Just as Su Qianqian had expected, before she even reached the cave dwelling, she saw Lin Yan from afar, standing at the entrance with a dark expression, staring into the distance.
The moment he spotted Su Qianqian, he rushed over and asked urgently, “Junior Sister Su! Where have you been again today? Why are you coming back this late!?”
Facing Lin Yan’s worried gaze, Su Qianqian remained silent for a moment, then softly replied, “I… ran into something on the way…”
“Again with this? What happened this time that delayed you until early dawn!?” Lin Yan’s face was filled with disbelief.
As her childhood friend, Lin Yan believed he knew Su Qianqian very well. Until recently, she rarely left the cave and spent nearly all her time cultivating.
But these past few days, not only had Su Qianqian gone out more frequently, every time she returned, she seemed off.
And whenever he asked, she always brushed it off with “something happened.” How could he believe that?
“Junior Sister! Are you still lying to me even now!?”
Lin Yan was furious.
Su Qianqian was startled, her delicate body stumbling backward a few steps… and the Archaic Bell slipped from her palm.
“I’m sorry…”
She shut her eyes tightly, too afraid to look at Lin Yan, her voice trembling with tears. She was just about to tell him everything that had happened over the past few days…
But just then, an excited voice rang out.
“This! This is… the Archaic Bell!?”
Su Qianqian opened her eyes in shock and saw Lin Yan in front of her, holding the Archaic Bell in his hands with a face full of excitement. Then he added, “So you went to Ye Mu to get the Archaic Bell for me! I’m sorry, Junior Sister! I misunderstood you! Can you forgive me?”
Su Qianqian let out a sigh of relief and said, “I… I never blamed you, Brother Lin. So there’s no need to talk about forgiveness…”
Hearing that, Lin Yan looked at the Archaic Bell in his hands, feeling even more touched and guilty.
Junior Sister had clearly gone to get the Archaic Bell for him…
And he had treated her like that… what a jerk he was!
Looking at the beautiful girl in front of him and catching a faint fragrance from her body, Lin Yan felt guilt… but also desire.
He had planned to confess his feelings after breaking through to the Nirvana Realm. But he was sick of living in anxiety—every time she left the cave, he feared she was seeing another man…
So…
Lin Yan took a deep breath and looked at Su Qianqian with what he thought was deep affection.
“J-Junior Sister… are you free tomorrow? If so… would you go to the back mountain with me?”
The Blissful Sect’s back mountain was beautiful, with fresh air and lovely scenery—a perfect place for a date. He planned to confess there. And if she agreed… Read this novel at novelping dot com for the best experience.
They could even find a secluded spot… hehehe.
While Lin Yan was lost in his fantasy, Su Qianqian stood frozen. She wasn’t stupid—she knew exactly what Lin Yan meant.
But first of all, she had never thought of becoming Dao partners with Lin Yan—in fact, she had always seen him as an older brother.
And most importantly… after everything that had happened, how could she possibly accept his confession now?
Not to mention… she had to visit Ye Mu again tomorrow.
Otherwise… she wouldn’t get the sacred medicine needed to cure Lin Yan’s illness.
“I… I have something to do tomorrow. Maybe another day.”
Su Qianqian lowered her eyes and spoke softly, then walked straight into the cave dwelling, leaving a stunned Lin Yan standing outside alone.
“Junior Sister… rejected me!?”
After a long pause, Lin Yan finally muttered in disbelief.
In his mind, he and Su Qianqian had long been partners—only the final step hadn’t been taken.
Now… Su Qianqian had rejected him. This left Lin Yan both shocked and confused. The doubts that had just faded… returned once more.
Just then, Gu Xiyu’s phantom suddenly appeared beside him and said gently, “Yan’er… don’t you feel something’s wrong? No matter how much of a simp Ye Mu is, he couldn’t possibly give away a supreme sacred artifact like that!”
Lin Yan fell into silence. “Master… are you saying…”
“I fear Su Qianqian may have made some kind of unspeakable deal with Ye Mu…” Gu Xiyu said calmly.
“Impossible!!”
Lin Yan instinctively roared.
“Junior Sister and I grew up together! We’re like family! She would never do something like that!! Master!! If I ever hear you speak of Junior Sister like this again— I’ll stab my own ears deaf!!!”
Gu Xiyu twitched slightly. Her stunning face cracked for a moment.
“Maybe Junior Sister really is busy tomorrow. I’ll ask her again the day after…” Lin Yan said, then returned to the cave dwelling.
However, though he said that, his gloomy expression betrayed the suspicion in his heart… The source of this chapter is g.com.
Still, despite the doubt, he kept whispering to himself to stay calm.
“Maybe she really is busy. I’ll ask her again tomorrow night… yes, that must be it.”
…
Meanwhile…
Bai Yaoyao had also returned to her cave dwelling. Her face was flushed red, jaw clenched, her delicate body lying on the bed, face buried in a pillow.
“Ahhh!! Ye Mu!! Ye Mu!!”
She shouted angrily while pounding the soft bed with her jade-like fists, as if venting her hatred on Ye Mu through the mattress.
About fifteen minutes later… Bai Yaoyao seemed to have exhausted herself. She flipped over and lay on her back, closing her eyes weakly and in despair.
Just thinking that she would have to go back to Ye Mu in a week to do that again made her feel like all hope in life was gone.
After a long time, Bai Yaoyao sniffled and decided to read something fun to ease her mood.
So she lifted the pillow and revealed what was underneath—a spring-themed illustration and some gaudy-covered novels that looked anything but proper.
“Hehehe…”
She picked up a book titled The Chronicles of the Divine Maiden of Tianyuan and began to giggle as she read.
But then…
“The female lead gets her identity discovered by the protagonist… and under his threat, is forced to accept all kinds of shameful play!?”
Bai Yaoyao frowned and muttered. The more she read, the more wrong it felt.
Wasn’t this her script!?
All at once, Bai Yaoyao felt like the author of the book was mocking her.
“Ahhh! What kind of trash novel is this!? I’m not reading this anymore!!”
She threw the novel under the bed, then buried her head back in the pillow… feeling the lingering discomfort beneath her body that still hadn’t faded…
And she cried.
“Uuuu… why is my life so miserable… uuu…”
…