Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Clinging to Her Even in Death

Hearing Baili Jing’s voice, Jiang Qingli’s mind went blank for a second.

In the second she froze, a pale, slender hand reached past her, decisively hung up, and tossed the terminal aside.

"Hey!" Jiang Qingli snapped back to her senses and scrambled to pick it up.

Ye Linyuan had one hand clamped around her leg, so she could only twist her body and stretch her arm out to reach for it.

The movement caused the skirt bunched around her waist to fall in cascading layers, covering her slender, pale waistline.

But what displeased Ye Linyuan even more was the girl’s rare expression of anxiety.

It was as if... she was afraid the person whose call had been disconnected would get the wrong idea.

The thought irritated Ye Linyuan.

Ye Linyuan’s breathing involuntarily grew heavier, and the fingers gripping her waist slowly tightened.

"Stop messing around." Jiang Qingli freed a hand to slap his away, her fingers fumbling for the terminal.

Ye Linyuan froze, staring at his own hand.

The girl hadn’t used much force when she hit him, so there was no pain, but Ye Linyuan still felt an indescribable, stifling rage—

’How dare she.’

’Sitting on my lap, kissing me, yet thinking about another man.’

’She even laid a hand on me for that damn fox.’

He watched as the girl picked up her terminal, apparently checking her messages.

Notification chimes sounded one after another. Ye Linyuan sneered involuntarily, "You’re certainly popular."

The moment the words left his mouth, he was startled by his own strange reaction.

’What business is it of mine if Jiang Qingli gets tangled up with some fox or leopard beastman?’

’We’re just two parties in a contract, nothing more.’

’She provides spiritual soothing, and I provide personal protection.’

’Once my spiritual power is back under control, I’ll leave.’

The anger he felt, Ye Linyuan reasoned, must be an effect of the mark.

His fingers unconsciously lifted, touching the totem of a thorny rose through his clothes—the mark Jiang Qingli had given him.

The marked skin tingled with a faint heat.

Ye Linyuan was momentarily lost in a daze.

When Jiang Qingli looked up after replying to her messages, this was the sight that greeted her.

It was the first time she had ever seen a slightly dazed expression on the villain’s typically sullen face.

’Is he still in heat?’

Jiang Qingli reached out and poked his cheek. "I’m finished. Come with me—"

"What, is he not coming to pick you up?"

Ye Linyuan cut her off, his low, magnetic voice dripping with sarcasm.

His narrow eyes narrowed, his gaze sweeping down over her messy hair, her obviously-kissed, crimson lips, and the long dress he had pulled half-off her. Finally, his eyes traveled back up, inch by inch, to meet her slightly widened ones.

"Going to see him looking like this?" Ye Linyuan arched an eyebrow. A fierce agitation churned in his chest, making his tone increasingly strange. "You just can’t wait, can you?"

After speaking, he tightened his grip on her waist and leaned closer, his slit pupils fixed coldly on her.

It was as if he would knock her unconscious on the spot if she so much as nodded.

After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Qingli sighed in resignation. "Ye Linyuan, can you please let me finish speaking?"

Ye Linyuan remained motionless.

’It’s a good thing I’m used to him acting like this,’ Jiang Qingli thought. ’Otherwise, I’d probably be scared to death.’

"I was just about to ask you to go with me to the hospital," Jiang Qingli said, looking down to straighten her wrinkled dress. "Doctor Jin just sent me a message. She said I can go in for a spiritual power check-up."

"Baili Jing and I aren’t going public with our relationship yet. Since you’re my Beast Husband too, I’m informing you." She pursed her kiss-swollen lips and shot him a displeased glare. "Next time you dare hang up on my calls without my permission, or say threatening things to me—"

Jiang Qingli thought for a moment, realizing she didn’t really have any leverage over this villain. Not wanting to seem too meek, she tacked on a stiff threat: "—you can just get through your heat by yourself!"

"Understood." Ye Linyuan’s expression was blank, his voice returning to its usual indifference. "The hospital’s address."

He looked completely unconcerned, but his tense spine relaxed slightly as he leaned back against the soft seat.

Seeing him put on such an act, Jiang Qingli ground her teeth in frustration.

"Forget it. I don’t need you to come." Jiang Qingli scooted to the side, mimicking the wretched snake’s passive-aggressive tone. "Some bodyguard you are. In the end, you’re completely unreliable..."

Before she could finish, the silent man suddenly reached for her, leaning over to wrap his arms around her waist.

Ye Linyuan closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against her neck.

A moment later, Jiang Qingli heard his muffled voice. "I’ll go with you."

It sounded somewhat resigned, almost self-defeating.

As Ye Linyuan breathed in the girl’s unique scent, his thoughts began to drift.

He thought back to the morning after he was marked.

After Jiang Qingli left, his vigilant, serpentine instincts had him immediately find Central City’s most renowned physician to remove the mark.

The removal was possible. There would be side effects, but they were within an acceptable range.

But just as he was about to enter the operating room, Ye Linyuan changed his mind.

Not only did he decide against removing the mark, but after learning she had broken off her engagement, he even added his own name to the list of potential Beast Husbands.

He had repeatedly told himself that he had used his noble status to come to Central City to handle important business, not to become someone’s appendage.

But all his reason shattered the moment he heard her name.

His heart and lungs went wild, and his mind was consumed by a single thought—

’Why?’

’Why should she get to mark me, then refuse to take any responsibility and immediately turn around to throw herself into a pile of men, indulging in carnal pleasures?’

A sharp, frenzied resentment bloomed in Ye Linyuan’s heart.

If she could be so cold and heartless after their intimacy, then she shouldn’t expect an easy life.

He wouldn’t let her shake him off so easily.

He would cling to her, entwining himself around her as feverishly as he had during their chaotic night together.

He would never let go, not even in death.

-

By the time the flyer stopped at the hospital entrance, Jiang Qingli’s back was aching.

She had no idea what had gotten into the great villain. He just held her without letting go, his heavy, scorching breath hitting the side of her neck. For several moments, Jiang Qingli seriously suspected he was going to eat her alive.

And not in the fun, nighttime way. In the literal, raw-flesh kind of way.

Her terminal vibrated. Jiang Qingli shifted her arm and whispered, "Ye Linyuan, are you asleep? Doctor Jin is rushing me."

The man grunted in response, straightened up, and finally released her.

Free at last, Jiang Qingli started to get out of the flyer, but as soon as she raised her hand, Ye Linyuan grabbed it.

"You’re going out like that?" Ye Linyuan stared at her wrinkled skirt, his voice turning cold.

"You have the nerve to ask? Isn’t this your fault?" Jiang Qingli slapped his hand away and glanced down at her dress.

’It’s not actually that noticeable...’

The next second, a brand-new dress landed on her lap.

"Go change," Ye Linyuan said.

This time, he closed his eyes without Jiang Qingli having to remind him.

Jiang Qingli was suddenly struck by the thought that this snake could actually be considerate sometimes.

After changing into the light purple dress Ye Linyuan had provided, Jiang Qingli pushed open the flyer door and stepped out. Ye Linyuan followed at a distance, his pace unhurried.

Just as she entered the hospital lobby, a group of medical staff bustled past, surrounding a stretcher and rushing toward the elevators.

It was too crowded for her to see clearly, but through a gap in the staff, she glimpsed the patient’s red hair. It looked familiar.

Jiang Qingli didn’t think much of it.

The female leading the group saw her and suddenly stopped. "Miss Jiang."

"Doctor Jin," Jiang Qingli said, recognizing her and offering a greeting.

"I’m so sorry, Miss Jiang, I’m afraid I’ll have to delay your check-up," Doctor Jin said with a sigh. "A patient just fainted from a spiritual power fluctuation for the second time this week. He’s completely unconscious... I need to examine him first. It should take about an hour."

Jiang Qingli was understanding. She offered a small smile. "That’s fine. I can wait."

As soon as she finished speaking, the red-haired patient on the stretcher suddenly furrowed his brow, and a faint murmur escaped his lips.

A nurse leaned in closer and heard him muttering what sounded like a name.

A female’s name.