Chapter 43

Behind the desk, Shen Tingyu could no longer maintain his mild, friendly smile. The gaze he met Xu Qingran's with was so cold and fierce that it seemed ready to drag him into an ice cellar. Even so, his voice remained gentle when he spoke. "My dear nephew's wife, I think you should know very well how private a Spirit Mark is."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. No one who has brought his Spirit Mark that close to me is still alive."

Xu Qingran met Shen Tingyu's gaze without falling into those twin pools of icy darkness.

His eyes curved slightly, and a hint of his own distinctive bearing shone through those beautiful, alluring peach-blossom eyes. "Honestly, I really don't know much about it."

"All I know is that you people are always bringing it up, and I'm sick of hearing about it."

Shen Tingyu was silent for a few seconds before offering a more striking explanation. "What you're doing now is like a pervert stripping naked from the waist down and sticking his genitals in my face."

"To an ordinary person, you're inviting them to force themselves on you."

Shen Tingyu paused for a moment before continuing in a lower voice, "To someone of the same type, you're issuing a provocation, asking them to destroy you."

Xu Qingran lowered his eyes to stare at the hand Shen Tingyu was still gripping tightly. After silently digesting the startling answer he had just received, he pursed his lips and said, "Got it. Then, little uncle, please let go of my dick. You're holding it a little too tightly, and it hurts."

Shen Tingyu: "..."

He silently let go, then stared at his own palm for several seconds, as if Xu Qingran's words had left it dirty.

System: "..."

As expected of its host. There really was no person, matter, or thing in this world that he cared about anymore.

When Xu Qingran pulled his hand back, a red patch had already formed around his wrist. He shook it a few times, then put the Source Crystal he was still holding in his other hand back on the desk.

He suddenly asked Shen Tingyu, "So, Admiral Shen, are you the former or the latter?"

The man behind the desk gradually recovered his composure, his earlier emotion gone. With a faint smile, he replied, "I think you've known since we met at the Evil Tower. I've always regarded you as someone of my own kind."

Xu Qingran smiled too.

"What a coincidence. So have I."

Watching the sparks that practically flew as the two men looked at each other, the system suddenly experienced the feeling of a headache through the image.

Wasn't its host supposed to be here to seduce him? How had things turned out like this again?!

When Xu Qingran came in, the room's furnishings and overall atmosphere had given him the impression that Shen Tingyu was the sort of person who had a strong set of principles, might even be a bit of a clean freak, and was extremely territorial.

He knew Shen Tingyu disliked it, but that only made him want to do it more.

So, rather than leave after their less-than-pleasant conversation, he sprawled on the bed and mischievously rolled around, making sure every corner picked up a scent Shen Tingyu would dislike. Only then did he bury himself under the covers, satisfied.

Before falling asleep, he remembered the matter of Spirit Marks and asked the system, "Is the form a Spirit Mark takes random? Or does it actually reflect a person's character?"

The system replied, "Of course it's random! Just because your mark is on your hand, does that mean you're shamelessly horny, dear host?"

Xu Qingran thought for a moment and said, "I am pretty horny."

"If I weren't, would I have the nerve to go along with you on these damn missions?"

System: "..."

The system conceded defeat, seeing how readily he could say that.

Shen Tingyu's bed was comfortable, and Xu Qingran fell asleep shortly after lying down. He didn't sleep deeply, though, and was occasionally startled awake when the noises from the study grew a little louder. But according to the system, any chance to come into contact with Shen Tingyu's more personal belongings counted as progress, so he had no choice but to put up with it.

Meanwhile, Shen Tingyu appeared to be attending to official business, but he was less focused than usual.

He even somewhat regretted letting Xu Qingran in.

He had originally wanted Xu Qingran to back off in the face of difficulty, but he hadn't expected that he had still underestimated him.

The study and bedroom were separated by some distance, yet the agitation in Shen Tingyu's heart had lingered ever since Xu Qingran came in and he unexpectedly came into close contact with his Spirit Mark. He couldn't tell where that irritation came from, only that it felt a little like what he experienced when he encountered other E-Types in Tower No. 2.

So, did he subconsciously still want to pin Xu Qingran to the ground and break him after all?

Shen Tingyu smiled faintly.

Unfortunately, Xu Qingran was still too young. He would have to wait until he had fully matured and taken shape before destroying him would feel truly satisfying.

Xu Qingran kept a regular schedule. Before six, he got out of bed on his own, washed up, and went out to exercise. The light in the study was still on when he got up, but he left without even looking.

He returned home a little after seven in the morning. Sister-in-law Song had already made breakfast, and Shen Tingyu had gone out. Xu Qingran pulled the towel from around his neck and was about to take a shower when he saw Sister-in-law Song heading upstairs through the special passage, carrying a pile of bedding with a cleaning robot beside her.

"Good morning, Mr. Xu," Sister-in-law Song greeted him as soon as she saw him.

"Good morning." Xu Qingran was quite fond of the woman who worked hard to make them delicious food every day, so he chatted with her a little longer. "Are new guests coming, so you have to get a room ready again?"

Sister-in-law Song laughed. "No. Before the admiral went out, he told me to clean his bedroom and study very thoroughly, and change the sheets and things for fresh, clean ones."

"I only changed them last week. Maybe they got dirty by accident."

Xu Qingran watched Sister-in-law Song go upstairs before letting out a cold laugh.

Bastard.

System: "..."

Its KPI seemed to be getting farther and farther out of reach.

While waiting for school to start, Xu Qingran had little else to do besides physical training. Xiao Zhang had returned and occasionally took him, at his request, to visit other towns on Jade Star and sample the local food.

As for Shen Tingyu, he was away for another half a month or more this time.

His little nephew Shen Tianyi, on the other hand, soon started his school break, and the two inevitably saw more of each other.

But Shen Tianyi was only a child who understood nothing, and Xu Qingran didn't regard the five-year-old as an actual romantic partner either. They got along more like brothers a dozen or so years apart, and gradually lost their initial awkwardness.