"Actually, Huarong, you don't have to be so guarded around me when I'm talking about something serious. I really didn't invite you here because I coveted your beauty, much less because I wanted to make you mine. I simply couldn't bear to let a talent like you go. If I can't bring you under my command, you know I'll be left scratching my head, not knowing what to do." I couldn't help laughing. A few lighthearted topics might have helped us grow closer, but Huazrong clearly wasn't falling for that.
"You're not just saying that, are you?" Huazrong snorted, finally letting out a little of the tension in her heart.
I looked at her seriously, then said, "Of course I'm not just saying it. I did take advantage of the opportunity to infect your meridians and then do some things you felt went beyond what you could accept. But you should know that for my thoughts to travel through your meridians, they had to originate from your heart and extend outward. The best route couldn't be downward—that would've been playing the scoundrel. It couldn't be upward either, or your thoughts would block me. And it couldn't be backward, could it? Otherwise, who would I be speaking to? So aside from crawling out through your neckline, what else could I have done?"
I gestured in the air for a while near her chest, but the furious Huazrong slapped my hand away. "Shameless! You're still talking about it!?"
I gave an awkward laugh. "How was I being shameless? I was just telling the truth. I only resorted to that as a last resort; I didn't do it deliberately. Besides, if you don't judge it by the boundaries between men and women, what's shameless about it?"
"Making excuses! And you call yourself the