“Senior brother, what are you saying? I was confused last time, but I’ve realized my mistake and corrected it.”
Ye Ran chuckled nervously and quickly looked away, not daring to meet Lu Li’s eyes.
Fortunately, Lu Li didn’t press her on whether that was true or false. As his arm around her waist loosened, he got up and left the bed.
Ye Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go back to sleep when, the next thing she knew, Lu Li had scooped her into his arms.
By the time she gathered her wits, Lu Li had carried her through the side door into the bathhouse from the day before.
Steam was rising from the pool inside—it would feel wonderful to soak in there.
But Ye Ran knew things were never that simple. Lu Li would never bring her here just to take a bath.
Thinking of her still-aching waist, she quickly pushed against Lu Li’s chest, her whole body radiating refusal.
“Senior brother, I just woke up.”
Ye Ran tried to gently suggest that she needed rest, but Lu Li ignored her and continued carrying her toward the pool.
“Just go back to sleep, junior sister. It’s fine.”
Ye Ran was horrified. She immediately recalled that when she was exhausted last night and begged Lu Li for mercy, he had said the exact same thing.
And just like last night, Lu Li’s expression was perfectly serious, without a trace of guilt, as if he truly just wanted to bathe with her.
Ye Ran pushed against his chest and struggled, but Lu Li’s arm only tightened, leaving her no room to escape.
“Be careful, junior sister. Don’t fall.”
His tone was equally serious.
But the more serious Lu Li sounded, the more beastly his actions became.
Ye Ran grew even more panicked. The moment they entered the water, she immediately broke free from his embrace, trying to get out of the pool.
But just as her hands touched the edge, Lu Li pressed up behind her and trapped her in place.
“Where are you going, junior sister?”
Ye Ran turned and pushed at Lu Li, her expression turning fearful.
“Senior brother, I’m really too tired. I need to rest. Can we do this another day?”
“Do what another day?”
Lu Li looked as if he didn’t understand, but the hand on Ye Ran’s waist kept tightening, and his eyes grew scorching hot.
Ye Ran knew Lu Li was teasing her, forcing her to say it out loud.
But she was powerless. If she didn’t go along with him now, he might just take her right then and there.
So she had no choice but to lean close to Lu Li’s ear and whisper:
“Another day for dual cultivation.”
The moment she said it, a low laugh reached her ears.
She looked up in surprise to see Lu Li’s chest trembling slightly with laughter. The hands around her waist loosened and moved to her shoulders, pressing her down to sit.
With a wave of his hand, a lotus leaf appeared on the water, carrying some delicate pastries and tea.
As the leaf floated in front of them, Lu Li picked up a pastry and brought it to Ye Ran’s lips.
She instinctively opened her mouth and took a bite. Lu Li’s fingertip brushed across her lips, wiping away a stray crumb.
“Is that how hungry you think I am, junior sister?”
Only then did Ye Ran realize—Lu Li had no ulterior motives this time. He truly just wanted to bathe with her.
But when she looked up and saw him put the finger that had touched the crumbs into his mouth, with a look of lingering aftertaste on his face, she immediately backed away again in caution.
“It’s precisely because senior brother is a repeat offender that I have no choice but to be on guard.”
She threw his own words right back at him.
Lu Li just smiled, then leaned closer to Ye Ran, slowly bringing his lips within two fingers of hers before stopping.
“Do you really think you can guard against me, junior sister?”
“!!!”
Ye Ran was startled and instinctively shrank down into the water, not even noticing when it rose past her lips. Just as the water was about to cover her nose, Lu Li lifted her up.
“Just relax and soak, junior sister.”
With that, Lu Li stepped out of the pool.
By the time Ye Ran came to her senses, she only saw his figure disappearing through the doorway.
Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Once she fully relaxed, she realized that Lu Li had actually been quite considerate.
When she had tackled Lu Li into the pool yesterday, she distinctly remembered the water being bone-chillingly cold. But now it was warm, and the temperature was just right. Even the pastries he’d prepared were to her taste.
It seemed Lu Li wasn’t as ruthless as she had imagined. Hitching her wagon to his star might not be a bad choice after all.
Ye Ran splashed the water a few times, then leaned comfortably against the edge of the pool, eating pastries while she bathed.
By the time she finished her bath and came out, Lu Li was no longer in Wangxian Hall.
These past few days, due to the matter with Immortal Master Gulin, the sect had been unusually busy. Yesterday, Lu Li had practically clung to Ye Ran the entire day. Assuming he had gone to deal with his backlog of affairs, she didn’t wait for him to return and went straight back to her own quarters.
Yesterday, Ye Ran had left in a hurry without taking down the barrier she’d set up.
After sneaking back into her room through the side path and climbing in through the window, she finally dispelled the barrier.
But the moment the barrier disappeared, a chubby figure shot through the window and flung itself into Ye Ran’s arms.
“Boo hoo hoo! Host, you finally opened the barrier! I was so worried!”
The system clung tightly to Ye Ran’s arm, as if afraid she might vanish.
Its anxious state puzzled Ye Ran slightly.
“Have you been out here this whole time? Why didn’t you go back into the system space?”
At this, the system grew even more aggrieved. It burrowed its chubby body deeper into Ye Ran’s arms and hugged her even tighter.
“After you went back to your room yesterday, host, I was afraid the male lead might pull some trick, so I stayed outside to watch him. I didn’t dare come find you until after he left. But then I realized I couldn’t get through the barrier—and I couldn’t get back into the system space either. I waited outside the entire night. I was so scared!”
The system’s voice grew choked. Feeling a bit guilty, Ye Ran patted its head.
“Well… system, actually, right after I set up the barrier yesterday, I went to find the big villain.”
As soon as she said this, Ye Ran felt her own face burning with shame.
Not long ago, she had sworn to the system that next time her constitution acted up, she would grit her teeth and endure it on her own—she absolutely would not go to Lu Li again.
But this time, she hadn’t even lasted fifteen minutes before she immediately ate her words.
So now, facing the system, she felt a little guilty.
To her surprise, though, after hearing what she said, the system didn’t tease her at all. Instead, it looked almost excited, its round eyes sparkling.
“Host, you’ve figured it out!”
“Why do you look like you’ve been waiting for this for a long time?” Ye Ran stared at the system suspiciously.
The fur on its tail puffed up guiltily, but it quickly hid its tail and nuzzled against Ye Ran’s arm in a coquettish manner.
“I’m just happy for you, host! Honestly, I always thought hitching your wagon to the villain was a great choice.”
“System, you really are prescient.”
Ye Ran now fully agreed with what the system was saying.
Back when she found out that the love letter wasn’t written by Lu Li, she no longer had the nerve to be reckless, afraid that Lu Li might kill her at the slightest disagreement.
But after yesterday, she finally understood.
If Lu Li had wanted to kill her, he would have done it long ago. He wouldn’t have put up with her doing whatever she wanted to him.
Moreover, she had discovered that Lu Li was especially enthusiastic about such matters. He was practically her heaven-sent antidote. She didn’t need to suffer needlessly when her constitution acted up.
“Of course! I’m a smart, witty, and brave system!”
The system’s tail shot straight up proudly.
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