Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Touching the Ears Is Courting

The door opened a crack, and Jiang Qingli hid behind it, reaching out a hand.

Her fingers fumbled in the air. Instead of a towel, they grasped something else.

Jiang Qingli felt along the texture and asked in confusion, "Why is this your hand? Where’s my towel?"

"My apologies," Baili Jing said with a gentle smile. "I offered the wrong hand."

He slowly retracted that hand and passed her the soft towel. As he pulled away, his fingers gently brushed against hers.

The girl’s hand froze before she sharply yanked it back.

’Was she scared?’

Baili Jing lowered his eyes, pressing his thumb and forefinger together, rubbing the lingering, steamy moisture he had picked up from her palm.

The memory of her fair, slender wrist reaching out made the young man’s breath hitch.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He closed his eyes, forcing down the filthy images in his mind. When he opened them, his gentle smile had returned, and he waited like a loyal dog for its master to finish her business and come to him.

Jiang Qingli quickly put on her nightdress and came out.

She was a little surprised to see Baili Jing. "Why are you waiting here?"

"I wanted to talk to you as soon as possible." Baili Jing’s gaze fell on her dripping hair. "Do you want me to dry it for you?"

"No, it’s fine. I’ll just use the hair-care device." Jiang Qingli rummaged through a cabinet, pulled out a face mask Lin Xiyue had recommended, and put it on.

Drying hair here was convenient—it took less than a minute. However, many females preferred to use a special device that dried it slowly while also providing a conditioning treatment.

Baili Jing followed her over. "I’ve been learning about hair care and massage recently. How about I help you?"

Jiang Qingli nodded dubiously.

Twenty minutes later, Yi Nuo stood at the half-open door to the lounge, his hand frozen in mid-air as he was about to knock.

From inside came a girl’s soft, delicate pleas. "Gently... Don’t, don’t touch there..."

"How about this?" a man’s low, gentle voice asked, tinged with restraint.

After a few seconds of silence, a soft, satisfied hum followed. "Mmm... that’s very comfortable..."

Yi Nuo: "..."

The Gray Wolf Butler’s brow furrowed slightly, his lips tightening into a thin line.

Just as he was hesitating, the door was pulled open from within.

A male in a white shirt stood there, looking gentle and impeccably dressed.

Yi Nuo’s gaze fell on the person behind him. He saw Jiang Qingli walking over, rubbing her neck. Aside from a faint pink flush to her skin, she was completely unmarked.

Baili Jing asked, "Feeling a little better?"

"Much better. Your massage technique is incredible," Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but praise him. "Is that a required skill for your role?"

"It’s a skill every Beast Husband should learn," Baili Jing said with a perfectly demure smile.

’...So it was just a massage.’

His tense fingers relaxed slightly. Yi Nuo retracted his gaze and bowed his head respectfully to Jiang Qingli. "Miss, I have two matters to report."

"First, Mr. Ye called ten minutes ago. He said he has something to attend to tonight and won’t be able to return. He couldn’t reach you by phone, so he asked me to relay the message."

"Second..." Yi Nuo looked up, his gaze sweeping across the young woman’s face. "Miss, the Yu Family has sent a gift and would also like to invite you to dine with them tomorrow evening."

"I won’t be going to dinner. Return the gift as well." Jiang Qingli had no intention of getting friendly with them.

Yi Nuo nodded. Just as he was about to carry out her orders, there was a sudden knock at the door.

A servant’s anxious voice drifted in. "You can’t go in there, that’s the miss’s room—Hey! Stop him! Someone, stop him!"

Jiang Qingli frowned and strode to the door.

She pushed the door open to see a pretty boy running toward her.

He was wearing a semi-transparent shirt, and his every movement was filled with a coquettish air. Upon closer inspection, his features bore a slight resemblance to Yu Chenglan.

When the servants saw Jiang Qingli open the door, they were scared out of their wits. They hurriedly pinned the boy to the floor and cried out in terror, "Miss."

Then they covered his mouth, awaiting Jiang Qingli’s orders.

’What in the world is going on?’

’Where did this man come from?’

Jiang Qingli was stunned. She looked at Yi Nuo.

Yi Nuo stepped forward, blocking Jiang Qingli’s line of sight, and bowed slightly. "Miss, this is the apology gift from the Yu Family."

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’So, they thought I was angry because I couldn’t have Yu Chenglan, and their solution was to send over a high-quality knockoff?’

Jiang Qingli couldn’t comprehend their logic. Her mind went blank for a few seconds before she found her voice. "Are you saying... they sent me a man? Why didn’t you mention that before?"

A flicker of disappointment crossed the gray wolf male’s eyes. "I’m sorry, Miss," he said apologetically. "I was derelict in my duty."

Seeing this, the servants thought Jiang Qingli had taken a liking to the Yu Family’s gift and quickly said, "Miss, if you’d like, I can take him to be washed and inspected?"

"Washed for what..." Jiang Qingli pressed a hand to her forehead. "Send him back exactly as he is. And from now on, you are forbidden from accepting any more of these ’gifts’!"

The young man broke free from the servants’ grasp and raised his voice. "Miss Jiang, I’m a lot like Young Master Yu... You could give me a try!"

Jiang Qingli grew irritated just hearing the name. "You’re not even as good as Yu Chenglan! Come back again and I’ll break your legs!"

The young man was dragged out and thrown outside the gate.

He tried to knock, but the bodyguards stared daggers at him, looking as if they would kill him on the spot if he dared to make a move.

Once he was clear of the Jiang Family’s property, the young man called Yu Chenglan and recounted the entire exchange.

Yu Chenglan raised an eyebrow. "She really said you weren’t as good as me?"

"Yes..." the young man said, crestfallen. "She didn’t even give me a proper look." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Hearing this, Yu Chenglan propped his chin on his hand and snorted in disdain.

He had sent the man over to be an inside source, someone to monitor Jiang Qingli’s every move and torment her a little.

Who would have thought Jiang Qingli would actually refuse?

She even said the man wasn’t as good as him.

He’d originally thought Jiang Qingli would fawn over any good-looking man, but it seemed she had some taste after all.

Her behavior at the pool today must have been to get his attention. And later, her pointing him out in public must have been because she couldn’t get over their past relationship—her love had turned to hate.

At this thought, a surge of arrogance swelled within Yu Chenglan.

But what a pity. The one he loved was the kindhearted Yiyi, not some vicious female.

But he couldn’t leave the discipline room right now. How was he supposed to get revenge for Yiyi?

Yu Chenglan thought for a moment, then dialed the Bai Family’s number. "It’s me. Is Chi Yun awake?"

-

After the interruption, Jiang Qingli and Baili Jing returned to the bedroom.

They sat next to each other on the sofa, and the atmosphere grew a little strange.

The last few times she had performed healing, it had either been under semi-coercion from Ye Linyuan or during the extreme circumstances of Qin Muye’s Beastification.

This was the first time they had sat together so formally...

For a moment, Jiang Qingli didn’t know how to begin.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to try the same method she had used on Qin Muye.

"Baili Jing," the girl began softly, beckoning him closer. "Lower your head and let out your ears."

Baili Jing bent forward, and his fox ears popped out naturally.

Her slender fingers took hold of the tip of his ear and began to stroke it gently.

The fox fur was impeccably maintained. The long, snow-white hairs were so soft to the touch, she found it hard to stop petting them.

As Jiang Qingli stroked his ear, she started to forget her original purpose.

Her fingertips applied a bit of pressure without her noticing, and the young man she was stroking let out a muffled groan.

The low sound, almost right in her ear, was husky and sensual, full of a provocative undertone.

Jiang Qingli’s face grew warm. "Don’t make noises like that... People might get the wrong idea."

"The wrong idea?"

Baili Jing slowly repeated her words. He looked at her for a few seconds, then raised a hand to gently pinch her cheek, a helpless yet doting smile on his face. "Xiao Li, have you forgotten something?"

Jiang Qingli felt a sudden nervousness. "What?"

The young man’s eyes curved into crescents, shimmering with a honey-like sweetness.

He cupped her face, drawing her close. His lips paused beside her ear as he used his gentle, low, magnetic voice to explain, word by word, to his clueless Xiao Qing Mei—

"Sweetheart, when a female touches a male Beastman’s ears, it’s a sign of courtship."