Gains and Losses

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing soon got into the swing of it.

Xiao Wu was, after all, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, and her cultivation talent far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, had a tenacious nature and powerful willpower. Once she set her sights on a goal, she would devote herself to it completely.

By evening, both of them were already able, under Su Bai's guidance, to complete one full circulation of Soul Power.

Though the process was clumsy and halting, the feeling of the Soul Power inside their bodies being tempered and purified was undeniably real.

Only Ning Rongrong's progress was pitifully slow.

It wasn't that Ning Rongrong wasn't smart, nor that her talent was poor. It was just that her mind wasn't on this at all.

She watched Su Bai patiently guide Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, watched him occasionally have some intimate physical contact with them, and her heart felt as if a cat were clawing at it—sour and itchy all at once.

Why could Xiao Wu and Zhuqing do it, but not me?

Was I, Ning Rongrong, worse than them?

In looks, in figure, in family background—which part of me lost to them?

The more Ning Rongrong thought about it, the more wronged she felt; the more she thought, the more unwilling she became.

On the other side, Tang San, who had fled back to the dormitory, locked himself tightly in his room.

He leaned against the door, slid down to the floor, and curled his entire body into a ball.

Fear—unprecedented fear—completely drowned him.

Su Bai's words echoed endlessly in his mind like a curse.

"Clean up the sect..."

Was that old man really sent by the Tang Sect to hunt him down?

Fortunately, he was dead. But Su Bai...

With the strength Su Bai had displayed, killing him would be as easy as turning over a hand.

What exactly did Su Bai want? Could it be that he hadn't recognized my Tang Sect Secret Techniques?

Tang San couldn't figure it out. He only felt as if he had fallen into an invisible net, and Su Bai was the hunter who had woven it, watching with amusement from the other end as he struggled.

This feeling of having his fate controlled by someone else nearly drove him mad.

Night fell.

The three girls, who had trained for an entire day, all returned to the dormitory.

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing both had fatigue and satisfaction from cultivation on their faces.

Only Ning Rongrong still looked as gloomy as ever.

"Rongrong, what's wrong? You've been listless all day."

After washing up, Xiao Wu sat down beside Ning Rongrong's bed and asked with concern.

Ning Rongrong looked at Xiao Wu's innocent, lively face, then glanced at Zhu Zhuqing on the other side, who had already begun meditating cross-legged, and the grievance in her heart could no longer be held back.

She threw her arms around Xiao Wu, buried her face in Xiao Wu's embrace, and spoke with a sob in her voice.

"Xiao Wu, tell me... does Brother Bai not like me?"

Xiao Wu was stunned by her sudden action, then immediately understood something.

She patted Ning Rongrong's back and said, somewhat amused, "Silly girl, what are you thinking? If Brother Bai didn't like you, why would he go to so much trouble to teach you the technique?"

"But... but he..."

Ning Rongrong stammered, unable to get the words out, while her cheeks grew redder and redder.

Xiao Wu was a clever girl too, and she understood instantly.

She leaned close to Ning Rongrong's ear and lowered her voice.

"You mean, why hasn't he touched you yet, right?"

Ning Rongrong's face instantly flushed crimson, so red it seemed blood might drip from it, and she buried her head even deeper.

Xiao Wu sighed, and her tone became a little resentful too.

"Do you think I don't want him to stay with only me? But... Brother Bai... he's really too incredible..."

"Even with me and Zhuqing together, we're almost unable to handle it. If he hasn't made a move on you, maybe it's because he feels sorry for you."

Although Zhu Zhuqing was meditating, her hearing was extremely sharp. When she heard this, a blush could not help but rise on her cheeks as well.

When Ning Rongrong heard this, she was stunned at first. Then that bit of grievance and unwillingness in her heart instantly turned into a powerful desire to win.

No!

I, Ning Rongrong, absolutely cannot admit defeat!

She shot upright in bed, her face set with the resolve of someone ready to burn every bridge behind her.

She looked at Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing.

"I've decided!"

"Tonight, I'm going to find him!"

With that, Ning Rongrong didn't wait for the two of them to react. She hopped straight out of bed, put on her shoes, and stormed toward the door.

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness on each other's faces.

Originally, all three of them had their own dorms, but because of Su Bai, the three had ended up living together.

Ning Rongrong rushed all the way to Su Bai's door.

She stood outside, her heart pounding wildly.

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath, as if trying to encourage herself, then raised her hand and gently pushed open the unlocked door.

There were no lights on in the room. Only the cool moonlight spilled in through the window, outlining the familiar figure on the bed.

Ning Rongrong tiptoed inside and gently closed the door behind her.

In the darkness, the sound of her heartbeat seemed infinitely magnified.

She could hear Su Bai's steady breathing, and that made her feel a little more at ease.

She walked to the bedside and, by the moonlight, looked at Su Bai's handsome sleeping face. Her cheeks couldn't help but grow hot.

She gritted her teeth and stamped her foot.

Ning Rongrong began unfastening the buttons of her long dress.

The dress slipped to the floor, revealing the young girl's delicate, shapely body.

She took a deep breath, lifted one corner of the blanket, then quickly slipped inside.

The bed still held Su Bai's warmth. That pleasant masculine scent made Ning Rongrong's head spin.

She nervously closed her eyes, her body tense, waiting for the fate that was about to come.

However, Su Bai beside her showed no reaction at all.

Just as Ning Rongrong thought Su Bai had really fallen deeply asleep, and a faint disappointment rose in her heart—

A large hand suddenly wrapped around her waist.

Su Bai's drowsy voice sounded in the quiet room.

"Zhuqing, why did you sneak over again?"

"And... why does it feel like... you got smaller?"

Those words were like a basin of ice water, instantly dousing all the flames in Ning Rongrong's heart. A huge sense of grievance surged up inside her all at once.

Brother Bai... he had mistaken her for Zhuqing!

And he said she was small!

Tears, uselessly defiant, welled up in her eyes.

Ning Rongrong suddenly sat up under the blanket and shouted with a sob in her voice.

"Brother Bai! Look carefully! I'm Ning Rongrong!"

Su Bai also opened his eyes "just in time," a trace of "surprise" on his face.

He sat up and looked at the moonlit girl's pretty tear-streaked face and completely bare body, pretending to come to a realization.

"Rongrong? Why is it you?"

Seeing Su Bai like that, Ning Rongrong couldn't hold back anymore.

She threw herself into Su Bai's arms, her little fists pounding his chest nonstop.

"Jerk! You big jerk!

Why won't you touch me? Do you dislike me? Do you think I'm not pretty enough? Or are you afraid of my dad and my two grandfathers?"

Su Bai let her vent. Only after she had tired herself out from hitting him did he catch her hands and pull her tightly into his arms.

Su Bai sighed, his voice turning gentle.

"Silly girl."

"You're so beautiful. How could I possibly dislike you?"

"I was just wondering... have you really thought this through?"

Ning Rongrong raised her tear-blurred face and looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Su Bai's hand gently stroked her back, feeling that astonishing smoothness.

"Rongrong, I'm not a useless prince like Dai Mubai."

"You need to know that once you follow me, there'll be no turning back."

"And besides, you won't be the only woman in my future. You've seen Xiao Wu and Zhu Qing. There may be even more in the future."

"Can you accept all of that?"

Ning Rongrong froze. She had not expected Su Bai to say these things to her.

She had thought Su Bai would be like other men, whispering sweet nothings to her and taking what he wanted first.

But Su Bai did not.

Su Bai laid the realities before her and let her choose.

At that moment, Ning Rongrong suddenly felt that those so-called young talents she had taken a liking to before were nothing but mud on the ground compared to the man before her.

Ning Rongrong's man naturally had to be without equal in all the world, and Brother Bai was exactly that kind of man.

There was no more hesitation in Ning Rongrong's heart. She lifted her head and took the initiative to kiss Su Bai on the lips.

With the most direct action, she answered his question.

[Ding! Ning Rongrong Affection +15, current Affection 90 points! (Locked)]