“Let’s go.”
Lu Li had already turned and started walking, leaving Ye Ran no chance to refuse.
Seeing this, Ye Ran had no choice but to follow.
The entire way, she couldn’t stop worrying that Lu Li might suddenly collapse.
Although he had stabbed himself as part of an act, the wound was still very real.
Ye Ran couldn’t tell whether he was pretending to be weak or genuinely weak. She could only pray that he wouldn’t fall over.
Otherwise, she’d have to figure out how to carry him back.
Fortunately, her worry was unnecessary. Lu Li showed no signs of trouble along the way.
But after he saw her to her door, Lu Li showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he openly looked around her room.
Ye Ran didn’t feel comfortable asking him to leave, so she decided to pour him a cup of tea. But when she turned around after pouring it, she found Lu Li already lying on the small daybed by the window, casually fiddling with the flowers on the sill.
He looked as relaxed as if he were in his own home.
“Senior Brother… you—”
Ye Ran, on the other hand, didn’t know what to say after opening her mouth. She just stood there awkwardly, like a guest visiting for the first time.
Especially when Lu Li looked over at her. She suddenly grew nervous, and her gaze darted away—landing on the wound on his chest. That gave her a new topic.
So she continued where she had left off. “Is your wound serious? Would you like me to help you tend to it?”
“I’ll trouble you then, Junior Sister.”
Ye Ran had only been polite—she had meant to hint that Lu Li should go back and tend to his own wound. She never expected him to actually agree.
She stood there frozen, her face full of disbelief.
The sight brought a hint of amusement to Lu Li’s eyes.
“Junior Sister, have you run out of healing medicine?”
“That’s right! I’ve used up all my healing medicine and haven’t had time to get more.”
Seeing that Lu Li had handed her an out, Ye Ran quickly nodded, thinking he would finally leave.
But the next moment, Lu Li produced a pile of healing medicine.
“What a coincidence. I have plenty.”
Looking at the assortment of bottles and jars on the low table, Ye Ran’s hopeful heart sank. Still, she forced a smile when she looked at Lu Li.
“That’s wonderful. I’ll tend to your wound right away, Senior Brother.”
Resigned to her fate, Ye Ran went to the daybed and began untying Lu Li’s robes. But when she lifted the blood-soaked fabric, she couldn’t help but gasp.
The wound on Lu Li’s chest was deep, with the flesh turned outward—proof of how hard he had struck himself.
Ye Ran had thought she was ruthless when she stabbed herself with a hairpin, but she hadn’t expected Lu Li to be even more brutal.
Just looking at the wound made her wince in phantom pain.
And yet, he had endured it without so much as a change in expression for three or four hours.
No wonder he’s the big villain. Even his endurance is beyond ordinary.
Amidst her astonishment, Ye Ran found herself lightening the pressure of her cloth as she cleaned the wound.
Fortunately, the wound wasn’t too large, and she quickly wiped away the blood. Then, from the pile of bottles, she picked the largest one.
“Senior Brother, I’m going to apply the medicine now. It might sting a little.”
“Alright.”
Lu Li still lay lazily on the daybed, looking as if he would let Ye Ran do whatever she wanted.
But Ye Ran wasn’t paying attention to his looks just then. Her focus was entirely on his wound. Only after getting his response did she feel confident enough to open the bottle.
To make applying the medicine easier, Ye Ran leaned in quite close. The fragrance lingering around Lu Li’s nose suddenly grew stronger.
Lu Li’s fingers, resting at his side, twitched. His eyes darkened slightly.
Then Ye Ran’s fingertip came down. The pain from the wound gradually gave way to an itch that spread through his entire body with every movement of her hand.
Lu Li clenched his fingers and slowly closed his eyes, suppressing his restless body.
But this only amplified his senses. The dense, spreading itch became more pronounced. Accompanied by the fragrance filling every breath, it urgently urged him to do something—anything—to find relief.
Lu Li suddenly remembered the slap Ye Ran had landed on his face that day when she was drunk. The feeling of his restlessness being soothed was something he found himself longing for.
He even wished Ye Ran would slap him again.
Lu Li opened his eyes and looked at Ye Ran, who was still diligently applying the medicine. A trace of desire flickered in his dark pupils.
Just then, Ye Ran looked up and met his gaze.
The heat in his eyes startled her so much that she pressed down harder—directly onto the wound.
A mix of pain and tingling numbness washed over Lu Li, bringing his restless body immense satisfaction. A low moan escaped his lips, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
But Ye Ran thought she had hurt him. She immediately pulled her hand back, her expression turning flustered.
“I’m sorry, Senior Brother. I didn’t mean to press on it. Let me blow on it to soothe it.”
With that, she leaned down close to the wound and gently blew a few breaths.
The brief satisfaction vanished, replaced by an even more intense wave of tingling numbness.
Lu Li’s breathing suddenly grew heavy, his warm breath spilling directly against Ye Ran’s ear. Her body froze instantly, and her blowing stopped.
“Senior Brother? You—mm—”
Ye Ran looked up at Lu Li, about to ask what was wrong, when he grabbed her arm and pulled her hard. Her body tumbled uncontrollably toward him, and soon an arm wrapped around her waist.
What followed was an urgent, desperate kiss.
Lu Li captured her lips, pushing inside without reserve, plundering her breath.
By the time Ye Ran realized what was happening, Lu Li had already swept past her lips and teeth, entwining his tongue with hers.
She tried to pull away, but the moment she moved, he only held on tighter.
The air in her mouth was stolen away. A wave of dizziness washed over Ye Ran, her mind growing hazy.
She struggled weakly, but the arm around her waist only tightened. His other hand pressed against the back of her head, pinning her completely. She couldn’t move at all, forced to let Lu Li do whatever he wanted inside her mouth.
But she could clearly tell that Lu Li wasn’t skilled at kissing. In fact, there was no technique—only brute force. Like a bandit, he ravenously pillaged her mouth, swallowing her saliva, her breath, as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Such an intense kiss left YeRan completely overwhelmed. Seeing that she couldn’t break free, she gently pushed against his wounded chest.
Lu Li did stop. His lips still against hers, he let out a low groan.
Ye Ran’s heart leapt with hope. She pressed her tongue against his, trying to push him out. But the next moment, his tongue caught hers, and an even more ferocious kiss followed.
Soon, the tip of Ye Ran’s tongue went numb from being sucked. Her strength seemed to be drained away by Lu Li, leaving her utterly unable to resist.
She could only lie limply against him, letting him steal her breath.
Only when the suffocation grew unbearable and her mind went blank did Lu Li finally release her lips.
Ye Ran immediately gasped for air, taking a long time to recover.
But Lu Li’s breathing remained ragged. A few breaths scattered against Ye Ran’s ear, sending a faint tingle through her earlobe.
Her heart fluttered in panic. Just as she tried to sit up, her palm touched something sticky.
She looked down and saw that the scabbed wound on Lu Li’s chest had split open again, fresh blood seeping out.
“Senior Brother! The wound reopened!”
Forgetting her embarrassment, Ye Ran immediately sat up, grabbed a cloth, and began wiping away the blood. Her expression turned serious.
But Lu Li, the injured party, showed no sign of pain. Instead, his face radiated satisfaction.
When Ye Ran turned back, she caught his expression clearly.
That look of being thoroughly satisfied…
Her fingertips trembled, and her heartbeat quickened.
“S-Senior Brother, don’t move. Let me reapply the medicine.”
“Then I thank you, Junior Sister.”
Lu Li’s hoarse voice carried a hint of pleasure.
Ye Ran dared not meet his eyes. She immediately looked away and focused on treating the wound.
This time, her movements were even gentler than before, careful not to use any pressure. Fortunately, Lu Li cooperated perfectly, staying completely still throughout.
Ye Ran worked quickly and soon had the wound bandaged.
She wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and looked up—only to find that Lu Li had fallen asleep.
The earlier struggle had left Lu Li’s face even paler, but his lips, freshly kissed, were a vivid red. Paired with his disheveled clothing, he looked thoroughly ravished.
Ye Ran guiltily looked away and moved to close his robes.
But the moment her fingertips brushed the fabric, her gaze involuntarily drifted downward.
Then her eyes lit up.
[System! The big villain really does have eight-pack abs!]
[Host! This is a rare opportunity—touch them!]
The system sounded even more excited than Ye Ran, as if it wanted to grab her hand and make her do it.
[Is that really okay? What if he finds out?]
Even as she said this, Ye Ran couldn’t take her eyes off his abs.
She had long wanted to see Lu Li’s abs up close, but she had always been too timid. That time when Lu Li was bathing, she hadn’t dared to look much either.
Now, not only could she see them, but they were right in front of her. It was hard not to be tempted.
Her hand, resting at her side, was already itching to move.
Only the last shred of reason held her back.
[It’s fine, Host. He’s the one who harassed you with that love letter. Touching him a little counts as compensation for emotional distress.]
The system’s voice rang out again, and Ye Ran’s last shred of reason vanished.
[System, you’re absolutely right!]
After all, Lu Li had kissed her until she nearly passed out, and her lips still felt numb. Touching his abs a couple of times seemed like a fair trade.
With that thought, Ye Ran quietly glanced at Lu Li again. Seeing that his breathing was still steady and he showed no sign of waking, she finally reached out with her mischievous hand.
This was the first time Ye Ran had touched real abs. The feel was even better than she had imagined.
She couldn’t stop herself and lingered a little longer. By the time she pulled her hand away, Lu Li’s abs were flushed red from her touch.
Fortunately, Lu Li remained fast asleep, completely unaware.
Ye Ran quickly closed Lu Li’s robes to hide the evidence and fetched a thin blanket to cover him.
Only after doing all this did her guilty conscience begin to fade.
…
When Lu Li woke up, the glow of the setting sun was streaming through the window onto him.
It had been a long time since he had slept so soundly.
The last time he had slept this deeply was also when Ye Ran was nearby. But back then, when he woke up, she was already gone.
“Hahaha, I won again! This pastry is mine too!”
Just then, a crisp laugh reached Lu Li’s ears.
He slowly sat up and looked toward the sound. Ye Ran was squeezed together with a fat cat in front of a table, a chessboard between them.
As Lu Li watched, Ye Ran took a pastry from beside the fat cat and placed it onto her own plate.
The fat cat’s tail drooped. Only a few pastries remained beside it, while Ye Ran had a whole pile stacked next to her.
Lu Li chuckled softly. The girl and the cat both turned to look at him in unison.
The moment the fat cat saw him, it scrambled into Ye Ran’s arms. Ye Ran, as if she hadn’t expected him to wake up, hugged the cat and instinctively shrank her neck.
The startled expressions of the girl and the cat were exactly the same.
But after her initial surprise, Ye Ran’s eyes held something more—guilt.
“Senior Brother, you’re awake…”
Ye Ran didn’t quite dare to look at Lu Li. Whenever she did, her gaze would unconsciously drift to his abdomen.
Given Lu Li’s perceptiveness, if she looked even a few more times, he would definitely notice.
So she kept her eyes elsewhere.
As her gaze darted around, she suddenly spotted a sword set aside.
It was Lu Li’s sword. After he fell asleep, she had noticed that the array on the sword was damaged, so she had taken the opportunity to repair it.
Ye Ran’s eyes lit up, and the guilt in them faded a little.
As Lu Li approached, she immediately picked up the sword and presented it to him eagerly.
“Senior Brother, I’ve already repaired your sword.”
“Thank you for your trouble, Junior Sister.”
Lu Li took the sword, and his gaze finally moved away from Ye Ran.
“No trouble at all.” Ye Ran breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly picked up the plate of pastries and offered them to Lu Li. “These pastries are really good. Would you like to try one, Senior Brother?”
Under Ye Ran’s watchful gaze, Lu Li picked up a pastry. But he only looked at it before putting it back. He raised his eyes to meet hers.
“Junior Sister seems especially warm today.”
No—more like eager to please.
When a person was overly eager, it usually meant they had done something they felt guilty about.
Sure enough, as soon as he said this, Ye Ran’s expression grew even more guilty.
“I… I’ve always been this warm and hospitable. It’s just that Senior Brother doesn’t visit my place often.”
“Is that so.”
Lu Li seemed to believe her explanation.
In truth, the moment he woke up and saw Ye Ran, he had noticed her guilt. Combined with the strange sensation on his abdomen, he had already figured out what she had done.
But since he had chosen to sleep here, whatever Ye Ran did to him—even if she killed him—he had brought it upon himself.
He hadn’t intended to hold it against her. He only wanted to tease her a little.
Now, seeing Ye Ran so flustered and fearful, a hint of amusement appeared in Lu Li’s eyes.
“It’s getting late. You should rest well, Junior Sister.”
“Okay. Take care, Senior Brother.”
Finally seeing off this great figure, Ye Ran was overjoyed. Her tone even turned cheerful.
Only when Lu Li’s figure disappeared did Ye Ran fully relax.
From entering the secret realm until now, she had been busy all day with barely any rest. Now that she had finally relaxed, a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
“I’m so sleepy, System. I’m going to bed.”
Ye Ran yawned. Ignoring the system, which was still sneaking snacks, she headed straight for her bed.
She fell asleep almost the moment her head hit the pillow.
But strangely, she dreamed of Lu Li. In the dream, she touched his abs and kissed him, and they did all sorts of unspeakable things.
She even rewarded Lu Li with a whip. The more she rewarded him, the more excited he became, his passion almost melting her.
Ye Ran was finally woken up by the heat.
When she came to, she found her forehead covered in fine sweat, her throat parched, and a strange restlessness stirring inside her.
She quickly got up, went to the table, and poured herself a cup of mint tea, downing it in one gulp.
The dryness in her throat subsided, but the heat inside her body remained.
She poured another cup of mint tea.
After several cups, the inner heat finally began to settle.
Only when she had calmed down did a trace of doubt appear in Ye Ran’s eyes.
Was a spring dream really that powerful? It took me four or five cups of tea to suppress it.
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