Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Kicking Away the Scumbag, Cuddling with the Fox

The punch was powerful. A solid, unexpected pain assaulted his flesh and teeth as the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Ling Qing swayed, staggering for a moment.

It wasn’t from the pain, but from the shock.

Ling Qing never imagined Jiang Qingli would hit him.

He was even more stunned when, after landing the punch, Jiang Qingli rubbed her hand with a helpless sigh. "I really didn’t want to do that," she said, "but you just had to get in my face."

’He got in her face?’

Ling Qing took a deep breath, feeling as if his lungs were on fire.

Ling Qing touched his own face, his expression dark. Flames danced in his gray-green eyes.

He gritted his teeth. "Jiang Qingli," he spat, enunciating every word, "do you dare say that after how you used to pester me? As if you didn’t throw yourself at me constantly?"

The old Jiang Qingli didn’t just "throw herself at him"—she had no shame, no principles whatsoever.

Back then, whenever he cursed her out, she would just clutch her chest and say his voice sounded beautiful when he was angry, begging him to say more. She would shamelessly throw herself at him again and again, begging him without a shred of dignity to just spare her a single glance.

When he was angry, she would coax him in a soft, gentle voice, using every trick she had to cheer him up.

A single sentence from him, even just a few words, would make her ecstatic.

Now, however, in the face of his barrage of questions, Jiang Qingli showed no hint of happiness.

In fact, she looked helpless and disgusted, as if she were dealing with something sticky and unpleasant she couldn’t get rid of.

Jiang Qingli said, "The past is the past. This is now."

"Haven’t I told you before? I’m not interested in used goods like you guys anymore. If you want to end up in the hospital like Chi Yun, I can make that happen."

’That’s what she said, but Jiang Qingli was actually a little nervous.’

’After all, Ling Qing was one of the male leads, a top-tier S Level. If it came to a real fight, a Healing System user like her might not be able to win.’

’But when it came to trash-talking, you had to be arrogant. That’s how all the vicious villains did it.’

’Besides, the bustling street was only a few meters away. Ling Qing cared way too much about his reputation and public image; he would never do anything here.’

Seeing the girl’s calm and composed demeanor, and how she mentioned Chi Yun without a hint of guilt, Ling Qing’s fury became uncontrollable.

’What did she mean by that?’

’Wasn’t it enough that she incited Qin Muye to hurt Chi Yun? Now she was going to have Qin Muye teach *him* a lesson, too?’

’Does she think she’s so great just because she’s got a Prince on her side?’

’What could a good-for-nothing like Qin Muye possibly give her?!’

An image from their day at the amusement park suddenly flashed through Ling Qing’s mind.

The girl, on her toes, kissing the young man under the fireworks. Their intimate silhouettes looked so perfect together.

It felt as if a raging fire was scorching his chest, the pain an agonizing torment. He started having intense auditory hallucinations—it sounded like someone was sobbing, each cry transforming into a sharp needle piercing his heart, stabbing him with a pain so unbearable he wished he were dead.

Ling Qing swayed and instinctively reached a hand toward Jiang Qingli.

Jiang Qingli thought he was about to hit her. Acting on pure instinct for self-defense, she kicked out.

She didn’t hold back. Ling Qing was sent flying, crashing to the ground at the mouth of the alley.

He had no strength to get up, couldn’t even lift his gaze to look at Jiang Qingli. He lay sprawled on the ground, clutching his chest and groaning in pain as blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Qingli glanced down at her own leather shoes, a little puzzled.

’She knew she’d been feeling stronger lately, but was she really strong enough to send an S Level flying with a single kick?’

’Looks like I kicked him half to death.’

’But then she remembered how this guy and the other Beast Husbands had plotted to murder the original owner of this body. Suddenly, she felt her kick hadn’t been nearly hard enough.’

Slipping out now would draw too much attention. Jiang Qingli quietly took a detour out the other end of the alley.

When she got back to the milk tea shop, Xiao Jin was looking for her. With a milk tea in one hand, an ice cream in the other, and several bags of snacks dangling from his wrist, he was anxiously pacing in front of the storefronts.

’Xiao Jin had said he was a hamster Beastman, and watching him now, the image was... pretty accurate...’

She let out an inappropriate chuckle and hurried over to him.

When Xiao Jin saw her, he rushed over, his face etched with anxiety. "Miss Jiang, where did you go? I couldn’t find you, I was about to die from worry..."

Jiang Qingli patted his shoulder. "Something just came up. Sorry to make you worry."

"What happened?" Xiao Jin breathed a sigh of relief, then, ever the dutiful assistant, he asked, "Do you need my help with anything?"

Having already washed her hands, Jiang Qingli took the ice cream and milk tea.

She took a bite of the cream on top of her ice cream and said nonchalantly, "It was nothing. Just caught up with an old acquaintance for a bit. We’re finished."

Just as the cool sweetness of the ice cream hit her tongue, a soft voice drifted from behind her. "Which old acquaintance was that?"

Jiang Qingli turned and met Baili Jing’s eyes.

She jumped, startled, nearly flinging the items in her hands.

Baili Jing was wearing a face mask, but his long, beautiful eyes were filled with a look of grievance. "Baby, did your friend arrive? Or a classmate? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have arranged a place for them to stay..."

As he spoke, he subtly scanned the area.

If Jiang Qingli were a fox, all her fur would be standing on end right now.

’There was no way she could let Baili Jing know the truth.’

The original owner used to go against Baili Jing for Ling Qing’s sake, snatching his roles and awards. If he found out she had just met with Ling Qing, he would definitely get the wrong idea.

Swallowing her ice cream, Jiang Qingli forced a laugh. "Haha, we just bumped into each other. He’s already gone. Oh, um, this ice cream has cream on top! It’s so good, you should try some..."

Baili Jing met her eyes for two seconds, then his own eyes curved into a gentle smile. "Alright."

The young man pulled down his mask. His long, slender fingers wrapped around hers, guiding her hand up. Before she could register her shock, he leaned down and took a delicate taste of the cream from her ice cream.

He tilted his head, savoring it for a moment before smiling. "It’s very sweet."

Jiang Qingli’s face grew warm. Noticing a smudge of cream by his lips, she reminded him in a quiet voice, "You’ve got some cream on your mouth."

Baili Jing blinked, feigning confusion. He licked his lips, but missed the spot.

Jiang Qingli said, "Not there."

Baili Jing licked the other side of his mouth, still missing.

With his handsome face now exposed, Jiang Qingli grew anxious, afraid fans would spot him and swarm them. "Not there, either," she urged.

Baili Jing leaned in a little closer, his voice soft as he pleaded, "I’m sorry, Baby. I’m being clumsy. Can you get it for me? Please?"

Not thinking much of it, Jiang Qingli used her thumb to wipe the smudge of cream away, then showed it to him. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Thank you, Baby."

Baili Jing smiled, taking her hand. Before she could react, he deftly licked the cream from her thumb.

The young man’s smile deepened, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a particularly bewitching and seductive way. "So sweet."

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’Even if there weren’t many people around, how could he say something like that with that tone and that seductive expression... He really was a professional, an award-winning actor through and through...’

Her thumb and her face instantly grew hot.

Jiang Qingli’s mouth fell open. The two words "fox spirit" flashed in her mind, bolded and capitalized.

She quickly snatched her hand back and glanced to the side.

Xiao Jin was staring determinedly at the ground, a look of "Nothing to see here" plastered across his face.

While the two of them were having huge reactions, Baili Jing remained perfectly calm. He simply took the girl’s hand and started walking back.

When they reached the end of the street, they saw a crowd gathered, chattering amongst themselves.

’What’s all the commotion?’

Thinking it was some kind of street performance, Jiang Qingli tugged on Baili Jing’s hand and started weaving through the crowd.

After moving a few steps closer, however, she saw a figure curled up in agony on the ground.

Ling Qing was hugging himself, his face etched with pain, his vacant gaze drifting through the crowd.

’Why is it this scumbag again?’

Jiang Qingli lost interest. Worried Baili Jing would get the wrong idea, she tugged on his sleeve, ready to leave.

But just as she turned, Ling Qing’s hoarse shout echoed from behind her: "Stop!"