She wanted to throw him out of her space. Or maybe drop him off a cliff.
This man... this once-noble mage... had turned into a complete scoundrel.
And somehow, just a little bit... funny.
She growled under her breath. "You’ve really forgotten all manners after living in this world, haven’t you?"
Long Yifan shrugged. "Maybe I did. But if being rude means getting closer to you, then I’m fine with it."
Gu Jin clenched her fists.
Her teeth were sharp now, her face red again—but this time from pure rage.
"Yifan..." she said slowly. "I swear... if you try anything again..."
Long Yifan nodded seriously. "I’ll be ready to be bitten. Just don’t throw me out, okay?"
Gu Jin glared at Long Yifan, her fingers twitching with annoyance. After a few seconds of cold silence between them, she took a deep breath and finally calmed down.
"I’m going to leave the space now," she said flatly.
But just as she was about to disappear, Long Yifan grabbed her wrist gently.
Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed.
In one quick motion, she yanked her hand back and gave him a death glare, as if daring him to try that again.
Long Yifan raised his hands in surrender and chuckled.
"Relax. I wasn’t going to pull anything funny. I just..."
He looked at her with puppy eyes.
"I haven’t eaten anything for months. If you don’t feed me, who knows how long I’ll survive?"
Gu Jin blinked. She hadn’t really thought about it, but now that he mentioned it... he did look thinner than usual.
His face wasn’t as sharp, and his body looked weak, even though he was clean and dressed neatly.
She sighed and pointed to the small house in the corner of the space.
"There’s food in the refrigerator. Go eat."
Long Yifan tilted his head. "I could cook, but... I have a bad habit."
Gu Jin folded her arms. "What now?"
"I always cook for two," he said, smiling. "I end up making too much. I really can’t help it. So... you should eat with me."
Gu Jin rolled her eyes. "Nice try. I’m not falling for that."
Long Yifan pouted. "I’m serious. I never get the amount right."
Gu Jin raised one eyebrow. "Then your food must be terrible."
Long Yifan gasped. "Excuse me?! I make amazing food! In fact, let’s place a bet!"
Gu Jin gave a dry laugh. "You’re really in no condition to bet. Weren’t you just being hunted like a rat in this world?"
Long Yifan scratched his neck and looked a little awkward.
"Not my fault. My mana isn’t working properly. I think I was poisoned."
Gu Jin’s expression changed slightly. That... matched what Jiang’s daughter had once said.
So it was true, Long Yifan was poisoned, and that’s why his mana was so weak.
She stared at him for a few seconds, then said coldly, "Fine. Cook."
Long Yifan’s eyes sparkled.
"But," Gu Jin added, "if your food tastes bad, you’ll kneel outside the house for twenty-four hours."
"Deal!" Long Yifan grinned. "But if I win, you have to give me a kiss."
"Absolutely not," Gu Jin replied instantly.
Long Yifan smirked. "Scared you’ll lose?"
Gu Jin rolled her eyes again. "No, I just don’t want to agree to something that disgusting."
Long Yifan clicked his tongue. "I expected more from you. You always act so calm and collected."
"I don’t need to take a bet just to prove that," Gu Jin snapped.
He shook his head, pretending to be disappointed. "Tsk, tsk. Such a powerful and beautiful girl... yet too afraid to lose. What a shame."
He turned and started walking toward the house.
As he walked, he muttered loud enough for her to hear,
"Gu Jin, the great goddess of control and calmness, can’t even make a simple bet. Can’t even make a bed."
Gu Jin’s eye twitched.
She felt a strange fire burning in her chest.
Was he... looking down on her?
She didn’t know why, but it made her feel uneasy. It was irritating... but also kind of thrilling. These emotions, annoyance, challenge, and pride, were sharp and alive.
How long has it been since she felt emotions? Maybe a long time ago...
But then, just like always, her emotions vanished again. The thrill was gone, and she felt nothing.
Long Yifan, still walking toward the house, turned his head and shouted,
"Even if you don’t make the bed, I’ll sneak out of the space and kiss you while you sleep!"
Gu Jin blinked, and her emotions slammed back into her chest.
Pure rage. With a strange touch of heat.
She stood up, fists clenched, face red.
"FINE!" she shouted. "I’ll make the stupid bet!"
Long Yifan turned around with a pleased smile.
"But if I win," Gu Jin said with a deadly voice, "you have to promise not to kiss me without permission ever again."
"Come on. I never kissed you without permission. I just kissed you when I felt you needed it."
Gu Jin growled and chased after him. "I’ll kill you!"
Long Yifan dashed away, laughing loudly.
"Catch me first! If you catch me, I’ll let you hit me as much as you want!"
And so, in the quiet space filled with endless grass and flowers, two figures ran like children.
Gu Jin chased Long Yifan with vines whipping through the air.
Long Yifan summoned his own plant vines to block hers, shouting, "If you use plants, I’ll use plants too!"
Back and forth they ran, attacking and dodging, laughing and shouting.
It looked like a battle, but it felt like a game.
After a while, Gu Jin gasped for breath and dropped to the ground, panting.
She glared at Long Yifan, who was still grinning from a distance.
"...I should’ve just left you to rot in the forest," she muttered angrily.
Long Yifan winked. "But then you’d miss me in your dreams."
Gu Jin picked up a small rock and threw it at him.
He dodged it easily and laughed again.
In the end, Long Yifan made the meal.
The smell alone made Gu Jin’s stomach grumble, though she didn’t show it on her face.
She sat down at the table with her usual cold look, picked up a spoon, and took a bite.
The taste exploded in her mouth.
The meat was tender, the spices were just right, and the soup was warm and rich. Everything tasted perfect.
But Gu Jin didn’t say anything. She quietly ate spoonful after spoonful, her expression completely unreadable.
Long Yifan watched her from the side, waiting. His lips twitched when she finished eating and leaned back.
"Well?" he asked with a grin.
Gu Jin cleared her throat and looked away.
"...It was very sour," she said flatly.
Long Yifan raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Sour, huh? Then I’ve lost the bet."
He didn’t even argue. He just smiled like he was completely fine with losing.
Even though the food was clearly delicious.
"...I’m not in the mood to complain," she muttered. "And since you behaved today, I’ll give you mercy. You don’t need to kneel outside for twenty-four hours."
Long Yifan held his chest dramatically.
"Ah... Lady Gu Jin, thank you for your kindness. I shall remember this great mercy for the rest of my life."
Gu Jin rolled her eyes and stayed quiet.
She glanced down at her now-full belly and gently patted it.
She hadn’t even realized how hungry she had been. It had been a long time since she’d eaten something this tasty.
Without looking at him, she stood up. "I need to go. I’ll return when we’re ready to leave this world."
Long Yifan looked heartbroken.
"Nooo. I have a very dangerous illness called ’loneliness disease.’ If you don’t visit me every night, I might get a high fever and start trembling all over!"
Gu Jin stared at him, completely unimpressed.
"I’m not falling for that."
Long Yifan leaned forward with pleading eyes. "If you don’t visit me every five hours, I’ll vomit and wither away. I might even faint dramatically!"
Gu Jin pointed her finger at his face. "I have work to do."
With that, she waved her hand and vanished from the space.
But the moment she came out, something strange hit her mind.
She hadn’t told anyone about her space before.
Not even her closest friends.
She did bring some of the people, but she had knocked all of them out. They never woke up until she wanted.
Then why did Long Yifan wake up?
Even stranger, Long Yifan hadn’t asked a single question about it. Not one.
Why didn’t he ask anything? How did he just accept it so easily?
The thoughts swirled in her mind, but she didn’t get time to think too deeply.
Two women dressed in soldier uniforms suddenly spotted her.
They rushed toward her with angry expressions.
"You! Who are you and why are you here?" one of them demanded.