After the message was marked as "read," the elevator doors opened with a DING.

Jiang Qingli stood outside the doors, her hands behind her back, and smiled at him. "So, you want to dance with me?"

Qin Muye rubbed the back of his neck, a little uncomfortable. He retorted, "Can’t I?"

His tone was still stiff, but the tips of his ears had already begun to flush.

Just moments ago, anger had been building in his chest like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

But when he met her eyes, the erupting magma bubbled and transformed into harmless, sweet cream.

Jiang Qingli took his hand and led him toward the car, her tone unhurried. "Dancing is fine, but the first dance is already spoken for."

"Who?!" Qin Muye stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowed. He was as furious as if someone had snuck in and robbed his home.

Jiang Qingli didn’t hide it from him. "Yueyue."

Qin Muye’s thoughts screeched to a halt. "...Lin Xiyue? Isn’t she a female?"

His question made Jiang Qingli laugh. "Females can dance with other females, too. I’ve danced with your sister before, you know."

The suggestion had actually come from Lin Xiyue.

Lin Xiyue’s seven Beast Husbands were usually quite harmonious, but at every banquet, they would argue—or even come to blows—over who would get the first dance with her.

For a Beast Husband, having the first dance with his female master at a social event was a clear indicator of his favored status at home.

This time, to be fair to everyone, Lin Xiyue had come up with this ploy.

Jiang Qingli had also been agonizing over who to dance with first, so the proposal was a perfect solution to her dilemma. She had happily agreed.

Upon hearing this, Qin Muye’s brow fell in disappointment.

But on second thought, even though he’d lost his chance, at least the snake, fox, cat, and rabbit spirits at home hadn’t gotten their way either. He found some comfort in that.

He leaned in and pecked her crimson lips, persisting, "The second dance is with me."

"Of course, of course~"

Jiang Qingli patted his head and promised with a beaming smile.

Qin Muye huffed. "Come to my place tonight."

Jiang Qingli readily agreed. "Your secret base? Sure."

After staring at her for a few seconds, Qin Muye suddenly added, "The floor-to-ceiling window."

His gray-blue eyes were intensely predatory, and a phantom ache shot through Jiang Qingli’s waist. "...Let’s skip that one, okay?"

Qin Muye was displeased. "It was in that video you watched last time. If not with me, who else are you planning to do it with?"

She couldn’t hold out against him and reluctantly gave in. "Well... we can try, I guess..."

One "try" later, she didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

The moment she opened her eyes, Jiang Qingli smelled something burning.

Holding her aching waist, she groggily got up and pushed the door open.

She saw the Prince crouching by the trash can, staring at a pile of blackened things inside, a look of utter dejection on his face.

Hearing footsteps, Qin Muye shot to his feet, trying to block the pile from her view. He said haltingly, "W-why are you up?"

"I smelled something strange." Jiang Qingli walked into the kitchen.

Qin Muye tried to hide it, but it was too late. The four or five pans with burnt bottoms in the sink were too obvious to conceal.

In fact, his movement only drew Jiang Qingli’s attention to the food in the trash can, which was still emitting plumes of black smoke.

Seeing his mortified expression, Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but tease him. "Are you making biochemical weapons, Your Highness?"

"This was just practice! I’m about to succeed!" Qin Muye’s face flushed red as he raised his voice to emphasize his point.

"Alright, I’ll stop teasing you." Jiang Qingli wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her face up, her eyes curving into crescents. "You don’t have to do this. I don’t have these kinds of expectations for my Beast Husbands."

Qin Muye turned his face away, his thin lips pressed into a tight line.

He knew Jiang Qingli never asked anything of him.

But...

"The others all know how," Qin Muye mumbled sullenly.

Especially the rabbit and fox spirits at home; they loved making all sorts of food to win her favor.

Not knowing how made him feel less competitive than the other Beast Husbands.

The mere thought of it frustrated Qin Muye.

That was why he had gotten up at the crack of dawn.

But the hands that were so skilled at fighting were now incredibly clumsy. He’d spent the whole morning ruining several pans without producing a single edible thing.

’How mortifying.’

Suddenly, a pair of soft hands cupped his face.

"But Qin Muye has strengths that the others don’t. You’re the only Qin Muye in the world. You don’t have to be like anyone else for me to still like you."

Qin Muye huffed, saying disbelievingly, "You’re just trying to sweet-talk me."

For once, Jiang Qingli wasn’t teasing him. She said very seriously, "I mean it."

’Just as serious as you were that rainy night when you said you’d follow me forever.’

Qin Muye lowered his head to meet the girl’s clear, bright eyes.

Reflected in them was his own image.

His heart felt like it was stuffed with fireworks, exploding one after another and making him intensely dizzy.

Qin Muye dipped his head, staring into her eyes.

The girl’s fingers lovingly traced the spots on his forearm where he’d been burned by spattering oil. She hooked a finger in his collar, tilted her head, and kissed his lips.

The temperature seemed to rise under the brilliant sunlight as their breaths mingled and tangled, searing itself into their very bones.

...

「Two hours later.」

Jiang Qingli rolled over, lying there in exhausted paralysis as she rejected his renewed advances. "No, I’m hungry."

"Just once," he said, playfully nipping the skin on the back of her neck.

Jiang Qingli pushed his face away. "I’ll hit you if you keep this up." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Qin Muye leaned in closer, pressing her hand to his face, his eyes shining brightly. "Where are you going to hit me?"

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’Oh, now you’re just asking for it, aren’t you?’

She turned her back to him.

Seeing this, Qin Muye stopped fooling around and sat up, planning to order some takeout.

After ordering the food, he glanced down and let out a surprised, "What’s this?"

Jiang Qingli looked up and saw a totem of a thorny rose on his chest, right over his heart.

’That was... her mark.’

Ever since she’d marked Ye Linyuan, the symbol hadn’t appeared on any of her other Beast Husbands. The marking process itself was difficult, so Jiang Qingli hadn’t paid it much mind.

She never expected to suddenly mark Qin Muye now.

’Could it be? Did we both feel such intense love for each other just now?’

In the few seconds she was stunned, Qin Muye also realized what had happened.

’He had been marked.’

At that realization, Qin Muye’s breath hitched.

Ever since his adoptive father’s death, Qin Muye had never again felt like he had a home.

But now, the totem over his heart gave him a powerful sense of belonging.

This totem, connecting him to her, seemed to be telling him—

’From now on, he was no longer someone that nobody wanted.’

Back when Qin Muye was a boss just getting by in the Lower District, he’d most despised males who would live and die for a female, who were willing to be their fawning lapdogs.

’But now, he suddenly felt that becoming her little dog wouldn’t be so bad after all.’

’She really was his best master, just like that absurd nickname he’d given her.’

Before she could react, Qin Muye suddenly sat up, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her toward him, conveying his elation through a searing kiss.

Jiang Qingli’s breathing grew unsteady. In a gap between breaths, she pushed at him. "No, no, I still have to practice dancing... Otherwise, my mother will be upset if she sees..."

’Even though she’d never met Jiang Yi, she wanted to leave a good impression.’

’It was as if, if she performed well, a pair of gentle hands would stroke her hair and praise her for doing a great job.’

Qin Muye released her and pulled her up. "Practice with me."

"I guarantee your mother will be satisfied."