The air in the Tranquil Mind Courtyard seemed to have frozen solid.
After yesterday’s “chance encounter” by the herb garden,
Su Tiantian could clearly feel that the pressure around Song Qingzhi was frighteningly low.
At breakfast, he didn’t even appear.
The maids brought the morning meal with trembling hands, saying that His Excellency had already eaten in the study.
Su Tiantian looked at the table full of exquisite dishes and immediately lost her appetite.
Inner OS going wild: It’s over, completely over! We’re not even eating together anymore!
He’s seriously angry!
She poked at the food a few times without tasting anything.
Today, she resolved to keep an extremely low profile absolutely no provoking him again.
That morning, Su Tiantian behaved herself and stayed in her room.
She stared blankly at One Hundred Possibilities of Spirit Plant Hybridization, unable to read a single word.
“System, is he going to kick me out of the Tranquil Mind Courtyard today?”
She was full of worry.
“I feel like he’s a firecracker right now one touch and he’ll explode.”
(System: The target individual’s emotional state is highly unstable, but the probability of expelling the host is below 0.1%. The current state is more inclined toward…)
“Inclined toward what?”
(System: Insufficient data for precise analysis. However, it is advised that the host proceed with caution.)
Su Tiantian sighed and decided to go out for some fresh air.
Staying in the room would only make her overthink things.
Without quite knowing why, she wandered back to the herb garden near the disciples’ quarters.
Mainly to see whether the small herb hoe Li Yun had dropped yesterday was still there.
And incidentally… well. Just incidentally to see if she might run into something else.
Sure enough, as soon as she reached the edge of the herb garden, she saw Li Yun watering the spirit plants.
Li Yun also saw her, and a trace of awkwardness and nervousness appeared on his face.
Still, he braced himself and greeted her, “S-Senior Sister.”
Thinking about how he’d been badly frightened because of her yesterday, Su Tiantian felt a bit guilty and took the initiative to speak.
“Junior Brother Li, I scared you yesterday, didn’t I? I’m really sorry.”
Seeing her gentle attitude, Li Yun hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, no, it’s fine there’s no need to apologize.”
He hesitated for a moment, then pointed at a newly bloomed, oddly shaped little flower nearby, trying to ease the atmosphere.
“Senior Sister, look at this ‘Starlight Orchid.’ When it blooms at night, it looks like someone scattered a handful of broken stars it’s quite pretty…”
Before he could finish speaking, that familiar, soul-freezing icy pressure descended once more even stronger than yesterday.
Su Tiantian and Li Yun froze at the same time, their blood seeming to congeal.
Su Tiantian stiffly turned her head and saw Song Qingzhi standing just a few steps behind them, his expression terrifyingly calm.
This time, he didn’t look at Li Yun.
Those bottomless eyes, like two deep frozen pools, were locked tightly onto Su Tiantian’s face.
Within them churned a storm suppressed to the extreme.
Li Yun couldn’t even speak this time.
His face turned paper-white, and he practically scrambled away, disappearing at the far end of the herb garden.
Only the two of them remained.
Song Qingzhi walked toward her step by step, his footsteps unnervingly clear in the silence.
He said nothing, but the cold radiating from him and the overwhelming pressure made it hard for Su Tiantian to breathe.
He stopped in front of her, close enough that she could see the blazing fury burning in his eyes.
Then he suddenly reached out and seized her wrist.
The force was so great that Su Tiantian winced in pain instantly.
It felt as though her bones were about to be crushed.
“Come back with me.”
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying an unquestionable command.
Each word sounded as though it were forced out through clenched teeth.
Without waiting for her reaction, he practically dragged her Along, striding rapidly toward the Tranquil Mind Courtyard.
His steps were fast and urgent, brimming with barely restrained anger.
Su Tiantian stumbled to keep up.
The pain in her wrist brought involuntary tears to the corners of her eyes.
Disciples Along the way were all struck pale with shock at the sight, hastily stepping aside, not daring to even raise their heads.
Song Qingzhi dragged her straight into her room.
With a loud bang, he slammed the door shut, cutting off all outside scrutiny.
The room was dim.
He still hadn’t released her wrist, trapping her between himself and the door.
He looked down at her, his breathing rough from suppressed fury.
“Tell me,” he said, his voice even hoarser than before, carrying the edge of someone on the brink of losing control.
“Why have you been like this these past three days?”
His gaze burned against her face like a searing brand.
“Calling me ‘Your Excellency,’ avoiding me like the plague, refusing to sit with me at meals, not stepping into the study even once…”
With every sentence, the darkness in his eyes deepened.
And the grip on her wrist tightened.
“Yet again and again…” He nearly ground the words out through clenched teeth.
“You laugh and chat so happily with those irrelevant disciples?”
“Su Yao.” He leaned down, his scorching breath brushing against her ear, carrying an oppressive, heart-stopping force.
“Where exactly… have you placed me?”
Su Tiantian looked up at the handsome face inches from hers.
Those eyes that were always so cool and detached now burned with a terrifying fire.
They clearly reflected her own panicked expression.
The intense pain in her wrist, and the undisguised hurt and accusation in his words, left her mind completely blank, her heart pounding so hard it felt ready to burst from her chest.
(System: Highest-level alert! The target individual’s psychological defenses have completely collapsed! Emotional confirmation achieved! Possessiveness and jealousy have reached peak levels! Host, you succeeded but you may also have… gone too far!)
Su Tiantian looked at the near-out-of-control beast she herself had awakened.
For the first time, she felt real fear.
Gone too far…
This time, it really seems like I’ve gone too far.