The Reason

After sharing her thoughts, Zhang Lexuan leaned back against the chair, her arms crossed over her chest.

Her already graceful, perfect figure became even more eye-catching as her casual movement accentuated her curves.

Unfortunately, the only young man present was lost in thought, with no mind to admire her.

'Sigh, this big sister is really hard to fool.'

'I only let a little slip, and she can follow it in the right direction.'

'This is tricky...'

Just as Ning Huan was fretting over it, Zhang Lexuan took the initiative and offered him an out.

"From the look of you, I assume you can't reveal any more of what's going on behind the scenes. Let's leave the matter there."

As her voice fell, she leaned forward, clutched a handkerchief, and wiped the beads of sweat that had trickled unconsciously down his forehead.

Her every word and action was thoughtful and gentle, making it hard not to like her even more.

"Now I'm more curious about why you brought the subject up yourself just now."

"From my perspective, pretending you knew nothing and waiting for me to leave on my own would've been more in your interest."

"You know the saying about sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, don't you~"

"Uh..."

Ning Huan hesitated at her words.

The woman before him wore a smile, but her manner left no room for doubt. He almost felt as if she'd seen through his little scheme.

"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Hm?"

At that, Zhang Lexuan blinked, and her interest immediately stirred.

"Let's hear the lie first."

"I saw how pitiful your background was, and just now you looked so pitiful that anyone would feel for you. I couldn't bring myself to keep using you..."

"And the truth?"

"..."

"..."

Silence, like Cambridge at dawn...

"What? Is it hard to say?"

"Not really. I'm mainly afraid of getting beaten up."

"Hmph. You dared scheme against me to my face, and now you're afraid of that?"

Zhang Lexuan chuckled. Her expression was inscrutable, and there was not a hint of displeasure in her manner.

"Go on. I won't lay a hand on you."

"Besides, we're more or less partners in interest right now. It wouldn't be good to keep too much from each other~"

Those words left Ning Huan no room to refuse.

After all, she wasn't wrong.

If she didn't know, that would've been one thing.

He could've just let things take their course and allowed events to unfold.

But if he put the matter out in the open and still refused to explain, the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.

With no other choice, Ning Huan slowly laid out what he'd been thinking.

"Actually, the scheme began the moment you stepped into the library."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhang Lexuan's expression darkened.

Her surging Soul Power startled him into raising both hands in a placating gesture.

"Don't look at me like that. You should know how special the [Moon] Martial Soul is."

"Handled properly, anyone who got their hands on it could reap enormous benefits."

"Of course, unlike the others, I had the opportunity—and the nerve—to follow through."

As he spoke, he picked up the history book from the table, his tone suddenly turning icy.

"But the problem is, you're too clever. I knew I couldn't keep it from you for long."

"Given the circumstances, instead of letting you discover it and turning you into an enemy for good..."

"I figured I might as well come clean while I still could and win some goodwill."

"While you still could?" Zhang Lexuan said instinctively. "So you were sure you had me figured out!"

The next moment, Ning Huan nodded lightly.

Then, as she stared at him in bafflement, he shook his head.

"Mm, I won't deny that."

"But even if you exposed me, it wouldn't matter much to me."

"You read the book yourself, and the secrets were your own deductions. Even with our conversation just now, at most I've only played a supporting role."

"With the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect behind me, no matter how overbearing Shrek gets, they won't dare do anything to me openly."

"Unless you're willing to drag me down with you at any cost."

"But would you do that, when you still have your family's grudge to settle?"

"...No."

After forcing out those two words, Zhang Lexuan expressionlessly withdrew her Soul Power.

Then she stared wide-eyed at Ning Huan, studying him as though she wanted to engrave his image in her mind.

'The boy looks harmless, but he's covered in schemes from head to toe...'

'You really can't judge a book by its cover!'

Was his plan flawless?

In all honesty, it was riddled with holes.

His clumsy guidance.

The countless loopholes in his words.

And his misjudgment of how Shrek operated, among other things...

Any one of them could have brought the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect to ruin.

But he'd latched onto the most crucial point of all.

Her.

Ning Huan had been certain from the very beginning that once she learned half the truth, she wouldn't keep going along with Shrek.

That meant she herself would fill in all the gaps in his scheme.

A perfect closed loop.

And, as it happened, both of them had gotten what they wanted without losing anything.

Beyond complaining that he'd schemed against her, she couldn't find any reason to take him to task.

How infuriating!

At the same time, Ning Huan saw Zhang Lexuan's tightly furrowed brows begin to ease, and continued:

"You can't let go of the past, so you'll choose to keep everything hidden."

"And since you'll hide it from everyone, I'll be safe."

"This loop is crude, but it works. The only way it could be broken is if you settled your old grudge or let go of the past."

"As for me..."

But before he could finish, that familiar, gentle voice interrupted him again.

"So you chose to come clean because you thought it would win my goodwill."

"In reality, you were making a new choice that would benefit you more, based on the choice I was bound to make anyway."

"You wanted to force me to set aside my doubts sooner, stand on the same side as you, and reduce the unknown risks at the same time."

"But you trust someone you've never met before this much?"

Ning Huan was at a loss for words, unsure how to answer her.

He wanted to brush the question aside with some vague reply, but her eyes, soft as polished jade, left him helpless.

'Sigh, I can't just tell you, "I've known about you for a long time"...'

There was no doubt about it: he couldn't say that!

It would be no different from confessing without being asked!

So he racked his brains and finally came up with a simple, all-purpose answer.

"People's looks and mannerisms often reflect their true nature."

"You're beautiful and gentle, so it's unlikely you're dangerous."

"Besides, there's a huge profit sitting right in front of me. Why not take a gamble? An Ice Silkworm could turn into a butterfly."

Mm!

A reasonable answer!

First, compliment her in a roundabout way, then bring up the profit!

Nothing wrong with that!

"Hmm~ So can I take that to mean you like big sisters?"

"I've got a precedent, and I don't mind eating young grass. The only problem is that childhood fiancé of yours..."

"Want to think up a way to deal with him?"

"You're clever, after all~"

"Pfft...!!"

This big sister had gone freaking crazy!

Bei Bei was Mu En's only outstanding descendant!

How capable would I have to be to take him down?!

Wait...

Why wasn't my first thought to say no?

As he lowered his head in silence, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out.

"Hehe, your reaction was so cute. Now we're even."

Ning Huan, his expression stiff: "..."

Damn it!

So she'd gotten one over on him after all!

Beautiful women were all liars. The ancients had spoken true!