The patient’s voice was filled with pain, as if he were being burned by something.

The nurse looked curiously at the person accompanying him. "Yuan, did you hear what he said? It sounds like he’s calling someone’s name. A parent or a relative?"

The black-haired young man’s voice was cool. "I don’t know. He’s probably hallucinating."

Not daring to delay, the nurse nodded and helped carry Chi Yun to a hospital room.

Yuan Shiyao didn’t follow. Instead, he lifted his gaze and glanced at the girl not far away.

She had changed into a long, cinched-waist dress that made her waist look so slender it seemed a single hand could encircle it...

Yuan Shiyao’s gaze lingered for a few seconds before he suddenly felt an intense stare on him.

He shifted his eyes slightly and met a pair of cold, sharp, golden vertical pupils.

The snake-type’s resistance and disgust toward him were completely undisguised.

Yuan Shiyao pretended not to notice, impassively retracting his gaze.

Just then, Doctor Jin finished explaining the necessary precautions to Jiang Qingli and told her to follow a nurse for a basic check-up.

Jiang Qingli nodded and left with the nurse.

Her terminal was ringing incessantly, and she was looking down at it as she walked, so she didn’t notice Yuan Shiyao at all.

Yuan Shiyao stepped back a little, brushing past her.

The young man’s body stiffened in an instant.

A rich fragrance seemed to envelop all his senses, only to dissipate completely a few seconds later, leaving no trace.

A flicker of bewilderment crossed Yuan Shiyao’s face.

"Ahem, young man?" Doctor Jin waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Sorry about that. I was just speaking with another patient who had an appointment. Shall we go?"

A few seconds later, Yuan Shiyao came to his senses and nodded. "Okay. Sorry to trouble you."

He had reverted to his usual cool and self-possessed top-student demeanor.

As the two of them walked toward the elevator, Yuan Shiyao politely chatted about Chi Yun’s condition, but his eyes unconsciously followed a light purple figure until she rounded a corner in the hallway and disappeared from view.

Inside the elevator, Yuan Shiyao casually brought up the subject. "That female from just now seems to be a student at the Royal Academy, too. But I remember she doesn’t have any spiritual power. Is she here to see you for... a second awakening?"

Doctor Jin was a famous spiritual power expert in the First District, and it was common knowledge that Jiang Qingli was a useless female who had never awakened her spiritual power.

To suddenly be seeing him about a spiritual power issue could only mean a second awakening.

A female awakening her spiritual power was a joyous occasion, so Doctor Jin didn’t hide anything. "We can’t confirm the level yet, but it should be a second awakening. If all goes as expected, it’ll be the Healing System."

Although he had suspected it, hearing it confirmed still made a flash of surprise cross Yuan Shiyao’s eyes.

Jiang Qingli had a distinguished background. Her mother was a general with an S Level Superpower, and her father was an even rarer S Level Dragon Beastman. They had strictly groomed Jiang Qingli from a young age, just waiting for her to awaken her spiritual power so they could train her properly to inherit her mother’s power and influence in the future.

On her eighteenth birthday, the Jiang Family held a grand banquet, and multiple media outlets had already prepared their press releases.

But the unexpected happened.

Jiang Qingli’s awakening failed, turning her into the laughingstock of Central City.

Not only that, but she had also spouted nonsense at the banquet, saying she wasn’t interested in Superpowers at all and was more interested in marrying a high-quality male.

Several of the Jiang Family elders nearly fainted from anger.

After her comments were exposed online, the Jiang Family locked her up for more than half a year.

It was said that during that time, the Jiang Family tried all sorts of methods to stimulate her awakening, but none of them succeeded.

Perhaps for that reason, Jiang Qingli’s personality changed drastically.

Yuan Shiyao wasn’t close with Jiang Qingli, but for some unknown reason, she had taken a liking to him and started pursuing him.

He had rejected her, completely fed up, but she just turned around and found someone else.

During her sophomore year, the Jiang Family had prepared the student council vice president position for Jiang Qingli, but she traded it for Bai Yiyi’s five fiancés...

After that, she threw herself at those five fiancés, becoming even more mediocre and incompetent than before.

’So how could she suddenly have a second spiritual power awakening now?’

’And, thinking about it carefully, the Jiang Qingli of today is a world apart from the one not so long ago...’

Yuan Shiyao’s brow furrowed. He just felt that something was strange, but when he tried to think about it in detail, that thread of strangeness slipped away like quicksand through his fingers.

-

Yuan Shiyao and Doctor Jin walked to the door of the VIP room, and the waiting nurse immediately came over.

Doctor Jin asked, "How is he?"

The nurse looked troubled. "Doctor Jin, we’ve already done a preliminary examination on the patient. All his vitals are normal. I’m afraid he’ll need a more detailed examination from you..."

"Mm, let me take a look." Doctor Jin nodded and walked inside.

The nurse added, "Oh, right, he kept muttering something about some kind of sauce... and pears? Is he hungry?"

Yuan Shiyao: "..."

Yuan Shiyao frowned slightly, glancing with disgust at the person inside through the glass. His tone was indifferent. "I’ll have someone buy him some food."

The nurse and Doctor Jin nodded. An assistant from the side pushed over a large piece of equipment, and they all entered the hospital room.

There was a lounge next door. Yuan Shiyao went inside to reply to messages from the student council and also held a brief online meeting.

By the time he finished, half an hour had passed.

Yuan Shiyao wasn’t close with Chi Yun. He had only brought him here because it was his turn to be responsible for monitoring the males’ spiritual power issues.

’Bringing him here counts as fulfilling my duty.’

Yuan Shiyao got up and walked out.

He had only taken a few steps when he came face-to-face with Jiang Qingli and Ye Linyuan, who were walking side-by-side.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Jiang Qingli spotted Yuan Shiyao and greeted him casually. "Are you here to see a doctor too?"

Yuan Shiyao paused, his gaze falling on the girl’s face.

The sunlight streamed into the room just right, casting a soft halo on her fair profile.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Yuan Shiyao stood still, his voice a little deep. "A student fainted. The student council had to take responsibility."

He didn’t say Chi Yun’s name.

He had heard that Jiang Qingli had come to despise those five former fiancés recently.

For some reason, Yuan Shiyao didn’t want her to think he was close with them.

As expected, Jiang Qingli wasn’t suspicious. She nodded and sat down on the sofa across from Yuan Shiyao.

This hospital only served the nobility and was luxuriously appointed. A robot quickly delivered exquisite pastries and black tea.

Jiang Qingli picked up the black tea, but stopped just as it reached her lips. She held it out to Ye Linyuan, blinking at him attentively. "You take the first sip?"

Ye Linyuan: "..."

’She’s using me as a poison tester again.’

But perhaps because he was immune to most poisons, Ye Linyuan didn’t feel any resistance to the idea.

Ye Linyuan slowly took a sip of the tea. After swallowing, he paused for a few seconds before handing it back.

Jiang Qingli took the cup, had a drink, and then pointed to the pastries. "Do you want to eat that?"

Though she asked if he wanted some, she was actually the one who did.

A slight curve formed on Ye Linyuan’s thin lips, but he quickly suppressed it.

He glanced at the top student across from them and said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Feed me."

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’There are other people here!’

But Ye Linyuan was unmoved, even adding a request, "The strawberry one."

That was the flavor Jiang Qingli wanted to eat the most.

Jiang Qingli secretly snuck a peek at Yuan Shiyao. Seeing that he was wearing headphones and looking down at his terminal, she relaxed and speared a piece with a fork, holding it out.

She was completely unaware that the moment she looked away, that pair of jade-green cat eyes had followed her again.

With the "poison" tested, Jiang Qingli began to enjoy her food with peace of mind.

She ate slowly, her cheeks puffing out in a soft curve, like a little hamster.

Ye Linyuan watched her, his gaze unconsciously softening.

After a few seconds, he looked up and narrowed his eyes at Yuan Shiyao in a clear warning.

Yuan Shiyao retracted his gaze, but he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

’Another idiot, just like Qin Muye.’

’He just became her Beast Husband a few days ago, and he can’t resist exposing their relationship on the campus forums, as if he wishes the whole world knew about them.’

’So possessive. Does he really think everyone would fall for Jiang Qingli?’

’He doesn’t even stop to think. How could a good-for-nothing like him, an incompetent F Level who only has a place in society because of his bloodline and family’s protection, possibly protect his own female?’

’If any High Level male made a move, they’d be completely unable to resist.’

’They could only watch helplessly as their fragile female is snatched away by another male.’

’Forcibly pulling her into an embrace, tasting her lips, even doing more outrageous things...’

The tips of the young man’s ears, hidden beneath his black hair, grew slightly hot, and his breathing tightened.

Just then, his terminal vibrated.

Yuan Shiyao assumed it was the student council. He glanced at the screen, but his fingers suddenly trembled.

The call wasn’t from just anyone. It was from Yuan Shiyao’s twin brother, Jiang Qingli’s legitimate Beast Husband—

Yuan Shimo.