The first day the Jiang twins enrolled was quite a spectacle. Apparently, they’d been kidnapped before and had only just been found. Lâm Vu excitedly dragged me over to take a look.
“I heard the young master of the Jiang family is gorgeous. Too bad he’s two years behind us and graduating this year. We probably won’t see him much after that.”
Like the Shen family, the Jiang family was an ancient clan that had existed in Cửu Châu for many years. But the Jiangs were better at business, and had become the wealthiest family in Cửu Châu. Their clan members were somewhat lacking in cultivation, though; no one had yet reached Foundation Establishment.
But the newly recovered twins quickly made up for that shortcoming. They’d both reached Foundation Establishment, making the Jiang family the most prominent clan around overnight.
The students at school were more interested in their looks. And it was no wonder—the fox-spirit people were famous for their beauty, and white foxes were the most beautiful of all. They’d been rare even in the past, let alone now. No wonder people stared the moment the twins showed themselves.
The Jiang siblings were surrounded by a crowd, their faces expressionless, until they spotted me. Giang Miên brightened and started to run over. I subtly signaled for her to stop, then winked at her. Giang Úc noticed and looked over. At that moment, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. I coolly looked away.
“You’ve seen them. Can we go now? Class is about to start.” I tugged Lâm Vu along and walked off.
Lâm Vu took a few steps, then looked back again. “Hey, slow down. Thẩm Ngân Linh, why are you so eager to get to class today? You’ve never been like this before.”
After class, I couldn’t stop thinking about the news I’d read that morning. The young master of the Jiang family, who’d only just been found, was set to become engaged to the young lady of the Tạ family. They’d already picked an auspicious date: the eighteenth of this month.
Giang Úc was like a piece of jade high above the rest, destined to be admired. But the Tạ family sure had moved fast.
My mind wandered through the whole class. Giang Úc had only been in this world for a short time—how could he have agreed to marry someone else without saying a word? The shock was simply too much.
With ten minutes left before class ended, Giang Úc came looking for me. He cut off the teacher, who was droning on at the front of the room. “Sir, excuse me, but I have something important to discuss with Ngân Linh.”
The classroom erupted in whispers. Lâm Vu stared at me, eyes wide, as if asking, You two know each other? Why didn’t you tell me? What’s going on between you?
Without Giang Úc’s consent, the Jiang family had gone ahead and announced his engagement to the Tạ family. In response, Giang Úc cut ties with them and moved out of the Jiang home with Giang Miên that very day, then took the opportunity to move in with the Shen family. The story immediately dominated the headlines the next day.
The Jiang family was furious. They accused me of seducing their inexperienced young master and making him insist on having me. To force me to send Giang Úc and Giang Miên back, they began making things difficult for the Shen family. The Jiangs had no ties to the pharmaceutical industry, so they couldn’t cause the Shens any major problems, but even the little hassles were enough to give the Shen family a headache.
In the end, Second Uncle personally went to the Jiang home and made a scene. He said I was a legitimate Shen family heiress who’d awakened our ancestors’ power, and that I was more than worthy of a junior from the Jiang family who’d reached Foundation Establishment.
The Jiang family had fiercely opposed Giang Úc and me, but when they heard I’d awakened our ancestors’ power, their attitude did a complete 180. Giang Úc’s betrothal was then changed to me. The two families picked a date and decided my graduation day was perfect.
Me: “?”
***
My graduation day was also my engagement day. After the banquet, Giang Úc reluctantly saw me home, only to sneak into my room in the middle of the night.
“Ngân Linh,” he said, hugging me, his voice full of grievance. “That Book of Heavenly Secrets did this on purpose. It doesn’t want me to be happy. It made my body in this world exactly two years younger than yours. I can’t get married until I’m eighteen, so I still have to wait two years…”
“Hey, you’ve been muttering all night. It’s three thirty in the morning. Can you go back to your room and sleep?” I opened my eyes groggily, utterly exhausted. What was he in such a hurry for? We were engaged already—wasn’t that enough for him?
After graduation, I started interning at my family’s company. My schedule was so packed it felt like I had to split each of my twenty-four hours in half. Giang Úc was still in school and sent me mountains of messages every day. Sometimes I was in a meeting and couldn’t reply in time, and after work he’d show up at the office looking pitiful.
Everyone at the company knew I had a fiancé two years younger than me who was still in school, so whenever Giang Úc came by, they happily showed him to my office. He usually sat quietly while I worked. Only after helping me pack up at the end of the day would he bring up how I hadn’t replied to his messages. He was easy to soothe; sometimes all it took was holding his hand.
That was why I’d assumed Giang Úc was a well-behaved little fox. Until one day, when work required me to meet with a representative—a rising young star. It was just an ordinary dinner. I wasn’t in the habit of trading favors for sex; we simply had a meal and discussed an upcoming endorsement deal.
As I was leaving, I stumbled in my heels, and he caught me. That brief touch was photographed. A few days later, his manager called to say some animal had clawed his face, and he’d been so frightened that he had to be hospitalized.
“CEO Shen, I’m sorry, but it looks like he won’t be able to film the commercial anymore.”
I glanced at Giang Úc, who was carefully wiping the chopsticks beside me, and said helplessly to the manager, “It’s all right. Is the injury serious? Shen Group has excellent scar treatment. I’ll ask my assistant to send some over later.”
Crack—the sound of chopsticks snapping rang out.
I hung up, leaned back in my chair, and looked at Giang Úc’s dark expression. “Giang Úc, this isn’t like it was over there. You can’t just fly off the handle every time…”
I’d meant to lecture him a little more, but Giang Úc’s reaction was fiercer than I’d expected. “If we were over there, do you think he’d still be alive?”
“I told you, it was just ordinary work-related contact.”
“Work? Is putting his arm around your waist work? The way he looked at you was obviously inappropriate!”
“Giang Úc, don’t be unreasonable. He was just being kind and catching me when I stumbled.”
The little fox flew into a rage, completely deaf to anything I said.
I sighed, feeling a little frustrated. Since Giang Úc had caused the trouble, I took advantage of a free moment to visit the victim and casually find out whether he’d seen anything he shouldn’t have that day. As soon as I reached the hospital room, I heard him bragging to his manager.
“I knew that spot was easy to trip over, so I deliberately didn’t warn her. Sure enough, she fell… CEO Shen’s waist is so slender. She’s so soft and smells so good. Absolutely amazing.”
“All I had to do was catch her, and she took a liking to me. I even made the front page, and she had her assistant send me scar cream. I should keep showing up in front of her from now on. Maybe I can latch on to this golden goose.”
I listened a little longer, confirming that he hadn’t seen anything he shouldn’t have during the “attack.” Then I tossed the fruit basket into the trash and turned to leave. It was time to make it up to my little fox.
“You think bringing me a piece of cake will make me forgive you?” Giang Úc asked, raising an eyebrow at me as he leaned against a tree in the university gardens.
I opened the cake box and held it out to him, coaxing, “This isn’t just any cake. It’s your favorite strawberry cake!”
“Hmph.”
“I waited in line for ages to get it. Try some.”
I scooped up a spoonful and coaxed him as I did when I made him take his medicine. “Open wide. Ahhh~~”
Giang Úc looked like he wanted to eat it, but stubbornly turned his face away. “I’m not eating it.”
“Just one bite!”
I hopped in front of him, but he dodged me again. After a few more tries, Giang Úc suddenly asked, “You really want me to eat it?”
“Yes!” I nodded vigorously.
He snatched the fork from my hand, smeared a little cream on my lips, then lowered his head and kissed it away. Holding my face in his hands, Giang Úc kissed me for a long time, at first gently and carefully, then with abandon. He nipped at my swollen, flushed lips and panted, “I’ll let you owe me for now. Once we’re married, I’ll settle the score.”
“Hey, you’re already doing this! And you still want to settle the score with me?” I was shocked by his shamelessness and pushed him away.
He immediately pressed his lips to mine again, cutting off all my protests. “Yeah. This is the interest.”
***
Giang Úc had wanted to marry me on my eighteenth birthday, but the company was at a crucial stage then, and I truly didn’t have the time. He sulked for days, and in the end, I had no choice but to register our marriage first. That meant he could move into my home fair and square.
I was still busy working in the study that night when Giang Úc brought me a glass of warm milk. I kissed him lightly on the cheek and said tenderly, “Thanks, honey. Go to bed without me. I’ll probably be working pretty late tonight.”
Giang Úc had insisted that I call him “honey.” After we registered our marriage, he’d clung to me all the way home, making me say it who knew how many times.
“How late?” Giang Úc asked.
I was still looking over the accounts and didn’t raise my head. “Um… really late. I might have to work all night.”
Giang Úc said nothing and strode toward the study door. Thinking he was upset, I felt a little guilty. “I promise I’ll make time for you tomorrow.”
Giang Úc stood in the doorway without moving, only giving me a cool glance. A moment later, I heard a click—he’d locked the door from the inside. I froze for a moment, and by the time I came to my senses, Giang Úc was right beside me. He turned me to face him, then looked down at me from above.
Two years had passed, and Giang Úc was no longer as thin and frail as when he’d first arrived. Now his tall, broad frame was more than enough to envelop me, casting an invisible pressure over me.
If only he had fox ears, I thought suddenly.
Giang Úc tugged lightly at the collar of his bathrobe, baring a patch of skin, then leaned down. I braced my hands against the desk, startled. “W-what are you doing?”
“Settling the score.”
“S-settling what score?” By then, I’d completely forgotten what had happened earlier.
Giang Úc chuckled softly, a mischievous glint in his foxlike eyes. “The strawberry cake bill.”
The study was shrouded in darkness, with only the desk lamp’s faint light. As the person behind me moved, the lamp’s metal pull chain swayed, giving off a soft jingling sound.
“Giang Úc…” I braced myself against the desk, but the plea on my lips was cut off.
His hot breath brushed my ear. “Hmm? Go ahead and work. I can take care of myself…”
Giang Úc didn’t stop. He even casually turned a page of the document for me.
“N-no, that’s not…” I was on the verge of tears. How could he call this “taking care of himself”?
“What’s wrong?” The sly fox chuckled and nipped at the back of my neck. “Didn’t you say you’d be up all night? I’ll keep you company.”
His voice was low and warm, full of temptation. “Take your time. The night’s still young…”
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