Want Me to Be a Shield? Then Pay Me More!

"It wasn't impossible for me to be your shield, but... you'd have to pay more!"

Ji Ruxue's face immediately blossomed into a smile like a hundred flowers in bloom. Her eyes curved into crescents, and a crafty glint flashed across the corners of her lips.

Money? Easy. She was not short of it.

In truth, she had her own selfish reasons for asking Hua Qiang to pose as her boyfriend and serve as her shield.

She would not really send Hua Qiang straight into danger. If anything truly happened, her Second Ancestor Grandmother would step in.

What she wanted was for the two of them to forge a revolutionary friendship through this ordeal, then see whether he was worth entrusting with the rest of her life.

Star Sea Realm, Spirit Domain.

Nine Heavens.

The sea of clouds churned, white as ten thousand bolts of silk unfurling across the horizon. Above that boundless expanse floated a majestic palace.

The palace walls were built from glazed ice crystals, shimmering with seven-colored halos beneath the sunlight. Its upturned eaves pierced the clouds, while wind chimes beneath them rang softly, echoing the distant rumble of wind and thunder in an air of transcendent splendor.

Xuanyuan Hao reclined sideways in a rocking chair on the terrace outside the hall. The chair had been carved entirely from Star Core Crystal Marrow, starlight flowing through its dark golden patterns. It swayed gently with his movements, sending waves of refreshing coolness through the air.

His eyes were half-closed, his expression languid. His gaze swept over the churning sea of clouds below, as though admiring it, yet also as though he had long since grown weary of it.

The three women at his side all wore cloud-like robes and feathered gowns, their skirts embroidered with drifting-cloud patterns. As they