Jiang Qingli hadn’t yet recovered from the pleasure of touching something fluffy when the furious roar from the other end left her a bit stunned.

She looked at the caller ID: Ling Qing.

"I heard *Stealing Wind and Cloud* has halted production. Is Mr. Ling so idle that he’s resorted to calling another man’s female master?"

"Baili Jing?" Ling Qing’s voice changed, filled with shame and on the verge of breaking. He forced himself to maintain his superior attitude and asked, "Where is Jiang Qingli?"

Baili Jing looked at the girl in his arms, turned his head to kiss her rosy lips, and cooed in a tender tone, "Baby, can I tell him?"

Before he could finish, the male on the other end let out a contemptuous sneer. "She’s with you? Stop pretending, Baili Jing. You’re not worthy."

"Do you really think Jiang Qingli gives a damn about you? When she was fawning all over me, what corner were you hiding in?"

"Aren’t you curious why your name was on last year’s Hualan Award, but it was given to me in the end? Let me tell you, it’s because she begged me for half a month before I finally accepted it!"

"And the fireworks on the day of the awards ceremony? She prepared them herself!"

"Those few roles you got? They were all ones I looked down on. She only gave them to you out of pity!"

"Don’t take yourself so seriously. She was just using you to make me angry, putting on a show."

"If you saw the way she looks at me, then you’d know what real favoritism is!"

The more Ling Qing spoke, the more agitated he became, jumping up from the sofa.

But the other end of the line didn’t erupt in an angry roar as he had expected.

Instead, it was extremely quiet.

Well, ’quiet’ wasn’t entirely accurate.

With the enhanced hearing of an S Level Beastman, Ling Qing could clearly hear two breaths on the other end, secretly intertwined and intimately close.

One was strong and heavy, belonging to a male Beastman—it had to be Baili Jing.

The other was slightly shallower, likely a female’s.

’Could it be Jiang Qingli...’

’No, impossible.’

’How could Jiang Qingli possibly have anything going on with that vixen, Baili Jing!’

’She had told him herself that Baili Jing’s stare was always gloomy and terrifying, and that he was the person she despised the most!’

Just as this thought surfaced, a white figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

It was Bai Yiyi.

Ling Qing was startled. Suddenly terrified that Jiang Qingli would hear Bai Yiyi’s voice, he hung up the phone before Bai Yiyi could speak.

Bai Yiyi didn’t notice his strange behavior and asked with tears in her eyes, "How did it go, Brother Qing? Did Sister Qingli forgive me? Is she willing to talk to the Bai Family and let me stay?"

Last night, Bai Yiyi had begged the Bai Family all evening. They had finally, reluctantly relented, saying that if Jiang Qingli forgave her, they would grudgingly let her stay. That was why she had sent Ling Qing to plead with Jiang Qingli.

However, as she threw herself into Ling Qing’s arms, she heard a system notification. DING—

[DING! Strategy Target ’Ling Qing’s’ favorability has decreased by 5! Punishing Host: Beauty Value -3!]

Bai Yiyi shot up and shoved Ling Qing forcefully.

"Do you despise me now that I can’t use my Superpower? You want to run to Jiang Qingli now that she has a Superpower?! You and Chi Yun, the both of you! You swore up and down that you loved me. Is this your love? Running off to find Jiang Qingli?!"

Bai Yiyi broke down.

’Why are her strategy targets all so useless!’

She slapped Ling Qing across the face and violently swept everything off the coffee table. Amidst the sound of shattering porcelain, she revealed a ferocious expression he had never seen before, her eyes wide with fury—

"Fine! Then go find Jiang Qingli! See if she wants you, you second-hand goods!"

Ling Qing’s eyes widened. He had never found Bai Yiyi so unfamiliar.

Before, she had clearly held his hand, telling him he was the one she loved most and that she would never let him leave.

But now, she was insulting him with such a tone.

Thinking of Chi Yun’s miserable state, Ling Qing felt that perhaps he didn’t know Bai Yiyi at all.

And because of Bai Yiyi, he had given up on Jiang Qingli, who had adored him completely...

Ling Qing clutched his chest, suddenly doubling over and vomiting into the trash can.

Bai Yiyi watched this scene, recalling the last time Ling Qing had thrown up all over her. She felt nothing but disgust and turned to leave.

’I have to find Helian Ying to help me!’

She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she heard the crisp sound of something falling to the ground behind her.

A crystalline red object rolled to her feet.

Before she could get a clear look, she heard footsteps—one heavy, one light—from behind. Ling Qing staggered past, knocking her to the ground as he went.

At the same time, Bai Yiyi saw clearly what was at her feet.

A Charming Fruit.

She froze, and a second before terror could overwhelm her, a sharp warning exploded in her mind—

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Item ’Charming Fruit’ has expired!]

[Strategy Target ’Ling Qing’s’ favorability has plummeted by -100%!]

[Host Mission Failure! Punishment: All of Host’s items are disabled for three months!!!]

In an instant, Bai Yiyi felt her body start to expand.

Fat she hadn’t seen in a long time rapidly strained her dress, causing the sound of tearing fabric.

Her jet-black hair became dry and brittle. Her doe-like eyes, baby-soft eyelashes, a naturally perfect nose... all of it vanished in the blink of an eye.

Without the effects of her items, all her beauty was gone. She had reverted to her original form.

"Wh-where are you going..."

Bai Yiyi’s voice was panicked. She was afraid Ling Qing would leave, but also afraid he would see how she had changed.

Ling Qing didn’t look back at all, nor did he notice anything unusual about Bai Yiyi.

Or perhaps he had noticed but no longer cared.

He leaned against the doorframe, his voice low and cold. "Didn’t you tell me to go find Jiang Qingli?"

After vomiting, he was exceptionally weak, yet he felt like a sleeping man who had been jolted awake with a club.

Ling Qing staggered out, his chest burning as if on fire.

An image of Chi Yun’s miserable state, lying in bed, inexplicably came to mind, and Ling Qing’s brow furrowed tightly.

’Will I end up like that, too?’

Deep down, he felt an almost instinctual certainty that Jiang Qingli could save him.

Or rather, that they were supposed to be together all along.

’I have to find Jiang Qingli.’

’No... I have to make Jiang Qingli fall in love with me again!’

-

「Meanwhile, at the Jiang Family residence.」

After the phone call ended abruptly, no one paid it any more mind.

Baili Jing ended the long kiss, pulled back, and gently wiped the moisture from the lips of the girl in his arms.

Jiang Qingli, dizzy from the kiss, mumbled "sly fox" under her breath and reached out to grab his tail.

Just as she touched the fluffy fur, the fox tail slowly retracted, denying her.

Jiang Qingli reached for it again, but the fox tail swung to the other side. The fluffy white fur swirled in the air, but she still couldn’t touch it.

After missing a few times, she playfully grabbed Baili Jing’s neck and shook him. "Why won’t you let me touch it?"

"Not calling me a sly fox now, are you?"

The White Fox Actor’s eyes crinkled at the corners, forming a rather alluring curve.

Jiang Qingli leaned in, narrowing her eyes like a detective. "I’ve discovered... since I got my memories back, you’ve gotten more and more audacious with me."

"Hmm..." Baili Jing thought for a moment. "Perhaps it’s because I know you’re back. It’s made me bold."

Jiang Qingli paused. "You knew the... person before... wasn’t me?"

’So slow on the uptake.’

Baili Jing simply found his Xiao Qing Mei as adorable as ever.

"Do you think I’m an idiot?" he asked, cradling her face. His gaze was full of adoration as he sighed softly. "How could I ever confuse you with someone else..."

Jiang Qingli’s heart stirred.

She suddenly thought of her mother and several fathers, and Jiang Youchen’s attitude toward her.

’They must have realized it too, they just never said it out loud...’

Jiang Qingli wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, her voice choked with emotion. "You’ve worked so hard, waiting for me for so long."

A warm tail gently brushed against her cheek, wrapping around her.

"It wasn’t hard at all, baby," Baili Jing whispered against the tip of her ear. "Waiting for you is a kind of happiness for me."

Jiang Qingli snuggled her cheek against his shoulder and hummed in assent.

In truth, Jiang Qingli still didn’t fully understand the situation with this body and felt lost.

But no matter what happened in the future, she would do her best to stay and not let them be hurt again.

She took a deep breath, her resolve hardening.

Her arms, wrapped around him, were starting to feel a little numb.

The moment Jiang Qingli straightened up, another sound rang out.

[BUZZ...]

[...Host detected... Linking...]

The sudden electronic voice made Jiang Qingli freeze.

A few seconds later, a crisp electronic voice rang out, shouting excitedly:

[Host! I’ve finally contacted you!!!]