Tingyun gently pulled free of Yukong's hand and buried her face in her soft chest, silently feeling this lady's tenderness. No matter when it was, her tenderness toward her had never changed. At that thought, Tingyun's gaze gradually shifted from confusion to another kind of emotion:
"You're not allowed to say things like that. Lady Yukong has never been an outsider. We, we... let's do it together! The three of us together!"
Tingyun took a deep breath, forced down her shyness, raised her head, and leaned close to Yukong's ear, voicing her true feelings in a gentle yet resolute tone.
As her words fell, Yukong's dejected expression gradually vanished. Her face instead grew redder and redder, revealing the bashfulness of a young girl.
Within her beautiful purple eyes, her pupils still trembled violently, stirring up a churning vortex as they stubbornly tried to draw one final shred of pity from the eyes locked with hers. "Tingyun, you, you, what are you saying?!"
"Lady Yukong is staying tonight too. The three of us—"
Before Tingyun could finish, Yukong's consciousness scattered from excessive embarrassment, and she collapsed onto the floor with circles swimming in her eyes.
Thud—
"Hm? What was that?"
Jing Yuan, who was sampling wine on the living room sofa, heard the noise from the bedroom and revealed a surprised expression. He had vaguely sensed something was off from the moment he entered the house. This time, he heard it even more clearly. It sounded like something had smashed into the floor.
"What's wrong?"
"Qing Yan, didn't you hear the noise inside?"
Bai Jun spoke up to stop Jing Yuan, who was about to get up and take a look. Though he was already sweating profusely, he still forced himself to stay calm and pretended he had heard nothing. "The wind is strong at night. Maybe a book on the bed fell onto the floor. The weather's been like this lately."
"Really? Why do I feel like..." Jing Yuan stopped walking, his expression doubtful.
"More importantly, why is your face red so quickly today? Did you get drunk? No way, you haven't even had three glasses." Bai Jun promptly pushed the mixed cocktail onto the table and asked with a hint of teasing.
"How could that be? This is nothing... Hey, bartender, bring more drinks!"
The facts proved that provocation was sometimes especially effective on drunks. The moment Jing Yuan heard that, he got angry. He downed the cocktail in one gulp while standing, then sat back on the sofa and called out to Bai Jun in dissatisfaction.
Seeing this, the huge weight hanging over Bai Jun's heart finally settled. He quickly mixed Jing Yuan another cocktail. The orange-red liquor flowed into the glass, but this time it was especially strong. He had even added more ingredients to make the texture smoother, ensuring the aftereffects would be powerful.
"By the way, Qing Yan, have you been listening to the broadcasts lately?" Before drinking, Jing Yuan suddenly asked curiously.
"I have, but what exactly are you referring to?" Bai Jun paused while wiping the bottom of a glass and shook his head in confusion.
"The Universal Tour Concert."
Bai Jun vaguely sensed there was something more behind Jing Yuan's words. After pondering for a moment, he still shook his head. "I don't understand. Just say what you mean."
Jing Yuan tapped the rim of his glass now and then, patiently explaining, "A famous Family singer from the Universal Tour Concert has come to the Luofu to hold a concert. You've heard about that, haven't you?"
"Mm, I have. You mean that Family singer named Guinaifen?"
"That's right. That singer travels throughout the universe, using her beautiful voice to spread the power of 'Harmony' among her fans and even living beings across countless worlds. Perhaps she is merely spreading peace, but there's no denying that her arrival inevitably represents a portion of Penacony's voice."
"You mean..."
Jing Yuan took a small sip of his drink and continued calmly. "Recently, undercurrents have been surging within the Luofu. Setting aside the Vidyadhara situation, you've surely heard about the Medicine King's Legacy. I'm worried that certain people with ulterior motives will use this tour concert to deliberately create conflict between the Luofu and Penacony. No—even aside from that, if the singer is harmed, her fans spread across the universe will create overwhelming public pressure."
"It really is troublesome. What do you plan to do?" Bai Jun set down his mixing glass, a bad feeling growing in his heart.
"After careful consideration, you'll serve as Guinaifen's personal bodyguard when the time comes. Consider it for the Luofu's sake. You must protect her properly, all right?" Jing Yuan gave him a thumbs-up and pulled a photograph from his clothes, sliding it across the table.
In the photograph, a blue-haired girl stood at the center of a stage. She looked around eighteen or nineteen, with exquisite features and a graceful, gentle bearing. Her face was as dazzling as a flower, and her beautiful eyes were lively as water. As expected of a superstar famous throughout the universe—if he could, Bai Jun would have described her as heavenly beautiful.
But he clearly had no mind to spare for that right now. He stood up unsteadily and pointed at himself in disbelief. "I'm going to be her personal bodyguard? Are you serious?"
"Of course I am. Why would I lie to you?" Jing Yuan nodded, crushing Bai Jun's last hope of getting lucky. "Getting to spend time with a famous superstar known throughout the universe—maybe some very subtle plot developments might even happen. Isn't that the sort of good thing people would fight over anywhere?"
Bai Jun crossed his arms in front of his chest and loudly refused. "No, no, no. I don't want to get involved in this kind of thing. Besides, it's not like Shence Mansion lacks powerful Vanguards. Everyone has their specialty. Wouldn't handing it to them be much safer?"
"There's nothing to be done. This job was originally supposed to go to Yan Qing, but unfortunately, he probably won't be able to return to the Luofu for some time yet, so it can only go to you. And there's another very important reason..."
"What?" Watching Jing Yuan's expression gradually turn grave and serious, Bai Jun decided to hear his explanation out.
As if he had anticipated it all along, Jing Yuan gave a reason why no one but Bai Jun would do. "The selected guard represents the Luofu's image to a certain extent. Naturally, we need someone good-looking, right? Isn't that how they always do it in movies?"
"Have you gone crazy from surfing the net?"
"Ah, I'll compensate you afterward with half a month of administrative leave. Paid leave."
Seeing reason would not work, Jing Yuan could only tempt him with benefits. The moment he heard "paid leave," Bai Jun's firm attitude visibly wavered. Jing Yuan struck while the iron was hot and increased the offer.
"One month of paid leave?"
"Deal."
After thinking it over, Bai Jun figured the tour concert would only last five days, and afterward he would get a month of paid leave. It all sounded like a windfall from heaven. It would be a waste not to take advantage of such a bargain, so he decisively compromised.
"Good. I'll leave this matter to you."
Seeing that his purpose for coming had been achieved, Jing Yuan cheerfully finished the rest of his cocktail, rose, and went to the coat rack to put on his outerwear. He then headed straight for the entrance. "Shence Mansion still has mundane affairs tying me down, so I'll head back first. The wind is strong at night. No need to come out and see me off."
Bai Jun rose and insisted on seeing him out. The two stood at the door when Jing Yuan suddenly stopped with great interest. His gaze passed over Bai Jun and into the room as he teased with a faint smile, "Then I'll be going. Lady Yukong and Miss Tingyun, remember to arrive at the Tianbo Division early tomorrow. There are still matters to handle then."
"N-No, that's not it! General, please listen to this little woman's explanation..."
Thud—
Tingyun's panicked voice suddenly came from Bai Jun's bedroom, followed by another muffled thud. Then the bedroom returned to silence.
"Why didn't you expose them earlier? Why did you have to say it only when you were leaving..." Bai Jun held his forehead and complained weakly.
"Because that makes it more interesting."
At last, a trace of delight appeared on Jing Yuan's usually lazy and weary face. He stretched, then slowly disappeared at the end of the street beneath Bai Jun's gaze.
"...As expected, he gave me the bodyguard job purely to satisfy his own selfish desires, didn't he?"
Bai Jun vaguely sensed that he had been tricked by Jing Yuan again. But at this point, there was no room to regret it. He simply stopped thinking about it, turned around, and closed the door.
When he returned to his room, the first thing he saw was two foxes passed out on the floor, one face-up and one face-down, along with his bedframe, which now had a huge hole in it—it had probably been smashed when Tingyun got up too suddenly.
"Seriously, are you even going to let me live..."
Under the dim yellow light, Bai Jun let out a brief, helpless sigh.
P.S. Going back to school, various miscellaneous matters, and the utterly insane review process have been driving me crazy. In some places, I had no choice but to replace things with rather stiff wording. Please bear with it.
Anyway, this delayed things by a day. I'll make it up over the next couple of days.
High-End Hunters Always Disguise Themselves as Prey
Outside a café on the streets of Exalting Sanctum, a short white-haired girl holding a strange piggy bank sat on a bench in front of the shop, looking worriedly at the time on her wrist.
Today was the day she had promised to apologize to Bai Jun. Though they had agreed to meet at nine in the morning, Elena had chosen to arrive early at eight-thirty. It was now eight fifty-five, yet Bai Jun was still nowhere to be seen, which made Elena worry.
"Zhang Zhang, why hasn't Bai Jun come yet? Could he have forgotten our appointment?"
"Puff puff~ puff!"
"No, you can't. I brought you here today so you could properly apologize to him. And didn't you promise me last night that you would never bite Bai Jun again?"
Elena lightly thumped Zhang Zhang, who was lying in her arms, then raised her blue eyes and anxiously looked across the street.
Today, she wore a pale-colored dress, its hem falling over her beautifully shaped calves. Her strappy low-heeled sandals revealed her cute toes, while a soft, light gauze shawl concealed the rise and fall of her chest. She was cool and aloof, yet carried a gentle softness.
It had been Elena who suggested meeting in front of the café. This café stood on a side street with relatively little foot traffic. On top of that, its style leaned toward Pier Point, so local Xianzhou residents disdained spending money there. As a result, the café was exceptionally quiet, and it was rarely noisy whenever she came.
Elena often came here. First, it had the atmosphere of the company; second, it was quiet enough. Sitting on the bench, she could observe the passing crowds on the street whenever she wished, and having a cup of coffee could also soothe her mood.
Waiting always made people restless. Just as Elena was about to take out her phone and remind Bai Jun, a figure suddenly appearing across the street made her abandon the thought.
With her outstanding eyesight, she could clearly see Bai Jun yawning as he slowly walked this way. She could even make out his outfit today: a long black coat over a white turtleneck shirt, his hair tied into a short ponytail. His entire bearing looked cool and rational.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
At eight fifty-eight, Bai Jun arrived at the café precisely on time. Elena then noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Though they were not especially heavy, they stood out on his fair skin.
"Whoa, you look terrible. Your dark circles are really bad too. Didn't you rest well last night?"
"More or less. Anyway, it's a long story..."
Bai Jun rubbed his sore eyes, then firmly pressed his stiff neck. Last night, he had spent a great deal of energy getting Tingyun and Yukong to leave. The key issue was that when he returned home, his bedframe was broken, so he had no choice but to make do on the floor for half the night. When he woke up in the morning, he discovered he had slept with a crick in his neck. Truly, misfortune never came alone.
"Looks like coming to this café wasn't a waste. How about a cup of coffee to wake you up? At least it might make you feel a little better."
Looking at his haggard state, Elena felt a familiar sensation. In the past, she had often seen coworkers look similar after working overtime. Though Elena, who enjoyed overtime work, could not truly relate, she still made the suggestion.
"That would be great. One iced coffee, please. Add lots of sugar."
"If you're sleepy, it's better to add less sugar," Elena quietly reminded him. Rising blood sugar could suppress the hypothalamus's secretion of orexin, making someone even sleepier after drinking coffee.
"It's fine. I'm just a little tired. A proper amount of sugar can relieve fatigue."
Bai Jun sat beside Elena and collapsed onto the table in relief. His lazy, comfortable posture easily reminded Elena of all kinds of cats back home. She struggled to resist the urge to pet him and called a server over to order two coffees.
Before long, the server came over carrying two cups of coffee and a small plate of desserts. Bai Jun's first reaction after sitting upright was not to pick up the coffee, but to taste a piece of dessert first. He nodded in satisfaction before finally turning his attention to the coffee.
"This café is really nice." Bai Jun drank his coffee while looking around the surroundings, offering a simple assessment.
"Right? That's what I think too. What do you think is best about this place? The décor? Or the taste of the coffee?" Hearing Bai Jun's evaluation, Elena immediately felt delighted at being acknowledged. Her pretty eyes blinked as she waited expectantly for his answer.
"Obviously, the location." Bai Jun calmly set down his coffee cup, a proud gleam appearing in his eyes. "Seriously, give me three machine guns, and I could control this entire street."
"True, this café is very quiet... Huh? That really is your style."
Elena nearly sprayed the coffee in her mouth all over Bai Jun's face. She wiped the coffee from the corner of her lips and cast a slightly resentful glance at the smug Bai Jun, but after thinking about it, she found him genuinely amusing.
"Just a little joke. Actually, two machine guns would be enough..."
Bai Jun felt something nudging against his pant leg. Looking down, he found Elena's Zhang Zhang causing trouble.
"Puff puff~ puff."
This time, Zhang Zhang did not intend to bite him. Instead, it behaved affectionately like a pet dog, repeatedly nudging Bai Jun's calf with its head. It seemed to want Bai Jun to pick it up.
Bai Jun's first reaction was fear, which was understandable. The little thing bit painfully, and he had no desire to repeat his previous experience of being viciously bitten. But after hesitating for a moment, Bai Jun ultimately picked it up. "Let's make this clear first: I don't have any gems or gold coins to feed you. Will you eat cake?"
He speared a small piece of cake with his fork and had just brought it to Zhang Zhang's mouth when it swallowed it in one bite. Bai Jun then seemed to take an interest in it, feeding all sorts of desserts to Zhang Zhang, while Zhang Zhang accepted everything and ate it all. Bai Jun thoroughly experienced the joy of feeding it.
Elena rested both hands on the table, watching Bai Jun and Zhang Zhang's affectionate interaction with an indulgent expression. Don't they get along quite well?
But soon, her expression changed slightly—
"Amazing! Zhang Zhang, you can even eat the plate!" Bai Jun looked at Zhang Zhang with excitement, as if he were holding a Flerken in his arms. "What about an iron fork? Can you eat this?"
"Puff puff puff~"
"You're really capable, Zhang Zhang. A wooden table should be no problem either, right?"
"Hey, you two, that's enough!"
Seeing their interaction become increasingly absurd, Elena promptly stood to stop them. At the same time, a passing server inadvertently caught sight of Bai Jun lifting the table to feed it to Zhang Zhang and was instantly so frightened that she dropped the plate in her hands. "B-Bad news, boss! Someone ate our table!"
"Someone's causing trouble? Grab the weapons!"
As expected, the two of them, along with one piggy bank, were thrown out and permanently blacklisted. Looking at the bustling traffic and crowds on the street, Elena let out a short sigh.
"Sigh, look what you two did. Now I won't be able to come here for coffee anymore."
"...It isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Bai Jun guiltily shifted his gaze away, while Zhang Zhang in his arms silently played the role of an auspicious treasure.
"There's no helping it. Since we can't stay at the café, we can only go somewhere else. You two aren't allowed to do something so foolish again, all right?"
Seeing that they seemed remorseful, Elena did not say anything more. No, rather, she did not truly care about such trivial matters at all. If something was damaged, they could just pay triple compensation. It did not matter if she could not come here anymore. What mattered was seeing the relationship between Bai Jun and Zhang Zhang improve. That was the most important thing, and it had been the purpose of today all along.
Still, warnings had to be given. Otherwise, who knew what these two might do?
Bai Jun carried Zhang Zhang behind Elena as they chatted and walked, until their steps finally stopped in front of a beautifully decorated... pet store.
"Uh, Elena, are you sure you came to the right place?"
Bai Jun held Zhang Zhang and quietly took a step back. He had originally thought Elena would take him to a mall or dessert shop, but she had actually brought him to a pet store... Was she planning to sell Zhang Zhang?
"Hm? Doesn't being surrounded by fluffy little animals feel wonderful? Bai Jun, don't you want to try it?"
"Not really..."
Elena held her soft cheeks in her hands and thought for a moment before coming up with a good idea. "Then how about we go look at the stock market's recent gains? I'm actually very good at that."
"Forget it, let's go to the pet store." There was no need to weigh the two options. Bai Jun immediately carried Zhang Zhang inside.
The moment they entered, Elena happily ran off to get close to all kinds of little animals. Zhang Zhang had long grown accustomed to its owner's behavior. It merely yawned with a soft puff-puff sound, shifted positions in Bai Jun's arms, and continued lying there.
Before you continue