Jiang Qingli was caught completely off guard, yanked into the darkness without warning.

Her captor seemed unsteady on his feet, stumbling as he pushed her down onto the soft wool carpet.

She braced for pain, squeezing her eyes shut.

But a large hand cradled the back of her head, and she landed without injury.

Jiang Qingli opened her eyes.

The curtains were drawn tight, leaving the room shrouded in dim light.

Her fingers brushed against something hard and smooth—scales. An instant later, a hand with long fingers seized her wrist.

The young man braced himself on one hand beside her, leaning in slowly.

Jiang Qingli’s gaze met a pair of intensely aggressive, slit-pupiled Dragon eyes, as blood-red as fire.

’This is bad,’ she thought.

Whenever Jiang Youchen’s emotions ran high enough to trigger his Beastification, his eyes turned like this.

’What-what-what is going on with him?!’

’He looks like he’s starving, about to devour someone...’

As Jiang Qingli panicked, she felt hot breath on the side of her neck. He seemed to be sniffing her.

In the darkness, those blood-red Dragon eyes stared at her, narrowed with an unfamiliar aggression.

Jiang Qingli’s heart skipped a beat. Alarm bells screamed in her mind, her thoughts tangling into a messy knot.

It was the first time she had ever felt such a strong sense of danger from Jiang Youchen.

In the dark, her fingers fumbled for his. Jiang Qingli stammered, begging for mercy, "...B-Brother."

Hearing her call him that for the first time in a long while, Jiang Youchen froze.

His breathing grew heavy, his back arching. His gaze was locked on her, as if he might tear her apart and devour her like prey at any second.

However, after just a few seconds, he closed his eyes and opened them again. The look he gave Jiang Qingli was once again the steady, familiar one she knew.

Jiang Youchen pushed himself up and pulled her to her feet.

Once she was steady, Youchen took a step back, putting a normal amount of space between them again.

The young man swayed slightly, his voice low. "You should leave."

Jiang Qingli was worried about his condition. She steadied his arm and asked, "Are you not feeling well? Should I help you sit down?"

The moment she drew closer, she felt Jiang Youchen go rigid as he weakly pried her fingers off him.

His voice was even hoarser now. "...Next time, don’t just walk into a male’s room."

Jiang Qingli retorted, "I knocked! Besides, what’s wrong with coming in? Am I not allowed in your room anymore?"

She said this with a hint of dissatisfaction. She had come here out of concern for him; how could he try to kick her out after just a few words?

Jiang Youchen had spoiled her rotten, so she was used to being petulant and self-righteous around him.

Instead of placating her like he usually did, Jiang Youchen stared straight into her eyes, his gaze dark and profound.

A thick darkness swirled in their depths, like a vast reservoir of magma beneath an iceberg, ready to engulf her at any moment.

He stared until a chill ran down Jiang Qingli’s spine before he finally spoke slowly.

"I’m in my special period," Jiang Youchen said, dropping his gaze to hide the emotion in his eyes. "So what do you think is going to happen?"

Jiang Qingli froze, her brain short-circuiting. "But... isn’t it really difficult for Dragons..."

As she spoke, she suddenly understood. "Was it that glass of water from yesterday?"

Jiang Youchen hummed in agreement.

Thinking about last night, Jiang Qingli was furious. "I told you not to drink that! Why did you drink it?"

Jiang Youchen remained silent.

He had a naturally severe face, and his silence was incredibly intimidating.

But Jiang Qingli knew that right now, he was feeling guilty.

He’d had the exact same expression when he first came to live with them and accidentally broke her butterfly hair clip.

’Hmph. So now you feel guilty,’ Jiang Qingli thought.

’After chugging it down so fast last night.’

But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to kick him while he was down. She softened her voice. "Well... you should get some rest, then. I’ll head out. We can talk more once you’re feeling better."

Males in his condition were extremely aggressive toward anyone who wasn’t their mate.

Jiang Qingli suspected Jiang Youchen had been about to attack her just moments ago. Right now, saving her own skin was the top priority.

Jiang Youchen nodded.

Jiang Qingli helped him sit on the sofa, poured him a glass of hot water, and brought in the food container before turning to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she heard Jiang Youchen suddenly say, "Can you turn on the air circulation system for me?"

"What’s wrong?" Jiang Qingli asked. "Is it too stuffy in here?"

"No."

The young man leaned back, resting his upper body against the chair.

He raised a hand with well-defined knuckles and rested the back of it on his forehead.

She couldn’t see his face clearly, but the bob of his Adam’s apple was distinct, a visibly strained motion—

"This room... it’s filled with your scent."

-

Jiang Qingli stepped out of Jiang Youchen’s room and shut the door. Her first instinct was to look left and right.

No one was around.

She had just breathed a sigh of relief when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the male nurse who worked with Doctor Meng striding toward her. Jiang Qingli froze, watching helplessly as he approached.

The nurse, Xiao Hu, was carrying several vials of medicine and walking in a hurry.

Seeing Jiang Qingli standing by the door, he quickly called out to stop her. "Miss, stop! Don’t go in there!"

He hurried forward, slightly out of breath. "Young Master Youchen... he’s... he’s extremely dangerous right now. An ordinary male wouldn’t be able to control his instincts at all. For the next few days, you absolutely must not..."

Jiang Qingli nodded repeatedly. Seeing the array of medicines in his hand, she grew worried. "Isn’t that too much medicine? Also, won’t you trigger his fighting instinct by going in?"

"I’m wearing a specialized uniform, and my Superpower is ’Barrier,’ which lets me temporarily mask my presence," Xiao Hu explained. "As for the medication... Young Master Youchen’s situation is unique, so he needs a larger dose. It’s like this when you don’t have a female master. You just have to get used to it."

Jiang Qingli pressed her lips together. "How long will he need the medication?"

Xiao Hu said, "It’s hard to say. This sort of thing is very irregular for Dragons. At least a week, a month at most."

Jiang Qingli nodded, not wanting to delay him from his duties any longer.

But Xiao Hu called out to her. "Miss Jiang, let me take your temperature, too."

He reached into his bag for a forehead thermometer, looking concerned. "Your face and ears are really red."

...

Her temperature was normal. Jiang Qingli walked stiffly toward her bedroom.

Once upstairs, the elevator at the end of the hall opened, and Baili Jing stepped out carrying two glasses of juice.

Their eyes met, and Jiang Qingli’s first instinct was to look away.

For some reason, she felt as guilty as if she’d been caught doing something wrong.

Baili Jing acted as if he hadn’t noticed a thing, asking in a warm voice, "How’s Youchen?"

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’How does he always know where I’ve been!’

’I could never beat him at hide-and-seek as a kid, and nothing has changed now that we’re grown up.’

Jiang Qingli pouted silently and relayed what she had learned from Xiao Hu.

Baili Jing listened intently, his eyes scanning over every inch of her skin. After confirming she was all right, he smiled and met her gaze. "Don’t worry. I’ll go have a chat with him later and share some tips for how a single guy can get through his special period."

"Wow, Mr. Baili, you’re so amazing! You even know all about *that*~"

Jiang Qingli hugged his arm. "See? Being single for so long does have its perks."

How could Baili Jing miss the playful mischief in her tone?

The young man pinched the tip of her nose, leaning closer with a helpless smile. "And whose fault is it that I’m single?"

The tips of Jiang Qingli’s ears, which had just started to cool, flushed red again.

She tilted her face up to look at him, blinking innocently. "Whose? I have no idea."

"A certain little heartless creature."

"Hey!" Jiang Qingli glared at him. "How am I heartless!"

Baili Jing’s smile only widened.

Jiang Qingli reached out and ruffled his hair, messing up his bangs, but he didn’t get angry at all. Instead, he asked, "Want to ruffle the tail, too?"

"I’m not going to reward you."

Jiang Qingli dusted her hands off and entered her room, feigning disinterest.

The door clicked shut.

She turned her head to find that Baili Jing’s ears and tail had already popped out, waving at her in greeting.

In the end, Jiang Qingli couldn’t resist the fluffy temptation.

A few seconds later, she was nestled in Baili Jing’s arms, one hand stroking his fox tail, the other his fox ears.

Just as she was enjoying herself, her terminal vibrated.

Not paying attention, Jiang Qingli pressed the answer button.

A hoarse voice came from the other end. "Jiang Qingli, what will it take for you to let Yiyi go? Do I really have to grovel and send her to your bed before you’re satisfied?!"