Chapter 167: Chapter 167: A Male’s Terrifying Learning Ability

The faint, sweet taste of mint on her lips made Jiang Qingli realize that he had been standing in front of the mirror brushing his teeth.

He wasn’t wearing his glasses when he walked out of the bathroom.

’So the seemingly aloof Cat Teacher... he’d actually wanted to kiss me just now in the bathroom.’

A fine, dense drizzle began to fall again outside the window.

Slender threads of rain streaked across the floor-to-ceiling window, leaving numerous trails and stirring ripples in the young man’s heart.

If she were to be precise, this was probably the first time they had kissed while both were sober.

When he had spoken those words, Yuan Shimo had believed his theoretical knowledge would be more than enough to handle the situation.

But the moment his lips actually touched hers, the mind of this genius student, who could effortlessly score full marks in any subject, went completely blank.

The experienced advice from those so-called tutors Du Yushan had hired was thrown to the wind.

He couldn’t remember any of the warnings; all he knew was to clumsily move against her lips.

His long fingers tightened on her waist, pulling her into his embrace.

Jiang Qingli felt a fiery heat on her lips. She raised a hand to push him away, but he caught her wrist with one hand.

She pushed again.

This time with more force. Yuan Shimo obediently released his hold, straightening up slightly to put a little distance between them.

The fine, dense rain pattered against the glass, seeming to envelop them on a swaying, isolated island.

Yuan Shimo watched her quietly for a moment before cupping her face in his hands. He pressed the tip of his nose to hers, his half-lidded eyes swirling with both scorching heat and nervousness.

The young man’s glistening lips parted slightly as he asked with unsteady breath, "Now... do you remember?"

He was reenacting what happened that night.

Jiang Qingli shook her head and pulled free from his hands.

Seeing the disappointment in his eyes, Jiang Qingli said slowly, "The way I remember it, that’s not quite how it happened."

She beckoned to Yuan Shimo. As he obediently lowered his head, she grabbed his collar and pressed her lips to his.

Unlike the soft, weak kiss from when she was drunk, she was much more assertive this time, even giving his lower lip a gentle bite as she pulled away.

Releasing him, she tilted her face up smugly. "Now, that’s more like it."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

A sweet, youthful voice called out, "Sister, it’s time for dinner."

"Okay."

Jiang Qingli called back in a louder voice.

She was about to move past Yuan Shimo to open the door, but he easily grabbed her wrist.

She looked up, meeting his slightly narrowed, jade-green eyes.

"That’s not right,"

He said suddenly.

’What’s not right...?’

Before Jiang Qingli could ask, he suddenly seized both of her slender wrists with one hand.

His other hand cupped the back of her head, forcing her to look up.

Yuan Shimo lowered his head, and just before pressing his lips to hers, he whispered, "You forgot this."

His words were followed by a scorching kiss, brimming with an uncontrollable, overflowing affection.

「...」

Their breaths mingled.

A deep blush spread across the girl’s face, and the tips of her ears burned.

This time, Jiang Qingli truly witnessed the rigor of a genius scholar.

And... his terrifying ability to learn.

Yuan Shimo was dead serious about recreating that night’s scene.

In a short period, by imitating her actions, he had quickly learned how to kiss and was already improving on his own.

By the time they separated, Jiang Qingli was so unsteady she nearly fell backward.

Her head was gently supported.

Jiang Qingli turned her head and saw Yuan Shimo’s shadow kitten supporting her face with its tail, its ears twitching.

Not wanting to admit her legs had gone weak, Jiang Qingli cleared her throat and casually tried to change the subject. "Your shadow... it’s quite useful."

Once she regained her balance, the shadow kitten leaped from mid-air to the ground, once again becoming Yuan Shimo’s shadow.

Yuan Shimo retracted his gaze and smiled. "Mm, it can do a lot of things."

For some reason, even though he was smiling as he said it, Jiang Qingli felt a sense of danger...

Jiang Qingli took a few deep breaths to steady herself, then pulled him by the hand toward the door. "Dinner time, dinner time."

"Wait."

Yuan Shimo gripped her hand in return.

Jiang Qingli turned back to see him holding a handkerchief and gently wiping her lips.

Then he put the handkerchief away and smiled warmly. "There."

Jiang Qingli was speechless.

’Does he have to be so meticulous? He even replicated this part...’

Too drained to retort, Jiang Qingli asked, "Is your memory always this good?"

"More or less," Yuan Shimo said. "I can basically remember anything I’ve seen."

Jiang Qingli just said, "Oh," thinking, ’I hope he doesn’t try to replicate *this* scene in the future...’

’Otherwise, this will turn into a never-ending nesting doll...’

「...」

When she opened the door, Gu Nian was no longer there.

Jiang Qingli felt a pang of guilt. "We weren’t kissing for hours, were we?"

She had lost all track of time.

"No," Yuan Shimo said. "Only fifteen minutes. And I told him we’d be down soon."

His words put Jiang Qingli slightly at ease.

But she was also confused. "When did you say that? I don’t remember at all."

Yuan Shimo said, "I told him via the terminal."

Jiang Qingli was speechless.

’How did he manage to send a message while kissing me without me noticing a thing? Just fifteen minutes ago, the guy was so clumsy he didn’t know what he was doing!’

The girl’s lips moved, clearly wanting to make a sarcastic comment but holding it back.

Yuan Shimo watched her, his jade-green cat eyes curving into a bright smile.

「-」

Today, Ye Linyuan was out, Baili Jing had joined his cast and started work, and Qin Muye was still with the Imperial Family, leaving only two Beast Husbands at home.

Jiang Qingli had assumed that since the others weren’t there, Gu Nian would have started eating already.

But when she got to the dining room, she found Gu Nian sitting ramrod straight in his seat, staring blankly with his head lowered.

Hearing them enter, Gu Nian looked up and beamed. "Sister, you’re here."

Feeling a little guilty, Jiang Qingli pulled her hand back from Yuan Shimo’s grasp, nodded, and sat down at the head of the table.

Yi Nuo came over from the corner, but before he could even reach out, Gu Nian had already deftly set out a plate for Jiang Qingli and sliced her food, faster than a professional.

Jiang Qingli felt even more embarrassed. "Why didn’t you start eating first?"

Gu Nian’s gaze swept over the lingering blush on her face and her slightly swollen lips. He smiled. "I was waiting for you, Sister."

"You are our female master. Of course we have to eat with our female master. That’s the rule where we come from."

Jiang Qingli’s heart softened. "You all can eat first next time."

Gu Nian smiled and said okay, then ladled her a bowl of the soup he had made.

「-」

After dinner, as they reached the third floor, Yuan Shimo hooked a finger around Jiang Qingli’s.

His intention was clear: he wanted her to stay the night with him.

But Jiang Qingli went to Ye Linyuan’s room instead.

It was Monday, which was Ye Linyuan’s turn, so she had to go to his room.

Otherwise, she would break the rules, and the order they had worked so hard to establish would descend into even greater chaos.

Yuan Shimo didn’t say anything, just nodded in understanding.

But beneath his polite smile was an unconcealable disappointment.

Still, they had plenty of time. It wouldn’t do to be too hasty.

「...」

After taking a shower in Ye Linyuan’s room, Jiang Qingli opened the closet.

Ye Linyuan had bought her a lot of clothes before, but many were dark-colored, and she’d left the styles she didn’t like in his room.

As a result, his closet was mostly filled with her clothes.

The pajamas were in the far corner. There were four or five sets, including some with camisole tops and others with puff sleeves.

Jiang Qingli chose one she liked and dove into the soft bedding.

She had just lain down when a message from him arrived on her terminal.

[Video call.]

Jiang Qingli was shocked. [You don’t have surveillance cameras in your room too, do you?]

Ye Linyuan: [There’s an infrared detector at the door. I don’t have a habit of monitoring people.]

Jiang Qingli let out a sigh of relief and started a video call with him.

A few seconds later, the call connected.

Inside an enclosed space separated by a partition, Ye Linyuan was lounging against the back seat, his chin propped on one hand.

Outside the car window, the night scenery flew by. The scattered neon lights and shadows outlined the young man’s sharp features.

He glanced up nonchalantly. After their eyes met, his gaze traveled down the bridge of her nose and settled on her glistening, slightly swollen lips.

His golden, vertical pupils narrowed. The young man let out a low hum, his deep voice sounding somewhat strange due to certain emotions.

"You seem to be having a good time while I’m away."