Chapter 32

"Come to my room."

Yan Qingqiu received this message while lying in bed. Song Qingre's voice was soft and gentle, incredibly alluring in the dead of night.

She played the one-second voice message over a dozen times.

Song Qingre's voice shouldn't be listened to at night; it made her think of the night before she transmigrated, when she'd been so captivated by a voice that her mind went blank, and before she knew it, playing around had led her to transmigrate.

Yan Qingqiu asked the System, 【Why do you games invite people to transmigrate by showing them the female lead's videos? If it weren't for the novice questions afterward, I'd think I was some kind of shady protagonist.】

The System said, 【Sorry, we didn't see any lewd videos.】

Yan Qingqiu snorted. "Keep pretending."

Her finger accidentally pressed the voice message again, and she listened once more.

Yan Qingqiu's heart raced. What did she want at this hour?

Just to bring her pants over?

Yan Qingqiu cleared her throat. "What's up?"

Song Qingre's tone was light. She said, "I just miss you a little."

Miss what?

Yan Qingqiu's heart skipped a beat.

When things weren't said clearly, her mind started to wander.

I've already taken my clothes off! Should I go over now?

That would be a bit too casual.

Can't go.

Yan Qingqiu's cheeks flushed. She realized she wasn't as brave as she'd imagined. She propped her chin on her hand, rolled over holding her phone, then flipped back again, and sent another voice message. "How about we look at it tomorrow morning? It's not convenient right now."

There was no response from the other side.

Yan Qingqiu squirmed, feeling uncomfortable all over. Yesterday, she'd managed without letting Song Qingre give her a massage, but today, her body was starting to crave it. She was getting warm, and she rolled around, panting.

She tilted her neck and lay on her stomach.

Then she turned over again to look at Song Qingre's messages.

Why did those simple words look so provocative?

Yan Qingqiu went to take another bath. She soaked in the tub, the hot steam rising and enveloping her, which felt wonderful. She luxuriated in the bath, then got up, dried off with a towel, her wet hair dripping water droplets. Her fingertips were wet, and she had to tap the screen a few times before it responded.

No new messages had come in.

Strictly speaking, she should go over—it was her duty as a little slave—but she didn't dare. She could sense that Song Qingre might be genuinely angry. When Song Qingre was only pretending to be angry, she could soothe her, but when Song Qingre was truly angry, it was terrifying.

This seemed to be the first time she'd ever seen Song Qingre angry.

··

The next day, Yan Qingqiu got out of bed. Autumn had fully arrived. She checked her phone for messages, and a chill ran up her spine, making her sneeze.

Downstairs, she rubbed her nose.

Song Qingre looked up at her and asked, "Why is the tip of your nose so red?"

"I just rubbed it a couple times." Yan Qingqiu sat at the table, ready to eat.

Song Qingre sat on the sofa behind her. When she spoke, it was like the cool autumn breeze brushing against the back of Yan Qingqiu's neck.

She asked, "Why didn't you bring your pants over yesterday?"

As her words landed, a series of clattering sounds rang out—something had fallen and shattered. Yan Qingqiu's heart pounded wildly.

Still shaken, she caught her breath and followed the sound. She found that the Butler had dropped the tray he was carrying, which had smashed on the floor.

Someone usually so mature and steady had made such a major mistake. The Butler considered it terribly rude, so he gave them a slight bow.

A few maids went over to clean up the broken pieces. The Butler removed his soiled gloves and said, "Forgive me for interrupting. Miss, please continue."

Yan Qingqiu felt helpless. With the Butler's wild imagination, he'd probably misunderstood. She said, "I just got a bit of paint on my pants. I've already asked the household staff to wash them." Then she turned to Song Qingre and said, "It's a small matter, no need for your help."

She spoke deliberately, thinking this would clear up any misunderstanding.

The Butler, having changed his gloves, said, "Miss, how did you get paint on your pants?"

He might as well have said outright: the only person in this house who has contact with paint is Miss Song. Did you sneak into her room and spend the night?

Butler, oh Butler, you're really Sherlock Holmes, Butler Edition.

If you transmigrated into an erotic game, you'd deduce the entire plot in three days!

Yan Qingqiu opened her mouth, then just let it go. If the Butler wanted to let his imagination run wild and conjure up some steamy past, he could go ahead and write a fanfic. If the content was even sweeter than the original, she wouldn't be tortured by the plotline anyway.

As they ate, a maid came over and asked whether they should take the pants to the dry cleaner. The paint on them had dried, and she'd tried several times but couldn't get it out.

Song Qingre said, "I have a solution in my room. I'll bring it to you later."

The maid quickly thanked her.

Song Qingre spoke softly and gently, not mentioning anything about the previous night. She seemed to have forgiven Yan Qingqiu's rebelliousness, and Yan Qingqiu tightened her grip on her spoon.

And yet, she'd received her message this morning.

Yan Qingqiu started a conversation. "I'm going to check out Xing Xing's company today. She says she wants to make me a model, and I'm a bit interested. We're planning to sign a contract today. I wonder if someone my height, 170 centimeters, can even be a model."

She was quite satisfied with her height, and with her subsequent growth spurt, she was still slowly getting taller. Currently, her figure was amazing—curves in all the right places. Sometimes she'd kill herself for looking this good.

Little vixen, look at how you've turned out. Who's going to get lucky with you in the future? Maybe you should enjoy it yourself first.

But she'd never worked in modeling before, so she lacked a bit of confidence.

"You're not a career model who has to take things off left and right or walk international runways in lingerie," Song Qingre said. "If you want to try it, you can go have some fun. You don't have to be the best at it—just take photos in clothes you like."

The Butler chimed in from nearby, "Indeed. Although I believe your looks alone could make you a star, I do hope you won't overwork yourself. I'd rather you stay in your most comfortable state."

Yan Qingqiu was deeply moved. In the real world, especially around her senior year when she was about to graduate, she'd been frantic. The orphanage was closing, and she'd graduate straight into unemployment. Every day, she worried about ending up on the streets. Leaving school meant paying a thousand yuan a month in rent.

That period had been awful. She would envy stray dogs, because they could crawl into a dumpster and call it home, while she had to maintain decorum and find a decent shelter.

She was normally such a lively person, but that anxiety made her gain fifteen pounds. And because she was poor, she didn't even dare go to the hospital to see what was wrong.

"Okay."

After finishing her meal, Yan Qingqiu drank a glass of coconut milk. "Thank you all for your support. A superstar of the modeling world was born at this dining table. From now on, the fashion industry will enter a new era. I am the darling of the stage, Hathaway Qiu."

The other two at the table laughed at her lofty ambitions.

Song Qingre set down her chopsticks. She'd finished eating and was patiently waiting for Yan Qingqiu to finish. "Don't sign the contract right away. Ask Uncle to have his lawyer look at it first."

"Oh." Yan Qingqiu was a bit hesitant. "Does your studio have a lawyer?"

"I can look at it for you too," Song Qingre agreed. "Just send it to me later."

After the meal, the two headed to "work" together. According to little-slave rules, Yan Qingqiu should be driving Song Qingre to and from work, but Yan Qingqiu's enthusiasm had a short lifespan, and she was already tired of driving.

Yan Qingqiu came out of the courtyard, clapped her hands, and said, "Come out, my 18 bodyguards."

Song Qingre stood beside her, curiously watching the eighteen bodyguards line up. She asked, "Are you going to bring them with you everywhere now?"

"For now. Mainly because I'll need to talk to Fu Ye later, so it's safer to have bodyguards." She said it seriously.

The bodyguards, wearing black sunglasses, stood in a row and counted off one by one. Yan Qingqiu hadn't bothered to look at their faces yesterday, but now that she got a good look, she noticed they were all extremely burly—their clothes looked ready to burst at the seams from their muscles. When they flexed their arms, they resembled Tarzan.

The bodyguards nodded at her one by one. "Hello, Miss Yan."

"Mm, good. Nice work."

A bodyguard opened her car door, and Yan Qingqiu got in. As usual, there was a car in front and a car behind.

A maid standing at the door asked in confusion, "Why does the miss need so many bodyguards?"

"From what the miss said, she's offended too many people outside. She doesn't feel safe without bodyguards. If she went out and got beaten up, that'd be embarrassing," another maid said.

"..."

That kind of made sense.

But somehow, it didn't seem like the miss was going to get beaten up. It looked more like she was going to beat someone up, judging from all those burly muscle-men.

Yan Qingqiu first had the bodyguards send Song Qingre to her company, then took herself to ER. As Song Qingre got out of the car, she suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around, and extended her hand toward Yan Qingqiu. "Don't forget what you promised me."

"What?" Yan Qingqiu couldn't remember anything—she'd completely forgotten. She thought it was about money. "I'll ask my dad later."

Song Qingre looked surprised. "You're going to show something like that to your dad? Wasn't the rule from the last time clear enough?"

"Huh?"

"You need to show me the story you write every day."

Yan Qingqiu had been shopping all day yesterday and had completely forgotten about this. It suddenly hit her. "I—I haven't started writing yet."

Song Qingre urged her gently. "Take your time. But make sure you have it today."

"Got it."

Yan Qingqiu clutched her bag. She'd written a lot before and thrown it all in the trash. Had Song Qingre not seen it? She'd thought Song Qingre would read it. Too bad—she'd racked her brains writing that stuff.

She thought for a moment, then, as the car started moving, she reminded the bodyguard in front not to drive too fast because she needed to get in the mood for writing.

Yan Qingqiu grabbed her pen and scribbled furiously, writing a pile of content, only to find that no matter how she wrote, it just didn't feel right. She was missing a spark of inspiration.

Just then, the Butler sent over today's update.

Butler: 【Today's update for your review.】

Yan Qingqiu read it, then had an idea. She said, 【Uncle Dong, would it be okay if I show your writing to someone else? I boasted to a friend the other day that I could write too, but I can't come up with anything...】

Butler: 【May I ask who it's for?】

Yan Qingqiu felt embarrassed but replied after a moment, 【A good friend.】

Butler: 【Then let me polish it up a bit more.】

Yan Qingqiu: 【Thanks, Uncle!】

Half an hour later, the Butler sent over the piece: 【Here you go.】

Yan Qingqiu immediately forwarded it to Song Qingre. Song Qingre quickly downloaded it. Yan Qingqiu waited for a response—one minute, two minutes—then the other side showed "typing..."

Song Qingre: 【It's good, but why isn't it dirty?】

Yan Qingqiu: 【???】

What are you doing? Why so blunt?

Song Qingre: 【I'm an adult, I like reading steamy stuff. You should write ones with more back-and-forth, those are more exciting.】

Yan Qingqiu was speechless.

Song Qingre: 【Though you wrote about our childhood, right? It's hard to write that well without crossing the line. You should write stories about us after we grew up; those are more exciting.】

Yan Qingqiu put down her pen and raised her hand, slapping it lightly twice. Idiot, idiot, you're asking for trouble.

"Miss, we're almost at ER!" the bodyguard in front shouted.

"Stop..."

Yan Qingqiu felt she needed a moment. "We'll go later."

Yan Qingqiu didn't want to walk into a business meeting with a head full of smut. Why was "Miss Yan" so wild? How was she supposed to write like that? Degenerate, tempting her into sin.

Yan Qingqiu sat in the tea restaurant and drank the first cup of tea of autumn. She waved her hand and sniffed; the fragrant tea steam enveloped her from head to toe.

She picked up her pen and continued writing.

As she wrote, she looked up. Many people in the tea restaurant were like her—sitting, sipping tea, and typing away on their laptops. Though they were probably writing serious literature, while she was writing little smutty stories.

Decided. Today I'll write the library scene.

Just as she was hitting the climax, messages kept coming in.

Every time she checked, it was an unknown number—and not from Song Qingre.

Fu Ye: 【Aren't we meeting today?】

"All day long, all you do is rush, rush, rush! You're crazy!" Yan Qingqiu cursed. She just wouldn't go. She replied directly: 【Sorry, depends on my mood today. If I want to go, I'll go; if I don't, I won't. Hope it drives you insane! Rush me again, and you'll never see me in your life.】

She was in the middle of writing! This was the climax scene, didn't he get it?

Just then, light footsteps approached, breaking the mood.

"Qiu Qiu."

Fu Ye appeared, looking at Yan Qingqiu's notebook.

Startled, Yan Qingqiu quickly moved to cover her notebook. "Are you insane? What do you want?" She hastily gathered her things so this bastard wouldn't see anything.

"You really are a persistent ghost." Yan Qingqiu sneered.

Fu Ye sat across from her. His eyes were deeply sunken, like he'd crawled out of hell after suffering a death sentence just to see her. He also ordered a cup of tea. Fu Ye had lost a lot of weight and looked less energized than before. He said, "I want to talk to you properly. I want to see you."

Yan Qingqiu planned to talk to him too—to make it clear that the two of them were done. She put her notebook in her bag, and Fu Ye's eyes followed it.

"You're an omega, aren't you?" Fu Ye asked directly.

"Is that any of your business?" Yan Qingqiu paused, not wanting to answer.

"I checked your records." Fu Ye placed a file on the table. "We should be destined mates, a 100% perfect match."

"Are you kidding? Since when are a swan and a toad a perfect match?"

Fu Ye was left speechless. He took something else out of his pocket and said, "I've kept this rabbit you gave me."

Yan Qingqiu glanced at it. "Rabbit?"

She picked it up to look. It was folded from white letter paper, and you could puff it up by pinching its ears. "How do you have this?"

"You gave it to me. In sophomore year of high school, I got into a fight in the back alley, six guys ganging up on me alone. You called the police. Later, when you came to give your statement, you saw me not talking, so you folded a rabbit for me. I fell in love with you at first sight. You've forgotten all of it?"

"Why would I? Who remembers something they folded without thinking?"

Fu Ye fell silent, his lovesick expression freezing solid.

"...So what?" Yan Qingqiu countered. "Anything else?"

Fu Ye grew even stiffer. "I never forgot you."

"And what about Song Qingre?" Yan Qingqiu fixed him with a glare from across the table, tempted to throw her tea in his face.

Fu Ye choked. "I won't have feelings for her anymore."

"These past days, I've been drinking every day, thinking over and over—all I think about is you. I can only numb myself with alcohol. My mind is full of you."

"Not long after I first transmigrated... when Song Qingre first came back, you said your heart had always belonged to her. I even snapped your neck to fix that. You really don't learn, do you?" Yan Qingqiu said. "And it's only been a few days. The last time I ran into you at the hotel, it hasn't even been a week. Where's all this 'drinking every day'? If you can't count, call Luo Xi over to verify the dates."

"Don't you see that you've been flip-flopping, saying you like me one moment and Song Qingre the next? The truth is, you want both. If this world let you marry two wives, you'd marry three without hesitation. I came today to talk things out, to ask you to stop pestering me and to stop messing with my dad's company. Clearly, you can't do that."

Fu Ye looked at her, naked possessiveness in his eyes. "Qiu Qiu, you should belong to me. We're destined mates, made for each other."

"So what if I'm an omega? What's it to you?" Yan Qingqiu sneered. "Even if we're destined, it's just data. The moment you like me, I feel disgusted. I have zero feelings left... I'd rather like anyone in the world than you."

She wanted to add one more thing.

You fool, you keep saying you love me—do you even know who you love?

It's Yan Qingqiu from another world.

Not even an alpha, omega, or beta—just a plain, ordinary human?

The first moment I showed up, you said you liked me. How fake!

Know this—this is exactly what I hate about you!

Yan Qingqiu cursed inwardly, wishing she could shout it. Degenerate, degenerate!

After the cursing, she propped herself up on the table, her head throbbing.

A sheen of hot sweat broke out on her delicate forehead. Her lashes trembled. The System inside her head was jolting her brain, contorting half her face in pain, like a nerve in her tooth had been struck and she wanted to tear her whole face off.

"Damn it!"

Yan Qingqiu grabbed the table edge and cursed viciously—this time, not at Fu Ye, but at the System.

The System: 【Host, don't break character so excessively. I'm only zapping you to remind you that breaking character is dangerous. If you're discovered, you could die.】

It could just talk to her, but it had to zap her.

Yan Qingqiu didn't respond. She was livid.

"Can't you just talk to me nicely?" Fu Ye asked.

"Can't you just stop liking me?" Yan Qingqiu asked outright.

"I can't." Fu Ye said, "I love you."

Yan Qingqiu bit her lip. He had to make things awkward.

"Coming out to see you was a mistake."

"Not only will I stay eighteen yards away from you forever, I'm going back to tell Song Qingre to never believe a word you say. If she ever falls for you, I'll look down on her for the rest of my life!"

Yan Qingqiu got up from the tea restaurant. Fu Ye tried to follow her, to control her with the same trick as before, but Yan Qingqiu was ready. She clapped her hands, and Fu Ye didn't get his chance. Only then did he notice that several men in black had all walked over. He acutely realized he'd walked into a trap.

Yan Qingqiu slapped the table and gave the order: "Teach him a lesson."

With that, she simply rose, slung her bag over her shoulder, and left the restaurant.

Fu Ye wanted to leave but didn't dare move. A group of men surrounded him. People in the tea restaurant hastily gathered their things and moved away. Waiters wanted to help, but took one look at the men's bulging muscles and backed off.

Fu Ye could only watch helplessly as Yan Qingqiu walked farther and farther away.

Seriously, if we were just going to talk, why did she bring so many people?

Anxiety gnawed at Fu Ye. He said to his secretary, "Go look into who these men are. What are their backgrounds..."

It was easy to find out. The secretary quickly reported back in a hushed tone, "These are all bodyguards with criminal records. They used to work as enforcers, and they're extremely obedient to their employers. They've accidentally crippled people before... None of them look like upstanding citizens."

Fu Ye swallowed hard.

The secretary added, "Are they planning to rough you up?"

Fu Ye fell silent. The secretary couldn't help but worry and said seriously, "Your body might not be up for it. How about we just run?"

Fu Ye hesitated. Running would be such a loss of face. He stayed silent, then said, "Wait ten more minutes."

The moment his words landed, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

He thought the man would say something, but instead, the hand moved directly to the back of his neck and started pressing down. Before Fu Ye could resist, his gland was already in the man's grip, squeezed hard enough to burst.

Fu Ye was a high-ranking alpha and could easily fight off one bodyguard. But he'd just had surgery, and with eighteen men against him, he might take down one or two, but he wouldn't be able to handle the rest. His secretary had already been shoved to the ground with one blow and couldn't even get up now.

"Tsk, not bad. You're quite the tease."

The bodyguard patted his face. "Getting excited from a little touch from big brother? What were you planning to do to our miss just now?"

"Come on, have a drink with big brother. Don't be so dramatic. Weren't you just running your mouth at our miss? Say 'I love you' to me." The bodyguard picked up the tea on the table. "What, cat got your tongue?"

"Do you know who I am?" Fu Ye gritted out, enduring the pain in his stomach. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and he was seething with fury that these thugs dared to toy with him.

"Fu Ye," he said coldly, hoping to make them realize their place.

"Well, well, looks like we've got the right guy! Get him!"

Two bodyguards in black grabbed his hair and held his flailing hands, gripping his gland to keep him from releasing his pheromones and mental power.

The lead muscular bodyguard took out his phone and snapped a couple of photos. "No matter how rich you are, it doesn't matter. We work for our boss."

After taking several photos, the big man clenched his fist and looked at Fu Ye's pale face, but decided not to punch him. Killing someone wouldn't be worth it.

Fu Ye hadn't expected to suffer such humiliation. He was so enraged he wished he could shut down the entire bodyguard company. But he knew better than anyone that a bodyguard company wouldn't dare do this unless the employer had ordered it—and that such companies always had powerful backers.

·

Yan Qingqiu had no idea what happened at the tea restaurant. If a fight broke out, that was fine—Fu Ye deserved it anyway. She went straight to ER.

Su Xingjie handed her a contract. She sent a copy to Song Qingre and another to Yan Fu. Both came back with no issues—it was the best contract they could offer: full freedom and top rates.

Yan Qingqiu felt she was taking too much advantage of Su Xingjie, so she asked her to revise it. The two talked for a long time in the office, finally settling on a compromise where neither side profited unfairly.

As Yan Qingqiu was signing, Su Xingjie's secretary came in to report, "Boss Su, Fu Ye got beaten up. He was pinned to a table in the tea house and got his gland toyed with..."

"!"

Yan Qingqiu was shocked. "No way... He deserved it!"

Just then, her phone rang. She could tell from the number it was Fu Ye.

Yan Qingqiu was a bit afraid to answer.

Her finger trembled, but she picked up anyway.

Su Xingjie was dumbfounded. Qiu Bao had Fu Ye beaten up?

But when the call connected, it wasn't Fu Ye—it was the bodyguard.

The bodyguard was panting. "Miss, don't worry. After today, he shouldn't dare bother you anymore. We didn't just beat him up; we also took photos. You can use them to blackmail him from now on."

"..."

Too bold. Too bold.

You guys did what I wouldn't dare do.

She lowered her voice and asked again, "You're the ones who beat him today, right? No one else, right?" I didn't tell you to touch his gland!

The bodyguard answered quickly, "Right, it was us. We even have a video. Want to see it?"

Yan Qingqiu was stunned. "Why did you keep a video? I didn't ask for that."

"Well, for a beating like this, we enforcers have a code of conduct, so we need to keep evidence. And some employers like that kind of thing. If you don't want it, we can delete it. We meant to mention it beforehand, but you ran off too fast," the bodyguard said. "The boss pays us well, so it's only right. We have professional ethics."

Yan Qingqiu felt her father's love was a bit excessive. She'd just hired a bunch of bodyguards, not a vigilante squad. She'd only said "beat him up"—if she'd said "kill him," would they have actually crippled or killed him?

"Miss?" the bodyguard asked. "Did we not do enough? We were thinking about breaking his arm, but that might land us in jail, and the Fu family is no pushover. We brothers held back..."

"That's enough, that's enough. You can come back to work tomorrow. Just get some more exercise today, but don't overdo it."

The bodyguard asked, "Hm? What are you planning now?"

"It's not that I'm planning anything. It's just that I'm worried Fu Ye might retaliate against me. If a fight breaks out, you guys can hold the front line while I make a run for it. No need to record a video that time, got it?"

The bodyguard: "..."

"Don't worry, we've got you."

After hanging up, Yan Qingqiu received the video from the bodyguard. She gave it a quick watch, then forwarded it to Su Xingjie.

Su Xingjie: "That sicko!"

Yan Qingqiu looked at her. "Who are you calling a sicko?"

Su Xingjie sat up straight, crossing her long legs in the office chair. "That sicko Fu Ye finally got what he deserved!"

"Sorry, I got too excited and didn't say his name."

"He deserves everything he gets. Good job, Qiu Bao!" Su Xingjie praised, almost making Yan Qingqiu blush.

"Last time, with all his provocations, this is just karma."

Yan Qingqiu stood by her desk, her fingers gripping the edge, her heart still racing. She swore to heaven that she hadn't intended for the bodyguards to do anything to him. But now that they'd beaten him up, what was done was done?

Yan Qingqiu's heart fluttered. This was her first time sending someone to get beaten up. Wait, no—she hadn't actually sent anyone; the bodyguards had just lost control.

After fretting, she steeled herself, stood up straight, and said, "Still, that was too light. They should have let you take a swing at him too and make him kneel."

Su Xingjie nodded, and the two leaned in together, replaying the video. The more they watched, the more satisfying it was. Su Xingjie noticed Yan Qingqiu was tense, so she said, "He wouldn't dare tell anyone. That would be too humiliating. Anyway, after this, if he ever bothers you again, he's just trash."

Yan Qingqiu: "If he bothers me again, I'll beat him again! That piece of trash. Sister, curse him out for me!"

That familiar feeling surged in Su Xingjie again, except this time the target had changed. Before, she'd relentlessly badmouthed Song Qingre; now she was badmouthing Fu Ye.

In just a few days, a qualitative change had occurred.

Su Xingjie rolled up her sleeves a bit and started rattling off: "Someone like him wants to chase after you? A toad dreaming of eating swan meat. If you hadn't been blind enough to like him back then, would he have ever thought he had a chance? Sister, I'm telling you, across generations of his whole family, not one of them is worth a second glance."

"I hope he has bad luck forever, his business goes bankrupt, he ends up poor and destitute, living on the streets, begging for food that's not even warm."

"Babe, you're a fairy. He's not worthy of you!"

Yan Qingqiu nodded vigorously. "Sister, keep talking, say more."

Su Xingjie cursed until her throat was dry, then poured some water for herself and brought a glass for Yan Qingqiu. After sitting for a while, Yan Qingqiu couldn't sit still anymore. She grabbed her bag, ready to leave.

"You're going to pick up Song Qingre?" Su Xingjie saw through her at a glance.

"Yeah."

Su Xingjie watched her stuff the contract into her bag. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then stopped. After a few attempts, she asked, "Is she still your lover now?"

Yan Qingqiu almost forgot about that. She nodded. "Of course not! I only did it because..."

"Because what?"

Yan Qingqiu paused. She realized that when you lie a lot, sometimes you forget what you've said. "Just messing around. To humiliate her."

"Then why are you picking her up from work now? And your dad now believes you don't like Fu Ye, right?"

Yan Qingqiu realized her friend was really sharp. One or two sentences and she was speechless. "Sister, how are you so perceptive? I'm curious again—why didn't you ask me about it when I dyed my hair?"

Su Xingjie was silent for a moment. "I was just asking. Look how defensive you're getting."

Realizing she couldn't hide anything from her, Yan Qingqiu decided to confess to only one thing. She said, "Fine, I admit it. I went to find Song Qingre because I was scared... I didn't think the bodyguards would actually beat him up."

Su Xingjie stood up with her. "Forget it, I'll walk you out."

·

An hour later, Yan Qingqiu sat anxiously in the car. Song Qingre sat beside her, flipping through the contract. Yan Qingqiu's phone kept ringing from her bag, the sound grating in the tense silence.

Song Qingre pressed her finger on the contract and said, "Answer it."

Yan Qingqiu answered immediately.

This time, it was Fu Ye's voice, weak as a thread.

He asked, barely audible, "Was it you? Did you really order those bodyguards?"

"Yes, so what?" Yan Qingqiu replied.

"You had bodyguards humiliate me?" Fu Ye's pride was wounded. He couldn't even say out loud what the bodyguards had done to him.

Yan Qingqiu's imagination ran wild. They couldn't have all been as perverted as her, right? They touched his gland and then did... what? Strip him?

"What did they even do? Just touched your gland?"

"Yan Qingqiu." Fu Ye's ego was crushed. "You think it was just touching?" He'd nearly crushed his gland.

Yan Qingqiu laughed. "Then you deserve it. Why didn't you think you were out of line when you touched my gland?"

Yan Qingqiu cursed right back. She should give him a taste of his own medicine, make him regret it.

Fu Ye's voice grew heavier. "Are you getting back at me?"

"Can't I?" Yan Qingqiu shot back.

Fu Ye fell silent. Yan Qingqiu snorted. "Yes, it was me. What about it? I'm about to go tip my bodyguards for their loyal, obedient service."

Fu Ye hung up in a rage. He'd still held out hope, but Yan Qingqiu was getting worse, totally abusing his affection for her. Fine then, he'd get together with Song Qingre and make her regret it.

He lay on the hospital bed and asked his secretary, "Am I spoiling her too much? Is that it?"

The secretary was silent for a long time. For some reason, he actually thought Yan Qingqiu had a point. Fu Ye had touched her first. If someone had done that to his sister or girlfriend, he'd have found a way to chop their hand off.

So her getting back at him didn't seem like such a big deal.

He'd claimed he wanted to make it up to Song Qingre and nearly bankrupted her. Now, she'd justly gotten her revenge, and he was whining about it.

The secretary thought Fu Ye might be rich, but he truly didn't deserve either of those women. He said seriously, "Sir, maybe you should just stop loving her."

Fu Ye shot him a vicious glare, clutching his aching stomach as he silently swallowed the humiliation. Love? He wasn't so sure anymore.

After cursing him out, Yan Qingqiu turned off her phone entirely and refused to take any more messages. She looked at Song Qingre beside her.

Song Qingre hadn't said a word, just kept looking at her phone, seemingly unconcerned. Finally she commented, "He's a strange one. He can bully you, but the moment you touch him back, he can't handle it."

Yan Qingqiu nodded emphatically. Song Qingre was the clever one.

Just as she was relaxing, the System spoke up: 【Do you really think it was you who had Fu Ye beaten?】

The bodyguards had admitted it, and Yan Qingqiu had already owned up to it, so she admitted it gracefully: 【You didn't stop me when I gave the order. You can't just tell me afterward that I wasn't supposed to do it, right?】

The System said: 【Have you considered the possibility that someone might be stirring the pot, pinning the blame for Fu Ye's beating on you?】

Yan Qingqiu paused for a moment. 【How do you know? My bodyguard told me himself.】

The System said: 【I guessed.】

Yan Qingqiu said, "Oh." The System had a point. If someone was setting her up, she'd end up taking the fall for something big.

Yan Qingqiu: 【Do you have any concrete evidence?】

The System didn't answer. It didn't have any.

There was a video, and the bodyguards had confessed. The beating had happened, so there was no point in denying it.

But pinning it on the female lead? That was exactly the kind of thing a villainess would do.

Yan Qingqiu asked the System: 【Are you guys specifically targeting her?】

The System took a moment before replying: 【How could that be? We treat everyone equally. Why would we target her? We only manage the steamy plotlines. I warned you merely because we've worked together so long and I don't want you to run into problems with your missions.】

Yan Qingqiu said: 【I never said who that person was.】

Yan Qingqiu knew it like the back of her hand. If the System wasn't deliberately targeting the female lead, then it was targeting her, deliberately pushing her into a trap.

If she thought about it that way, some people didn't actually want to be villainesses—they were outright manipulated by the System, which was subtly steering them down a path of no return.

That evening, back home, Song Qingre didn't say a word.

The Butler didn't mention it either, just serving the meal.

Song Qingre ate her dinner. Yan Qingqiu kept glancing at her, feeling a bit uneasy. She bit her fork and said, "I didn't expect the bodyguards to be so rough."

Song Qingre hummed in acknowledgment and said, "I already spoke to Uncle about it. I told him the bodyguards misunderstood and lost control when they laid hands on Fu Ye. He brought it on himself; it has nothing to do with you. He's the one who came looking for you."

Yan Qingqiu made a small sound of understanding. She glanced at Song Qingre a few more times, touched. Every time she messed up, Song Qingre was the one to clean it up. "How did you know he came to find me?"

"You're disgusted by him. Would you have gone to see him willingly?"

Song Qingre added, "We still need to pay for his medical expenses."

"Why?" Yan Qingqiu grew anxious.

"I'll pay, to avoid leaving loose ends." Song Qingre said, "What if he uses this to blackmail you later?"

Yan Qingqiu said, "He never paid me back last time."

"Because he's despicable. You're not like him."

Yan Qingqiu thought she was right, and her disgust for Fu Ye grew another layer.

Song Qingre sat across from her, fingers wrapped around her milky-white cup, looking at her gently. "Are you scared?"

"No, I just wanted to thank you." Yan Qingqiu said, "About today..."

Song Qingre said, "I've got you."

She rubbed her thumb against the cup and said softly, "It's just a beating. Don't be scared. He deserved it." She lowered her gaze; the darkness was only momentary.

Yan Qingqiu had expected a lecture, so she felt a little happy.

She remembered she still owed her a billion yuan. She'd wanted to settle both money and feelings, but now she owed her on both fronts. She thought about calling her dad to get the money for Song Qingre, but she was afraid he'd bring up the fight.

After Song Qingre said that, she got an idea too. "Next time I see him, I'll hit him again, until he's too traumatized to show his face."

Song Qingre: "That works."

"Then what do you want?" Yan Qingqiu took a deep breath and asked, "As a thank-you."

Song Qingre didn't answer directly. She thought seriously for a moment. "I haven't decided yet. No rush."

Yan Qingqiu bit her spoon. "Well, if you don't decide before the offer expires, that's on you."

"You can let me take a bite." Song Qingre said.

Yan Qingqiu looked at her spoon and held it out. "Here, bite it. You have weird tastes."

Song Qingre took a sip of milk and didn't press the issue, but they both knew what she meant by "bite."

She said, "Oh, by the way, I want to tell you something."

"What?" Yan Qingqiu set her spoon aside and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

Song Qingre said, "In a couple days, I'll have someone clean up the courtyard next door."

"Hm?"

"I'm planning to move back. I can't stay here forever."

"Then what about me at night?"

The words slipped out before Yan Qingqiu could stop them. If Song Qingre wasn't there to help relieve her heat symptoms, what was she supposed to do?

"It seems Qiu Qiu has forgotten what I said." Song Qingre said gently, clearly reminding her of two messages she couldn't forget.

Yan Qingqiu had a good memory and strong comprehension. Thinking back to the messages she'd received that morning, she bit her lip and said nothing. What a sin...

Fine, she'd just endure.

After dinner, the two walked one after another into the bedroom. Song Qingre opened and closed her door, and Yan Qingqiu went to her room, dazed for a moment.

She lay on her bed and started thinking about Song Qingre's words, about how Song Qingre had solved her problems today.

That gentleness—ah, it was lethal.

She pulled out her phone and looked at the two messages from last night.

【Naughty.】

【Time for punishment.】

Then it hit her. Before, Song Qingre had always taken the initiative to ask if she wanted a massage, but today she hadn't asked at all.

Was this the punishment?

Song Qingre's hand had been like a valve, and without her help, her body would lose control... This was deadly.

Yan Qingqiu lay flat, letting out a breath.

She tossed and turned, conflicted and hesitant. Finally, she took the initiative to send Song Qingre a message: 【Are you asleep?】

No reply.

Yan Qingqiu tugged at the sheets. Why wasn't she answering? Even a single word would do. She sent another: 【Song Qingre, are you asleep? Let's talk.】

【Are you really going to the hospital to give Fu Ye money?】

They were just a wall apart. Right now, she really wanted to chat with Song Qingre—just talk, that's all. Look, even tonight's moonlight was gentle.

Her waist was feeling swollen.

She scrolled up and saw the message she'd received but never replied to.

Back then, she'd just looked at it without taking it seriously. She thought Song Qingre wasn't that virtuous and would inevitably give in and touch her... but she really had turned over a new leaf.

Yan Qingqiu told herself she couldn't be that desperate. If the other person wouldn't reply, she should just let it go. She'd been feeling fine these past few days; she could probably last a few more nights. She took out her own writing to read.

Reading about Miss Song trembling on the desk.

No, she couldn't.

She put down her little notebook and picked up her phone again.

She'd discovered a little secret.

Song Qingre had taken control of her body. If Song Qingre didn't touch her, she'd break down and cry.

If Song Qingre didn't give her a massage, she'd start burning up any second.

In the next room, the person looked up at the door, her gaze heavy, like a spider lurking in the night, its web already spun, waiting for its prey to stumble in.

She sent an email to the bodyguards: 【Beat him every time you see him.】

Even though she was famished, even though the prey was already caught in the web, she remained patient, unhurried, methodical.

Waiting for the moment of total possession.

She sent a voice message, her tone gentle: "Go to sleep early."

Just a few minutes later, a knock came at the door.