Qin Wang returned in the middle of the night, with several scrapes on his arms and the bridge of his nose.
In his hand was a cloth bundle, filled with common medicines.
Stepping into the backyard, he instinctively glanced toward a certain room.
Seeing that the Lightning Sigil was still intact, his expression relaxed.
He handed the medicine to the bespectacled man. Xia Manman, standing nearby, feigned concern: “Qin Wang, really now.”
“Why not just let that woman heal Li Chuan? Why go through all this trouble? You work so hard—do you think she’d even care?”
The word “Healing” made Qin Wang frown.
He glanced at Xia Manman. “None of your business?”
She was taken aback for a moment,
then flushed red with irritation. “Qin Wang, I’m worried about you! Why are you so ungrateful?”
Qin Wang ignored her and headed back to his room.
He was exhausted and just wanted a good night’s sleep.
But the moment he opened the door, he saw someone lying on his bed.
Wearing a thin set of pajamas, her curves alluring, the exposed half of her calves dazzlingly pale.
He froze. “What are you doing in my room?”
Then his gaze swept over the hole in the wall, and his expression darkened.
Qiao Xi turned her face to look at him. “There’s a mouse in that room. I’m sleeping here tonight.”
“Get out.”
Qin Wang’s voice carried no emotion whatsoever.
“Fine, then carry me.” Qiao Xi opened her arms toward him.
Qin Wang looked at her shamelessness, said nothing more, and turned to go fetch water.
Then, right in front of her, he began stripping off his clothes.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen it before.
Qiao Xi watched him without the slightest pretense of modesty.
Qin Wang was good-looking, and he had a great body.
His abdominal muscles were smoothly defined, his waist lean and powerful.
He looked strong.
Qiao Xi’s gaze followed his movements—the wet towel gliding over his abs, his sleek forearms, the lean muscle of his upper arms, his collarbone, his Adam’s apple.
Water droplets trailed down his abs and disappeared into his pants.
As she watched, her attention was suddenly drawn to the pendant hanging around his neck.
A thin chain held a ring—by its size and style, it appeared to be a men’s band.
Qiao Xi frowned slightly.
From what she remembered, Qin Wang rarely wore accessories, especially something this plain and cheap-looking.
Her gaze lingered on the pendant as she searched her memory, only to find she had no recollection of that ring at all.
Someone else must have given it to him.
For him to wear it constantly, whoever gave him that ring must be someone special to him.
At that thought, Qiao Xi felt inexplicably irritated.
“How many girlfriends have you had since we broke up?” she asked suddenly.
Qin Wang didn’t even look up. “Plenty. Why?”
“Which girlfriend gave you the ring around your neck?”
Qin Wang paused mid-wring, glanced down at the pendant, then looked at her.
“This?” He pinched the ring between his fingers.
Qiao Xi nodded.
Qin Wang stared at her for a few seconds, a strange look in his eyes, but said nothing.
Then he turned his back to her and continued what he was doing.
As if guarding against her.
Qiao Xi narrowed her eyes.
Qin Wang had just straightened up when he suddenly felt something tighten around his waist.
Someone had wrapped their arms around him from behind.
A cool body pressed against his back.
Qiao Xi’s voice came out, tinged with grievance,
“Qin Wangwang, have you fallen for someone else?”
Originally, she’d planned to ask in a coy, coaxing tone—it was just a little probe, a bit of flirtation.
But the moment she spoke, she found her voice trembling with barely contained tears, as if she’d burst into sobs the second he said yes.
Qin Wang’s entire body stiffened.
His body betrayed him in an instant—his fingertips digging deep into the wet towel.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. After a long pause, he forced down the agitation and turned his head to ask, “What exactly do you want?”
Qiao Xi buried her face in his warm back, sniffled, and said, “Can we start over?”
The moment the words left her lips,
Qin Wang’s taut nerves snapped with an audible crack. The towel slipped from his hand and splashed into the basin, water droplets wetting his brows and eyes.
The next instant, he grabbed her arm and yanked her viciously in front of him, pinning her against the wall.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
His voice was low and hoarse, his eyes blazing with ferocity as they bore into her.
The basin tipped over, soaking Qiao Xi’s slippers and pant legs.
Her back pressed flat against the wall, she looked at the violence churning in Qin Wang’s eyes, her throat tightening. “I said, let’s get back together…”
“Get back together?”
The emotion in Qin Wang’s eyes was nearly mad—containing too much she couldn’t understand.
“What gives you the right, Qiao Xi? You leave when you want to leave, and you come back when you want to come back? What do you take me for?”
Qiao Xi met his pitch-black eyes, full of danger signals.
That look—it was pure condemnation and contempt for her wishful thinking.
Sure enough, all that remained of Qin Wang’s feelings for her was possessiveness.
Nothing more than that.
Qiao Xi’s gaze dimmed slightly as she lowered her eyes.
“If you don’t want to, pretend I never said anything.”
With that, she struggled free of his embrace to leave.
“Actually, Li Chuan isn’t bad-looking either, and he’s strong too. Maybe I’ll go ask him—”
Qin Wang’s brow twitched violently.
“Qiao Xi, you’re asking for death!”
He suddenly went mad, flipping her around so his chest pressed against her back, and yanked down her loose sleep pants in one rough motion.
Qiao Xi lay pressed against the wall, struggling in his grip, but he caught both her hands and pinned them firmly above her head.
Then she heard the sound of a belt buckle hitting the floor.
Qiao Xi’s heart jumped.
A thought suddenly popped into her head—
namely, that they were different species now. Could they even still do that?
Qin Wang’s breathing was heavy and rough as he bit down on her neck savagely.
There was no gentleness in his movements.
At the same time, one of his hands reached down below, seemingly ready to get straight to the point.
Qiao Xi instinctively tried to dodge, but he grabbed her slender waist with one hand, pinning her between his body and the wall.
“Qin Wang!”
Qiao Xi was starting to panic.
“Hm?”
“My hemorrhoids haven’t healed yet…”
“I’m not touching you from behind anyway.”
Qiao Xi quickly said, “There’s something I want to discuss with you. Can we sit down and talk?”
Qin Wang let out a scoff, his tone lewd. “Sitting down is fine—but you’ll be the one sitting.”
“As for talking, no need. Not interested.”
Qiao Xi cursed him as a pervert under her breath, but her tone softened. “If you don’t like it, I won’t go looking for anyone else. Okay?”
Qin Wang paused mid-motion, squinting at her. “You know you were wrong?”
“Mhm…”
“Too late.”
Damn it!
Just as he was about to take things further, a knock sounded at the door.
“Brother Qin, are you asleep?”
It was the glasses guy’s voice.
Qin Wang’s face showed irritation at the interruption, his tone sharp. “What?”
The other side hesitated, seemingly not expecting him to be so irritable.
“Um… Brother Li is looking for you. Says he has something to discuss.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
The glasses guy lingered at the door without leaving. “It’s pretty urgent. Brother Li said it concerns the safety of all of us.”
“What the hell is it?” Qin Wang’s tone was extremely impatient.
The glasses guy rubbed his nose. “It’s about the monster that attacked Brother Li’s parents. Brother Li said he found it’s nearby, so he’s in a hurry for you to come over.”
He paused, then added, “If we’re too late, there might be trouble.”
Qin Wang muttered a curse under his breath, bent down, and picked up his belt.
Grabbing his clothes, he stepped out the door.
Qiao Xi pulled up her pants, finally feeling a bit of security.
As she breathed a sigh of relief, she thought of the boy in the alley.
So the monster that killed Li Chuan’s parents was most likely him.
She buttoned up her top and followed behind Qin Wang out the door.
She wanted to hear what they were talking about.
Outside, a bright full moon hung in the sky, the road bleached white under its light.
Qiao Xi had only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped.
A thick smell of blood drifted over from the side, catching her off guard.
The night was in its feeding phase, and such a strong scent of fresh blood directly triggered her body’s instincts.
Like a puppet on strings, her body moved uncontrollably toward the direction of the gate.