close, and Qin Muye could clearly see the focused, serious expression on her face.

Realizing she was worried about him, Qin Muye’s breathing unconsciously softened, and his heart melted.

Back in the Lower District, Qin Muye was always getting into fights. It was normal for him to end up with a bloody head or a gushing nosebleed.

No one had ever treated him so gently when he was bleeding.

Even though she couldn’t help but laugh at such a ridiculous scene, her movements were still gentle and careful.

Once the nosebleed stopped, Jiang Qingli tossed the wet wipe into the trash can and stood up to leave.

Qin Muye thought his performance had displeased her. He panicked and grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"

"To get a new nightgown," Jiang Qingli said. "I can’t very well sleep with no clothes on, can I?"

Qin Muye imagined that scene, almost started bleeding again, and immediately pulled his hand back.

Jiang Qingli closed the door, intending to go upstairs from the stairwell. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed someone heading up, and a second look revealed it was Baili Jing.

Before she could speak, Baili Jing hurried forward, looking in panic at her blood-stained nightgown. "Are you hurt?"

Jiang Qingli recalled what Qin Muye had just looked like and couldn’t help but laugh. "Don’t worry, it’s not my blood."

Baili Jing let out a sigh of relief. He paused for a moment before remembering the other person. "Muye’s hurt?"

Guessing that Qin Muye wouldn’t want anyone to know about his embarrassing nosebleed, Jiang Qingli touched the tip of her nose and said vaguely, "Mmm... not exactly hurt. He just... bled a little."

Baili Jing lowered his eyes, his expression dimming.

But the next second, his usual gentle expression returned. He took her hand and led her upstairs. "Come on, I’ll go with you while you change."

Perceptively, Jiang Qingli turned her head to look at his profile.

’I can’t shake the feeling that he’s a little down.’

As they walked, there was a soft rustling sound. Jiang Qingli looked down and saw that Baili Jing was carrying a bag. Inside was a box that looked like it contained medicine.

"Are you sick?" Jiang Qingli frowned and reached for it.

"It’s for blood replenishment."

As Baili Jing spoke, he subtly moved the bag closer to his body, blocking her view.

Her attention was caught by his words. "Have Baili Chengyan and the others been looking for you recently? You haven’t been secretly giving them blood behind my back, have you?"

"Of course not." Baili Jing’s eyes curved into a smile. "Everyone in the Baili family, from top to bottom, knows that I belong to Xiao Li now. Everything I have is Xiao Li’s. Harming me would be like slapping Xiao Li in the face. How would they dare?"

Jiang Qingli: "..."

Although that was more or less the gist of her last warning to Baili Chengyan, hearing such a long declaration come out of Baili Jing’s mouth still made her face flush.

She casually pressed the back of her hand against her cheek, pretending not to be flustered, and went along with his words, emphasizing, "That’s right. I’m your female master now. You have to obey my commands absolutely. Do you hear me?"

Baili Jing smiled and patted her head. "As you command, female master."

When they reached the door to the master bedroom, Baili Jing kissed her cheek. "Let me know when you’ve thought about my proposal from last night, baby."

Jiang Qingli froze, the tips of her ears turning red.

Last night, while Baili Jing was helping her tidy her room, he saw a large batch of "study materials" that Lin Xiyue had sent over.

The young man had wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing the base of her ear and coaxing in a low voice, "Baby, studying alone isn’t very efficient. Why don’t you come to my room this weekend? Or I can come here and study with you..."

’He’s so smooth. Danger, danger, danger.’

Jiang Qingli had resolutely refused, forcefully pushing him into the room next door and shutting the door to block him out.

-

After her shower, Jiang Qingli snuck into Qin Muye’s room like a thief.

Qin Muye had also taken another shower and was sitting on the sofa in a bathrobe, its collar hanging open suggestively.

Jiang Qingli’s gaze lingered for a moment before she sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Let’s get some sleep."

"What do you mean, ’let’s get some sleep’?!" The words stunned Qin Muye. He was so angry he stood up and stalked over to the bed.

’He’d been sitting here so long he’d almost turned to stone, psyching himself up over and over, only for her to just... go to sleep?’

"On what grounds?" Qin Muye squeezed onto the bed, glaring at her with a mix of grievance and ferocity. "That stinky snake and that fox spirit get to, but I can’t?"

Jiang Qingli frowned, poking his forehead with her index finger. "Stop with the ’stinky snake’ and ’fox spirit.’ They have names."

As the girl’s slender, pale finger poked him, Qin Muye’s head wobbled, and he almost apologized out of instinct.

But then he remembered that she had rejected him first. The Prince, having found the moral high ground, huffed loudly and said resentfully, "You’re picking on me!"

He was just being difficult.

Jiang Qingli: "..."

After two seconds of silence, she slowly lifted her nightgown and then let it drop.

It was just a glimpse.

WHOOSH. Qin Muye’s mind went completely blank. The blood that had just stopped started flowing again, even more fiercely than before.

He quickly clapped a hand over his nose, but blood trickled through his fingers and dripped onto his bathrobe.

Both amused and feeling a little sorry for him, Jiang Qingli patted his head. "There, there. You’ll get used to it."

Qin Muye gritted his teeth. "It’s my nose that’s bleeding, not my—"

Before he could finish, the girl’s soft fingers suddenly pressed down with a bit of force, finishing his thought aloud: "Here?"

Qin Muye’s entire body went stiff, and he let out a muffled groan.

"Are you sure?" Jiang Qingli propped herself up on one hand beside him, her lips drawing near. "Little puppy, you don’t have that much blood to spare."

"We have plenty of time. It’s okay to take things slow, hmm?"

Jiang Qingli pinched his chin and looked down at him. As she did, the curve of her eyes seemed to blur and overlap with the one from his first dream.

Qin Muye’s heart raced. Beast ears popped out on top of his head, and he nodded obediently.

He was being very good, so she pressed her lips to his, sharing a long and fervent kiss.

At some point, their positions had reversed.

The young man leaned down, his veined hand gripping her slender ankle, his thin lips slightly parted...

...

The next day, the other males in the villa clearly sensed that Qin Muye had changed.

The Prince, who usually either snarled at them or showered them with sarcasm, actually smiled at them and even took the initiative to greet Yi Nuo, who was carrying juice. "Morning."

Yi Nuo: "..."

He was beaming with satisfaction; it wasn’t hard for the others to guess why.

Yi Nuo pressed his lips together. "Prince, is the young miss awake? Breakfast is ready."

"She’s probably still sleeping." Qin Muye rubbed his temples, feigning distress. "She was too tired last night."

The silver-haired young man smiled smugly, while the faces of the others darkened to varying degrees.

The atmosphere was as taut as a string.

Yuan Shimo put down his utensils and stood up. Yi Nuo called out to him, "Mr. Yuan, will you be staying out tonight, or..."

Qin Muye’s face stiffened.

Only then did he remember that Jiang Qingli couldn’t continue "teaching" him tonight, because she had to spend time with the others.

The males’ gazes fell on Yuan Shimo once more.

Yuan Shimo glanced at the various Beast Husbands, each with a different expression, and stated coolly, "Tonight, and from now on, I will be staying."