The Queen's Shyness (1)

Cailin could still hear Su Baichen's words, "I understand now," echoing by her ear. Her cheeks instantly flushed a fiery red, like fine rouge smudged beneath fingertips, spreading from the tips of her ears all the way down her neck.

Her golden eyes, usually tinged with coldness, shed all their distance at that moment and brimmed with scorching light. She stared unblinkingly at Su Baichen, even unconsciously softening her breathing, unable to conceal her urgency.

"Then what does Mr. Su think? Can you agree?"

The moment the words left her mouth, even Cailin was startled—her usual composure and restraint as the Queen of the Snake-People Tribe had been utterly swept away by the heat in her heart.

Since he already "understood," why beat around the bush? Wouldn't it be better to simply tear through that thin veil and get straight to the point?

That was her true style: direct, using the simplest and most straightforward method.

She slightly lifted her chest. A barely perceptible tremor hid within her deliberately slowed voice, yet her gaze remained blazing, unwilling to miss even the slightest change in Su Baichen's expression.

Su Baichen was somewhat at a loss under her burning stare. He instinctively looked away, then quickly looked back, his fingertips lightly rubbing at his cuff.

He coughed, steadying his slightly flustered mind, and said sincerely, "Of course I have no problem with it. After all, we agreed on it before."

He knew perfectly well that helping Cailin break through to the Dou Zong realm had been the reward for finding the Heavenly Flames. He had always kept his word, so there was no reason for him to go back on it.

It was just that Cailin's gaze today was far too scorching, making him inexplicably uneasy, as though what he had agreed to was not a cultivation arrangement, but something else that made one blush.

"Agreed on before?"

Su Baichen's words were like a basin of cool spring water, leaving Cailin stunned.

A haze instantly clouded her astonishingly bright eyes. Her brows furrowed slightly, her face full of confused question marks. Most of the heat in her golden eyes faded, leaving only thick confusion swirling within them.

"Agreed on? When did I ever agree to anything with Mr. Su..." she murmured instinctively, her mind rapidly reviewing the past, yet she could not remember any such agreement.

Could it be that her relentless cultivation day and night lately had exhausted her mind so thoroughly that even her memory had gone awry? Or had something gone wrong in her cultivation, causing her to lose part of her memories?

Cailin's bewildered, helpless appearance left Su Baichen equally puzzled. He frowned, his tone carrying some confusion. "Cailin, wasn't I talking about the reward for finding the Heavenly Flames?"

Seeing that she was still blankly confused, he explained in detail, "Didn't I promise you before that as long as we found the Heavenly Flames, I would help you break through to the Dou Zong realm? Wasn't that what we agreed on? What you meant... wasn't that?"

"Boom—!"

The moment Su Baichen finished speaking, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck Cailin's mind. Every thought in her head exploded on the spot, churning into a chaotic mess.

Wrong! It was all wrong!

She finally realized that what she and Su Baichen had been talking about were two entirely unrelated matters!

Just now, she had wholeheartedly believed that Su Baichen understood her feelings, understood the affection she had summoned all the courage of her life to confess. She had even looked at him with such blunt, burning intensity, secretly imagining what would happen after he agreed...

Ah—!

Cailin screamed inwardly. The flush on her cheeks deepened so much that it nearly seemed ready to bleed, and even her ears and neck were stained with embarrassment.

How humiliating!

I'll never be able to face anyone again!

How could she have made such an absurd mistake? She had actually confused the agreement about breaking through to the Dou Zong realm with her own little feelings, and had nearly made a joke so embarrassing she would have nowhere to hide!

The momentum of her earlier initiative instantly vanished without a trace, and Cailin's shoulders sagged slightly.

Although her cheeks remained shockingly red, the heat in her golden eyes had long since faded, replaced by panic and shyness. Her gaze darted away, and she no longer dared look into Su Baichen's eyes, as though one more glance would expose the embarrassed little secret in her heart.

"Cailin, what's wrong?" Su Baichen noticed that something was off with her and became even more confused. He reached out, intending to feel her forehead, but she instinctively turned her head aside to avoid him.

He pressed on in confusion, "Why is your face getting redder and redder? Did something go wrong with your cultivation? Are you feeling unwell?"

They were only discussing breaking through to the Dou Zong realm, so why was she blushing this badly? Su Baichen truly could not understand. He only felt that Cailin had been strange in every way today.

Hearing Su Baichen's words, Cailin panicked even more. Her fingers tightly clutched the hem of her dress, wrinkling the fabric in her grip.

What do I do? What do I do? How am I supposed to salvage this now?

She took a deep breath and repeatedly warned herself inwardly, Cailin, you are Queen Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe, the sovereign who commands countless serpents. Don't panic. You must stay calm! Only by calming down can you think of a solution!

Dou Zong! Right, breaking through to the Dou Zong realm!

This is the safest way out right now. If I follow Su Baichen's lead, I can quietly cover up that misunderstanding and keep things from becoming even more awkward.

The steadiness and decisiveness she had cultivated over many years ruling the Snake-People Tribe returned at that moment. Cailin forced down the shyness and panic in her heart, slowly raised her head, and lightly smoothed the wrinkles from her dress.

When she looked up again, her gaze had regained its usual calm. Though the blush had yet to fade from her cheeks, she now carried a little more composure and confidence as she openly met Su Baichen's puzzled eyes.

"That's right, Mr. Su. That is precisely what I meant." Her voice was steady, with not the slightest hint of anything unusual, though the end of it held a faint, nearly imperceptible tremor. "I was simply too excited just now and lost my composure for a moment. Mr. Su need not mind it."

She deliberately emphasized the word "excited," as if using it as an excuse for her earlier abnormal behavior. Then she abruptly changed the subject and went straight to the point, concealing all her guilt. "Since this is what we agreed on before, how does Mr. Su intend to help me break through to the Dou Zong realm?"

Watching Cailin seemingly revive at full strength in an instant, Su Baichen was even more bewildered.

What exactly was going on?

Ever since Cailin entered today, everything about her had seemed off. Her tone was not as cool as usual, her expression carried an inexplicable heat, and even her clothing was more vibrant than before. Her bearing also held a shyness and urgency he had never seen in her.

If he had not known that Caidie's strength was far inferior to Cailin's, he would have suspected that Caidie had taken over Cailin's body.

Just moments ago, her gaze had been burning and she had been full of urgency. How had she suddenly wilted, muttered to herself for so long, and then abruptly regained her composure and followed his lead?

Su Baichen was no fool. Piecing together everything that had just happened, he vaguely came to a realization—perhaps what he and Cailin had been talking about just now were two completely different things.