"You're here?" Gao Yang was startled. "For what?"

Qing Ling bent her knees, pressing herself against Gao Yang. The moonlight cast a shimmering highlight on her collarbone, making her appear breathtakingly beautiful.

With a disdainful sneer, she said, "What do you think? Don’t play innocent."

Gao Yang was utterly bewildered.

Without another word, Qing Ling brushed her hair back and leaned closer to Gao Yang’s face.

"Wait!"

Gao Yang shouted. He wasn’t a traditional person, and he had watched plenty of adult films. But this was happening too fast, so fast that it reeked of a conspiracy.

"What is it?" she asked.

"If I've committed a crime, the law will punish me. You don’t have to torment me like this..."

"You're quite vigilant," Qing Ling remarked.

Gao Yang thought to himself, isn’t this a normal reaction?

Just three hours ago, he had almost been killed by his most trusted childhood friend. Now, a beautiful stranger was suddenly throwing herself at him. He had every reason to suspect she was planning to kill him.

"Relax," Qing Ling’s voice softened.

"......"

"If you really find me repulsive, you can imagine someone else's face." Qing Ling placed her hand on Gao Yang’s chest, slowly sliding it downward.

"Or perhaps... let's start as friends?"

Suddenly, Qing Ling stopped.

Gao Yang was drenched in sweat, barely daring to breathe.

Qing Ling got out of bed and began putting her clothes back on. "Enough."

Gao Yang sat up, confused, only to discover a sharp, small dagger hidden under his pillow.

Fully dressed, Qing Ling casually waved her hand, and the dagger flew back into her grasp. With a swift twist of her slender fingers, the dagger vanished in the blink of an eye.

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"Were you just planning to kill me?" Gao Yang asked, still shaken.

"That depends on you," Qing Ling replied.

"What do you mean? If I couldn’t resist the temptation and tried something with you, you’d kill me?" Gao Yang speculated. "So, this was a test. I passed, earning your trust."

"Wrong, entirely wrong." Qing Ling faced away from him, tying her hair back into a ponytail. "If you had shown no reaction, that’s when I’d kill you."

"Why?"

"Beasts don’t have real reproductive systems."

Suddenly, it all made sense to Gao Yang. "So, all this time, you were trying to confirm my identity!"

"You encountered a Lust Beast today."

"Lust Beast?"

"There are many kinds of beasts, Lust Beasts being just one of them. They are cunning and masters of disguise, blurring the line between reality and illusion," Qing Ling explained. "To survive in this world, trust no one."

"Then how can I be sure you’re human?" Gao Yang retorted.

"Well done, you’re learning quickly," Qing Ling said, her face expressionless. "But verifying whether a woman is a beast is much more complicated—you'd have to actually do it."

"Uh..."

Qing Ling tossed him a small vial. "This is a potent remedy. After using it, make sure to dispose of it. Don’t let anyone see it."

Gao Yang took the vial and examined it closely. It looked like an ordinary bottle of blue liquid, nothing remarkable.

He hid the vial under the covers. He had so many questions to ask Qing Ling.

What exactly are these beasts?

Why do they kill people?

What’s my current situation?

What is Qing Ling’s ability? She seems far more powerful than I am.

How can I become stronger?

"Bang!"

The door suddenly flew open, and his sister burst in.

Gao Yang jumped up in shock, standing shirtless. "No! It’s not what it looks like..."

"What do you mean?" His sister looked puzzled.

Gao Yang turned around, and Qing Ling was gone, leaving behind only the swaying curtains and the moonlight casting a silver glow into the room.

Seriously? She disappeared that quickly? She really moves like the wind...

"So suspicious," his sister said, eyeing Gao Yang up and down. Suddenly, she grinned mischievously. "Brother, are you... you know, in that kind of mood?"

"I’m not! I didn’t! Stop with the nonsense!" Gao Yang was on the verge of tears. "And can you please knock before coming in next time?"

"Got it!" His sister suddenly smiled sweetly and clung to his arm. "Big brother, I have a favor to ask."

"Let’s hear it."

His sister immediately pulled out her phone. "Look... isn’t this dress just adorable?"

"Sure..." Gao Yang started to catch on. "What are you planning?"

"It’s only 498 yuan! Super cheap! And if you buy it now, you save 198 yuan."

"If I don’t buy it, I save 498."

"My birthday’s in just eleven months!" His sister pouted. "Can’t you consider it an early birthday present?"

"I’ll be dead in seventy years. Can’t you consider me dead already?"

"You don’t care about me! You don’t love me! You’re unfit to be my brother!" His sister yelled. "I’m going to tell Mom and Dad that you were out messing around tonight and came home covered in blood!"

"Alright, alright!" Gao Yang panicked. He grabbed his phone and transferred a few hundred yuan from his next month’s allowance to his sister. As much as it pained him to part with the money, he was more focused on keeping her quiet for now.

"You're the best, big brother! Mwah~ I love you the most!"

His sister happily ran off with her phone.

Gao Yang watched her close the door, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

...

The remedy Qing Ling gave him worked wonders. By the next morning, his wounds had almost completely healed, leaving only faint red marks, like the scratches left by mosquito bites.

After breakfast, Gao Yang headed to school.

In the classroom, Li Weiwei’s seat was empty.

An ache settled in Gao Yang’s chest, a dull pain as if a part of him had been hollowed out.