Smack—
The file Zhang Lexuan had been organizing slipped from her hands, jolting her awake.
Forcing a smile, she said, "Xiao Sheng, you're back."
Xuanyuan Sheng stretched as he returned to the sofa. "Mm. Sister Lexuan, did you finish everything you had to do today?"
Still distracted, she merely bent down to pick up the file, then answered Xuanyuan Sheng in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"Mm~"
After putting everything away,
Zhang Lexuan copied his posture and lounged against the side, gazing out the window at the birds.
She stared at the birds perched on the branches, but couldn't help sneaking glances at the face beside her from the corner of her eye.
The lip print on Xiao Sheng's face was vertical.
At first glance, it looked fake. That vertical lip print on his face looked incredibly fake.
But Zhang Lexuan didn't see it that way. She'd always liked teasing Xiao Sheng and knew one thing for certain.
For a lip print to end up almost vertical, someone had to put an arm around his neck and press her face against his while acting coy.
There was nothing in the way in front of him. Who would go to all that trouble to kiss him vertically? Unless someone had taken advantage of him while he was asleep.
Thinking of that, Zhang Lexuan couldn't help laughing at herself for being so suspicious.
And the idea that someone had kissed him inside the attic was even more absurd.
It was just that as Xiao Sheng grew up, he became more and more charming. No woman, no matter her age, could resist that handsome face, could she?
Zhang Lexuan knew this all too well from the times she'd helped fend off bold little girls who'd tried to get close to him.
Xuanyuan Sheng stared at the treetops. He was well aware of Zhang Lexuan's sidelong glances. They were so obvious that it seemed impossible for him not to notice.
But he didn't interrupt her. In fact, he found it rather amusing.
After all, now that they were older, Sister Lexuan was still as gentle and considerate as ever, but the way they got along wasn't like it had been when they were children.
Sister Lexuan was usually so serious, but now she was trying to hide her little actions. It was pretty cute.
The frustration Zhang Lexuan felt came and went quickly. She'd already figured out where the red lip print on Xuanyuan Sheng's face had come from.
She addressed the taciturn system in her mind. "Show me the updated evaluation of Xiao Sheng from today."
She'd been busy dealing with other things earlier, so she hadn't had time to look closely at the evaluations of the others.
When the system displayed the information in front of Zhang Lexuan,
she couldn't help covering her face with her slender hands.
That Xiao Sheng—how could he rate a girl like that? It wouldn't be surprising if she scratched him one day.
Instead of complimenting a girl's face, he'd looked at her clothes and called them tacky.
Imagining her little brother see a pretty girl, raise a hand, and say, "Hey, beautiful, your outfit's so tacky," made Zhang Lexuan laugh.
That mark on his face was probably from chatting with someone while he was out today and getting the girl so mad that she'd grabbed his face and planted a big kiss on it.
"Xiao Sheng, did you go somewhere crowded today? You seem a little sweaty."
Xuanyuan Sheng rubbed his neck. The mark really had been left by sweat.
After leaving the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, he'd run for quite a while. Maybe it had appeared while he was taking a long detour on his way back.
At the time, he'd been too busy worrying that someone would sneak up and knock him out to think about anything else. He'd run as fast as he could, afraid someone would recognize him as the guy who'd been so close to Ma Xiaotao in the hall earlier.
Ma Xiaotao, you've really gotten me into trouble!
"Mm. I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, Sister Lexuan. I went to have a look around the Mimicry Cultivation Ground today. It was packed with people, and after squeezing my way out, I didn't notice that I'd gotten myself dirty."
Hearing his explanation, Zhang Lexuan smiled as if her suspicions had been confirmed.
It was pretty much as she'd thought.
He'd probably angered some girl at the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, and with so many Outer Courtyard disciples around, ended up with a red lip print on his face.
Now that she'd figured out what happened, Zhang Lexuan felt much more at ease.
"Phew..."
She turned around and sat facing Xuanyuan Sheng.
[Task: Personal Cultivation from Sister.] [Since a certain younger brother only knows how to work hard at cultivating when he's with his older sister, as his sister, you must also make an effort to keep your beloved younger brother on track.] [Reward: Double your Luck.] [Task Failure: Get one bubble bath with your younger brother to bring you closer.]
The task had appeared after she'd finished handing everything over today. Like the others, its requirements suited her just fine.
There was no such thing as too much Luck.
According to the system, Luck came in two forms: "When one person ascended to enlightenment, even their pets and livestock rose with them," and "Sacrifice your loved ones to gain limitless Soul Power."
The Luck she had belonged to the first kind. As long as she gained enough of it, the people around her would make it through any disaster unscathed.
That was why Zhang Lexuan had never passed up a Luck-related task.
But such tasks were rare. The first one had appeared when she activated the system and brought Xuanyuan Sheng home, cutting away the second kind of Luck she carried and replacing it completely with the first.
This was only the second task with a Luck reward in all that time, so she certainly wasn't going to turn it down.
But after completing so many tasks, she'd never once received a penalty for failure. This time, there actually was one.
And the penalty for failing the task was a little too embarrassing to even think about. Yet for some reason, Zhang Lexuan found herself looking forward to it.
She patted her flushed cheeks. Once she'd fully calmed down, she turned a gentle gaze toward Xuanyuan Sheng.
"Xiao Sheng, your sister can recruit disciples from the Outer Courtyard now."
Xuanyuan Sheng tilted his head, deciding to tell Sister Lexuan that he planned to help her recruit another disciple.
Ma Xiaotao might not have been very composed in the hall at the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, but he really liked how she'd been willing to risk anything just to keep him company.
Since she was so hopeful that the two of them could study under the same master, he couldn't refuse her.
So all he had to do was talk it over with Sister Lexuan. If Sister Lexuan wasn't willing...
Ma Xiaotao, remember, you owe me for this!
He, Xuanyuan Sheng, would just use his best pleading skills until Sister Lexuan agreed to take her in as his junior sister.
"Sis, how about we recruit one more person?"
"Sure."
Zhang Lexuan gave a slight smile and agreed without a second thought.
She knew who Xiao Sheng wanted to invite.
Or rather, she'd already made up her mind to take that little girl, Xiao Xiao, in as well.
That girl was one of her little brother's few friends. Who else would he ask her to take in?
Xuanyuan Sheng hadn't expected Sister Lexuan to agree so readily. He hesitated. "Sis, maybe..."
If Sister Lexuan became a teacher, she'd surely take it very seriously. Having two disciples would put a lot of pressure on her.
After all, she wasn't some irresponsible teacher.
Zhang Lexuan patted his head. "Don't worry. Your sister can handle it."
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