After Ye Linyuan left, Jiang Qingli wriggled around in bed for a while before getting up.

After washing up, Jiang Qingli first went to check on Baili Jing.

After some rest, Baili Jing was doing much better.

The color had returned to his face, which was no longer as pale as paper.

Jiang Qingli was relieved and brought breakfast to eat with him.

Halfway through their meal, Baili Jing’s terminal started vibrating.

He glanced at the terminal and hung up without a second thought.

But the terminal vibrated relentlessly, one call after another.

Jiang Qingli asked curiously, "Is that for work?"

"Sort of," Baili Jing said. "It’s not important."

Just as he was about to switch his terminal to silent mode, Jiang Qingli quickly leaned over and saw the caller’s contact name—

Baili Chengyan.

"He still dares to call you?"

The moment Jiang Qingli thought of Baili Jing’s memories and of that little bastard Baili Chengyan, she couldn’t stand it. She reached out, snatched the terminal, and pressed the answer button.

Before she could speak, the person on the other end groaned pitifully. "Brother, I feel so awful... The doctor said the 1500cc from last night wasn’t enough. Can you give me some more? Grandma isn’t home yet, and if she sees me like this, she’ll get upset..."

As Baili Chengyan spoke, he even let out a few weak coughs.

This was his usual tactic.

As long as he brought up Baili Qing, Baili Jing would most likely agree.

After all, before Baili Jing left home, he had agreed to many of Baili Qing’s conditions.

One of which was to provide him with uninterrupted blood transfusions.

But this time, the person on the other end of the line didn’t agree immediately.

Baili Chengyan said, dissatisfied, "Baili Jing, what’s with the act? Don’t you forget what you promised Grandma! Get over here and give me blood! You owe me!"

"What does he owe you?"

A clear, cold female voice asked from the other side.

Baili Chengyan was stunned for a moment. "Who are you?"

But he quickly realized that the only woman who would answer Baili Jing’s phone was Jiang Qingli.

The Jiang Family and the Baili family had been friends for generations.

In the past, Jiang Qingli had treated Baili Jing well, so Baili Chengyan didn’t dare offend the Jiang Family and was somewhat restrained toward Baili Jing.

But things were different now.

For the past few years, everyone in their social circle knew how much Jiang Qingli despised Baili Jing.

Baili Chengyan felt as if he had found a kindred spirit and curled his lip into a smile. "Oh, it’s Sister Qingli. It’s nothing, really. I just missed my brother and wanted to call him back to catch up."

"Sorry, he can’t go right now," Jiang Qingli said.

Hearing her tone, Baili Chengyan sensed something was off. "What do you mean, Sister Qingli?"

"He offended me yesterday, so I’m punishing him."

Jiang Qingli spoke slowly, reaching a hand toward Baili Jing, who was sitting beside her. Her fingers loosely closed around his neck in a threatening gesture.

Her nails scraped lightly against the side of his neck. The handsome young man tilted his head back slightly in response, his hair shifting as his Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably.

His eyes were half-lidded, the upward curve at the corners incredibly alluring.

Jiang Qingli was lost in a daze for a moment, only snapping back to her senses when the person on the other end asked, "How did he offend you?"

The girl curled her lip. "Baili Jing went to give you a blood transfusion without my permission. I’m very unhappy about that."

Baili Chengyan was clearly not expecting her to say something like that and was taken aback.

Anger quickly followed. "Did Baili Jing tell you something? Sister Qingli, let me tell you! He’s been playing a part for so long that his mind has snapped. He has a persecution complex! We drew his blood to help him get tested! Don’t listen to his nonsense!"

"Is that so?" Jiang Qingli asked. "What kind of test requires 1500cc of blood?"

"That..." Baili Chengyan faltered, then said with renewed confidence, "This is our family’s private business, so it’s not convenient to disclose the details. In any case, give him the terminal. I have something to say to him."

"I won’t."

Jiang Qingli cut him off coldly.

In the morning light, the girl’s fingers slowly tightened, gripping the neck of the young white fox.

Baili Jing could feel a sense of suffocation slowly creeping up.

Yet his heart only beat faster, pounding wildly against his chest.

The young man’s thin lips parted slightly, like a fish out of water, while a sensuous flush spread across his handsome, pale profile.

His vision blurred slightly. He watched the girl in his arms as she narrowed her eyes and, word by word, delivered a cold warning to the person on the phone—

"Remember this. Baili Jing is mine now. And his blood, of course, is my property too."

"From now on, no one touches him without my permission."

The air grew tense, as if it had frozen solid.

On the other end of the line, Baili Chengyan had never imagined that not only would Jiang Qingli refuse to join him in tormenting Baili Jing, but she would actually say something like this!

’What bullshit about "he’s your man" or whatever. Do they think this is some kind of idol drama?!’

’Has Jiang Qingli lost her mind too?!’

Baili Chengyan suppressed his anger and said, "Sister Qingli, do you already know about my situation?"

Jiang Qingli was noncommittal.

A moment ago, she had asked Yi Nuo and learned the specifics of the Baili family’s situation.

「The story began many years ago.」

Baili Jing’s mother, Baili Xu, was the only daughter of the Baili family. She refused an arranged marriage and insisted on being with an obscure celebrity from the Fox Clan.

As a noble family of scholars, they naturally looked down on a mere performer, and the entire family was vehemently opposed.

But their opposition was useless. They soon had Baili Jing.

Five years later, the Baili family relented and was willing to accept them, but on one condition: Baili Xu had to marry four other Beast Husbands to produce a female heir with a pure noble bloodline for the Baili family.

Both sides compromised and agreed.

But on the eve of the wedding, Baili Xu was unfortunately killed while on a mission for the Empire, and the Fox Clan celebrity followed her in death.

Baili Jing became an orphan.

With both his parents dead, the Baili family would naturally never allow Baili Jing to become the heir.

So they used an illegal technology to extract Baili Xu’s genes, combine them with those of another S Level high-quality male, and remove any inferior traits to artificially create an heir.

However, Baili Xu was already deceased at the time, making the procedure incredibly difficult. Of the dozen or so embryos, only Baili Chengyan survived.

The mere fact that he was male was already a great disappointment to the Baili family.

But in the eyes of a few elders, he was still of Baili blood, so they did their best to raise him, even giving him the name "Chengyan."

Due to his unstable genes, Baili Chengyan needed medicine made from the blood of a close relative to maintain his vital signs.

None of those nobles could bear to draw their own blood, so they naturally exploited Baili Jing, who had no parents to protect him.

The thought of Baili Jing’s frail, skinny figure as a child made Jiang Qingli sneer.

"So what if I know?"

Baili Chengyan panicked. "What do you mean, ’so what’? Sister Qingli, stop fooling around! Don’t you know that if you don’t let Baili Jing come back, I could die!"

"Then you can just go die."

The girl’s light, airy voice carried a bone-chilling coldness.

After she spoke, without waiting for a reaction, she hung up, blocked the number, and deleted the contact all in one go.

And that was the end of him.

After doing all that, Jiang Qingli tossed the terminal aside and realized her fingers were still wrapped around Baili Jing’s neck.

She had meant to threaten Baili Jing to keep him from making a sound.

Now, things were a little awkward.

Just as she was about to pull her hand back, Baili Jing suddenly lowered his head, causing her to grip his neck even tighter.

He turned his head and, still in that choked position, kissed her on the lips.

As their lips and teeth met, the feeling of suffocation made his heart race, and a moan that was somewhere between pain and pleasure escaped his throat.

’He felt like he was going crazy, his mind filled with the contemptuous words she had just spoken.’

’He even found himself thinking—’

’If he had to die, he wanted to die at Xiao Li’s hands.’

’Being choked to death by her would surely be blissful.’

...

A few inopportune knocks sounded at the door.

"Hey, are you two not done eating yet?"

Qin Muye’s annoyed voice rang out.

Baili Jing glanced distractedly toward the door, and Jiang Qingli seized the opportunity to quickly pull her hand back.

"What are you doing..."

Jiang Qingli shook her hand, looking up to see the young man staring at her with his lips slightly parted, his face flushed and his eyes hazy.

Struck by his beauty, Jiang Qingli stammered, "Y-you don’t actually like being choked, do you?"

Baili Jing smiled charismatically. "I only like it when Xiao Li chokes me."

’He hasn’t awakened some strange kink, has he...’

Her skin crawling, Jiang Qingli didn’t dare stay any longer and quickly left the room.

At the door, Qin Muye was waiting as usual.

Jiang Qingli felt inexplicably frustrated.

’There’s one inside who likes being choked, and one outside who likes being slapped.’

’Why are there so many perverts in this place...’

Jiang Qingli asked glumly, "What is it?"

"Qin Shu was admitted to the hospital," Qin Muye said reluctantly. "Are you going to see him?"

The two of them were on good terms, so of course Jiang Qingli would go.

They soon arrived at the hospital.

Just as they got into the elevator, they saw a familiar figure.

Bai Yiyi, still dressed in a white dress, greeted them with a delicate air.

She was carrying an insulated container.

No one spoke, so Bai Yiyi explained, "This is for Chi Yun."

She looked at Jiang Qingli with a smile. "Sister Qingli, didn’t you also make sweet soup for Chi Yun before?"