With video evidence, the rumors of Jiang Qingli being a good-for-nothing were instantly debunked.
Of course, compared to her improved abilities, everyone was far more interested in Jiang Qingli's love life.
That evening, a clip of Jiang Qingli's sharp comeback even made it onto the school newspaper and was widely circulated.
Jiang Qingli had no idea that on the campus forums, every post about her was tagged as [VIRAL].
After bringing Ye Linyuan home and explaining his identity to the other two men,
Jiang Qingli was faced with a serious problem—
"Who will it be tonight?"
It was Ye Linyuan who asked the question.
The servants had all gone home for the night, leaving five people in the living room.
Jiang Qingli, her three Beast Husbands, and Yi Nuo, who stood like a shadow at her side.
Normally, a female master and her new Beast Husbands should be in their honeymoon phase, full of love and sweetness.
She was expected to choose a Beast Husband to spend the night with, and it was even normal for some female masters to choose several at once.
But there wasn't a hint of that romantic, lovey-dovey atmosphere in the Jiang Family home.
Jiang Qingli sat on the sofa.
To her left, Ye Linyuan was expressionless, his golden eyes fixed intently on her.
To her right, Baili Jing's thin lips were curved in a smile as he silently took her hand.
Neither man spoke, but the tension was palpable.
Qin Muye sat across from the trio, feeling completely out of place—even more so than Yi Nuo standing in the corner.
For some reason, a wave of irritation washed over him.
"What's so hard about such a simple question?" Qin Muye pressed. "Hurry up and choose. I want to go to bed."
Ye Linyuan shot him a cold, disdainful glance.
Baili Jing, however, said with magnanimous consideration, "It's alright, Prince. You can go rest first."
His unspoken message was clear: no matter who she chose, it wouldn't be him.
Qin Muye was already simmering with an inexplicable anger from watching them act all lovey-dovey, completely ignoring him.
Hearing those words, his anger flared.
'What's that supposed to mean? We're all her Beast Husbands, so why am I being excluded as an option?'
But the proud Prince couldn't be bothered to compete with a commoner; it would make him look low-class.
'As if I care.'
Qin Muye snorted, then stormed off.
Baili Jing sighed. "That temper of his... Don't worry, Qingli. I'll have a good talk with him. I won't let him make things difficult for you."
His long, jade-like fingers picked up a strand of her hair, twirling it around his fingertip.
Baili Jing's eyes crinkled into a smile, his voice as smooth and gentle as water. "Our female master's studies are already so demanding. I won't let anything else bother you."
His warm breath grazed her ear, sending a tingling shiver through her.
Jiang Qingli instinctively tried to pull away, but with Ye Linyuan right beside her, she could only force herself to endure it.
A faint pink blush spread across her earlobes. Baili Jing chuckled softly and leaned in closer, his voice barely a breath against her ear.
"Qingli, why are you ignoring me?"
The tips of Jiang Qingli's ears twitched. Before she could respond, cold fingers wedged between them, covering her ear.
Without a word, Ye Linyuan grabbed Jiang Qingli's hand and started pulling her upstairs, his expression dark.
Baili Jing grabbed Jiang Qingli's other hand and spoke slowly, "Mr. Ye, matters like this have always been for the female master to decide. Please don't break the rules our Empire has upheld for a thousand years."
'Trying to use the rules against me?'
But Ye Linyuan was the last person to care about rules.
He stopped and sneered, "Looking for a fight?"
"I'd be happy to oblige," Baili Jing replied with a smile. "However, Mr. Ye, using violence in front of our female master is hardly what a Beast Husband should do."
At this, Ye Linyuan sneered inwardly with disdain.
'Sly fox.'
'He acts like he's the head of the household. I wonder if he could maintain that fake smile if he knew Jiang Qingli had already had her way with me and marked me as hers.'
After a few rounds of verbal sparring, they both realized the final decision was in Jiang Qingli's hands.
And so, both men turned to stare intently at Jiang Qingli, waiting for her to choose.
Caught in the eye of the storm, Jiang Qingli shook off both their hands and sighed. "I don't want to see you two fighting over me. We're all a family. What's the point?"
"Then hurry up and choose," Ye Linyuan said, stepping forward, his patience worn thin.
Jiang Qingli cleared her throat. "For the sake of peace and quiet in this house, I've decided—to sleep by myself tonight!"
With that, she dashed upstairs and ducked into the master bedroom, afraid they would follow.
She shut the door, blocking out the commotion.
Jiang Qingli breathed a sigh of relief and went into the bathroom to wash up.
Yi Nuo was truly an excellent housekeeper. The bathroom was spotless, soft music was playing, and the tub was already filled with warm water. Two little rubber ducks were even floating on the surface.
Jiang Qingli enjoyed a wonderful, long soak.
Afterward.
She had just stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, when something cool and slick suddenly coiled around her ankle.
An irresistible force yanked her off her feet, sending her tumbling sideways into a soft sofa.
As Jiang Qingli put out a hand to steady herself, she felt a set of hard, chiseled abs.
She looked up, her gaze meeting Ye Linyuan's golden, slitted pupils.
"Had your fill?" the young man's voice was husky.
As he spoke, his gaze unabashedly roamed down from her bare shoulders.
Jiang Qingli glanced down and saw that her towel was threatening to slip.
"When did you get in here?" Jiang Qingli demanded, clutching her towel with a deep frown. "I locked the door!"
But what was a locked door to the story's main villain?
Afraid he would wear her out, Jiang Qingli pointed to the door. "Get out. I'm sleeping alone tonight."
"You've had your turn touching me," Ye Linyuan said. "Now it's my turn."
His snake tail slid under the towel and coiled around her legs, continuing its ascent.
It brushed against something sensitive, and her entire body went weak.
Ye Linyuan stared at her lips, rubbing the pad of his thumb firmly against them.
Just as he was about to lean in for a kiss, a sudden knock echoed from the door—
"Qingli."
It was Baili Jing's voice.
Jiang Qingli snapped back to her senses and quickly called out in a louder voice, "Coming!"
She scrambled up, shooting Ye Linyuan a warning glare. "Behave yourself."
She opened the door a crack and peeked out. Baili Jing was standing in the doorway.
He had just showered and was still wreathed in a faint mist of steam, making him look even more gentle and intimate than usual.
"What is it?" Jiang Qingli asked.
"I wanted to discuss something with you," Baili Jing said, testing the waters. "Can we talk inside?"
"No, let's just talk out here!" Jiang Qingli said, terrified he would see Ye Linyuan and she wouldn't be able to explain the situation.
Baili Jing glanced through the crack in the door. A cold glint flashed in his eyes before his expression softened back into gentleness as he looked at Jiang Qingli.
"I'm currently trying for the role of a young father. Having a married image would help me land the part faster and also solidify my fanbase." Baili Jing frowned, looking slightly troubled. "Is it okay if I announce my marital status? Don't worry, I won't reveal any of your information."
'Isn't Baili Jing a huge star? Does he really need to rely on his marital status to land a role?'
Jiang Qingli didn't really understand the entertainment industry here, but since he wouldn't be revealing her identity, she didn't really care.
"Sure."
The word had barely left her lips when she felt an impatient tap from the snake tail on her ankle, as if urging her to end the conversation.
Fearing Baili Jing would notice, Jiang Qingli quickly hid her calf behind the door.
Across from her, Baili Jing's eyes narrowed.
Just as Jiang Qingli was about to shut the door, Baili Jing blocked it with one hand. With the other, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her out into the hallway.
He swiftly shut the door behind them, pressing her against it.
"Qingli," the handsome young man murmured, bending over to trap her in his arms, his voice tantalizing. "Come to my room tonight, won't you? I got out the starry night projector. You used to love it so much..."
His hand slid behind her ear, gently tilting her chin up as his lips slowly drew near.
Just then, footsteps echoed from down the hall.
They both looked up, their gazes locking with Qin Muye, who was standing further down the hall.
"Jiang Qingli," Qin Muye said, his expression a mixture of awkwardness and annoyance. "Come here. I need to talk to you."
Not expecting to be caught, Jiang Qingli instinctively tried to push Baili Jing away.
But the usually considerate Baili Jing merely glanced away for a second before pressing in closer and suddenly capturing Jiang Qingli's lips with his own.
Jiang Qingli: !!!
Qin Muye's eyes widened in disbelief.
'That damn sly fox! Didn't he hear me say I needed to talk to Jiang Qingli?!'
An inexplicable rage burned in the arrogant Prince's chest as he strode toward them.
Baili Jing nipped gently at the center of her lip, forcing her attention back to him.
At the same time, he whispered breathlessly, coaxing her, "Good girl, don't pay any..."
He parted his lips, intending to deepen the kiss.
But just then, the door behind her was pulled open.
Jiang Qingli instinctively fell backward.
But she didn't fall. Instead, she landed solidly against a hard, muscular chest.
Qin Muye frowned in disgust when he saw Ye Linyuan.
'Snakes are as treacherous as they say,' he thought. 'To think he was lying in ambush in Jiang Qingli's room!'
Baili Jing, on the other hand, didn't look surprised at all. He straightened up, his voice turning cold. "Mr. Ye, what are you doing in Qingli's room?"
Ye Linyuan's hand was clamped around Jiang Qingli's waist, the veins on the back of it standing out starkly.
He didn't answer Baili Jing's question. Instead, he stared at the girl in his arms. "Why don't you tell him?"
In an instant.
All three men's gazes fell upon Jiang Qingli.