Chapter 201: Chapter 201: Do You Like Me Even a Little?
Gu Nian abruptly looked up.
His reddened eyes were dazed. He watched as she pushed him away, quickly rummaged for the first-aid kit, and then, as if remembering something, ran over to kick the dagger far away before hurrying back to his side.
Thanks to a certain snake who loved getting injured, Jiang Qingli’s tolerance for wounds was quite high; she didn’t panic at the sight of the cut on Gu Nian’s neck.
But she wasn’t very practiced at bandaging wounds.
After applying the styptic powder, Jiang Qingli fumbled with the gauze for a few moments before wrapping it around his neck four or five times. The result looked quite intimidating.
Gu Nian quietly waited for her to finish.
Watching her bustle about for his sake, he found it hard to describe his own emotions.
He pressed his lips together, and the cut she had just bitten into them stung.
Jiang Qingli noticed and approached with the ointment. "Does your lip need some too?"
Gu Nian grabbed her wrist and asked softly, "Are you bandaging me up out of pity, Sister, or is it something else?"
Jiang Qingli didn’t answer, asking instead, "What do you think?"
"I don’t know." Gu Nian lowered his head, his eyes clouding over with confusion again. "I only know that what I truly want isn’t your pity."
"Now you’re being honest," Jiang Qingli said. "Do you think I have that much sympathy to spare? If I had to pity every injured person I met, I’d have worked myself to death long ago."
A light flickered in the young man’s gloomy eyes, and he stared intently at the girl.
"Does that mean it’s what I think it is? Do you like me, Sister, even just a little?"
Seeing him like this, Jiang Qingli’s anger finally caught up with her.
’He really doesn’t act like an injured person at all.’
She turned her face away and let out a cold laugh.
’She didn’t deny it, which means she does like me a little.’
An immense joy exploded in his heart.
Like fireworks bursting, one after another.
Gu Nian wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist, eagerly nuzzling his nose against her cheek.
He barely got two nuzzles in before she pushed him away.
"Hey, you, don’t push your luck."
Jiang Qingli pinched his cheek, her brow furrowed in a serious warning. "Next time, if we argue, we argue. None of this life-or-death drama. You really scared me just now."
At first, Jiang Qingli had just wanted to call his bluff and then warn this not-so-well-behaved rabbit that if he wanted to be liked, he shouldn’t always try so hard to hide his true self.
Who knew he would suddenly explode like that?
Or do something so shocking.
In truth, Jiang Qingli felt she should have been scared.
But for some reason, she even found it a bit familiar and had no intention of backing away at all.
’Instead, I found myself thinking: How long has he been bottling this up? He’s become so twisted...’
When that thought had surfaced, Jiang Qingli had found it strange, yet that strangeness also felt perfectly natural.
’This rabbit is really a bad influence...’
’He must be punished severely.’
Jiang Qingli squeezed the rabbit’s face hard, asking fiercely, "Did you hear me?"
She really didn’t hold back. When she let go, a large red patch marred the young man’s delicate, fair skin.
It looked just like abuse.
But the one being "abused" just beamed and leaned in again, pleading for mercy. "I heard you, Sister."
"I’ll never force you to kill me again."
"If you don’t want to see me, Sister, just say the word. I’ll take care of myself and definitely won’t dirty your hands—Mmph..."
Before he could finish, his other cheek was pinched.
Jiang Qingli’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you deliberately trying to make me angry?"
"I’m sorry, Sister. Let’s not talk about this..."
Gu Nian kept his arms around her waist, cautiously drawing closer. He pressed his cheek against hers and tactfully changed the subject. "So... can you tell me, Sister? How did you see through my ruse?"
Jiang Qingli raised an eyebrow, her tone still hard. "Why should I tell you? If you knew, wouldn’t it be even easier for you to fake it?"
"Sister—"
He called out to her pitifully. "I was wrong. Please, I beg you, find it in your heart to forgive me. From now on, I’ll tell you anything you ask. I swear."
The young man’s eyes were red-rimmed, his glass-like pupils shimmering. Even knowing he was just acting pitiful, one would find it hard to refuse him.
Jiang Qingli pressed her index finger against his forehead, pushing him back a bit, and said slowly, "The first time I felt something was off was probably in the room at the auction house. I just thought you were a bit strange back then and didn’t think much of it."
"Didn’t I tell you? I spent some time recently learning about the habits of rabbits."
"And then, I finally realized why it felt so wrong when I saw you in that room at the auction."
She brushed her finger over the boy’s bitten lip.
She tilted her head, her lips slowly drawing near.
Gu Nian instinctively moved his lips to meet hers, to drink in her scent.
But the girl just rubbed his lip with her finger.
He yelped in pain, only to hear her say, "Yes, just like that."
"According to you, you had just been bullied moments before. You were hurt and scared. But as soon as I got close, you seemed to ignore the danger and started trying to court me, and even..." She paused. "...went into heat."
In their interactions after that, Gu Nian was always like this.
There were many other times he would stare at her, his eyes filled with an unconcealable fervor.
The tips of Jiang Qingli’s ears turned slightly red.
But Gu Nian, having been exposed, showed no signs of embarrassment or shame.
He kissed the girl’s fingertips, his breathing deepening. "I can’t help it. I can’t help myself whenever I see you, Sister."
"Sister..."
"Actually, I’m in *heat right now, too..."
"It’s awful, Sister. So awful I could die..."
"Save me, won’t you?"
He pressed against her lips while pulling her hand downward, begging piteously, his eyes churning with a sick obsession.
The instant their lips were about to touch, Jiang Qingli pinched them together, squishing his mouth into a flat, duck-like shape.
"I’m still angry. You can deal with it yourself."
She snorted with laughter.
As if afraid he might grab her, she braced herself on the sofa, vaulted right over the backrest, and made a stylish exit.
Her skirt swayed with a light-hearted arc in the sunlight.
Gu Nian fell back onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling, his heart racing.
’I’m sure of it. Jiang Qingli must have cast a spell on me.’
’How else could I fall in love with her, again and again?’
...
When Qin Muye pushed the door open, his expression was awful.
His gaze landed on Jiang Qingli’s lips, so sharp it was as if he could burn two holes through them.
Jiang Qingli pretended not to see.
However, once they were in the car, Qin Muye pressed her relentlessly:
"Hey, you and him in there... did you guys, you know?"
Jiang Qingli gave him an innocent look. "Hm? You know what?"
"That!"
Qin Muye grew frantic. He reached out and wiped the girl’s lips, feeling blood. This made his eyes burn with anger.
’Just how intense were they?! Kissing until they drew blood!’
Jiang Qingli’s scalp tingled, but she maintained a calm expression and said, "Yes, that’s what happened. Don’t ask any more. You’ll just get angry if you do."
Lin Xiyue, a master at keeping her seven Beast Husbands in harmony, had once passed on her experience: if you want peace among your Beast Husbands, you have to play dumb.
Qin Muye gritted his teeth, but he could only swallow his frustration.
That damn rabbit was, after all, one of Jiang Qingli’s Beast Husbands. No matter how angry he got, he couldn’t do anything about it.
He let out a rare, melancholic sigh.
Qin Muye was just about to ask Jiang Qingli out for a date that evening to try and score some benefits for himself.
But as his gaze swept over her bag, his pupils suddenly constricted.
Hanging from the side of her small handbag was a charm.
It was a palm-sized feather charm, crimson and shimmering with an iridescent light.
The exact same color as Que Feiling’s beast form.
