Chapter 303: She Was Corrupted
「Early morning.」
The rain from last night had long since stopped. Sunlight glistened on the tender green leaves as sparrows chirped in the branches.
Just a wall away, the bedroom was quiet. In the soft light filtering from under the curtains, the faint outlines of two figures could be seen on the bed, tangled in an intimate embrace.
BUZZ—
The screen of the terminal on the nightstand lit up, but before it could even vibrate, a hand with well-defined knuckles pressed it off.
Xie Youchen had just turned his head to glance at the message when the girl in his arms instinctively tightened her arms around his waist.
"Who is it...?" Jiang Qingli wasn’t fully awake yet. She tried to open her eyes several times but couldn’t, her muffled voice full of reluctance. "Do you have to go to work?"
The message was from Chen Mi. Xie Youchen had a good idea of its contents and, without a second thought, pulled his hand back to continue holding Jiang Qingli. He gently stroked her hair and said in a warm voice, "It’s not important."
Jiang Qingli silently slid to the side, but he scooped her back.
"It’s still early. Go back to sleep," Xie Youchen emphasized again.
Jiang Qingli’s lips curved into a smile. She rested her head back down, reassured, and listened to his heartbeat. Her breathing soon evened out.
She was sleeping comfortably, but the person holding her was in torment.
Xie Youchen had never slept with Jiang Qingli before. It was only last night that he discovered just how restless she was at night.
She was quiet right after falling asleep, but a moment later, she’d complain it was too hot and push him away, only to turn over and snuggle back into his arms not long after.
Her hands were restless, too.
One moment they’d be lacing their fingers together, the next she’d be touching his face, and the next her hand would slip through the gap in his clothes to feel his abs.
It left him... completely wide awake.
Later, Xie Youchen felt so tormented he tried to get up and leave to cool down for a bit, but she wrapped both her arms around him and softly called him "Big Brother."
Even when asleep, Jiang Qingli knew exactly how to handle him.
It was like an invisible collar, clasped tightly around his neck. No matter how their relationship changed, the key remained in her hands.
Xie Youchen surrendered, letting her torment him as she pleased.
’Actually, it wasn’t that hard to endure.’
’Because in the darkness, he could shamelessly trace the outline of her profile with his greedy gaze, over and over again.’
...
Jiang Qingli must have been having some dream, because after a short while, she started getting restless again.
This time, her hands didn’t just wander upwards—they started heading down.
Just as her fingers touched the edge of his pajama pants, Xie Youchen caught her hand in time, holding it against his chest.
Jiang Qingli frowned, displeased.
"Behave," Xie Youchen said helplessly. Fortunately, it was just an unconscious act. She didn’t persist, but simply nestled back into his arms and went on sleeping.
Seeing this, Xie Youchen couldn’t help but wonder, ’How many times have those useless Beast Husbands shamelessly seduced her in private for her to develop such a bad habit?’
The young man’s brow furrowed. ’I’ve really been derelict in my duty.’
’The Beast Husbands I chose for her have been a bad influence.’
But at the same time, a fire seemed to be burning in Xie Youchen’s chest.
He loathed those males.
Or perhaps it was more than loathing.
Every time he saw her being intimate with other males, or even just in simple contact with them, jealousy would wash over him like a tidal wave, threatening to drown him.
’Sometimes, I really want to kill every male who gets close to her.’
Xie Youchen closed his eyes, forcing himself to look away from Jiang Qingli’s face.
He took a deep breath and pulled a throw pillow from the side, planning to put it in Jiang Qingli’s arms to accompany her in his stead.
When he brought it closer, he saw that it was a snow-white fox pillow.
Xie Youchen’s brows knitted together. He threw it directly into the corner of the bed, pulled out a food-shaped pillow instead, and only then, satisfied, did he get up and walk to the bathroom.
The sound of trickling water started.
Jiang Qingli slowly woke up. She blinked, a little dazed, and felt something fluffy under her chin. Looking down, she discovered she was hugging a snow-white fox tail.
She looked up and, sure enough, her eyes met a pair of pale golden fox eyes that curved into a smile.
"Good morning, baby," Baili Jing leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
Jiang Qingli habitually kissed him back and then looked around.
She was now on the sofa, held in Baili Jing’s arms. There was no one else in the room.
The moment she moved, Baili Jing guessed her thoughts. "Youchen isn’t here," he said. He pointed at the coffee table. "Want some breakfast? I just made it. It’s all your favorites."
Jiang Qingli smelled the sweet aroma of food and realized she really was hungry. She sat up from his embrace to go wash up, then came back and sat on his lap again.
She had just taken a sip of soy milk when the young man beside her casually asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Jiang Qingli nearly choked. She swallowed the soy milk and said haltingly, "It was... it was fine."
"Were you happy?" Baili Jing asked again. There wasn’t a trace of jealousy in his voice; he was asking in earnest.
Jiang Qingli’s cheeks grew slightly warm as she nodded.
Baili Jing patted the top of her head, his eyes curving into a smile. "As long as you’re happy."
Then he added, "Last night, I told them you were with me meeting a childhood friend. That ’friend’ has already set off back to the Third District today, so don’t slip up if they ask next time, okay?"
"You don’t need to feel guilty. I was the one who told the lie; you’re just going along with it," Baili Jing said. "You weren’t sure about Youchen’s feelings before, so it’s perfectly normal that you didn’t tell them. As for whether you tell them in the future, that’s up to you. You’re the female master; you don’t need to report anything you do to your Beast Husbands. If anyone gets angry, I’ll be the one to explain."
Seeing how thoughtfully he had considered every detail, Jiang Qingli was reminded of the message he had sent her last night.
Although having multiple Beast Husbands was a long-standing tradition in the Empire, male Beastmen—especially carnivores—were usually prone to jealousy and rivalry. A male like Baili Jing was truly rare. He was so sensible and considerate, and ever since they first started dating, he had always seen things from her perspective, put her first, and asked for nothing in return.
’If this were ancient times, he’d at least deserve to be celebrated in some "Annals of Virtuous Men."’
Jiang Qingli reached out and hugged him, rubbing her cheek against his. She thanked him softly, "How can you be so good to me?"
"I have my selfish reasons, too." Baili Jing supported her back with one hand, his fluffy fox tail curling up to gently brush the tip of her nose. "And there’s a reward I want."
"What do you want?"
Baili Jing lowered his head and caressed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. His warm breath was inches away, but he didn’t move any closer. Instead, in a low, magnetic voice, he slowly coaxed her, "Baby, we’ve been married for a long time. Isn’t it about time we changed how you address me?"
Even though they had fallen in love three years ago and had been with Baili Jing for a long time now, she was still occasionally struck by his flawless, 360-degree beauty.
Those beautiful fox eyes were staring at her just as they had when they’d seduced her into kissing him for the first time, reflecting her own image.
Jiang Qingli felt just like a scholar whose soul had been bewitched by a fox spirit. Following his lead, she asked, "What do you want me to call you?"
"Our baby is the smartest," Baili Jing said. "You already know, don’t you?"
"Say it."
Jiang Qingli closed her eyes, turned her head to kiss his lips, and at the same time, whispered the word he wanted to hear in a soft voice: "Hubby..."
"Good girl. Hubby’s here," Baili Jing chuckled softly.
The atmosphere was tender and romantic, but Jiang Qingli suddenly felt a prickling on her back, as if she were being watched.
It felt like someone was standing in the doorway, watching them.