By the time Ye Ran woke up, the sky was already bright.
She did the same as usual—turning over to change positions, planning to snooze a little longer. But the moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her shoulder.
Ye Ran hissed, her mind clearing considerably.
She remembered that last night, she had seemingly passed out at the edge of the pool.
She slowly sat up and looked at the bed beneath her and the blanket covering her body, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
Who had brought her back?
No sooner had this question appeared in her mind than it was quickly answered.
She shifted her gaze and saw a familiar figure sitting in the room.
Lu Li wore a loose white sleeping robe, his silver hair cascading down as if he had just bathed.
Ye Ran’s mind suddenly recalled the image of him with his robes in disarray from last night, and it gradually overlapped with his current appearance, making her cheeks faintly warm.
She guiltily looked away, a trace of confusion flashing across her face.
Why was the arch-villain in her room? And dressed so indecently at that.
“Eldest Senior Brother, why are you in my room?”
Ye Ran asked the question directly. But the moment she opened her mouth, a twinge of pain came from the corner of her lips.
She reached up and touched her lip, feeling a scabbed wound. Immediately, the image of Lu Li biting and tearing at her lips last night surfaced in her mind.
And that unfamiliar tingling numbness seemed to still linger on her lips.
Ye Ran’s fingertips trembled slightly. She instinctively looked guiltily at Lu Li, only to find that his gaze also seemed to be fixed on her lips.
But the moment she looked over, Lu Li averted his eyes, took a sip of tea, and only then spoke unhurriedly:
“Why don’t you take a good look around and see whose room this is?”
Only then did Ye Ran notice the layout of the room. It was completely different from where she had been staying—and much larger.
Lu Li had actually brought her to his room!
Realizing this, Ye Ran couldn’t help but grip the blanket tighter, and the look in her eyes toward Lu Li grew more guarded.
This reaction sparked a flicker of scrutiny in Lu Li’s eyes.
His gaze, carrying a hint of oppression, lingered on Ye Ran for a long time, yet he still couldn’t find any flaw in her expression.
Lu Li looked away, set down his teacup, and when he looked at Ye Ran again, the gentle, courteous smile had returned to his lips.
“I didn’t know where you were staying, Junior Sister, so last night I could only bring you back to my quarters.”
“I-I see. Thank you very much, Eldest Senior Brother. Now that I’m awake, I won’t disturb you any further. I’ll take my leave.”
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, Ye Ran immediately threw off the blanket and got out of bed. After bowing to Lu Li, she hurriedly left.
But the moment she stepped out of the room, she regretted it.
She had almost forgotten about Shen Zuihuan, who was lying in wait like a predator.
Just yesterday, upon arriving at the Joyous Union Sect, Shen Zuihuan had broken into her room late at night and directly drugged her with Joyous Union Powder. If she continued staying in that place, how was that any different from walking right into the tiger’s den?
[Host, why did you stop?]
Seeing Ye Ran standing outside the door with a troubled expression, the system finally couldn’t help but speak up.
Hearing the system’s voice, Ye Ran couldn’t help but sigh again.
“It’s because of Shen Zuihuan, of course. That man is full of bad intentions, and he never gives up until he gets what he wants. If I go back, there’s a good chance he’ll try to scheme against me again.”
[Host, I have an idea that might help you.]
No sooner had Ye Ran finished speaking than the system immediately chimed in.
This was the first time it had come up with an idea so quickly. Ye Ran was a bit incredulous, but her face immediately lit up with keen interest.
“What’s the idea?”
[Host, why don’t you move in with the arch-villain?]
“Have you lost your mind, or have I? Move in with the arch-villain? Do I want to throw away my life?”
Dangerous as Shen Zuihuan was, Lu Li wasn’t just dangerous—he was twisted.
She had no intention of delivering herself to Lu Li as a reward.
Seeing that the system was only offering terrible advice, Ye Ran stopped relying on it and lifted her foot to leave.
But before she had taken more than a few steps, the system’s voice rang out in her mind again:
[Wait, Host. Hear me out first.]
[Last night, when you got near the pool, Shen Zuihuan didn’t follow. Clearly, he was wary of the arch-villain. So right now, staying by the arch-villain’s side is the only safe option.]
“That does make some sense.” Ye Ran nodded thoughtfully. “But if I move in with the arch-villain, what if he tries to force me to ‘reward’ him?”
[Last night, even when you were under the influence of Joyous Union Powder, he didn’t take advantage of you. Just living together—and not even in the same room—shouldn’t be that dangerous.]
“System, you—”
Ye Ran suddenly stopped mid-sentence. The system was too terrified to make a sound, its round eyes darting back and forth, looking especially guilty.
Fortunately, the next moment, a satisfied smile spread across Ye Ran’s face.
“That’s actually very reasonable!”
With that, Ye Ran turned right around and went back into Lu Li’s room.
Lu Li was still sitting at the table, fiddling with his teacup. He showed little reaction to her return—simply looking up at Ye Ran, waiting for her to speak first.
She had been fairly composed outside the door, but now, facing Lu Li, the words she had rehearsed stuck in her throat.
“Eldest Senior Brother… can I… can I stay with you?”
In the end, she forced herself to say it anyway.
The moment the words left her mouth, Lu Li’s movements with the teacup paused, and the look in his eyes grew oppressive.
“Junior Sister, are you sure you want to stay with me?”
There was a faint, almost imperceptible hint of killing intent beneath Lu Li’s calm tone.
Sensing something was off, Ye Ran met his pitch-black eyes and suddenly realized he had misunderstood her meaning.
“Eldest Senior Brother, you’ve got it wrong. I was drugged with Joyous Union Powder at my place last night, so it’s probably not safe there. I noticed there’s an empty room next to yours, so I was hoping to move in next door to you.”
“I see.” Lu Li’s expression softened again. “Then go ahead and move in.”
“Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother! I’ll go pack my things right away.”
Her excitement made Ye Ran overlook the strange atmosphere from a moment ago. She turned and hurried back to her quarters to pack.
Ye Ran’s quarters were separated from Lu Li’s by only a bamboo grove. As she made her way through it, she realized she had run in the wrong direction last night—the disciples of Flowing Cloud Peak were actually staying behind a different bamboo forest.
No wonder she had run for so long without seeing the disciples’ sleeping quarters.
“Junior Sister! You’re back? Where did you go last night?”
As soon as Ye Ran approached her quarters, Meng Xuan rushed up to her with an eager look.
By now, seeing him triggered an automatic reaction. She immediately stepped back several paces to put distance between them.
But then she frowned at what Meng Xuan had just asked.
“How did you know I wasn’t here last night, Senior Brother Meng?”
“Last night, when I passed by your quarters, I noticed the lights weren’t on. And just now, I didn’t see you inside, so I guessed you hadn’t returned last night. If my guess is wrong, please don’t be upset, Junior Sister.”
Meng Xuan immediately flashed an apologetic smile.
Ye Ran withdrew her probing gaze. “You weren’t wrong, Senior Brother Meng. I really didn’t come back last night. I’ve moved into the room next to Eldest Senior Brother’s.”
“You’re staying next to Eldest Senior Brother?”
Meng Xuan suddenly grew tense at the mention of Lu Li. His eyes locked tightly onto Ye Ran, and when he noticed the wound at the corner of her lips, his face gradually turned pale.
“Junior Sister, your lip is…”
“I just accidentally bumped into something yesterday. Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Meng.”
Ye Ran certainly wasn’t going to tell Meng Xuan that Lu Li had bitten her lip. Given how this restrictive novel’s plot tended to unfold, that might trigger Meng Xuan’s possessiveness as the male lead and increase the risk of her constitution being exposed.
But his unusual reaction at the mention of Lu Li did strike her as odd.
Before she could get a closer look at Meng Xuan’s expression, however, he had already composed himself and offered her a smile.
“I see. Do be more careful in the future, Junior Sister. I came to tell you that we’ll soon be setting out to investigate traces of the demon race. Please stay safe while you’re here.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Meng. I will.”
Ye Ran responded politely but gave Meng Xuan no chance to continue chatting.
Seeing that there was nothing left to say and that it was almost time to depart, Meng Xuan bid her farewell and left reluctantly.
Ye Ran ignored his lingering gaze, went straight back into her room, and closed the door, shutting out his line of sight.
But as she turned around, she suddenly noticed something new on the table.
When she drew closer and saw the familiar envelope on the desk, her feelings became complicated.
It was another love letter.
She hadn’t expected Lu Li to keep sending her love letters even after arriving at the Joyous Union Sect.
Yet she had slept in his room just last night.
The thought of her sleeping soundly in bed while Lu Li sat nearby writing a deranged love letter, then sneaking through the dark to deliver it to her quarters—she found the whole thing utterly insane, and seriously disturbed at that.
“System, what do you think the arch-villain is really up to?”
Perhaps because she had grown accustomed to Lu Li’s love letter harassment, Ye Ran no longer felt as terrified upon seeing one as she had before.
[Host, is it possible that the arch-villain simply enjoys harassing you with love letters?]
If this were a while ago, Ye Ran wouldn’t have believed that for a second.
But after observing him over this period, and considering how Lu Li had helped neutralize the Joyous Union Powder for her last night, the explanation actually seemed plausible.
After all, villains didn’t think like normal people. For all she knew, Lu Li simply liked watching her panic every time she received one of his letters.
This guess wiped away the last trace of her unease. She even felt a little curious about what strange obsession Lu Li had written about this time.
She opened the envelope and scanned the contents quickly, picking out the key words.
Besides mentioning his favorite whip again, this time there was also a rope—a red one, specifically for tying someone up.
Sheesh—
Leave it to the arch-villain to come up with such kinky games.
Ye Ran couldn’t help but marvel inwardly as she finished the letter.
Then, as if something else had occurred to her, she tucked the letter away and rummaged through her storage pouch, finally pulling out a bundle of red rope.
“System, don’t you think this rope is pretty?”
[Host, what are you doing? You’re not actually going to go reward the arch-villain, are you?]
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