An Alternative Version of Qian Renxue in a Dream

"Why did you follow me today?" Ye Yuan asked in a gentle tone.

Ning Rongrong gazed at the moonlight outside the window, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Because you are the only friend I have, besides my father and Sword Grandpa and the others."

Ye Yuan said, "The only friend?"

"Mm, yes."

"Ever since my mother passed away when I was little, the people around me gradually drifted away."

"They all hated me, and the few who occasionally got close to me had impure motives."

"They even talked behind my back, calling me a bad girl."

"I tried to change, but they still stayed away from me and hated me."

"I had clearly already changed, so why didn't I have any friends?"

Tears hung at the corners of Ning Rongrong's eyes.

At this moment, she was like a little girl pouring out her heart, constantly telling an adult about her troubles.

Ye Yuan did not respond immediately.

He simply let Ning Rongrong continue to speak.

A quarter of an hour later.

Ning Rongrong finally stopped talking.

"I've kept these worries hidden in my heart for a long time; I used to tell them to my mother."

"But after my mother left, I could only keep these words locked inside."

"Thank you for being willing to listen to me finish all this."

Ye Yuan was somewhat speechless.

Big sister, what do you mean by "willing to listen"? Wasn't it you who walked over here and forced me to listen?

Mother, the Douluo Continent is not fun at all. I'm already having a miserable time myself, and now I have to be someone else's emotional outlet?

But complaining was just complaining; Ye Yuan didn't say these thoughts out loud.

When it came down to it, Ning Rongrong was just a young girl in the prime of her life.

It was normal for her to have some troubles.

In Ye Yuan's view, Ning Rongrong wasn't actually a bad person.

She just lacked some experience in how to treat others and conduct herself.

Compared to the others in Shrek, she was infinitely better.

Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai were both womanizers, and Oscar was a lecherous man.

Tang San was even more complicated.

Take Yu Xiaogang, for example; every stage of Tang San's development in the early and middle periods relied on Yu Xiaogang's guidance.

Yet, when he went to the God Realm, he didn't bring Yu Xiaogang along.

The most infuriating point was that Bai Chenxiang was, at the very least, Tang San's cousin.

You might not count Yu Xiaogang as family, so not bringing him might be excusable.

But you didn't even bring your own cousin? Could it be that your own cousin wasn't as close to you as those two soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest?

"Actually, you are a good girl."

Ning Rongrong looked up: "Eh?"

"You don't have to live up to the expectations of others."

"There are too many voices in this world telling you how to live, how to love, and how to hate."

"But look at the trees outside this window; some are straight, some are crooked, yet they all grow toward their own sky."

"There are countless people in this world, each wearing different masks, and their personalities are naturally strange and varied, never the same."

"There is no need to find yourself in the evaluations of others; your existence is already a complete answer."

"Just like the breeze in the mountains, it blows through canyons and crosses forests, yet it never asks what posture it should take to reach another place."

"Moreover, things like friendship cannot be forced; if your paths are different, you cannot make plans together."

After saying this, Ye Yuan closed his eyes tightly and continued his cultivation.

Ning Rongrong stared blankly at Ye Yuan.

The bright moon hung in the sky, and the evening breeze blew.

"Be myself..."

"Yes, I am Ning Rongrong. I have my own personality and everything that belongs to me."

"Why force things that aren't meant to be?"

Ning Rongrong leaned in close to Ye Yuan, and his nostrils twitched slightly.

The exotic fragrance of a girl who had just stepped out of a bath permeated the space around Ye Yuan.

Ning Rongrong leaned forward and planted a kiss.

"This... consider this a reward for comforting this young lady!"

"Brother Ye, you... you better not get any ideas!"

After saying this, she immediately ran to the bed and pulled the quilt over her head.

Only her two small feet were left dangling outside, swaying back and forth.

Ye Yuan curled the corners of his lips.

Good grief, this little girl really knows how to take what she wants.

It was one thing to have him comfort her, but she even stole his first cheek kiss.

Mom, your baby isn't pure anymore!

Ye Yuan cultivated until midnight, washed up, and lay down on the sofa, sinking into a deep slumber.

Black. It felt as if his entire being were submerged in endless chaos.

There wasn't a single glimmer of light.

"What's going on? Wasn't I in the hotel?"

"Where is this?"

Just as Ye Yuan tried to move, he discovered that his body felt as if it had been nailed to the bed; his limbs were impossibly heavy.

Ye Yuan could sense that this was a dream, yet it felt incredibly real.

Wait.

His soul power... why was it gone?

Ye Yuan tried to mobilize the soul power within his body, only to find it completely sealed off!

A sliver of light shone into Ye Yuan's eyes.

"I can see."

What met his eyes was a dim, soft glow.

He was currently lying on a massive bed, surrounded by translucent pink curtains, through which he could vaguely make out the exquisite furnishings of the room outside.

The air was filled with a faint floral scent, like the unique fragrance of a young girl.

This scent was inexplicably familiar.

Ye Yuan felt as if he had smelled it somewhere before.

Where... right, it was a bit like the scent of Qian Renxue.

It had to be said, Ye Yuan's nose was truly sharp.

He could remember a person based solely on their scent.

"Awake?"

A soft voice drifted over, carrying a hint of laziness and a touch of delight.

Ye Yuan's pupils contracted sharply.

The curtains were slowly pulled aside by a fair, slender, jade-like hand, and what came into view was a face so exquisite it was almost unreal.

Long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, and her red lips exhaled like orchids, so alluring that the woman wore a faint, enigmatic smile at the corners of her mouth.

Who was she? Ye Yuan had no impression of her at all.

He only felt that this incredibly beautiful woman looked somewhat like Qian Renxue.

But it wasn't her.

The woman slowly sat on the edge of the bed.

She was wearing a thin white gauze dress today, the neckline cut very low, and the stunning cleavage below her collarbone looked exceptionally tempting beneath the sheer fabric.

Beneath the slit of her skirt, her jade-like legs, visible in glimpses, made it impossible to look away.

Her body leaned forward slightly, and her golden hair brushed against Ye Yuan's face, bringing with it a trace of coolness and a ticklish sensation.

"Teacher, you've finally woken up."

Her voice was as gentle as if she were coaxing a child.

She stroked Ye Yuan's head, her fingertips sliding slowly downward, tracing the bridge of his nose, his lips, and his chin, before finally coming to rest on his Adam's apple.

She pressed down, neither too lightly nor too heavily.

"You've been unconscious for three days; Little Xue was so worried." Her tone was delicate and seductive.

It was like the playful flirting between lovers.

Ye Yuan stared intently at the woman.

"Little Xue, was it you who sealed my soul power?" he asked.

At this moment, Ye Yuan dared not ask too much, for he no longer knew whether this was a dream or reality.

He was certain he did not know this woman.

He could not let the woman discover that he was no longer the original owner of this body.

Otherwise, in his current state, he would never be able to escape.

The woman's eyes were filled with possessiveness, like a child who had finally obtained a long-coveted toy, unable to wait to tear open the packaging, play with it, and claim it as their own.

She wanted to leave her own mark upon him.

"Don't be angry, Teacher." The woman tilted her head, her tone sounding like she was acting spoiled.

The movements of her hands did not stop.

Her fingers slid down from Ye Yuan's Adam's apple, her fingertips gently undoing the buttons of his collar.

"I just like Teacher too much, so much that I don't know what else to do."

"You..." Before Ye Yuan could finish speaking, the woman's fingers had already slipped inside his collar.

Her ice-cold fingertips glided slowly across his pectoral muscles, a sensation that caused Ye Yuan's body to tense up involuntarily.

"Do you know, Teacher?"

The woman leaned down, her lips almost brushing against Ye Yuan's ear, her warm breath puffing against his earlobe.

Ye Yuan felt a tingling sensation.

"From the day I first saw Teacher, I knew I was done for."

"When it comes down to it, it's because you weren't obedient, Teacher."

"Otherwise, why would Little Xue have locked Teacher up?"

Ye Yuan said with a hint of fear: "Li... Little Xue, why don't you get up first?"

"How about you undo the iron chains, and we have a proper talk?"

Ye Yuan said cautiously.

He wanted to try and break free from his restraints to obtain more useful information.

Suddenly, the soul power of the woman named Little Xue surged violently.

The charming, pitiful expression from just a moment ago had vanished completely.

In its place was a face full of paranoia and madness.