Playing Possum

Seeing Xiao Wu like this, Luo Chuan felt reassured. He then took out the Contract Stele. "Prick your finger and sign the contract with blood."

Without hesitation, Xiao Wu bit her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto it. "Does this mean I've joined Luo Shen Hall?"

"Yes. You're one of Luo Shen Hall's people now." Luo Chuan nodded.

"Then... you'll keep my identity secret, right?" Xiao Wu blinked.

"Don't worry. You're just a little rabbit. How many pounds of meat could you possibly have if stewed?" Luo Chuan joked half-seriously, and Xiao Wu's face instantly turned pale.

"All right, all right. Since you're back, let's go eat together." Luo Chuan did not ask further. Xiao Wu followed uneasily at his side, though her gaze kept unconsciously drifting toward the crowd behind them.

"Tang San and Dai Mubai have both left. Grandmaster died in an accident, and Tang San is taking his body back to the Blue Dot Tyrannosaurus Rex Family. He probably won't be coming back."

"Grandmaster died?" Xiao Wu looked at Luo Chuan in surprise.

"You didn't know?"

"I... didn't know." Xiao Wu was confused. Why should she have known? Grandmaster had wanted to kill her. It was better that he was dead.

Luo Chuan said nothing more. Although Xiao Wu had returned, her identity as a soul beast remained a concern in everyone's hearts.

That night, Luo Chuan finally managed to send Ning Rongrong away before looking at Zhu Zhuqing, who sat stiffly on the bed.

"You've cultivated all day. Aren't you tired? Why aren't you asleep yet?" Luo Chuan's expression was perfectly normal, but Zhu Zhuqing glared at him, her cheeks flushed red. She wanted to expose his true colors, yet she did not know how to begin.

"I can sleep like this. You... if you're sleepy, then sleep."

Still dressed, Zhu Zhuqing lay beneath her own blanket, no longer willing to listen to Luo Chuan's nonsense about changing into sleepwear.

The corner of Luo Chuan's mouth twitched. It seemed his actions that morning had been a little too deliberate. She had gotten suspicious. No, she was sure of it.

"Will you be comfortable sleeping like that?" Luo Chuan blinked, trying to coax Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing shot him a glare. "Not a single man is any good."

"...What did I do? I'm thinking of you. Doesn't it feel too tight?" Luo Chuan glanced at the chest tightly bound by Zhu Zhuqing's leather outfit.

After days of careful measurements, he knew just how generous and impressive Zhu Qing's chest was—and that it was far larger than it appeared from the outside.

Zhu Zhuqing's face reddened in embarrassment, and she refused to look at Luo Chuan. She wanted to relax at night too, but... but this scoundrel was clearly up to no good.

"Go change already. I won't look." Luo Chuan closed his eyes. Zhu Zhuqing pursed her lips but still hid beneath the covers.

"You're not changing?"

"I'm not. Even if you're the Hall Master, you can't force me." Zhu Zhuqing said innocently.

"Then I'll help you change." Luo Chuan walked toward Zhu Zhuqing's wardrobe and, to her stunned disbelief, picked out a silk nightgown.

"Y-you, don't come over."

"Are you changing or not?"

"I'll change. You... you go outside first."

Zhu Zhuqing ultimately yielded to Luo Chuan's lecherous tyranny. Yet she tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, all because that bastard was playing possum again. Even pinching him could not wake him. And he was far too strong—he had pulled her into his blanket in one swift move. This time, it was far too obvious.

At some point, Luo Chuan's antics left Zhu Zhuqing's entire body feeling strange and restless. At last, she could not help letting out a soft moan. Her eyes misted over as she looked at Luo Chuan with resentment and pitifully pleaded, "You... can you wait a little longer~?"

Luo Chuan stopped. He pulled Zhu Zhuqing's soft, delicate body tightly into his arms and simply fell asleep like that.

Zhu Zhuqing glared at Luo Chuan with aggrieved eyes. This bastard was still pretending!!

The weather was cold, so the two huddled together for warmth, squeezed close against each other.

Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth, but when she saw the face so close before her, she could no longer bring herself to hate him. She even felt an inexplicable joy.

"Zhu Zhuqing, what are you doing, acting so improperly?" Zhu Zhuqing silently scolded herself. She wanted to push Luo Chuan away, but her arms seemed to have a will of their own, wrapped around him as though the two were utterly intimate.

Zhu Zhuqing struggled inwardly, her clear eyes fixed on Luo Chuan's flawless, immaculate face. No matter what, she could not make up her mind to push him away.

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be fine."

In the end, Zhu Zhuqing chose to compromise. The vigilance in her heart slowly faded, and she was glad that Luo Chuan had not gone any further.

If he had gone further, would she have refused?

A mess of thoughts surged through Zhu Zhuqing's mind. Only after an unknown amount of time did she finally fall deeply asleep.

When steady breathing came from his arms, Luo Chuan suddenly opened his eyes and let out a long breath. "This is torture."

Looking at the exquisite face so close to his own, Luo Chuan gave a lecherous smile and lightly kissed Zhu Zhuqing's tender cheek. "Now that you've fallen into my hands, you think you can still run?"

"I won't run. As long as you don't drive me away, I'll keep following you." As if speaking in her sleep, Zhu Zhuqing murmured softly.

Luo Chuan froze, then kissed her forehead again. "Silly girl."

He slept, and so did she.

The next morning, Luo Chuan slipped away without a sound. When Zhu Zhuqing woke again, her chest felt strangely empty. Finding neither that mischievous hand nor the bastard who had pretended to sleep, she felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

"Ah, Zhu Zhuqing, you're so shameless. What are you thinking? It's better that he left." Realizing the shameful thoughts in her mind, Zhu Zhuqing quickly shook her head, trying to throw them away.

The construction crew started work early in the morning. After more than ten days of effort, they could finally finish today.

Ning Rongrong led Luo Chuan around to pick rooms. The small villa had three floors and was exquisitely built, but it was a little cramped for living in, with only four bedrooms.

Two were on the second floor, and two were on the third.

Without waiting for Luo Chuan's agreement, Ning Rongrong pushed him into a room on the second floor, then took Zhu Zhuqing upstairs to the third floor.

"Zhu Qing, shall we two live on the third floor?" Ning Rongrong looked innocently at Zhu Zhuqing. Zhu Zhuqing nodded, then said, "Actually, I can stay in my old dormitory too."

"I don't like living here either." Luo Chuan looked somewhat displeased as he turned his gaze toward Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing turned away to avoid looking at him. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I-I'll stay in this room."

Ning Rongrong narrowed her large eyes into slits and huffed at Luo Chuan. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You're not allowed to bully Zhu Qing from now on."

"Then how about I bully you instead?" Luo Chuan looked at Ning Rongrong with ill intent, his gaze roaming up and down her body.

Ning Rongrong's cheeks reddened. "I-I'm not okay with that either."

"You're completely unremarkable. Of course I'd rather bully Zhu Qing. You? Grow a few more years first." Luo Chuan shook his head in disdain. Upon hearing that, Ning Rongrong cried out and pounced on him, raining punches and kicks on him. "You despise me! You despise me! You despise me! I'll beat you to death!"

Ordinary days always passed quickly. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong lived on the third floor, while Luo Chuan and Xiao Wu lived on the second.

Although Xiao Wu was exceptionally beautiful, Luo Chuan still had reservations about her. Something about it felt strange, so he did not pay much attention to her.

But Xiao Wu was different. She had a mission, and she was a Rogue Rabbit by nature, constantly creating all sorts of accidents. This made Ning Rongrong, who harbored improper thoughts toward Luo Chuan, sense a dangerous threat.