Yan Xuehen had barely breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her nemesis’ voice. She was so nervous that she could almost feel her heart leaping up her throat. She anxiously put on her clothes, but she was in such a fluster that she buttoned them incorrectly.
Zu An was amused by her panic. He reached forth and helped her rebutton.
But that only made Yan Xuehen more nervous. How can I explain this if she witnesses this sight?
“Don’t worry, she won’t be able to get in,” Zu An reassured her.
Yan Xuehen realized Zu An must have used his time stop ability again and exhaled in relief. Her face reddened. “I’ll do it myself...” I’ll probably run out of strength quickly if I let this fellow tidy up my clothes for me.
Zu An watched her put on her clothes with a grin. He found it a beautiful scene to behold. Yan Xuehen was so embarrassed by his intense stare that she turned away from him.
“Are you ready?” Zu An asked.
“Stop!” Yan Xuehen hurriedly interrupted him. Under Zu An’s perplexed gaze, she quickly channeled her cultivation method. After a few circulations, her redness receded, and she regained her usual icy mountain-like coldness.
Zu An was startled. He thought about her earlier act of passion, and the sharp contrast made his heart skip a beat. No wonder so many people in my previous life enjoyed the dere tropes! There's an inexplicable charm to it.
“Don’t you give me away later!” Yan Xuehen glared at Zu An as she instructed him.
“Don’t worry, I’m a veteran myself,” Zu An promised, thumping his chest.
Yan Xuehen felt a twinge of jealousy. “You must have a lot of experience doing this.”
Zu An was speechless.
When Yan Xuehen was finally done with her preparations, Zu An snapped his fingers, and time reverted to normal for the others in the residence.
“Ah Zu, my master...” Qiu Honglei said as her eyes swiftly scanned the room. She was stunned when she saw a fully-clothed Yan Xuehen resting on a chair and Zu An sitting a distance away, remotely treating her injuries.
Her master had hinted for her to head over to catch them in the act, thinking Zu An and Yan Xuehen should have started on the 'action'. She'd felt embarrassed and wanted her master to do it instead, but she couldn’t defy her master and had no choice but to half-reluctantly, half-excitedly head over.
She'd thought a huge scandal was awaiting her, but it was the opposite of what she expected. After my master boasted so much about her ability...is this all? Master, you’re so unreliable!
Meanwhile, Pei Mianman was perplexed. She knew about Yan Xuehen and Zu An’s relationship. Even if they dared not do anything in the room, they wouldn’t be so distant from each other as if they were strangers. Alhough this wasn’t a good time to raise her doubts.
“How’s your master?” Zu An asked.
Qiu Honglei felt a tinge of guilt under Zu An’s gaze. Fortunately, Yun Yuqing spoke up. “A problem cropped up with big sister Yun’s injuries. I don’t know why, but her condition suddenly worsened. We had no choice but to seek your help.”
“Are you sure? She looks fine to me,” Zu An said as he looked at the doorway.
Qiu Honglei and the others turned around and saw Yun Jianyue rushing over. “What’s taking all of you so... long?”
Yun Jianyue froze when she saw everyone looking at her. She quickly scanned the room and saw Yan Xuehen properly clothed, emanating her usual ice sculpture aura. She was stunned. How is this possible?
“Big sister Yun, how are you...” Yun Yuqing was bewildered.
Yun Jianyue quickly cleared the air with a laugh. “Somehow, I managed to calm the energy rampaging inside my body. I was worried you would disturb their treatment, so I rushed over to stop you. Looks like I came too late.”
Yun Yuqing breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you’re fine, big sister.”
Yun Jianyue responded with an unnatural smile. She was feeling conscience-stricken.
Qiu Honglei wished there was a hole she could jump into. I’d be too embarrassed to face Ah Zu if he learns about our plan.
Pei Mianman alternated her gaze between the two pairs—Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, and Zu An and Yan Xuehen. She could already guess the reason behind Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei’s anomalous behavior, but she couldn’t understand how Zu An and Yan Xuehen were so prim and proper.
What made Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei suspect them of being in a relationship? If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I wouldn’t have believed that the icily cold Sect Master Yan would have an affair with Ah Zu.
She considered warning Zu An about it, but on second thought, she realized this had nothing to do with her. I should just enjoy the show. The thought of that brought a smile to her face.
After the farce settled down, Yun Jianyue and the others quickly returned to their room. Yan Xuehen looked at their departing silhouettes and murmured, “Ah Zu, I think the demoness is after me.”
“Don’t think too much into it. It’s just an accident.” Zu An had come to the same conclusion, but he was on close terms with Yun Jianyue too. He had already made an exception by siding with Yan Xuehen once. If he continued that way, he wouldn’t be able to face Yun Jianyue anymore.
“Ah Zu, are you sure you didn’t use your special ki on me?” Yan Xuehen asked.
“I didn’t. It was just a natural reaction in the heat of the moment,” Zu An reassured her. No wonder Yan Xuehen was acting abnormally earlier. Yun Jianyue must have used her ability. What’s that woman up to?
After returning to her room, Yun Jianyue found an excuse to send away Yun Yuqing and Pei Mianman before asking her disciple with a hushed voice, “Honglei, are you sure you didn’t see anything when you entered the room?”
“Both of them were properly dressed and observing propriety. I told you Ah Zu was a gentleman.” Qiu Honglei had intended to complement Yan Xuehen too—she acknowledged the latter's character even though they were enemies. It was unlikely their plan would ever come to fruition. However, she decided otherwise lest she agitate her master.
“Gentleman...” Yun Jianyue was baffled. My silly disciple, you must now know how wild he is. He grabbed my hair and rode me like a horse!
She was confident that Zu An was incapable of resisting Yan Xuehen’s allure, and she had successfully planted her desire energy in Yan Xuehen. So what went wrong?
A thought suddenly popped into her head. “You were away for quite a while. Did you really not see anything at all?”
Qiu Honglei was baffled. “You went over shortly after we went there.”
“Nonsense! You were away for at least ten minutes. That’s why I came over to look for you,” Yun Jianyue refuted.
“That can’t be. You came over shortly after we arrived at Zu An’s room. That’s why Yuqing and Manman were baffled. You can ask them if you don’t believe me.” Qiu Honglei was confused by her master’s remark.
It wasn't without reason that Yun Jianyue was one of the world’s top experts. After a moment of contemplation, she smacked her thigh and exclaimed, “I get it now! There really is something between them!”