Liana had never imagined that one day, she'd be jealous of a cat.

Gu Qinghan held a feather pen, smiling as he teased the orange tabby, toying with the cat's soft little paws.

“Meow~”

The orange cat rolled over and deliberately bared its fluffy belly, looking utterly lazy and content.

Liana stared longingly at that female orange cat. Her breathing grew heavy.

Ah, this was simply shameless.

How could it strike a pose like that?

Such a vulgar posture. Such a lewd expression.

Wasn't that supposed to be me?

Liana's breathing quickened. She swallowed, and felt her body start to burn.

She wanted to be treated roughly.

She wanted to be touched lightly, stroked from her arms to her neck, from her calves to her thighs.

She wanted to be like that female cat, teased all over with a feather by Mr. Hohenheim, every inch of her body laid bare before his eyes...

At last, Liana couldn't suppress the agitation in her heart any longer and finally spoke.

“Mr. Hohenheim...”

Choking on the words, she forced out a few syllables thick with shame.

Gu Qinghan's hand paused. He turned back with a puzzled look.

“What is it, Miss Liana?”

Liana felt like she was about to lose control. Her delicate body trembled slightly.

“I have a question I'd like to ask Mr. Hohenheim.”

“Please, go ahead.”

With a soft huff, Liana bit her lip with her pearly teeth. Her eyes were slightly red as she stared at Gu Qinghan with grievance.

“Didn't you say yesterday that you'd try using those tools?”

She did her best to keep her tone calm.

“If you're only using them on a cat, that doesn't count as bravely taking the first step, does it?”

Gu Qinghan blinked. Faced with Liana's accusation, he only looked confused.

The two stared at each other. For a moment, neither spoke.

“But I am using them.”

After who knew how long, Gu Qinghan scratched his head, looking completely baffled.

Liana bit her lip harder.

Stupid Mr. Hohenheim. Could he really not understand what she meant?

“May I ask where exactly you're using them right now?” she asked, forcing out a stiff smile.

“On the cat, of course.”

As he spoke, Gu Qinghan deliberately moved the feather pen in his hand and blinked.

Liana felt like her chest was about to explode.

Petting a cat?

Why pet a cat?

Pet me!

I'm cute too!

“You... didn't say that yesterday.”

Forcing down her grievance, Liana's body trembled. The smile on her face was almost falling apart.

“Didn't you say yesterday that you'd use the tools one by one?”

Gu Qinghan nodded.

“That's right.”

“And you said you'd use every tool on the table.”

“That's true.”

“And in the end, you'd use the tools in the black box together with the ones on the table...”

Liana bit her lip hard. Moisture welled at the corners of her eyes, looking especially pitiful in the sunlight.

He'd clearly said he'd reward her.

Was he planning to go back on his word?

As for Gu Qinghan, he had been watching Liana the whole time. His expression never changed.

After a long pause, he slowly asked,

“Did I do something wrong?”

He spoke word by word, his tone calm.

Liana blinked, her face full of confusion.

But then she thought of a certain possibility and her eyes flew wide open.

She looked at the orange cat rolling on the floor, then at the feather pen in Gu Qinghan's hand.

In that instant, she suddenly understood Gu Qinghan's true intention.

“I said I would use the tools, but I never said I'd use them on you, Miss Liana.”

As he spoke, the corners of Gu Qinghan's lips lifted slightly. Then he bent down and smiled.

“You haven't forgotten what I said on the first day, have you?”

“Until you answer my question, I absolutely won't use any tools on you.”

Gu Qinghan said it with a smile, like an echo from hell.

Liana sat there in a daze. Her gaze froze, and her face turned pale.

It was as if she'd been struck by lightning. She couldn't recover for a long time.

Faced with this sudden blow, both her body and mind had already been badly ravaged.

But Gu Qinghan's assault had only just begun—

“Now, I'm going to use every single one of these tools on the orange cat, one by one.”

Gu Qinghan smilingly raised the feather pen in his hand, then continued,

“The first one to enjoy these tools for the very first time won't be you. It'll be the orange cat.”

“Before today, all these tools were still untouched virgins, you know?”

At that, Gu Qinghan showed a gentle smile. Then he turned around and picked up the feather pen again.

That gradually receding figure seemed to pull her soul away with it.

Liana could only watch helplessly as that female cat flaunted itself to its heart's content, enjoying the pleasure of being teased by the feather.

Meanwhile, Gu Qinghan would sigh from time to time and say lightly,

“How pitiful. If Miss Liana had spoken up sooner, these tools wouldn't have had to suffer such humiliation...”

That was undoubtedly another critical hit to Liana.

Inside the cramped room, the female orange cat let out lazy cries from time to time. It turned over and offered the other side of its body to Gu Qinghan.

Still smiling, Gu Qinghan held the feather pen upside down and lightly brushed the feather over its ankle, calf, thigh, and then that sacred little triangle...

Every time it passed over a patch of fur, the female orange cat let out a pleased purr, looking thoroughly immersed in enjoyment.

Liana's eyes were splitting with rage. Her pupils shook violently, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Why!

Why was something this absurd happening to her?!

Those tools were supposed to be hers!

And just then, that female orange cat actually turned its head, its eyes moving with eerie liveliness.

Huh?

Liana froze.

Was it looking at her?

The moment that thought appeared, it was confirmed—

The female orange cat curled up the corners of its mouth. Even its whiskers lifted with the skin, its expression full of blatant contempt.

Jealous? Too bad. You're not worthy~

It was as if the orange cat were whispering that right into Liana's ear.

Then it twisted its lazy body, adjusted its posture, and lay down with its butt aimed straight at Liana.

Liana stood frozen. It took her a long while to understand.

She had been cuckolded by a cat.

Why!!

She bit her lip hard, then began violently shaking her handcuffs.

Today, for the first time, Liana truly realized her own helplessness.

She could only watch all of this happen and do absolutely nothing.

“Meow~”

That decadent cry sounded again and again. Even the passage of time itself became a kind of torment.

Who knew how long passed. At last, the female cat's body trembled. It let out a soft, satisfied moan, then went completely limp.

And that feather pen had now been thoroughly stained with the orange cat's scent.

The corners of Liana's eyes were wet. Her delicate body trembled nonstop, and she bit down hard on her lower lip.

It was over.

Everything was over.

“Despicable.”

Choking with sobs, she forced those two words out through clenched teeth. Crystal tears slid from the corners of her eyes.

Struggling to lift her head, Liana lay on the floor with reddened eyes, staring fixedly at Gu Qinghan's figure.

“Don't even think about making me submit... I will never tell you.”

Gu Qinghan smiled, then casually tossed the feather pen aside like a piece of trash.

“Oh, is that so.”

As he spoke, he slowly stood up and looked toward the alchemy table again.

“Then next, the whip's first time is going to be taken too.”

“No!!”

That heart-rending scream tore across the sky above Diet Street. In this town called Beloved, there was now one more brokenhearted soul.