Jiang Qingli looked up, meeting the intense desire in his jade-green cat eyes.

"What could be even more outrageous?" She tilted her head, feigning ignorance. "Cat Teacher, I don’t understand."

Even though Yuan Shimo knew she was doing it on purpose, he liked this side of her.

At least when she was teasing him, her eyes were only on him.

Yuan Shimo braced a hand beside her and leaned in close. The faint, bitter scent of medicine enveloped her senses. His slightly hoarse voice held a suppressed, indescribable eagerness. "If you don’t understand... would you like to study with me?"

He paused, his lips curving into a smile. "Jiang?"

Hearing him call her that, Jiang Qingli shuddered.

The last time he’d said something similar, the entire night that followed had been very... arduous.

Jiang Qingli felt a little expectant, but she was also wary of his intense thirst for knowledge and hands-on approach to learning.

She placed a hand against his approaching chest, trying to change the subject. "What time is it? Isn’t it getting a little late?"

"I don’t know. Is it important?" The young man saw right through her stalling tactics and coaxed her gently, "As long as you’re willing, we can study anytime, anywhere."

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’The way he said that, he sounds just like a real teacher!’

While she was grumbling internally, the young man lowered his head, his lips brushing softly against the skin behind her ear.

Unable to resist, Jiang Qingli reached out to stroke his head. The cat-boy’s tail materialized, wrapping around her hand, and a soft rumble started in his throat. He clearly enjoyed the contact.

Jiang Qingli stroked his cat ears and remarked, "It’s rare to see the Cat Teacher be so assertive."

"Mm. As long as you don’t dislike it." Yuan Shimo had been watching her expression out of the corner of his eye.

The girl blinked in surprise. "How could I ever dislike you? I absolutely love kitties!"

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around the young man’s neck and kissed him. "Does my little kitty like me?"

She tilted her face up, her long, curled lashes fluttering like an innocent, clueless kitten.

But the smile in her upturned eyes, and the breath that escaped her glistening lips as they parted, made her seem like a soul-snatching siren from ancient legends.

So innocent, yet so cruel, luring him in with love.

’Who could not love her?’ he thought.

Yuan Shimo closed his eyes, hearing his own heart suddenly pound and his own dazed voice reply, "I do."

Their lips met, their breaths mingling as one.

Yuan Shimo was familiar with her strength, so he easily went along with her lead. But once she let her guard down, he would join her in studying more of what he himself had learned.

...

The night was deep, and the world had fallen quiet once more.

Jiang Qingli lay languidly on the bed, letting Yuan Shimo give her an aftercare massage.

’Someone who’s been trained really is different,’ she mused. ’There’s always something new, and he even helps me relax my muscles so I’m not sore the next day.’

Jiang Qingli thoroughly enjoyed these moments and wasn’t stingy with her praise, showering him with a torrent of compliments that made Yuan Shimo’s ears turn red.

His cat tail swayed in the air. Yuan Shimo paused for a moment before his tone returned to its usual calm. "It’s what I should be doing."

The young man’s slender fingers traced circles on her arm. His gaze fell upon the girl’s blissful profile, and his eyes curved into a smile.

In truth, after he’d returned that afternoon, he had been worried about Jiang Qingli’s state of mind.

Not long after they’d gotten together, Yuan Shimo had keenly observed that while Jiang Qingli went about her life normally most of the time, she would sometimes just stare into space. In those moments, it was as if she were hiding an unsettling secret, terrified of the unknown that would follow its discovery.

But now, it seemed she was no longer burdened by that secret, having gently come to terms with that hidden part of herself.

He envied Jiang Qingli’s openness and admired her capacity for acceptance.

So, as curious as he was, he wouldn’t ask her about it before she was ready to tell him herself.

As long as Jiang Qingli was happy, that was all that mattered.

Nothing else was important.

-

The next day, Jiang Qingli woke up bright and early.

Her family was home today, so she wanted to be on her best behavior, to prove that she was taking her studies seriously and be the kind of good student her family could be proud of.

When she got out of bed, the space beside her was already empty.

When she went downstairs, Yi Nuo told her that Yuan Shimo had left at the crack of dawn.

Apparently, he had left some rarely used books at the Yuan Family home and had gone to retrieve them.

The Yuan Family Study.

Morning sunlight streamed into the room, illuminating two figures—one sitting, the other standing.

Du Yushan sat in the master’s chair, asking the black-haired young man across from him, "Do you have feelings for Jiang Qingli?"

The black-haired young man’s lips tightened, but he remained silent.

But the reddening tips of his ears betrayed his true feelings.

Du Yushan snorted. "Yesterday at the Jiang Family, your eyes were practically glued to her, and you’re still going to deny it? Do you or don’t you? Speak!"

Yuan Shiyao clenched his fists, his tone stiff. "This is my personal affair. It has nothing to do with you."

Du Yushan, surprisingly, didn’t get angry. "Jiang Yi and her Beast Husbands’ application to return to the First District has been approved. The transfer process will take some time, however. They specifically asked us today to look after Jiang Qingli at the academy."

"Qin Shu isn’t back yet, is he? You two will be working together a lot, so you need to be considerate and take care of her. Do you hear me?"

"Don’t worry about your brother. I’ll figure out a way to make them divorce. If he stays there, his true Superpower will be discovered sooner or later. Imagine the scandal if that gets out." Du Yushan took a sip of tea, already envisioning the future. "You and she have a high Match Value. Your descendants would certainly inherit the ’Light’ Superpower. If you had a daughter, it would be the greatest blessing our ancestors could ask for. As for a name..."

Before he could finish, Yuan Shiyao cut him off. "No!"

His fists were clenched tight, and he ground out the words through gritted teeth, "They. Cannot. Divorce."

Du Yushan never imagined this son would defy his arrangements. His expression changed in an instant, and he slammed his palm on the table.

He was furious. "Are you pretending to be magnanimous now? I’d say you’re the one who most wants your brother to be cast aside!"

Yuan Shiyao’s jade-green eyes were cold and sharp, his tone laced with sarcasm. "You really are capricious, Father. First, you looked down on her for her weak abilities, so you sent my brother over. Now that you see she has an S+ rank Superpower and Mother wants to curry favor with the Jiang Family, you want to send me as a gesture of goodwill."

His thin lips curved into a mocking sneer. "You’re overthinking this, Father. Even if you had ten or twenty sons to marry off, in Mother’s eyes, none of them would be worth more than that unborn embryo—"

"Shut up!"

His thoughts exposed, Du Yushan grabbed a cup of tea and flung its contents in Yuan Shiyao’s face. The scalding liquid splashed down, and a large patch of the young man’s pale skin instantly turned red.

The next second, several empty teacups followed, smashing against Yuan Shiyao. The force of the angry projectiles split open his forehead, and blood began to trickle down.

Du Yushan was extremely controlling. In the past, when Yuan Shiyao trained day in and day out to meet his expectations and bring him glory, Du Yushan had been indulgent. But now that Yuan Shiyao was defying him, the beatings and curses were relentless.

Yuan Shiyao’s face was expressionless as he left the study amidst his father’s tirade.

On his way back, he stared at the shadow at his feet and asked, his face still a mask, "Brother, are you listening?"

The shadow paused for a second but gave no reply.

Blood trickled slowly from the wound, sliding down his handsome, sculpted face.

As he rounded a corner, he came face to face with Yuan Shimo, who was holding a bag, ready to leave.

The bag wasn’t large; it probably only held a few books that had been left behind.

Yuan Shiyao knew his twin brother had always wanted to move out of the Yuan Family home for good.

After today, he probably never would.

Yuan Shiyao watched him for a moment from a medium distance, then suddenly spoke. "Brother, I’m sorry."

Yuan Shimo raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

He knew that his twin brother’s apology was sincere.

But he also knew that one heartfelt admission would be followed by another he didn’t want to hear—

"But I won’t give up."

He curled his lip. His face, shrouded in the building’s shadow, was indistinct, but the gloomy darkness in his eyes was palpable.

"Brother, you’d better watch your back around me. Every second of every day."

"Otherwise... the moment my sister-in-law shows the slightest bit of interest in me, I’ll do whatever it takes to force my way between you."

Yuan Shimo’s eyes narrowed, his voice turning ice-cold.

"We’ll see about that."