Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Showdown at the Green Tea Summit

Jiang Qingli didn’t intentionally hang up on Qin Muye; his video call was interrupted by another one.

On the other end of the holographic call, a youth’s ethereally handsome face appeared.

He looked at the hologram of Jiang Qingli in front of him, seeming startled. After a moment, he tentatively reached out a hand.

But as he lifted his fingers, they passed right through her face.

"It’s a hologram. You can’t touch it," Jiang Qingli said with a small smile. "Did you need me for something?" She paused before saying his name. "Gu Nian."

Gu Nian stared at Jiang Qingli’s lips, and the tips of his fair ears turned pink when he heard her say his name.

"Ah... I’m sorry, Sister. I was just trying to save your contact information on my new terminal, but I must have touched something by mistake and hit the video call button..."

On the other end of the call, the delicate-featured youth bit his lower lip and timidly looked up, his pink, glass-like eyes gazing over uneasily.

His eyelashes trembled as if he were afraid of doing something wrong and making her angry. His voice was also very light and soft.

"Sister, am I bothering you? I’m so sorry..."

Seeing how timid he was, Jiang Qingli remembered he had just turned eighteen and was traveling all alone from the Twelve Cities to Central City. He was in an unfamiliar place with no one to turn to, and she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.

"I’m not angry." Jiang Qingli softened her voice. "Where are you now?"

At her words, Gu Nian’s eyes lit up. A pair of soft, snow-white rabbit ears popped up on his head and twitched happily.

His voice was filled with cheerful anticipation. "I’m in the Fourth District, Sister!"

The Twelve Cities had a clear class divide. The Fourth District bordered the Upper Three Cities but was under the direct jurisdiction of the military, which kept a tight grip on identity verification. For a low-status resident like Gu Nian, born and raised in the Lower District, entering the Upper Three Cities was extremely difficult. Even with his status as a noble’s Beast Husband, his background would be reinvestigated, a troublesome process that could take up to a month.

Initially, Jiang Qingli had wanted to send Yi Nuo to pick him up, but Yi Nuo had said that a Beast Husband who relied on his female master would be ridiculed, so she had to drop the idea.

Jiang Qingli nodded. Just as she was about to offer a few words of encouragement, she heard the young man behind her ask with a smile, "Mr. Gu, where are you staying in the Fourth District? I have friends there; I can ask them to help speed up the process for you."

Hearing this, Gu Nian’s eyes brightened. "Thank you, Uncle!"

Baili Jing froze, wondering if he had heard correctly.

’What did Gu Nian just call me? Uncle?’

He had just turned twenty-five. Whether in noble circles or the entertainment industry, he was considered a rising star... This was the first time anyone had ever called him "Uncle."

Jiang Qingli suppressed a laugh and corrected him. "Gu Nian, Baili Jing is only twenty-five. Calling him ’Uncle’ isn’t appropriate."

"Is that so?" The rabbit-eared youth tilted his head, his gaze innocent yet apologetic. "I’m sorry, Mr. Baili. In the Lower District, twenty-five is already considered an old man. I didn’t realize the Upper City District was so... accommodating."

Baili Jing was speechless.

The young man simply smiled, his tone magnanimous. "Is that right? It seems your understanding of the Upper City District is still lacking. Once you’re here, I’ll be sure to hire a special etiquette tutor for you."

"After all, if you keep making such childish blunders, you’ll embarrass your female master."

Gu Nian’s rabbit ears drooped. He shot a cautious glance at Baili Jing before looking timidly at Jiang Qingli. "I’ll definitely work hard for you, Sister. Please don’t hate me..."

Before Jiang Qingli could speak, a faint noise came from Gu Nian’s end.

She found it a bit strange. "What’s that sound?"

A cold glint flashed in Gu Nian’s eyes, but when he looked up at the girl, he smiled shyly. "I think that’s the food I ordered. It’s my first time eating big city food. I’ll go get it, Sister..."

"Okay."

Gu Nian ended the video call and got up to open the door.

The moment he stood, the soft, shy expression vanished from his face. His tall, straight figure was as cold as a sword washed clean by sleet.

The footsteps outside the door grew more frantic; there seemed to be more than ten people.

Gu Nian didn’t open the door. Instead, he pointed a finger into the air, and space itself twisted and tore open.

He reached out, and with a light tug, the assassin who had been knocking was pulled right in front of him.

Without a single word, Gu Nian dispatched the male, who was easily three times his size, with clean, decisive movements.

He searched the lead male’s body and found a terminal.

It was the latest top-secret terminal from the Upper City District, touted as having extremely strong security; a failed attempt to crack it would cause it to self-destruct.

But in the youth’s hands, the device was like a simple toy. He unlocked it in a few deft moves.

Gu Nian finished browsing and sighed softly. "So many assassination attempts. The Upper City District really doesn’t welcome me, does it?"

"But what can I do? I want to see Sister so badly." A wronged look bled into the youth’s handsome features. After a moment of thought, he crushed the terminal. "Oh well. I’ll just have to deal with you all first."

"If I show up with a bunch of pests, Sister will definitely hate me."

The youth walked to the closet and changed into a clean set of clothes.

’Sister is still so kind, keeping something so old by her side,’ Gu Nian thought with a sigh as he recalled the earlier call.

His lips curled, and a sick, twisted excitement surged in his eyes. He murmured in a soft, gentle voice, ’What should I do? I like Sister even more now.’

*

After the video call ended, a few seconds of stunned silence hung in the air.

Jiang Qingli put away her terminal and turned to face Baili Jing.

She had intended to offer a few words of comfort, but the moment she saw his handsome face, she remembered Gu Nian’s "Uncle."

She held it in for a few seconds but couldn’t contain it any longer. Jiang Qingli threw herself into his arms, bursting into laughter.

Baili Jing held the girl in his arms and sighed.

When Jiang Qingli finished laughing, she noticed the young man’s mood had clearly soured.

She straightened up and poked Baili Jing’s cheek. "Hey, are you mad?"

"No." Baili Jing gave her a somewhat mournful look. "I was just wondering if you really think I’m old, baby. That there’s a generation gap between us, that I’m an old fossil you don’t like..."

A whole string of negative words tumbled from his lips.

Jiang Qingli hadn’t expected him to take it so seriously and quickly waved her hands, explaining, "I was just teasing you!"

"Really?" Baili Jing heaved a long sigh. "Then why, last night..."

He pressed his lips together, looking as if he was about to give up on himself. "Never mind."

"Don’t ’never mind’ me." Seeing him like this, Jiang Qingli felt an inexplicable ache in her heart. She cupped his face. "I really don’t find you old... Finish what you were saying. What about last night?"

"If you don’t think I’m old, baby, then why didn’t you touch me last night?"

Baili Jing pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes, his voice fragile. "I must be really unattractive to you, huh? We were in the same bed, but nothing happened..."

Jiang Qingli was at a loss for words.

Helpless, Jiang Qingli instinctively tried to placate him. "Who said nothing happened? Didn’t you kiss me? Last night, you kissed my hand and my neck, and I didn’t say no."

"But I want more."

He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek, rubbing against it ingratiatingly.

His long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and his lazy, deep, magnetic voice was exceptionally alluring. "Baby, will you give me a chance?"

Her palm grew hot, and she tensed up instinctively. "A chance for what?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Fox ears popped up on the young man’s head, and a soft, snow-white fox tail brushed gently against the top of her thigh. With a single, fluid motion, he reversed their positions, looming over her.

"A chance to prove I’m not a useless old thing..."

His soft, thin lips traveled down her waistline, planting kiss after kiss and leaving a trail of tingling numbness in their wake.

The young man’s breathing grew heavy, and his gentle, clear voice became muffled.

"I’ll make you very happy, baby."