The sun was gradually setting. Ye Ran sat by the window holding a large fat cat, occasionally glancing up at a small path outside as if waiting for something.
The fat cat in her arms stirred, following her gaze to look out the window, then pawed at Ye Ran’s arm.
“Host, are you really going to give the arch-villain that rope?”
“Of course. If things go wrong, I’ll just flee back to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect under cover of night.”
Earlier, on her way back, Ye Ran had already explained to the system her purpose in giving Lu Li the rope.
She wanted to test Lu Li—to see if he really would only harass her with love letters without taking any actual action.
Since Lu Li liked ropes, she would give him one. If he actually tried to play at those kinky tying-up games with her, she would escape back to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect that very night and never have anything to do with him again.
But if he remained unmoved and continued to act like the virtuous, restrained senior brother he pretended to be, then from then on, she wouldn’t have to live in fear. She could simply focus on avoiding any plotlines involving the male lead.
“Host, the arch-villain is back!”
The system suddenly pawed at Ye Ran’s arm, then quickly wriggled its plump body back into the system space.
Ye Ran looked up at the window and indeed saw Lu Li’s figure.
Lu Li was still dressed in white, impeccably neat—a stark contrast to the lazy, disheveled state he had been in that morning.
But perhaps due to just having finished demon hunting, there were a few stains on his sleeve. Though small, they stood out clearly against the pure white silk.
As Lu Li drew closer, Ye Ran’s eyes lit up. She immediately grabbed the rope from the table, rose, and stepped outside.
“Eldest Senior Brother! You’re back!”
There was a hint of excitement in Ye Ran’s voice, one she hadn’t even noticed herself. But Lu Li caught it clearly.
Meeting Ye Ran’s bright, shining eyes, Lu Li was slightly surprised. His gaze toward her grew more probing.
“Were you waiting for me, Junior Sister?”
“That’s right. To thank you for letting me stay here, I’ve prepared a special gift for you, Eldest Senior Brother.”
Ye Ran’s tone sounded light and casual, but she couldn’t help feeling nervous. The hand hidden behind her back tightened around the rope.
“What gift do you have for me, Junior Sister?”
Lu Li’s gaze swept briefly behind Ye Ran. He had clearly noticed she was hiding something.
“This is it.” Ye Ran produced the rope under Lu Li’s watchful eye.
“Why are you giving me this, Junior Sister?”
A trace of confusion appeared in Lu Li’s pitch-black eyes, as if he had no idea that this was the very red rope he had mentioned in his letter just yesterday.
This reaction made Ye Ran faintly excited—her heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster.
Just as she had predicted, he didn’t mention a word about the love letter.
“This… this rope is refined from gentian flowers. It’s very strong, and the color is beautiful too.”
Ye Ran was still a bit nervous. Her eyes stayed fixed on Lu Li, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.
“Then I thank you, Junior Sister.”
Lu Li offered a smile, took the rope calmly, and tucked it into his storage pouch right before Ye Ran’s eyes.
Neither his expression nor his movements revealed anything unusual. He was the very picture of a warm, courteous senior brother.
Ye Ran’s anxious heart finally settled. A relieved smile spread across her face.
“I’m glad you like it, Eldest Senior Brother. I’ll go back to my room now.”
Having gotten the result she wanted, Ye Ran’s steps became noticeably lighter. But before she could walk far, Lu Li’s voice came again:
“Junior Sister, wait a moment.”
Ye Ran’s body immediately stiffened, her heart pounding with anxiety.
Had the arch-villain finally decided to stop pretending?
Ye Ran thought about pretending she hadn’t heard, but the intense gaze behind her was impossible to ignore. She turned around nervously.
“What is it, Eldest Senior Brother?”
As she spoke, her heartbeat quickened, her mind racing to figure out which direction would be fastest to escape in.
Just then, a sword appeared before her.
“I damaged my sword while demon hunting today. I’d like to trouble you to repair it for me, Junior Sister.”
“No trouble at all! It’s my honor to repair Eldest Senior Brother’s sword.”
Realizing that Lu Li had only stopped her about the sword, Ye Ran’s tense body completely relaxed. She immediately took the sword and hurried away, afraid that Lu Li might call her back again.
Her orange-yellow figure quickly disappeared from sight. Lu Li slowly returned to his own room.
But the moment he stepped through the door, the smile vanished from his lips, and his eyes turned cold.
As the door closed, the light in the room dimmed.
Shrouded in shadow, Lu Li looked up toward the window. He could see Ye Ran sitting by her own window, the setting sun’s golden rays bathing her in warmth.
She looked like a kitten basking in the sunlight, even the fine hairs on her body glowing gold.
Suddenly, Lu Li felt an impulse—an urge to possess Ye Ran entirely.
The moment this thought surfaced, his expression darkened. He waved his hand, shutting the window and completely cutting off his view.
Then, a red rope appeared in his hand.
His gaze turned cold again, and a hint of amusement curled at the corner of his lips.
“Let me see exactly what game you’re playing.”
As he spoke, a wisp of white light emerged from his palm, slowly enveloping the red rope as he meticulously inspected every part of it.
After a moment, the white light gradually faded, but the rope remained unchanged.
“Just an ordinary rope.”
Lu Li frowned slightly. A golden light appeared in his palm this time. But the result was the same—even after the light dissipated, no issue was found.
Seeing this, Lu Li suddenly curled his lips into a smile, his eyes gleaming with keen interest.
“You really do keep surprising me.”
…
Having confirmed her hypothesis, Ye Ran was in a very good mood. Even her work became more efficient, and she soon repaired Lu Li’s sword until it was as good as new.
She looked at the gleaming sword in her hand with satisfaction, ran her fingers along its blade, then turned around out of habit to place it on a sword stand.
Only when she saw the empty floor behind her did she realize she wasn’t at the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect anymore.
Might as well deliver the sword to him. After all, the arch-villain lived right next door.
The moment this thought arose, Ye Ran immediately left her room with the sword in hand.
She didn’t even realize it herself, but she was no longer resistant to getting close to Lu Li. She had even forgotten that he was a merciless, murderous arch-villain.
Ye Ran arrived outside his door and raised her hand to knock. But a gentle breeze swept through, pushing the door open.
Taking that as an invitation, she walked straight in with the sword.
But to her surprise, Lu Li was nowhere to be seen.
Had he gone out? But she clearly hadn’t seen him leave.
With that thought, Ye Ran’s gaze fell on the bed not far away. The room was dark, and she couldn’t make out the situation on the bed—whether Lu Li was sleeping or not.
After a moment of hesitation, she walked toward the bed with the sword in her arms.
But before she could get close, the sound of splashing water reached her ears.
Ye Ran followed the sound and saw only a large folding screen. The water noise was coming from behind it.
She instinctively moved toward the screen. Only when she stood right outside it did she realize that Lu Li was probably bathing.
But it was too late—her head had already peeked around the screen before she could stop herself.
The first thing that came into view was a pale, bare chest.
Ye Ran’s breath caught. She couldn’t help but stare.
The arch-villain’s body was truly impressive.
Although she had touched it yesterday in the pool, now that she was seeing it clearly before her eyes, she realized Lu Li’s physique was even better than she had imagined.
It was exactly the kind of lean muscle she liked. The only imperfection was that she couldn’t see clearly through the water—she had no idea how many abdominal muscles he had.
Just as Ye Ran was silently sighing to herself, she had no idea that Lu Li’s gaze had already shifted in her direction.
The next moment, a red rope extended across the floor to Ye Ran’s feet. Before she could react, it wrapped around her body and yanked her straight behind the screen.
Caught off guard, Ye Ran found herself face to face with Lu Li. Guilt immediately flickered in her eyes.
“E-Eldest Senior Brother…”
“Why are you here, Junior Sister?”
Lu Li remained sitting in the bathtub, looking at Ye Ran with an air of casual indifference.
“I… I came to bring you your sword.”
Although that truly was the reason she had come, now that she was facing Lu Li while he was bathing, she couldn’t help feeling guilty. Her gaze involuntarily drifted back to his chest.
There were still marks on it—left by her yesterday.
Ye Ran suddenly felt her cheeks grow warm. She quickly looked away in a panic, only to meet Lu Li’s pitch-black eyes.
Lu Li hadn’t spoken. His gaze had remained fixed on Ye Ran, watching her every move. Naturally, he knew exactly where her eyes had been.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I…”
Ye Ran wanted to defend herself, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she realized that anything she said would sound like an excuse.
She wisely closed her lips. Just then, Lu Li slowly began to rise from the tub. The movement startled Ye Ran so much that she wanted to cover her eyes, but her hands were tied and couldn’t move.
Just as she thought she was about to see something she shouldn’t, a white mist suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her view.
When the mist cleared, Lu Li was already dressed.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I really did come to bring you your sword. Please untie me first.”
Now that Lu Li was dressed, Ye Ran inexplicably felt more emboldened.
She hopped closer to Lu Li, showing him the sword in her arms to prove her innocence.
Lu Li’s gaze indeed fell on the sword. With a slight lift of his hand, the sword flew into his grasp—but the red rope around Ye Ran remained.
“The gift you gave me, Junior Sister, is truly wonderful.”
Ignoring Ye Ran’s burning gaze, Lu Li said something utterly baffling.
At first, Ye Ran didn’t understand what he meant. But when she followed his gaze and looked down at the rope binding her, she finally realized.
The red rope tied around her was exactly the one she had given him!
That wasn’t how the “tying up” mentioned in his love letter was supposed to go—wasn’t the rope supposed to be tied around the arch-villain himself?
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