The faint smell of disinfectant lingered in the hospital. Ye Linyuan didn’t want to stay a moment longer, pulling Jiang Qingli’s hand and leaving without a backward glance.

When they reached the ground floor, Jiang Qingli suddenly stopped.

The young man frowned and looked over, finding her with her face tilted up toward the sky.

The sun had already set.

Hues of crimson gold and lavender purple were like overturned paints, smeared across the vast canvas of the sky, creating an ethereal, dreamlike scene.

Ye Linyuan asked, "What are you looking at?"

"The sunset," Jiang Qingli said with what seemed to be a small smile. "It’s beautiful."

Ye Linyuan frowned. He didn’t like looking at the sky.

He had spent most of his life in narrow, dim spaces and had come to loathe the vast, open sky.

But Ye Linyuan didn’t leave right away. Instead, he stood there in silence.

His gaze drifted unconsciously to Jiang Qingli beside him.

In the light of the setting sun, the girl’s palm-sized face looked even more fair and delicate.

She had a pair of beautiful eyes, with thick, curled lashes. The corners of her eyes curved up just so, and even when she wasn’t smiling, her gaze held a captivating springtime radiance.

A gentle breeze blew, brushing a few strands of her dark hair against the young man’s cold, sharp profile.

Ye Linyuan froze for a second. The marked area of his skin began to grow faintly hot again.

He suddenly felt a little short of breath.

Before he could figure out why, Jiang Qingli had already turned her head and tugged his hand. "Let’s go, let’s go! Time to go home!"

Ye Linyuan snapped back to his senses. He didn’t even retort with something like, ’Who said I have a home with you?’ Instead, he let her obediently lead him away.

Not knowing how long they would be, Jiang Qingli had told the driver to head back first.

After the check-up was over, Jiang Qingli sent a message to Yi Nuo.

Sure enough, just as they reached the roadside, a very familiar flying vehicle pulled up in front of them.

The front window rolled down, and the Gray Wolf Butler said respectfully, "Miss."

Before Jiang Qingli could speak, she felt the hand she was holding slip away, only to be enveloped by his with even greater force.

’What’s this guy doing?’

Just as the question popped into Jiang Qingli’s mind, the rear window also rolled down, revealing Baili Actor’s flawless face.

Baili Jing’s gaze fell on their intertwined hands, and the corners of his lips tightened slightly.

The next second, he opened the door, a warm smile on his face as he said to Jiang Qingli, "Xiao Li, I’m here to take you home."

"Didn’t you have work today?" Jiang Qingli was pleasantly surprised.

Just as she was about to let go of Ye Linyuan and walk over, her hand was pulled even tighter.

There were a lot of flying vehicles around, and Jiang Qingli, worried about holding up traffic, pulled her hand away, got in, and turned to wave at him. "Hurry up."

Ye Linyuan stood frozen, his expression grim.

Baili Jing blinked slowly and asked, as if puzzled, "What’s wrong? Is Mr. Ye not feeling well? The hospital is right behind us. How about we have Yi Nuo accompany you for a check-up? If there’s a problem, you can be admitted directly."

Yi Nuo: "..."

Yi Nuo spoke sullenly, "My apologies, Mr. Ye, but I still need to attend to the Miss’s dinner."

Baili Jing said considerately, "It’s alright, I can take care of Xiao Li. You’re an outsider, after all. It wouldn’t be very convenient."

A dimness flickered in Yi Nuo’s eyes. He lowered his long lashes and said no more.

Jiang Qingli looked at Ye Linyuan with concern. "Where are you feeling unwell?"

Ye Linyuan: "..."

Seeing that if the stalemate continued, he’d be painted as gravely ill, Ye Linyuan got into the vehicle.

Jiang Qingli was perched on the edge of the seat. She pointed to the seat opposite her and was about to speak when Ye Linyuan suddenly scooped her up and placed her on his lap.

And he took her seat.

Caught off guard, she grabbed Ye Linyuan’s clothes and complained in a hushed voice, "What are you doing?"

"No room," Ye Linyuan said succinctly.

Out of Jiang Qingli’s sight, the vengeful snake raised an eyebrow, shooting a look at the fox spirit beside them.

Baili Jing stared back coldly.

He had left an empty space for one person. When he spoke to the girl, his voice became gentle again. "Xiao Li, if you’re uncomfortable, you can sit here."

Jiang Qingli quickly scrambled off Ye Linyuan’s lap.

But after she sat down, Ye Linyuan shamelessly reached out, lacing his fingers through hers.

On the other side, not to be outdone, Baili Jing wrapped an arm around Jiang Qingli’s waist, pressed his cheek to her shoulder, and hooked her other hand.

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’And there it was again, the classic three-person row.’

’Last time it was Baili Jing and Qin Muye, this time it’s Baili Jing and Ye Linyuan... The only constant was her, stuck in the middle.’

Sometimes, Jiang Qingli felt like the lettuce in a sandwich, pitifully squished between two slices of bread.

"Xiao Li," Baili Jing began, his tone intimate. "I discussed the script with the director today. I’ll be joining the production next month."

He glanced at his Xiao Qing Mei’s profile and asked tentatively, "Babe, will you come visit me on set?"

Before Jiang Qingli could answer, Ye Linyuan said icily, "She’s busy."

Faced with such a blatant attempt to spoil the mood, most people would get angry.

But Baili Jing, having been an actor for years, had long since learned to ignore distractions.

His long, slender fingers gently squeezed the girl’s delicate white hand as he sighed softly. "Never mind. You’re so busy, I don’t want to take up your time."

Jiang Qingli instinctively squeezed his fingers back. "It’s fine, it won’t take that much time."

"Really?" Baili Jing bit his lip, looking up shyly. "But... Ling Qing will be filming nearby this time. Will that upset you?"

"Why would I be upset?" Jiang Qingli said. "Are you afraid I’ll puke if I see him? He is pretty disgusting to look at."

Hearing this, Baili Jing couldn’t help but laugh.

Last winter, he and Ling Qing were on the same film set.

He had been forced to watch as that stranger’s soul, using Jiang Qingli’s body, fawned all over Ling Qing.

Ling Qing clearly looked down on her, yet he ordered her around constantly just to show off to him.

Sometimes, Baili Jing really just wanted to strangle Ling Qing and be done with it.

But he was afraid of what the strange soul might do to harm this body, so he could only give up the idea.

Thankfully, his Xiao Qing Mei was back now.

Baili Jing gently nuzzled the girl’s cheek, calling out to her in a soft, wheedling tone, like a spoiled child, "Babe."

The tips of Jiang Qingli’s ears turned red.

Afraid he would say something like he did last night in front of Ye Linyuan, Jiang Qingli quickly covered his lips. "Okay, okay, sit properly."

"Mm, anything you say." Baili Jing let go and sat up straight, but his fingers remained tangled with her other hand, their fingers intertwined, as he continued making small, clingy movements.

On her other side, Ye Linyuan let out a distinct, cold sneer.

Within the narrow space, the atmosphere polarized, with Jiang Qingli as the dividing line.

A holographic call was what broke the strange atmosphere.

Jiang Qingli was a little surprised to see the name "Yuan Shimo" flashing on the screen.

Compared to Gu Nian, who often sent selfies and greetings, Yuan Shimo hadn’t sent a single message since they first added each other as friends.

She pressed the accept button, and a hologram of Yuan Shimo appeared.

The biggest difference between Yuan Shimo and his younger brother was his platinum blond hair.

It was slightly long at the ends and tied back with a ribbon. The gold hue was richer at the tips, which rested obediently over his left shoulder.

His complexion was pale, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high-bridged nose. He pressed a hand to his lips and gave a light cough. The melancholy that gathered between his brows didn’t make him seem gloomy, but instead gave him a pitiable, frail charm.

Yuan Shimo raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the trio’s awkward, bizarre seating arrangement.

A flash of mockery, identical to his brother’s, appeared in his green eyes before vanishing.

He lowered his gaze and spoke his first words to Jiang Qingli—

"Female master."