In a spotless room, a man with waist-length white hair stood before a glass window.
He took off his mask, revealing a somewhat pale face.
Gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high-bridged nose, lending him an even gentler air.
Wen Ran paused.
“What?
You still haven’t drawn enough blood?”
Bai Ze’s voice was warm and soothing, full of anticipation.
“Please rest assured, Miss.
The blood draw is complete, with no complications.
I just wanted to ask you one thing.”
“Did Miss Wendy Mite come in today?”
Wen Ran felt a surge of disgust and scoffed.
“What, a lowly doctor like you has designs on a young lady from the Mite family?
You’re delusional.”
Bai Ze swayed.
An itch in his throat forced him to bend over and cough.
A single tear traced a path from his eye.
He gave a bitter smile.
‘She’s right.
How could someone like me, with this broken body and strength not even reaching C Level, ever be worthy of such a pure, flawless gem?’
Wen Ran had no idea what was going through Bai Ze’s mind.
She left the room with a cold expression, and the man in the black suit from earlier came to meet her.
“Miss, this is a Recovery Potion.
Spray it on the wound and it won’t leave a mark.”
She found it laughable.
‘Just a trick to cover their tracks.’
When she was young, her skin was so delicate and fair that she always needed to spray the Recovery Potion after her blood was drawn to hide the needle marks.
Over time, it became such a habit that she started applying the spray herself, no longer needing anyone’s help.
And so, for all these years, no one besides her fake parents knew about her monthly ‘blood donation’ sessions.
Now that she knew her fake parents’ true purpose, she had no intention of hiding it any longer.
‘This is also a good opportunity to test Ize’s true feelings.’
She tucked the spray into her bag and wrinkled her nose.
“I’ll use it when I get home.
Hurry up and get me out of here.
The very air in this place stinks.
I don’t want to stay a second longer.”
The man in the suit frowned slightly.
He knew the young miss was always in a bad mood after her blood was drawn.
He wanted to remind Wen Ran that this was against procedure, but he hesitated and swallowed his words.
Wen Ran got out of the car the moment they reached the gates of Rose Manor.
She truly didn’t want to spend a single second longer with the people from the mansion.
She used her Smart Brain to ask Hunter to send a car, then waited by the gate, utterly bored.
Just then, a small, furtive figure began loitering nearby, peeking into the manor from time to time.
Bored, Wen Ran quietly crept up behind the little fellow.
What are you doing hiding here?”
The boy, who looked to be twelve or thirteen, jumped in fright and fell to the ground.
He frantically covered his head.
“I’m sorry!
I’ll leave right now!
Please don’t hit me!”
The boy’s extreme reaction made Wen Ran feel a pang of guilt.
Her heart ached when she saw that his exposed arms were covered in bruises.
“Don’t be scared, I was just playing around,” she said, rummaging through her bag until she found a few pieces of chocolate.
“Here, this is for you.
As an apology.”
The boy slowly raised his head and saw a strikingly beautiful girl standing against the light.
Her skin was like porcelain, and she seemed to glow.
Her golden eyes, brimming with a smile, were as brilliant and dazzling as lustrous amber.
“You’re so pretty.”
The boy blushed, and a pair of gray Wolf Beast ears popped out involuntarily.
Wen Ran’s eyes narrowed.
‘Hm?
A Half-beastman?’
The boy, terrified, quickly clamped his hands over his ears.
He looked nervously at the pretty girl before him, afraid he would see disgust in her eyes.
But to his surprise, the pretty girl’s face still held a smile.
Her gaze was clear, free of any contempt or disgust.
“What are you doing here?”
“I… I’m here to deliver something.
Miss, do you live here?” Perhaps because Wen Ran seemed so gentle, the boy couldn’t help but start to trust her.
“I do.
What do you need?
Maybe I can help you.” ‘This can be my way of making up for scaring him,’ she thought.
“I’m here to deliver something to a customer named Tata.
Miss, do you know them?”
‘Tata?
Isn’t that the alias I use on the black market site?’
“I’m Tata.
Are you with the black market?”
The boy waved his hands in alarm.
“No, I’m not!
I just deliver things for them!
I get 1 Star Coin for each delivery!”
“I see.
Give me the package, then.”
“Miss, I need your verification code,” the boy said, acting with the seriousness of a little adult following procedure.
Wen Ran suppressed a laugh and gave him the verification code.
“Miss, this is for you.
My name is Dodo.
If you ever need to buy something you can’t get yourself, you can call me.
It’s really cheap.”
Other couriers charged 5 Star Coins, but because of his age, he was only paid 1 Star Coin per delivery.
“Just tie a gray cloth strip to the gate, Miss, and I’ll come.”
“Okay.
The manor staff will be here soon.
You should go.”
‘If a Half-beastman is caught in the wealthy district, they’re sent to the interstellar court.
In serious cases, they’re exiled to Black Earth Star for hard labor.’
Wen Ran went straight upstairs when she returned to the villa, not even hearing Hunter call her for lunch.
Noticing her pale face, Hunter hesitated for a long moment before calling Ize.
Ize was in a meeting.
When he felt his Smart Brain vibrate, he glanced down at it.
He was about to decline the call when he saw it was from Hunter at the manor, but then an image of the girl’s red, swollen eyes from the night before flashed through his mind.
He stood up.
“Meeting adjourned.
Everyone out.”
“What is it?”
“Young Master, people from the mansion came for the young miss early this morning.”
Ize frowned.
He glanced at the time—it was already noon.
“And she isn’t back yet?”
“The young miss just returned, but she doesn’t seem to be in high spirits.
She looks rather unhappy.
She left without eating breakfast, and now she’s refusing to eat lunch.”
“The young miss also asked about you this morning, Young Master.”
Wen Ran had been left in Hunter’s care by her fake parents since she was a child.
Hunter had raised her, and he saw her as his own daughter.
He had just seen the relationship between the young master and the young miss finally begin to thaw over the past couple of days; he didn’t want to see her become sullen and withdrawn again.
“She’ll skip a meal just because she doesn’t feel like it?
Go and tell her she is to eat properly,” Ize’s voice was ice-cold and commanding.
After hanging up, Ize leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
‘What in the world am I supposed to do with her!’
A long while later, the room was empty.
Soon after, a black SUV sped away from the military base.
“Miss, you skipped breakfast this morning.
You must have at least a few bites of lunch.”
“Miss, you’re not in good health!
You can’t starve yourself!” Hunter paced anxiously outside her door.
Listening from the second floor, You Bufan couldn’t help but sneer.
‘Figures.
A pampered rich girl who needs to be coaxed just to eat a meal.’
Wen Ran lay sprawled on her bed, a pillow pressed over her ears in a futile attempt to escape.
CREAK.
The door was pushed open from the outside.
She shot up in bed.
But as her feet touched the floor, her blood sugar suddenly crashed.
Her legs gave out, and she pitched forward.
Ize, who had just entered, appeared by her bedside in a flash, his large hand catching Wen Ran’s slender waist.
He berated her in a cold voice, “Is starving yourself some kind of game?”