"Why did you come along today?" Ye Yuan asked amiably.
Ning Rongrong gazed at the moonlight outside the window and tucked the hair by her cheek behind her ear.
"Because aside from my father and Sword Grandpa, you're my only friend."
"My only friend?"
"Mm, yes."
"Ever since Mother left when I was little, the people around me gradually began distancing themselves from me."
"They all hated me. Even the occasional few who got close to me had ulterior motives."
"They even said behind my back that I was a bad girl."
"I tried to change, but they still kept their distance and hated me."
"I've clearly already changed, so why don't I have any friends?"
Tears welled up in Ning Rongrong's eyes.
At that moment, she was like a little girl confiding her thoughts, continuously telling an adult about all her troubles.
Ye Yuan did not respond immediately.
He simply let Ning Rongrong continue.
A quarter of an hour later.
Ning Rongrong finally stopped talking.
"I've kept these thoughts buried in my heart for a long time. I used to tell Mother about them."
"But after Mother left, I could only keep these words to myself."
"Thank you for being willing to listen to all of this."
Ye Yuan was somewhat speechless.
Big sis, what did she mean, I was willing to listen? Didn't she come over and force me to listen herself?
Mom, Douluo Continent wasn't fun at all. I was already having a damn hard time myself, and now I had to become someone else's emotional outlet?
But complaints were complaints. Ye Yuan did not say what was in his heart.
At the end of the day, Ning Rongrong was only a teenage girl.
It was normal for her to have worries.
In Ye Yuan's eyes, Ning Rongrong was not actually a bad person.
She was merely lacking somewhat in the way she handled people and situations.
Compared to the rest of Shrek, she was far better than any of them.
Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai were two lechers, while Oscar was a sleazy pervert.
Tang San was even more complicated.
Take Yu Xiaogang, for example. During Tang San's early and middle stages of growth, which part had not depended on Yu Xiaogang's guidance?
Yet when he went to the God Realm, he did not bring Yu Xiaogang along.
What was most infuriating was that Bai Chenxiang was Tang San's cousin.
Fine, Yu Xiaogang was not family, so it was understandable if he was not brought along.
But he did not bring his own cousin either? Was his cousin not as close as those two soul beasts from the Star Dou Great Forest?
"Actually, you're a good girl."
Ning Rongrong looked up. "Huh?"
"You don't need to become what others expect you to be."
"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. Some stand tall, some grow crooked, yet all of them reach toward their own skies."
"There are countless people in this world. Every person wears a different mask, and naturally, their personalities are strange and varied."
"Don't seek yourself within other people's judgments. Your existence itself is already a complete answer."
"Like the clear breeze in the mountains—it blows through valleys and crosses forests, yet it never asks what posture it should take to reach another place."
"Besides, friendship cannot be forced. Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together."
After saying that, Ye Yuan closed his eyes and resumed cultivating.
Ning Rongrong stared blankly at Ye Yuan.
The bright moon hung in the sky as the evening breeze gently blew.
"Being myself..."
"That's right. I'm Ning Rongrong. I have my own personality and everything that belongs to me."
"Why should I force certain things?"
Ning Rongrong moved closer to Ye Yuan, and the tip of his nose twitched.
The strange fragrance of a girl fresh from the bath spread around Ye Yuan.
Ning Rongrong leaned down and kissed him.
"Th-this will be your reward for comforting this young miss!"
"Brother Ye, d-don't get any strange ideas!"
After saying that, she immediately ran to the bed and pulled the blanket over her head.
Only her two little feet remained outside, swinging back and forth.
Ye Yuan curled his lips.
Good lord, this little girl had taken everything she could get.
It was one thing to make him comfort her, but she had even stolen his first kiss on the cheek.
Mom, your baby wasn't clean anymore!
Ye Yuan cultivated until midnight, then washed up and lay down on the sofa, drifting into sleep.
Darkness. It felt as though his whole body had sunk into endless chaos.
There was not even a trace of light.
"What's going on? Wasn't I in a hotel?"
"Where is this?"
Just as Ye Yuan tried to move, he discovered that his body seemed nailed to the bed. His limbs were unbearably heavy.
Ye Yuan could tell it was a dream, yet it felt incomparably real.
Something was wrong.
His Soul Power... why was it gone?
Ye Yuan tried to mobilize the Soul Power within him, only to find that it had been completely sealed!
A ray of light shone into Ye Yuan's eyes.
"I can see."
Before him was a dim, soft light.
He was lying on an enormous bed, surrounded by translucent pink gauze curtains. Through them, he could vaguely see the exquisite furnishings of the room outside.
A faint floral fragrance filled the air, like the unique body scent of a young girl.
This fragrance felt strangely familiar.
Ye Yuan seemed to have smelled it somewhere before.
Where was it...? Right, it was somewhat like Qian Renxue's body scent.
It had to be said that Ye Yuan's nose was truly sharp.
He could remember someone solely by their scent.
"You're awake?"
A gentle voice came from nearby, carrying a touch of languidness and a hint of delight.
Ye Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.
A pale, slender hand slowly lifted the gauze curtain. What entered his vision was a face so exquisite it seemed almost unreal.
Golden hair cascaded freely over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her red lips exhaled a breath as fragrant as orchids, utterly enticing, while a faintly smiling curve rested on the woman's lips.
Who was she? Ye Yuan had no impression of her at all.
He only felt that this stunningly beautiful woman resembled Qian Renxue somewhat.
But she was not Qian Renxue.
The woman slowly sat at the edge of the bed.
She wore a thin white gauze dress today, its neckline cut deeply low. The astonishing cleavage beneath her collarbones appeared especially alluring under the gauze.
Beneath the slit skirt, her jade-like legs appeared and disappeared from view, making it impossible to look away.
Her body leaned slightly forward, and golden strands of hair fell onto Ye Yuan's face, bringing a trace of coolness and ticklishness.
"Teacher, you're finally awake."
Her voice was as gentle as if she were soothing a child.
She stroked Ye Yuan's head, her fingertips slowly sliding down over his nose bridge, lips, and chin before finally stopping at his Adam's apple.
She pressed it lightly, neither too hard nor too softly.
"You've been unconscious for three days. Little Xue was so worried." Her tone was soft and seductive.
It sounded like flirtatious banter between lovers.
Ye Yuan stared fixedly at the woman.
"Little Xue, did you seal my Soul Power?" he asked.
At that moment, Ye Yuan did not dare ask too much, because he no longer knew whether this was a dream or reality.
He was certain he did not know this woman.
He could not let her discover that he was no longer the original owner of this body.
Otherwise, in his current state, there was no way he could escape.
The woman's eyes were filled with possessiveness, like a child who had finally obtained the toy she had dreamed of for so long and could not wait to tear off the wrapping, play with it, and claim it.
She wanted to leave her own mark behind.
"Teacher, don't be angry." The woman tilted her head, sounding as though she were acting cute.
Her hand did not stop moving.
Her fingers slid down from Ye Yuan's Adam's apple, lightly undoing the button of his collar.
"I just like Teacher too much. I like you so much that I don't know what to do."
"You..." Before Ye Yuan could speak, the woman's fingers had already slipped into his collar.
Her icy fingertips slowly glided across his chest muscles, and the sensation made Ye Yuan's body tense involuntarily.
"Teacher, do you know?"
The woman bent down, her lips nearly touching Ye Yuan's ear as warm breath brushed against his earlobe.
Ye Yuan felt a tingling numbness.
"From the day I first met Teacher, I knew I was finished."
"When all is said and done, Teacher, you were the one who wouldn't behave."
"Otherwise, why would Little Xue lock Teacher up?"
Ye Yuan said somewhat fearfully, "L-Little Xue, how about you get up first?"
"Undo Teacher's chains, and we can have a proper talk?"
Ye Yuan spoke cautiously.
He wanted to try breaking free from his restraints and obtain more useful information.
Suddenly, the woman named Little Xue's Soul Power surged wildly.
The pitiful, tender expression she had worn while acting cute vanished completely.
In its place was a face full of obsession and madness.
Before you continue