The moment Jiang Miao’s fingers clenched the back of his collar, Ji Baishang ignited like he’d been set on fire—the kiss grew fiercer, his teeth grazing her lower lip, the pain drawing a muffled groan from her throat.
This man really intended to chew her up and swallow her whole.
Left with no choice, she reached out to push him. The instant she exerted force, he sensed it immediately, his lips sliding from the corner of her mouth, brushing past her chin, trailing downward.
His teeth caught the edge of her collar and tugged it aside—
“Hss~”
Jiang Miao sucked in a sharp breath, her chest going half cold.
“Ji Baishang, you—”
He lifted his head and sealed her mouth again.
This time, unhurried. But far more devastating.
He took her lower lip between his, slowly pulling outward. Pulling to the limit, pausing for a second—then releasing.
A soft ”pop,” barely audible, yet in the silent room it rang out as clear as an explosion in her ears.
Her lips were numb, hot, like they’d been lightly branded by a soldering iron.
Jiang Miao felt her entire face burning.
He stopped kissing her. Forehead pressed to hers, his breathing still ragged, washing over her face in waves. His eyes fixed on her in the dim light:
“What were you about to say just now?”
His voice was impossibly hoarse. Sexy enough to make knees buckle.
Jiang Miao swallowed, her throat dry as a desert. “…Nothing. Carry on.”
“Then let’s change locations.”
Ji Baishang scooped her up and carried her deeper inside.
By the end of the night, Jiang Miao had fully understood what “I’ll make you feel even better next time” meant.
So last night he’d been drunk, and that had limited his performance?
A sober Ji Baishang was practically a different species.
The first two rounds, she still found wonderful.
By the third, her legs had started trembling.
By the fourth, her voice had gone hoarse.
She lay sprawled on the bed, too exhausted to move even a finger, mumbling incoherently: “I can’t… I really can’t anymore…”
Ji Baishang stopped, propping himself above her, the loose strands of hair on his forehead soaked, sweat dripping into the hollow of her shoulder.
“Really can’t?”
“Really, really, really.”
He stared at her for two seconds, confirmed she wasn’t just being stubborn, then rose briskly, poured a glass of water, and handed it over.
After drinking, Jiang Miao flopped straight back into the bed, consciousness already blurring. In her daze, she felt something cool and soft wiping her face, her neck, her body.
Couldn’t be bothered to care. Wipe away, whatever.
She was asleep in a second.
When she woke again, daylight was flooding in.
Someone was shaking her shoulder, a voice right at her ear: “Wake up, get up and eat something.”
Jiang Miao followed the voice with her eyes. Ji Baishang was dressed in workout clothes, sweat still on his face—clearly just back from morning exercise.
Sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, gilding him in a honey-colored glow.
Jiang Miao’s brain went “buzz”—
Oh no.
She’d forgotten. This body needed daily morning training too.
She threw back the covers, and the moment her feet touched the floor—
Her legs gave out and she dropped straight onto the carpet.
Looking down, she saw several red patches on her thighs. Bruises, blue and purple, like she’d been beaten.
Ji Baishang immediately crouched down to inspect them, his brow furrowed tight. Then he carried her back to the bed, turned to dig out an assortment of liniments, and applied them to her carefully.
When he got below her calves, for convenience he simply knelt on one knee, resting her foot on his leg, applying the ointment while blowing on it.
Cool and ticklish.
When he finished, he held her ankle without letting go. Looking up at her, the guilt in his eyes was genuine: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know my own strength last night. Next time, let’s talk it over first.”
Jiang Miao looked at him kneeling on the floor, still holding her foot, and couldn’t help laughing.
“It’s fine. I quite liked it.”
She truly hadn’t expected Ji Baishang to suit her taste so well.
Wasn’t this just… a match made in heaven?
Hearing this, Ji Baishang froze for a moment.
The next instant, he blushed all the way down his neck.
He shot to his feet, turned, pulled open the walk-in closet door, and carried out a whole stack of clothes, piling them all beside her: “Take a look. Pick whichever you like.”
Jiang Miao looked down—all women’s clothing.
Every style. Sweet, sexy, casual, formal.
Her face fell on the spot.
“How many people are you keeping?”
Ji Baishang frowned, took a second to process—then suddenly understood.
He braced both hands on the bed, caging her between his arms, and looked down at her: “Trying to dig into my affairs?”
“I looked into your background. Weren’t you engaged to the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Nie—the current Count Miao? Doing this, doesn’t that count as cheating?”
“The engagement was broken off. She and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.”
“And before it was broken off? How many were you keeping? How many do you still have?”
Ji Baishang held up a single finger and waved it before her eyes.
Jiang Miao’s pupils shook: “Ten?!”
Ji Baishang choked violently, coughing earth-shatteringly.
He turned and gulped down half a glass of water before he recovered, then looked back at her, his face full of disbelief: “Not a single one. What’s going on in that head of yours? Ten? Do you think I’m an immortal?”
Jiang Miao blinked.
Oh, right. She remembered now.
In this world, when a man was attracted to a woman, his body produced something called a “Monoderivative Element,” secreted especially abundantly after intimate contact.
As long as the Monoderivative Element remained, the man would uncontrollably fall in love with that woman, and during that time would basically pay no attention to anyone else.
So under normal circumstances, men wouldn’t casually have too much intimate contact with anyone, otherwise the Monoderivative Element would be hard to control.
Producing Monoderivative Elements for ten women at the same time was simply impossible.
Women were different. What women produced was called a “Derivative Element,” and they could produce it for multiple people at once. The more and higher the Derivative Elements, the better her body, and the easier and higher-quality her reproduction.
So when a woman’s Derivative Element level was low, her desire to reproduce would be low, and the solution her family would adopt was to find her a more handsome, higher-quality man!
So now… Ji Baishang had produced a Monoderivative Element for her?
That was great news!
“Cough—sorry, misunderstanding.” Jiang Miao casually picked out an outfit and put it on, surprised to find it fit quite well.
After washing up, Ji Baishang beckoned her over to sit by the window. On the table were all kinds of desserts, looking exquisite and delicious.
Jiang Miao felt a little awkward and instantly understood: “I should have gotten up earlier to make you desserts.”
Ji Baishang was stunned again, then smiled teasingly: “I forgot you’re a pastry chef. These were baked by the lady downstairs. Try some.”
Jiang Miao was a bit surprised: “And here I thought you were hinting that I hadn’t baked for you.”
“Stop obsessing over your day job. Obsess over something else.”
He stood up. Then, ever so slowly, took off his athletic wear.
The fabric slid down from his shoulders, revealing his collarbones, chest, and the line of his waist. Then he picked out a casual shirt and, ever so slowly, put it on.
He was buttoning his shirt slower than a turtle.
Jiang Miao ate her dessert and enjoyed the show.
Her mouth was full of fragrance. The aftertaste lingered.
This man truly knew how to seduce.
Ji Baishang finished dressing and came over to pinch her cheek. “I’m off to class.”
Before Jiang Miao could answer, a bell rang in the room. “Young Marshal, someone is here to see you.”
Jiang Miao had been about to follow him down to see who it was. She walked to the second-floor corridor, looked down, and saw that the person waiting below was Yin Muyan’s attendant.
She immediately turned back and hid behind an enormous potted plant.
Ji Baishang went down.
The attendant bowed, though his tone was anything but respectful. “Young Marshal Ji, forgive the intrusion. I am an attendant of Master Yin Muyan. My master is currently unconscious in the hospital. The doctors suspect he ate something he was allergic to, and also ingested a medicinal element that reacts adversely with alcohol. We heard that you took away all the food and drinks from the banquet, and would like to request your permission for our doctors to test them together with you.”
Ji Baishang flopped onto the sofa, legs spread, his face full of impatience. “I didn’t find anything wrong with the food or drinks. They’ve already been disposed of. Two people got sick at one banquet—you should go ask Fu Ange.”
The attendant’s voice instantly rose. “All disposed of? Not a single bit left?”
“You suspect I’m lying to you?” Ji Baishang narrowed his eyes, anger already written across his face.
The attendant’s suspicion was blatant. “It’s all too much of a coincidence… Our master has a personal grudge with Jiang Miao, and you were one of Jiang Miao’s former fiancés. So we have ample reason to suspect that you deliberately targeted our master—drugging him first, then packing up all the food and drinks to destroy the evidence, so that we…”
He didn’t get to finish.
Ji Baishang stood up and kicked the attendant squarely in the waist.
The man flew two meters away, clutching his waist, unable even to stand up.
Ji Baishang’s face was full of disgust. “What is Jiang Mu even worth? You think she’s worth me risking anything to avenge her? You people from the Kingdom of Nie—why are you all so disgusting. Get out!”
Up on the second floor, the dessert in Jiang Miao’s hand suddenly lost its appeal.
With Miaomiao, Ji Baishang was deliberately seductive; the moment Jiang Mu came up, this was the loathing he showed.
Seriously, what on earth had the original owner done to him? This level of disgust ran even deeper than she had imagined.