The moment she heard those words, tears streamed down her face.

The tension that had gripped Jiang Qingli’s mind instantly vanished.

She broke into her first genuine smile of the evening. She pictured her mother and father as she nodded emphatically and said, "Yeah, I’m back."

Jiang Youchen chuckled softly. "You’ve been through a lot."

"It wasn’t tough at all. I’m amazing, you know. But you all... you’ve had it tough, waiting for me for so long."

Jiang Qingli sighed with a smile.

She was just starting to relax and didn’t notice the strange tension in his voice.

After hanging up, Jiang Qingli was hit by another wave of intense drowsiness.

Her body was telling her she needed sleep to recover from the immense mental strain.

She discreetly forced her eyes open, trying to stay awake.

Jiang Yi saw her struggle and couldn’t help but smile. "If you’re sleepy, then sleep. What are you afraid of?"

"Okay." Jiang Qingli lay down but clung to the corner of Jiang Yi’s clothes. "Mom, I want to see you when I wake up."

Jiang Qingli’s tone became self-assured yet cloyingly sweet, the final syllables drawn out in a coquettish manner Jiang Yi knew so well.

Jiang Yi’s eyes reddened. She smiled and said, "Alright, Mom will stay right here with you."

She lay down next to Jiang Qingli, gently stroking her daughter’s hair, her eyes filled with love. "My daughter, as long as you need me, I will always be here."

Warm hands enveloped the girl’s fingers, holding them tightly as if afraid she might lose her in a moment of carelessness.

Jiang Qingli’s lips curved into a smile as she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

...

A few minutes later, Xie Qizhen walked out of the lounge, looking glum.

He had wanted to give Jiang Qingli a hug too, but Jiang Yi had shooed him out.

Jiang Yi had eyes only for her daughter and drove him out without mercy. "My daughter asked me to wait, not you. Without my permission, none of you are to disturb her!"

Outside, Xie Qizhen was an imposing figure, but at home, he could only obey his wife when she scolded him, so he slunk away dejectedly.

Outside, Zhou Yanli and the others watched him nervously.

Xie Qizhen didn’t tell them that Jiang Qingli had regained her memories. He wasn’t sure how much she remembered—whether it was just fragments or everything—and thought it was better to wait for Jiang Qingli to wake up and tell them herself.

He gave the others a vague excuse, and the group walked downstairs together.

They were the hosts of today’s banquet, so they still had to entertain the guests.

Moreover, Jiang Yi, Xie Qizhen, and the others had taken time off from their busy schedules to come back and would have to return to work later.

Before returning, they had already discussed that if Jiang Qingli truly "came back," they would apply to the Emperor for a transfer back to the First District.

Now that their dream had come true, and with the Emperor coincidentally at the banquet, Xie Qizhen planned to speak with him directly about the matter.

He couldn’t bear to be too far away from his daughter.

As they went downstairs, Xie Qizhen remembered the phone call from earlier.

’Jiang Youchen’s voice sounded a bit strange. Is he sick? No, it didn’t sound like that.’

Just as they reached the banquet hall, the butler, who was supposed to be at home organizing Jiang Qingli’s gifts, came rushing over.

Xie Qizhen asked, "Old Zhao, what are you doing here?"

Old Zhao was panting heavily. He lowered his voice and said, "Sir, Young Master Youchen... seems to have entered his mating period..."

Xie Qizhen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Unlike most beast types, who have their special periods once or even several times a year, the physiology of Dragons was unique. Their mating periods were extremely rare—once every three to five years was considered frequent—which was why Dragon offspring were so few.

However, because of this, Dragon Beastmen avoided many of the troubles that came with such periods, and many of them served in the military.

Xie Qizhen was good friends with Jiang Youchen’s father. He remembered his friend hadn’t experienced his first period until he was nearly forty. He hadn’t expected Jiang Youchen’s to come so early.

’He felt a sudden sense of gratification, as if his own child had grown up.’

Feeling sentimental, Xie Qizhen decided to impart some wisdom as an elder on how a single person should handle these special periods. "Where is he now?"

Old Zhao reported dutifully, "Young Master Youchen went to the young miss’s room..."

Xie Qizhen’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. "What?!"

Old Zhao patted his chest, glanced at Xie Qizhen’s face, and continued, "...But, a few minutes later, Young Master Youchen realized he’d gone to the wrong room, went back to his own, and has now locked the door."

Xie Qizhen: "..."

Xie Qizhen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Old Zhao, the next time you pause for dramatic effect like that, I’m having Zhou Yanli dock your quarterly bonus."

"Big Brother, don’t be so jumpy." At his side, Zhou Yanli casually picked up a wine glass, glanced at the silent, lip-pursing white fox youth beside him, and took a sip with a grin. "Since everyone’s here, why don’t we take this opportunity to meet Xiao Li’s other Beast Husbands and vet them for her?"

Hearing this, Baili Jing lowered his eyes, a mix of surprise and worry flashing within them.

Xie Qizhen didn’t notice the younger man’s strange reaction. He just frowned at Zhou Yanli. "Every time you smile like the sly fox you are, I get a bad feeling. You haven’t come up with another bad idea, have you?"

Zhou Yanli didn’t answer, retorting instead, "You don’t want to meet them? On the way back, I heard you mutter a few hundred times about wanting to see your sons-in-law."

Xiao Jin, the most taciturn of Jiang Yi’s Beast Husbands, spoke up. "If you won’t, I will."

Xie Qizhen was just putting on an act. He cleared his throat and went along with it. "If that’s the case, then fine. Old Zhao, go and invite them over..."

Before he could finish, a servant came stumbling over, crying out, "This is bad! Sir, this is bad!"

"Now what?" Xie Qizhen was a bit calmer this time. "More pointless news?"

But in the next second, the servant’s words made it impossible for him to remain calm—

"Sir, Miss Bai... Miss Bai and her Beast Husband were in the middle of... *that*... in a lounge when they started arguing! The paparazzi saw them, and-and now the paparazzi are threatening to broadcast it worldwide!!!"

Xie Qizhen’s brain short-circuited for a moment. "Which Miss Bai? Doing what?"

The servant was frantic. "It’s—"

Before he could finish, Xie Qizhen saw a commotion in the distance. A dozen or so children of influential families were heading toward the lounge, lifting their skirts, rolling up their suit sleeves, and carrying wine glasses.

A few young people passed them, their faces alight with the thrill of gossip.

"Oh my god, was Bai Yiyi really in there with Su Jue?!"

"I heard Su Jue was yelling at her for breaking her promise or something. It sounds like Bai Yiyi was supposed to agree to let another woman go be with him..."

"Damn, is she into being cuckolded?"

"But shouldn’t the lounge doors be encrypted and soundproof? How did the paparazzi hear anything?"

"Yeah, but the door just happened to be broken! What a coincidence, right? A dozen paparazzi were at the door, snapping pictures like crazy!"

"Hurry, hurry! I heard her Beast Husband started fighting the paparazzi while he was still naked!"

Amidst the chattering gossip, the group approached the lounge.

From a distance, they could see the lounge was surrounded by a dozen or so onlookers.

Xie Qizhen had his bodyguards disperse the crowd. As he got closer, he saw the room was in complete disarray.

Su Jue was using his Superpower to pin five or six people dressed as waiters to the floor. A smashed camera lay nearby.

By the door, Bai Yiyi was wrapped in a blanket, her snow-white shoulders, covered in marks, trembling. She dabbed at her eyes from time to time, but her peripheral vision was fixed on the doorway.

When she caught sight of Xie Qizhen approaching, Bai Yiyi burst into tears and threw herself at him. "Uncle, these paparazzi, they... they bullied me..."

Xie Qizhen sidestepped her and asked in a low voice, "What exactly is going on?"

His face turned cold, fully radiating the imposing aura of a man in power.

"My Beast Husband and I were resting just now when they suddenly appeared, took my picture, and threatened to broadcast it worldwide." Bai Yiyi bit her lip, as if finding it difficult to speak. "They said... they were..."

"They were what?" Xie Qizhen frowned. "Stop hesitating. This is the Jiang Family’s home. Whatever happened, I will see that justice is done."

Bai Yiyi seemed to make up her mind and said in a small voice, "They said Sister Qingli sent them."

"Uncle, please don’t blame Sister Qingli. I’m sure she didn’t mean to..."

She clutched the blanket, her face a mask of forbearance, as if she had suffered a terrible injustice.

But her eyes narrowed with displeasure.

’The paparazzi here were all planted by me.’

’The original plan was to get compromising photos of Jiang Qingli and Su Jue, while I went to handle Jiang Youchen.’

’But a little while ago, I followed Jiang Youchen to the lounge, only to push open the door and find Su Jue. In the dark, Su Jue mistook me for Jiang Qingli and we... we did it. And that’s when the paparazzi burst in!’

’Everything I had arranged for Jiang Qingli happened to me instead!’

’At this point, I can only grit my teeth and swallow this loss. I’ll have to pay off the paparazzi and get them to lie to the Jiang Family with me, to say that Jiang Qingli was behind it all.’

’I’m only in this mess because Jiang Qingli didn’t satisfy Su Jue according to the plan! So, she can be the one to take the fall for this!’

’The Jiang Family hasn’t cared about Jiang Qingli for years. Xie Qizhen has probably given up on her long ago. With so many people pointing the finger at her, let’s see how she gets out of this unscathed!’

In her line of sight, Xie Qizhen did indeed frown.

A flash of joy went through Bai Yiyi’s heart.

Just as she was about to say more, one of the paparazzi suddenly yelled—

"Miss Bai, you can’t just burn the bridge after you’ve crossed it!"

"You’re the one who sent us here!"