Su Tiantian strictly followed the “maintain distance” instructions.
At breakfast, she waited until Song Qingzhi had nearly finished his meal before appearing.
She ate her portion quietly.
When his gaze swept over her, she immediately lowered her head, pretending to focus intently on counting the grains of rice in her bowl.
Inner OS: Help! He’s looking at me! Is he going to ask why I didn’t wait to eat with him?
Song Qingzhi looked at the top of her lowered head, and that subtle sense of loss from yesterday resurfaced.
It seemed… she was deliberately avoiding him.
This realization left a strange tightness in his chest.
That morning, Su Tiantian forced herself to stay away from the study, wandering instead in the small garden of the Tranquil Mind Courtyard.
Her eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the study.
“System, I’m so bored…”
She sighed at a few blooming spirit flowers.
A day without an iceberg to tease really makes time crawl…
By the way, I wonder if he’s bored reviewing documents today too?
(System: Suggestion host should focus on task. Target individual is likely busy with sect affairs.)
“Handling sect matters is so dull,”
Su Tiantian pouted.
Nothing’s as interesting as me.
Meanwhile, in the study, Song Qingzhi had just finished reviewing a set of documents.
His hand instinctively reached to the side, where there would usually be a cup of perfectly tempered tea that Su Tiantian had delivered at the right time.
His fingers found nothing.
He paused slightly, staring at the empty corner of the desk, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
She… hadn’t come today either.
By afternoon, the sunlight was just right.
Su Tiantian decided that wandering around the courtyard all the time was useless and decided to expand her range of activity.
She strolled to the herb garden near the disciples’ quarters.
Many common spirit plants grew there, occasionally tended by disciples.
She was examining a thick-leafed, faintly purple-glowing spirit herb, trying to figure out if it was edible.
A gentle male voice sounded beside her.
“Senior Sister, are you interested in the ‘Purple Cloud Herb’?”
Su Tiantian turned and saw a disciple she didn’t know.
He held a small herb hoe, as if he had just finished working.
(System: Note outer sect disciple Li Yun, responsible for tending this herb garden.)
Following the principle that “strategic retreat” does not involve other NPCs (and he seemed friendly),
Su Tiantian gave a polite smile.
“Yes, it looks rather unique.”
Seeing her friendly attitude, Li Yun eagerly began to explain.
“Although Purple Cloud Herb is common, its sap is mildly toxic, so handle it carefully. But its root is used as an auxiliary material in several detoxification pills…”
Su Tiantian listened as he spoke knowledgeably and asked a few follow-up questions about the herb’s habits and how to identify it.
Li Yun, seeing her interest, explained even more thoroughly, a shy, pleased smile on his face.
One spoke earnestly, the other listened earnestly (at least on the surface).
The atmosphere was quite pleasant.
At that moment, a familiar, heart-stoppingly cold aura spread behind them without warning.
Both Su Tiantian and Li Yun shivered.
Su Tiantian turned sharply.
Song Qingzhi was standing under the nearby covered corridor, apparently having appeared without anyone noticing.
His expression was calm as still water, his gaze sweeping lightly over them.
He said nothing, not even displaying any extra emotion.
Yet his deep eyes seemed frozen with millennia of ice, radiating an invisible pressure.
When his gaze passed over Li Yun’s lingering smile, the icy aura almost felt tangible.
Li Yun’s face instantly went pale.
The herb hoe in his hands clattered to the ground as he stammered a bow.
“Di-discip… disciple greets Your Excellency!”
After saying this, he practically scrambled backward, using hands and feet, forgetting even to pick up the herb hoe.
Su Tiantian’s heart skipped a beat.
Oh no! Oh no! The jealousy factory has been triggered again! And upgraded!
She stiffly turned to meet Song Qingzhi’s gaze.
He remained standing there, tall and upright like a pine.
His snow-white robes were immaculate in the sunlight.
Yet the low pressure radiating from him made the surrounding air feel almost solid.
He said nothing, only fixed her with that heavy, icy stare.
The look was complex and hard to read scrutinizing, displeased.
There was even… a faint trace of coldness, as if stung by the image of her laughing with another.
She and that disciple had been chatting so pleasantly.
Then he withdrew his gaze.
Expressionless, he turned and swept his sleeves, leaving.
The retreating figure seemed colder, harder, and more resolute than usual.
Su Tiantian watched his back, wrapped in what looked like a layer of frost.
Standing there, she felt a chill rise from her feet.
(System: Alert! Target individual exhibiting strong emotional fluctuations! JeAlousy and possessiveness simultaneously spiking! “Strategic retreat” effect significantly enhanced!)
“System…”
Su Tiantian whispered weakly in her mind,
Did we… go too far? That look just now it felt like he wanted to freeze me…
(System: According to data analysis, this is a positive, expected response. It indicates that the target individual is highly concerned about the host’s interactions with other opposite-sex individuals. Please remain calm and continue executing the task.)
Su Tiantian touched her wildly beating heart.
Watching the direction Song Qingzhi had disappeared, she felt like crying but had no tears.
This “strategic retreat”… seemed to have gone a little overboard.
Did we just light a fire under the iceberg?