Her bright, limpid almond eyes still held a trace of sleepiness. But the moment they met Fu Qin's slightly bewildered gaze, the haze vanished, replaced by overwhelming joy and excitement.
"Fu Qin! You're awake!" Xiao Wu cried. Unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself into Fu Qin's arms, wrapped both arms tightly around his neck, and buried her cheek against his chest. Her voice carried a hint of a sob.
"Thank goodness! You finally woke up! I thought you'd sleep for ages!"
Her soft body pressed tightly against him, her sweet scent drifting beneath his nose. Feeling her warmth in his arms, Fu Qin's exhaustion faded by half in an instant.
He gently patted Xiao Wu's back. "Sorry for worrying you, Sister Xiao Wu. I'm fine."
[Xiao Wu Affection +20, Current Affection: 1150 points] [Xiao Wu's thoughts: It's good that little brother Fu Qin woke up! From now on, I'll stay by his side every day and never let him fall into danger again!]
"Cough, cough."
A soft cough came from the doorway, interrupting the tender moment between them.
Fu Qin and Xiao Wu looked up at the same time. Tang San stood in the doorway with a warm smile on his face and a food box in his hand.
When he saw Xiao Wu embracing Fu Qin, he showed no displeasure at all. Instead, he smiled understandingly.
Under the influence of the Intelligence-Reducing Halo, Tang San's thoughts were simple and pure.
Xiao Wu was his future wife, and Fu Qin was a brother who had saved his life.
Xiao Wu was embracing Fu Qin so excitedly because she must have felt guilty.
After all, Fu Qin had fallen into danger saving her, then spent so much of his energy saving Tang San himself.
So this was just a sister's gratitude and concern for her little brother. It couldn't be more normal.
"Fu Qin, I'm glad you're awake." Tang San walked into the room, set the food box on the table, and smiled sincerely.
"You spent so much spiritual power saving me. I, Tang San, will never forget what you did for me."
Fu Qin chuckled to himself, but his face showed gratitude. "You're too kind, Brother San. We're all poor kids from the same village. Of course we should look out for each other."
He knew exactly what Tang San was thinking. The Intelligence-Reducing Halo really was powerful. It had turned this reincarnated God King into a complete "blockhead"—he could even come up with such a reasonable explanation for his own wife embracing another man.
Tang San smiled and nodded, his eyes full of appreciation and gratitude for Fu Qin.
In his eyes, Fu Qin was not only powerful, but also beyond reproach in character. A brother like that deserved his sincere friendship.
Just then, the door opened again. Ning Rongrong walked in carrying an exquisitely designed insulated food container. The bowl inside gave off the rich aroma of chicken soup. "Brother Fu Qin, I made you chicken soup. Hurry and—"
Ning Rongrong hadn't finished speaking when she saw Fu Qin and Xiao Wu embracing. The smile on her face froze, and a strong hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes.
She hurried over, set the chicken soup on the bedside table, planted her hands on her hips, and addressed Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu! How can you hug Brother Fu Qin? You're Tang San's girlfriend! That's so inappropriate!"
Ning Rongrong's tone carried a touch of spoiled indignation, along with a hint of grievance that was hard to detect.
In her heart, Brother Fu Qin belonged to her. Even if Xiao Wu was close to him, she couldn't just hug him like that, especially not in front of everyone!
Xiao Wu lifted her head from Fu Qin's arms and declared, "Rongrong, you've got it wrong! Fu Qin is my little brother. A big sister hugging her little brother is only natural!"
As she spoke, she made sure to keep both arms wrapped tightly around Fu Qin's, as if staking her claim.
"Little brother?" Ning Rongrong furrowed her brows, clearly unconvinced.
"What kind of big sister hugs her little brother like that? Brother Fu Qin is single. You'll make people get the wrong idea!"
"I'm not making anyone get the wrong idea!" Xiao Wu pouted and looked at Fu Qin with a hint of appeal in her eyes. "Brother Fu Qin, tell her I'm right!"
Fu Qin looked at the two beautiful young women vying for his attention. He patted the back of Xiao Wu's hand, then turned to Ning Rongrong, his voice gentle.
"Alright, Rongrong. Sister Xiao Wu was just worried about me. She didn't mean anything by it. Let me try the chicken soup you made—it smells delicious."
Ning Rongrong's expression softened at Fu Qin's words. She picked up a spoonful of chicken soup, blew on it, and brought it to Fu Qin's lips. "Alright, then. Hurry and try it. I spent ages making it!"
[Ning Rongrong Affection +10, Current Affection: 257 points]
Fu Qin opened his mouth and drank the soup. Its rich aroma spread through his mouth, warming both his heart and stomach. He smiled and nodded. "It's delicious. Rongrong, you're a great cook."
Tang San stood to the side, watching the scene with a pleased smile.
In his eyes, the way Fu Qin, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong interacted was truly heartwarming.
At that thought, he remembered Oscar's behavior in the Star Dou Forest.
"Heh, Oscar, Oscar. Since you're so hopelessly clueless, don't even think about getting together with Ning Rongrong in this life!"
Originally, Tang San had thought of Ning Rongrong as Oscar's wife.
But now, it seemed Oscar's character was truly terrible. It would be better to let his good brother Fu Qin get together with Ning Rongrong instead.
As for Oscar? If he didn't behave, he could forget about getting another Immortal Herb!
Watching Ning Rongrong feed Fu Qin soup, Xiao Wu felt a little jealous, too. But she held it back. Fu Qin had only just woken up and needed to be looked after.
She turned to Tang San. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she couldn't help laughing.
"By the way, Brother San, your third Soul Skill is so weird! It's Pole Vault, and you can leap a hundred meters into the air! Hahaha!"
Ning Rongrong nodded along, her face breaking into an amused smile.
"Yeah, yeah! When you showed it to us yesterday, I thought you were going to demonstrate some powerful Soul Skill. But it turned out to be Pole Vault! That's hilarious!"
Tang San looked a little embarrassed and scratched his head.
"Actually... I didn't expect it to turn out like this either. I thought absorbing a three-thousand-eight-hundred-year Soul Ring would give me a powerful attack Soul Skill. But in the end, I fused with the Soul Ring of a hundred-year-old Solitary Bamboo, and the Soul Skill turned out to be Pole Vault."
Although he thought the Soul Skill was a little strange, Tang San wasn't too dissatisfied.
As far as he was concerned, staying alive was the best possible outcome.
Pole Vault might not be an attack Soul Skill, but the ability to leap a hundred meters into the air could be quite useful for escaping or scouting.
As Fu Qin drank his chicken soup and listened to them, he secretly congratulated himself.
This was exactly the effect he wanted! Naturally, a hundred-year-old Solitary Bamboo Soul Ring couldn't give Tang San some powerful attack skill. A weird Soul Skill like Pole Vault was practically tailor-made as a "trap" for him.
Just imagine Tang San facing an enemy in the future. Everyone else would unleash powerful Soul Skills, while he could only pull out a bamboo pole and perform a pole vault to escape. The scene would be too funny for words.