"Thank you, young master."
"If I sleep here, I'm sure I'll have the sweetest dream."
How could Zhu Zhuqing possibly resist? It felt as if a feather were lightly tickling the depths of her heart, leaving her unbearably itchy. She eagerly climbed onto Xiao Yexuan's bed.
She wrapped her arms around the blanket he had used. The soft bedding was warm from the sunshine, and her cheeks instantly flushed a tempting rosy red.
She buried her face in the bedding and took a deep breath.
Xiao Yexuan's crisp, distinctive scent, mixed with a faint fragrance of grass and plants, instantly filled her nose, leaving her utterly intoxicated and completely at ease.
Her legs rubbed together involuntarily, her delicate skin brushing against the sheets as a strange heat rose through her body.
A thought even surfaced in her heart, beyond her control.
I want so badly to be cherished by Xiao Yexuan.
"Ah, young master, yesterday I ran all over the place looking for medicinal herbs for you..."
Ning Rongrong's voice rang out at just the right moment, tinged with a weak, nasal whine.
"My head feels so dizzy now, and so heavy. I feel awful. I think... I think I'm sleepy too."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing lying on the bed, hugging Xiao Yexuan's blanket with a look of contentment, Ning Rongrong was instantly overcome with envy.
Her eyes darted around. A flash of inspiration struck, and she quickly raised a hand to her forehead.
She lowered her brows deliberately, putting on an unsteady, dizzy, about-to-fall expression.
Ning Rongrong was being far too obvious.
She clearly just wanted to claim Xiao Yexuan's bed for herself.
That excuse was downright perfunctory.
But Xiao Yexuan didn't call her out. Instead, he wore a gentle smile, indulgence in his eyes, and said softly:
"Miss Rongrong, if you don't mind, you can lie down here and get some sleep."
"Really? Thank you, young master!"
Ning Rongrong was instantly overjoyed. Her eyes shone like two stars, and she looked so excited that there wasn't a hint of sleepiness about her.
Perhaps realizing how obvious her reaction had been, she quickly composed herself, pressed a hand to her head again, and pretended to be in terrible pain.
With unsteady steps, she made her way toward Xiao Yexuan's bed.
Seeing this, Xiao Yexuan stepped forward and, with the poise of someone helping an old lady cross the street, carefully supported the pretend-suffering Ning Rongrong to the bedside.
Ning Rongrong deftly kicked off her shoes, revealing her small, pale feet, then eagerly climbed onto the bed too.
Following Zhu Zhuqing's example, she hugged Xiao Yexuan's blanket tightly and brought her nose close to smell it, her face filled with satisfaction.
Her joy and excitement were practically written all over her face.
Seeing that both of them were lying in bed and their breathing had gradually settled, Xiao Yexuan didn't disturb them any further.
He turned and left the room, then gently shut the door behind him. His movements were so light that he didn't make a sound, for fear of disturbing the people inside and their sweet dreams.
When he reached the courtyard and saw the medicinal herbs piled high across it, their many colors dazzling to the eye and their rich fragrance filling the air, Xiao Yexuan couldn't help scratching his head.
It would probably take quite a while to sort through all this.
Then Xiao Yexuan rolled up his sleeves and sorted the mountain of herbs according to their types and medicinal properties.
He put the heat-clearing, toxin-removing herbs into one group, the vitality-restoring ones into another, and set the rare herbs aside.
He packed them into different wooden boxes, then arranged the boxes neatly in their designated spots along the wall.
As he worked, he couldn't help marveling at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's vast wealth.
And at the resources of little rich girl Ning Rongrong.
It felt as if Ning Rongrong had brought every medicinal herb from every apothecary in Heaven Dou City and dumped them all here.
There were several piles of precious herbs that were usually hard to find.
Though these herbs weren't as fine as the Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, this was Heaven Dou City, after all.
The Heaven Dou Empire wasn't as warlike and bloodthirsty as the Star Luo Empire. It excelled instead at commerce, with bustling trade and a thriving economy.
Almost every rare treasure on the entire continent eventually found its way here.
As Xiao Yexuan rummaged through the herbs, he found quite a few good things.
He casually opened a fine wooden box and discovered that it even contained Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber!
The Whale Rubber was a pale golden color and gave off a faint sea scent. At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary treasure.
Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber was a rare treasure. It could greatly improve a Soul Master's constitution and temper their bones and muscles, allowing them to withstand higher-year Soul Rings when absorbing one.
But on Douluo Continent, Soul Masters usually just swallowed such natural treasures whole. What a waste.
At that thought, Xiao Yexuan came up with a plan.
He would use the Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber with other herbs to refine pills suited to his needs.
Just as Xiao Yexuan had found several herbs that could be combined with the Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber,
and was preparing to study them, a small pink figure came skipping to the entrance of his home.
Xiao Wu gazed at the dazzling array of herbs filling the courtyard. Her small nose twitched as their rich, woody fragrance wafted toward her, making her feel refreshed and lifting her spirits.
Her true form was a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit, so she had an innate sensitivity to natural treasures like these.
Looking at so many precious herbs, she couldn't help smacking her lips, her pink tongue licking the corner of her mouth.
She nearly lost control of her instincts and swallowed every last one of these treasures.
But Xiao Wu didn't do that.
She had learned from childhood to respect boundaries. Since these things were in Xiao Yexuan's courtyard, they must belong to her young master.
She couldn't just touch them.
"Young master, why are there so many medicinal herbs in the courtyard? Did Rongrong come by?"
Xiao Wu's voice was clear and sweet, touched with curiosity.
So many rare herbs represented an astronomical fortune.
As far as Xiao Wu knew, only little rich girl Ning Rongrong could come up with so many treasures.
Xiao Yexuan was focused on studying the herbs in his hand. Hearing Xiao Wu's voice, he looked up and smiled at her warmly.
Then he raised a finger to his lips and gently gestured for her to be quiet.
After that, he lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear him.
"Xiao Wu, don't speak so loudly."
"Zhuqing and Rongrong are sleeping in the room."
"What?! Zhu Zhuqing and Rongrong are sleeping in your bed!? Wuuuu..."
Xiao Yexuan's words struck Xiao Wu like a thunderclap. Her eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't help blurting out a startled cry.
Xiao Yexuan was genuinely worried that Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing would wake up, so he hurried forward and covered Xiao Wu's mouth with his hand.
His warm palm rested against her soft lips, carrying a faint medicinal fragrance.
Xiao Wu's eyes were still full of shock, mixed with deep jealousy and disbelief.
Her watery eyes looked at Xiao Yexuan, and she seemed on the verge of tears.
She had never imagined Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong would climb into Xiao Yexuan's bed so quickly!
Had she been the only one who obediently returned to the dormitory after they parted yesterday and gone to sleep like a good girl?
While Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had already come to Xiao Yexuan's place and shared his bed all night?
At the thought, Xiao Wu's face turned bright red in an instant, even the tips of her ears becoming a tempting pink. She was burning up.
Her small hands clenched involuntarily, and her body trembled despite herself.
Now that Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were sound asleep in bed, didn't that prove just how long they'd been busy last night—and how much fun they'd had?
She felt as if she had missed out on a whole fortune!
Xiao Yexuan only had to glance at Xiao Wu's expression to know the little girl was imagining all sorts of nonsense again.
So he slowly took his hand away from her mouth. His fingertips still tingled with the softness of her lips as he patiently explained:
"Xiao Wu, it isn't what you think."
"Miss Zhuqing and Miss Rongrong ran all over Heaven Dou City's apothecaries yesterday to get all these herbs for me. They barely slept at all, and they were exhausted."
"They were completely worn out, so I let them lie down on my bed and get some rest."
Before you continue