"You..."
"Why are you just standing there? Say something. Is my liking you really that hard to accept?"
After waiting a while longer, Hu Liena saw that Lin Chuan had come back to his senses but still wasn't doing or saying anything. Her heart turned bitter, and her worry was plain to see.
But she forced down her unease, growing more and more despondent as despair took hold.
After despair came a crushing sense of emptiness. A tangled mix of resentment and helplessness spread from the depths of her heart.
Hu Liena's beautiful fox eyes filled with tears once more, and the light of hope in them died away.
After silently complaining about Giratina in his mind, Lin Chuan saw that Hu Liena was crying. He took a deep breath and reached out to wipe the tears from her face.
"Love is something I've never paid much attention to."
"Strength is what matters most. I've never given much thought to anything else."
"Other than getting stronger, I'm not very interested in much. Desire takes up very little space in my life—about as much as eating..."
"When I have to, I can give it up. When I'm busy, I can skip lunch."
Hu Liena's tears kept falling. Lin Chuan could only manage a rueful smile as he patiently wiped them away, one by one, and explained.
In the end, what he was trying to say was simply this:
"It's not that I don't care about you. It's just that I haven't thought of those feelings as love."
Hearing this, Hu Liena asked unwillingly,
"Then why can't you think of them that way? Is there someone you like? Is it Qian Renxue?"
The question gave Lin Chuan a real headache.
The forces governing this romance-ridden world must be at work. Apparently, falling in love wasn't optional.
Was he really supposed to just hand himself over?~~
"There's no one in that place. Qian Renxue and I have only met twice. You're overthinking it."
Learning that Lin Chuan didn't like anyone and was simply indifferent to romance made most of the disappointment in her heart fade.
But Giratina, who had fallen silent after Lin Chuan's complaints, started teasing him again.
"I think you like them all, don't you?"
"You didn't talk like that when you met Qian Renxue. She kept calling you 'big brother,' over and over. That doesn't sound like you've only met twice~"
"What a stubborn man, pretending that 'desire takes up very little space' in your life~"
"How do you say something like that with a straight face?"
Lin Chuan's expression darkened. He shot back,
"It's not that I'm a womanizer! I just want to give them a home. They're the ones who keep coveting my body."
He let out a long breath and said helplessly to Hu Liena,
"You don't have to use your charm on me. With your strength, you can't bewitch me. My spiritual power has reached Spirit Saint level, and it's comparable to that of a Soul Douluo."
"These illusions won't do much to me. I can keep my body under control, and I won't lose my reason."
His focus really wasn't on romance right now. He could always think about these things after becoming a Titled Douluo.
He was also planning to stabilize his Soul Power before absorbing the Evil God Bead.
Just as he was about to keep trying to talk Hu Liena around,
her cheeks had already flushed, and she had curled up in his arms, limp and trembling.
Her warm breath and the feel of her soft body against him put Lin Chuan through an ordeal.
At last, he could only sigh in resignation.
"You up there on the roof, stop using that aphrodisiac."
"This was supposed to be something we both wanted. Doing that makes it look like I'm the culprit."
At an inopportune moment, Hu Liena wrapped her pale arms around Lin Chuan's neck and buried her face against it. Her voice trembled.
"I like you. I'd like anything you did. It's not because of the drug..."
Seeing that Lin Chuan still didn't react, sitting there like a stubborn old tortoise,
the sentimental woman on the roof couldn't stand to watch any longer.
"The girl's being so direct, and you still won't say yes?"
"Being in love won't get in the way of your little cultivation routine. You really are as stubborn and old-fashioned as ever."
"You obviously like her, but you keep dragging it out. She's practically come right to your door, and you're still unmoved. You can't let yourself get this feeble while you're so young."
The woman's words left Lin Chuan puzzled.
After screening out her lewd remarks, he sent out his spiritual power to sense her, only for it to be gently blocked by another powerful wave of spiritual energy.
From the way she spoke, it seemed they had known each other for a long time.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have said, "You really are as stubborn and old-fashioned as ever."
But Lin Chuan had never been particularly close to any other women at Spirit Hall.
Her spiritual power prevented him from sensing the details, but her level was at least eighty-five.
Hu Liena had buried her face against Lin Chuan's neck. Her warm breath made it difficult for him to endure.
Since he did have feelings for her, and she had practically been placed right in front of him, refusing would be a waste!
So Lin Chuan's lips curved into a smile.
"She has a point. Strength is certainly important, but there's also the saying, 'You miss your chance when you leave the village.'"
"I'll work hard to get stronger from now on."
"But before that, it would be better if you left, senior. It's embarrassing with someone watching."
The woman on the roof clicked her tongue.
Still, as Lin Chuan sensed through his spiritual power, she left.
The girl in his arms had already shed most of her clothes in the heat, and her body trembled slightly with nervousness.
In Lin Chuan's arms, she felt weak all over.
Her face was burning red, as if she were in a steam room.
Looking at her alluring expression, Lin Chuan's lips curled into a mischievous smile.
She had practically offered herself to him.
At first, he had held back out of respect for her and her goals. Now, he would do so out of respect for himself.
"Nervous?"
"Too late."
With that, he took off Hu Liena's shoes.
Her pale, delicate feet were exposed to the air.
They were translucent, rosy white, with perfectly curved arches and slender enough to fit in his hand.
Hu Liena's initiative left Lin Chuan with no reservations. He turned her over onto the soft bed and leaned down to kiss her.
The next morning.
The sun rose in the east. Warm light slanted through the window they had left open the night before, leaving a crooked patch of light on the floor.
Lin Chuan woke up in bed with a yawn, feeling refreshed.
They had spent the previous afternoon together until well past midnight before finally falling asleep.
But his regular body clock meant that even after a poor night's rest, he still woke around the same time.
Hu Liena lay in his arms, her lovely figure pressed quietly against his firm abs.
He gently straightened the strands of hair still clinging to her cheek. Seeing how exhausted she looked, Lin Chuan slowly got out of bed.
He moved very carefully, but still woke Hu Liena. She stirred, her eyes hazy.
Memories of the previous day came flooding back, bringing her instantly to her senses.
Seeing their state, Hu Liena shyly reached for her clothes.
But as soon as she moved, the soreness in her body made her wince.