Do I Like Him?

"Tea... Teacher."

"My legs are numb. I really didn't do it on purpose."

"Please don't hit me!"

"Let me recover for a moment..."

"Really."

Even though Chen Xing knew he had made a mistake, he could not resist at all.

There was no other reason!

His legs were numb!

He could not move!

His legs now felt like snowy television static—the more he tried to move, the more numb they became.

Bibi Dong took a deep breath, clenching her delicate fists as her chest rose and fell.

And those fists were right in front of Chen Xing's eyes. He could even smell the floral fragrance on her hands...

"Chen! Xing!"

"I really..."

Hoo—

For some reason, the half-sentence she had ground out through clenched teeth abruptly stopped. Instead, she kept taking deep breaths.

In truth, Bibi Dong knew Chen Xing had not done it deliberately either time.

Besides, she was the one who had insisted on keeping him by her side, and she was the one who had insisted on frightening him like this.

So now, she tried to regulate her emotions through deep breaths.

For so many years, she had never had such intimate contact with anyone.

Yet Chen Xing had broken the rules again and again, and now she happened to be unable to do without him.

Forget it!

He was only a six-year-old child, after all.

Thinking that way, her anger indeed subsided considerably.

She bent down and helped Chen Xing up, putting on what she considered a very kind, smiling expression as she spoke.

"Xiaoxing!"

"The next time you're sleepy, Teacher will find you a chair. Sleeping while standing is so uncomfortable."

Chen Xing's legs had not fully recovered yet, and most of his weight was still supported by Bibi Dong holding him up.

Seeing the woman act so abnormally, he suddenly felt a chill run down his back.

Something strange was definitely going on. Chen Xing did not believe Bibi Dong could change her nature so quickly. There had to be a catch.

He forced the corners of his mouth up into a stiff, insincere smile.

"Th-that..."

"Teacher, why don't you just stay mad at me?"

"I'm even more scared when you're like this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Bibi Dong's expression froze.

Her raised lips slowly lowered, and her slightly narrowed eyes gradually opened.

Realizing something was wrong, Chen Xing suddenly began begging loudly.

"Wait! Wait!"

"I was wrong. I won't talk back again..."

"Pwah~"

Heaven Dou City.

Qian Renxue, Disguised as Xue Qinghe, sat at a desk reviewing the memorials in her hands.

The worry between her brows, impossible to dispel, grew even heavier after she read through several memorials.

In her heart, she had never forgotten the image of that young man.

Logically speaking, he was merely a talented genius. Even if she was upset over this matter, the reason should have been Bibi Dong and the Worship Hall's attitude.

But why had Chen Xing's figure kept appearing in her mind lately?

They had only met a few times.

Amid her agitation, an absurd thought suddenly surfaced.

Could it be that she...

Liked him?

The moment that thought emerged, it began growing wildly like weeds.

Impossible!

He was just a child. She was nine years older than him—how could she possibly like a child?

Though that guy was quite handsome... and strong.

No, no. She could not keep thinking about this.

That thought was far too terrifying.

Rather than that, she would rather blame her recent irritability on exhaustion.

To keep herself from overthinking, Qian Renxue directly put down the memorial in her hand and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard.

The jasmine flowers planted by the maidservants were blooming brilliantly this month.

No one knew how they had been cultivated, but the jasmine on Douluo Continent came in seven different colors.

The floral fragrance entered her nose, soothing Qian Renxue's troubled mood somewhat.

Yet the more she did not want to remember something, the more her mind insisted on recalling it.

The moment she closed her eyes, Chen Xing's face appeared before her.

She remembered that when she had first met Chen Xing at Ye Mansion, there seemed to have been many yellow jasmine flowers nearby.

Thinking of this, she simply gave up resisting.

Think about it! Think about it as much as you want!

"She Long!"

With a soft call, she summoned She Long from the shadows.

"I had you observe Chen Xing and Bibi Dong's movements. Has anything unusual happened recently?"

The moment She Long heard Chen Xing's name, his expression visibly became unnatural.

Qian Renxue keenly caught that reaction, and her heart immediately sank.

"As expected!"

"That woman Bibi Dong really is going to destroy him!"

Thinking of this, regret faintly appeared in her beautiful eyes, and her lashes trembled.

If she had persisted a little more that day, would the outcome have been different?

As if she had lost all hope, Qian Renxue let out a long sigh and said.

"I can handle it. Tell me."

Seeing this, She Long no longer delayed.

"Young Mistress, according to the letter."

"Chen Xing... does not seem to be doing very well..."

"In just one day, he was treated twice by the Martial Soul's healing-type Soul Douluo."

"Each time, he was gravely wounded and nearly died."

"And..."

At this point, She Long paused slightly, as though the words that followed were difficult to say.

On Qian Renxue's side, she had already become unsteady on her feet upon hearing the first sentence.

Beaten to the brink of death twice in one day!

He was only a six-year-old child!

Bibi Dong, how could you bear to do that to him!

To restrain her turbulent emotions, she kept taking deep breaths, trying to release the pressure in her heart.

Her delicate fists creaked as she clenched them, her silver teeth tightly gritted.

"And what? Continue!"

She Long bowed slightly and lowered his head.

"And three days have passed since His Holiness at Pope Hall last attacked him, yet Chen Xing is still unconscious."

Bang!

As She Long's words fell, Qian Renxue directly crushed the railing in her hand.

Wood chips scattered everywhere, and several even pierced into her flesh, blood streaming out in rivulets.

"Bibi Dong!"

"Are you even human?"

Though she had already prepared herself mentally, hearing that Chen Xing had suffered such abuse still made her unable to contain her emotions.

Qian Renxue did not understand why Bibi Dong wanted to oppose the Worship Hall, or why she wanted to oppose her.

Even if Bibi Dong wanted to go against her, why use Chen Xing as a sacrifice?

Ever since childhood, this woman had always made her feel profoundly strange.

Since coming to the royal family to carry out the Infiltration Plan, she had learned much about handling interpersonal relationships and witnessed many struggles for power.

Thus, Qian Renxue was no longer the little girl she once had been when it came to judging matters.

Vaguely, she could even sense that Bibi Dong seemed to both love and hate her.

She had also noticed that her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, had always indulged many of Bibi Dong's excessive actions because of some kind of guilt.

Until the matter involving Chen Xing happened.

It made her even more certain of what she believed.

Bibi Dong simply wanted to oppose her for no reason. No matter what decision she made, Bibi Dong would stand against her.

And although her grandfather had supported her from childhood onward, compared to the guilt he felt toward Bibi Dong, he would still choose to favor Bibi Dong.