Chapter 424: Whose Mark Do You Think You’re Rejecting?

The light was dim.

A chaotic mix of scents still lingered in the air.

Ye Linyuan looked down at the girl pressed against him. Just as their lips were about to touch, he suddenly averted his gaze and refused her in a flat tone. "No."

The mood was so charged. Who would have thought he’d suddenly refuse?

Jiang Qingli froze. "What?"

Ye Linyuan stared into her eyes for a few more seconds, then grasped the nape of her neck, pulled her away, and stood up to go to the bathroom.

A moment later, the sound of running water trickled from the room.

Jiang Qingli thought for a moment, then asked 030, ’Has Ye Linyuan’s affection level for me dropped?’

replied with certainty, ’Nope, it’s still at 100%. That boy fell for you hard, right from the start.’

Jiang Qingli found it odd. ’Then why did he reject me?’

’Right? Any other Beast Husband would have been rock-hard by now!’ 030 scratched its head, speculating, ’Could the drugs the lab gave him have... killed his libido or something?’

Jiang Qingli thought, ’...Definitely not.’

’That lecherous snake, Ye Linyuan, was thinking about kissing me even with a giant hole in his side. There’s no way he’s lost his drive.’

’Judging by his performance last night, he was even more aggressive and expressive than he was at twenty-five. There’s definitely no problem with his... capabilities.’

Jiang Qingli sat in bed, listening to the water, and gradually recalled the look in Ye Linyuan’s eyes from a moment ago.

It was scorching and dominant, yet wrapped in a layer of restraint, as if he was resisting something fiercely.

’Could it be that Lü Xin’s brainwashing hasn’t worn off yet?’

’But last night, the way Ye Linyuan... attended to me... seemed pretty enthusiastic...’

Jiang Qingli considered this, resolving to find an opportunity to test him.

...

After his shower, Ye Linyuan glanced at his watch.

11:30, Empire standard time.

It was impossible to tell the time underground. His sense of time was usually sharp, but it had been muddled for the past two days.

’Is it because of my rut, or is it because of her?’

Ye Linyuan looked up at the mirror.

His reflection raised its head in sync with his own. Long, raven hair, unnaturally pale skin, and a pair of cold, indifferent golden eyes with vertical pupils.

His gaze drifted downward. The spot on his chest, partially covered by a few strands of black hair, was completely blank.

Ye Linyuan pressed a hand to the spot. With his eyes downcast, his expression was unreadable.

...

CLICK.

The bathroom door opened.

Jiang Qingli, who had been curled up on the sofa eating some fruit, sat up straight, her eyes fixed on him.

Ye Linyuan acted as if he didn’t see her. He walked to the bed and grabbed the comforter.

Jiang Qingli scrambled for a topic of conversation. "What are you doing?"

"Changing the sheets." Ye Linyuan glanced at her. "Unless you want to keep sleeping on these."

He stripped the sheet off the bed with clean, efficient movements.

The tips of Jiang Qingli’s ears burned, and she felt a little embarrassed. "Go ahead and change it, then."

After a moment’s thought, she added, "Are you hungry?"

After changing the sheet, Ye Linyuan tossed the dirty one into the trash can and stood up to leave.

Jiang Qingli called out, "Where are you going?"

"To find food."

After uttering those three words, Ye Linyuan vanished on the spot.

Jiang Qingli had been about to say he could just have the squirrels deliver something, but she held her tongue when she remembered he couldn’t stand the sight of any other males right now.

-

「Surface, by the lake.」

W-103 and Q-29 were leaning against a tree, admiring the view. "The weather’s great today. So sunny..." W-103 remarked. "Hey, speaking of the sun, I just found out a lot of females like to air out their blankets in the sun. They say it makes them feel warm. Do you think we should do that for our boss’s wife?"

Q-29 didn’t immediately follow. "Boss’s wife?"

"You know, Miss Jiang!" W-103 exclaimed. "She already... did *that* with our boss. She can’t just not take responsibility, right?"

Q-29 thought for a moment. "You’d better not call her that."

W-103 was shocked. "You mean she’s gonna be the new boss? I don’t have a problem with it, but she looks so weak. W-58 would never go for it."

The corner of Q-29’s mouth twitched. "Are you an idiot? I’m saying you’d better not try to get friendly with her. The boss will get pissed."

Remembering the scene from last night, Q-29 had a strong suspicion that forget being the boss, the boss would probably agree if that female wanted to kill him. It was better to keep their distance...

Just as he was thinking this, Ye Linyuan’s figure suddenly appeared before them.

The two test subjects scrambled to their feet and greeted him.

Ye Linyuan looked at them coldly. "Food."

W-103 remembered that Ye Linyuan rarely ate solid food, subsisting mostly on nutrient solution. He quickly pulled a few tubes from his pocket, wiped them clean, and offered them to him.

Ye Linyuan specified, "Appealing and delicious food."

Before W-103 could process this, Q-29 guessed it was for Jiang Qingli and quickly said, "We’ll go buy some in Zone A right away!"

The two of them vanished in a flash.

Before he left, W-103 glanced back.

He saw Ye Linyuan produce a rope from somewhere, string it between two trees, and then vanish on the spot.

The pair arrived in Zone A with no idea what to buy, so they raided the biggest dessert shop they could find.

As they were leaving with four large bags of desserts, someone suddenly called out to them from behind.

W-103 turned to see a young man with features like a white fox smiling faintly at him. "Good afternoon."

The young man was perfectly polite, but the two of them reacted as if they’d seen a mortal enemy, turning on their heels to flee.

They sprinted until Baili Jing was out of sight.

Just as they stopped to catch their breath, they looked up to see Baili Jing appear before them again, his smile as gentle as flowing water.

"I mean you no harm. I just have a small favor to ask of you two."

...

Back in the bedroom, Ye Linyuan sat on the sofa and opened a map.

He and Jiang Qingli sat on opposite ends of the sofa, looking like strangers.

But a moment later, Jiang Qingli moved back onto his lap and asked with concern, "Are the effects of Lü Xin’s brainwashing still active?"

Ye Linyuan’s long lashes trembled, and he pressed his thin lips together.

"Hey, why are you ignoring me?" Jiang Qingli cupped his face, forcing him to look only at her. "Can’t you hear me?"

"I hear you." Ye Linyuan seemed to be deliberately avoiding contact, leaning back slightly. "You..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Qingli leaned down and captured his lips with hers.

In contrast to Ye Linyuan’s cold attitude, his lips were surprisingly soft.

As she drew closer, he instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist. His lips parted, letting her take the lead and deepen the kiss.

As if unable to fight his instincts, Ye Linyuan’s grip tightened on her waist. He used his other hand to grasp the nape of her neck, pulling her closer as he returned the kiss with overwhelming force.

The air seemed to ignite, growing thin and hot.

When the kiss finally broke, they were both breathing unsteadily. Ye Linyuan stared at her, a scorching flame dancing in the depths of his eyes.

"So you can’t mark me, but you can kiss me and sleep with me?" Jiang Qingli rested her hands on his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. "I never knew you were into that sort of thing."

A moment of silence passed.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. Ye Linyuan averted his gaze, his voice distant. "You want to that badly?"

Jiang Qingli was speechless. "..."

’This guy! He’s really... putting on an act!’

Just looking at him acting like this made Jiang Qingli furious.

’What in the world is he avoiding? And why won’t he just tell me?’

She ground her teeth, deciding she was done beating around the bush with Ye Linyuan.

’Fine. You don’t want to talk? Then don’t blame me for getting rough!’

She pushed him down onto the sofa. The moment her hand landed on his waist, she suddenly felt that something was wrong with her.

The next second, Ye Linyuan grabbed her wrist. His brow furrowed, his voice tight with tension.

"Are you hurt?"