Baili Jing froze on the spot.

Jiang Qingli hadn’t called him "Brother Baili" since high school.

She’d brazenly call him by his full name, and sometimes she’d even give him strange nicknames on purpose.

Just like a child trying to get an adult’s attention.

One time, he overheard Jiang Yi ask her about it. She just turned her face away and mumbled, "He’s not my real brother."

Back then, Baili Jing had looked at his childhood sweetheart’s reddening ear tips and vaguely realized something.

Even much later, after they had confessed their feelings for each other, she never explained it.

Later, during the time Jiang Qingli was gone, Baili Jing spent his days replaying his memories, chewing over every tiny detail of their shared past, until one day he had an epiphany. He finally understood the hazy, girlish affection hidden in her sudden change of address.

—During the time he was used to hiding his affection, she had also liked him, secretly testing the waters.

Hearing that name again, Baili Jing’s eyes reddened almost instantly.

The young white fox, who always strove to maintain a perfect image in front of his childhood sweetheart, was now showing a rare loss of composure.

He stared intently at Jiang Qingli, his pale golden pupils trembling, revealing shock, disbelief, elation, and the fear that his hopes would be dashed once more...

Baili Jing’s thin lips parted slightly, but he couldn’t utter a single word. In the end, he just silently reached out and pulled her into his arms.

At first, his movements were gentle, as if he feared that any more force would shatter this dreamlike reality before him.

But the moment the girl in his arms reached out to hug him back, Baili Jing’s arms tightened abruptly, with enough force to seemingly merge her into his very bones and blood.

"You’re squeezing me," Jiang Qingli struggled a little.

Realization dawned on Baili Jing. He loosened his grip but still held her, unwilling to let go.

He turned his head, his lips brushing gently against the girl’s ear.

"Xiao Li..." He took a deep breath, his tone cautious. "You... you remember?"

"Mhm," Jiang Qingli nodded, smiling. "I remember now."

Baili Jing had guessed as much from what she’d said earlier, but hearing her admit it herself sent joy blooming in his chest. It was as if he could hear millions of butterflies flying back from afar to land on his heart and beat their wings in unison.

It felt just like the thrill of their first kiss.

Baili Jing was silent for a long time before he kissed Jiang Qingli’s cheek, treasuring the moment.

"Baby, welcome back."

Jiang Qingli could hear the sob in his voice.

She pulled back a little and saw that his eyes were bloodshot, with large tears rolling down from them.

"Why are you crying...?" Jiang Qingli was a little flustered.

She had cried in front of Baili Jing many times.

Crying over bad test scores, crying after fighting with her brother, crying when a pet died...

Each time, Baili Jing would gently comfort her and subtly guide her toward solving the problem.

This was the first time Jiang Qingli had ever seen Baili Jing cry.

Jiang Qingli wasn’t very good at comforting people. She frantically reached out to wipe away his tears, but the moment her fingers touched him, he grabbed her wrist and pressed his lips to hers.

A complete reversal of his usual gentleness, this kiss was forceful and powerful, yet deeply tender and affectionate, as if trying to confirm her very existence.

Sunlight scattered through the air, illuminating dancing dust motes.

Jiang Qingli tasted his tears. They were salty.

But when they parted, he was smiling happily, his eyes reflecting only her.

Their eyes met, and the air between them seemed to be filled with spun sugar, thick with sweetness.

Seeing his reddened eyes, Jiang Qingli felt a pang in her heart. She lowered her head slightly, about to lean in to continue, but she felt an intense gaze fixed on her.

She turned her head and saw Qin Muye sitting up on a nearby sofa.

Qin Muye had his arms crossed, his gray-blue eyes glaring at Baili Jing, burning with unrestrained fury.

The moment he had opened his eyes, he’d seen them gazing lovingly at each other.

He was so angry he could have ground his teeth to dust.

’That damn fox!’

’He actually seduced Jiang Qingli while I was asleep!’

’And he even tried to use tears to win the female master’s sympathy...’

’He’s such an actor, he can fake any emotion.’

Qin Muye was furious and annoyed, but when he saw Jiang Qingli tightly gripping Baili Jing’s hand, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears, he was suddenly at a loss for words.

He suddenly felt like he was interrupting them.

The Prince gritted his teeth, lay back down, and turned his back to them as if nothing had happened.

Although Qin Muye had made a great sacrifice, the romantic atmosphere that had been brewing was completely washed away.

Jiang Qingli’s lips curved into a smile. She leaned over and kissed Baili Jing’s cheek. "I’m going to take a shower and sort through my memories."

She had recalled many things last night, but the sheer volume was too much to process all at once.

She went into the bathroom, and the sound of trickling water followed.

After she left, Qin Muye sat up again, staring at Baili Jing with a dark expression. "What did she mean, ’sort through her memories’?"

Baili Jing smoothed out the collar of his shirt, which the girl had wrinkled, and explained in simple terms, "There was an accident three years ago. Xiao Li lost her memory. Last night, she remembered everything."

As he spoke the last sentence, a smile he couldn’t suppress played on his lips.

Seeing this, alarm bells went off in Qin Muye’s head.

’So what Baili Jing means is that the reason Jiang Qingli was distant with her childhood sweetheart wasn’t because she didn’t love him, but because she had amnesia.’

’Now that her memory is back, they’re going to be all lovey-dovey and rekindle their old flame?!’

Qin Muye immediately felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

But in front of that damn fox, Qin Muye was absolutely unwilling to lose ground.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? No wonder I could feel she was in a good mood."

As he spoke, he raised a hand to touch the spot over his heart.

Fearing the other man wouldn’t get his meaning, he even pulled his collar down a bit, oh-so-casually revealing a corner of the mark.

The smile on Baili Jing’s face froze instantly.

The young man’s breathing deepened slightly, but he smiled again. "I didn’t realize you’ve been marked, too. Congratulations."

Qin Muye keenly caught that "too."

’What does he mean? I’m not the first one Jiang Qingli marked?!’

’But among all the Beast Husbands, my Match Value is the highest!’

’Who else is ahead of me?!’

’Is it one of the Beast Husbands, or one of those other guys who are itching to move up?’

He was about to ask, but Baili Jing, with a smile that said, "That’s private, no comment," pushed open the door and went to prepare breakfast.

While Qin Muye was speculating wildly, Jiang Qingli was washing up.

Her terminal was vibrating like crazy, with messages popping up one after another on the screen.

Yueyue: [[Link] HUGE GOSSIP! Bai Yiyi is getting kicked out! I was so busy hitting on cute guys yesterday I missed the live drama! So much regret! AHHH!]

Cat Teacher: [Qingli, when I contacted you last night, Aunt Jiang said you were already asleep. Are you awake now?]

Yuan Shiyao: [I’ve prepared the materials for tomorrow’s meeting. If it’s convenient, shall I bring them over to you?]

Rabbit: [Big Sis, I miss you QAQ. When can we meet?]

Jiang Qingli first opened the link Lin Xiyue had sent, skimmed through it, and replied.

Lin Xiyue was probably still asleep, so she backed out and replied to the messages from Cat Teacher and Yuan Shiyao:

[Awake now! [cat rolling over][cat getting closer]]

[No need to go to all that trouble. Just send me the digital version. Thanks~ I’ll bring you some goodies tomorrow.]

When replying to Gu Nian, Jiang Qingli paused for a moment, then typed: [Are you coming to see me?]

The other side replied instantly: [I’m coming, Big Sis! ||ヽ(*￣▽￣*)ノミ|Ю]

After washing up, Jiang Qingli pushed open the bathroom door.

Qin Muye had been sitting on the sofa. When Jiang Qingli appeared, he immediately stood up, clutching his terminal and watching her nervously.

Jiang Qingli found it strange. "What’s wrong?"

"I..." For once, Qin Muye was hesitant. He scratched his hair before finally saying, "I have something to tell you."

"They retested my Superpower."

"It’s S-rank."