Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling arrived at the villa on the back mountain side by side. The evening breeze rustled through the bamboo forest. Neither of them spoke a word along the way.
"Knock, knock, knock." Dugu Yan knocked on the door.
The door was quickly opened, and an enticing aroma of food instantly wafted into their nostrils. Xiao Wu opened the door, and when she saw Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling standing in the doorway, she was taken aback at first, but then a warm smile appeared on her face.
"Oh, Sister Yanzi, Sister Lingling! Come in quickly!" Xiao Wu stepped aside and called into the house, " Gu Tian, Sister Yanzi and the others are here!"
In the villa's first-floor dining room, Gu Tian, Gu Yue, Na'er, Ning Rongrong, and Xue Ke sat around the table. The table was laden with delicious-looking dishes: braised pork, sweet and sour pork, Mapo tofu... These were all novel dishes that Gu Tian had personally guided or cooked based on recipes from his past life. In this world, they were simply delicacies. When Xue Ke tasted them, she exclaimed that even the royal chefs couldn't make them.
"You've come at the perfect time! We were just about to have dinner." Xiao Wu pulled the two of them to sit down. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Come and try Brother Gu Tian's cooking!"
Ye Lingling looked at the uniquely shaped and fragrant dishes on the table and couldn't help but swallow. Ning Rongrong, sitting beside her, proudly introduced, "These are all exclusive recipes written by Brother Gu Tian. There's only one like them on the entire continent! I guarantee that after you eat them, you won't even look at the royal banquets."
The two tried a few bites out of curiosity, and their eyes immediately lit up. The distinct layers of flavor and the unprecedented seasoning instantly won over their taste buds.
"This is so delicious..." Dugu Yan mumbled between mouthfuls of pork tenderloin, " Gu Tian, if you opened a restaurant in the city with this skill, all the nobles would be lining up to wear down your door. Ah, I really envy Rongrong and the others. I wish we could eat this kind of delicious food every day."
"Of course!"
Na'er, who was engrossed in eating, suddenly looked up, her mouth still stuffed with half a braised lion's head meatball, and mumbled, "Why don't you and Sister Lingling stay here too and become Brother Gu Tian's wives? That way you can eat together every day!"
"Pfft--cough cough!"
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling choked almost simultaneously, their pretty faces instantly turning red to the roots of their necks.
" Na'er, don't talk nonsense!" Dugu Yan glared at Na'er, embarrassed and annoyed, but her heart was pounding like a drum.
Princess Xue Ke, standing to the side, couldn't help but speak up at this moment. She put down her chopsticks and looked at Na'er seriously. "How can that be? Na'er, have you forgotten? Sister Lingling likes Rongrong! She likes girls, how can she be Brother Gu Tian's wife?"
As soon as Xue Ke said this, the once lively dinner table fell into a deathly silence.
Ning Rongrong recalled the terrifying experience of being forcibly kissed by Ye Lingling that night, her pretty face instantly turning pale with a flush, so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under the table. Gu Tian, on the other hand, looked completely bewildered, his spoon frozen in mid-air, and asked in confusion, "What's going on? Sister Lingling, you... could it be that you really like Rongrong?"
Ye Lingling's originally fair and jade-like face was now so red that it was almost dripping blood. She felt Gu Tian's inquisitive gaze and Dugu Yan's ghost-like look, and wished she could faint on the spot.
Just as Xue Ke was about to add more details about what happened in bed that day, Ye Lingling reacted quickly and covered Xue Ke's mouth with her hand.
"Stop talking! It's a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!"
Ye Lingling, her voice trembling with anxiety, desperately tried to explain to Gu Tian, " Gu Tian, don't listen to her nonsense! I don't like girls at all! That day... that day was just to stop Rongrong from being with you... no, it was to cover up my desire to go see you... oh dear!"
The more Ye Lingling explained, the more confused she became. Finally, she gave up and shouted, "I was lying to Rongrong! I don't like girls!"
"Oh?" Na'er blinked her big eyes, tilted her head, and asked, "Then why was Sister Lingling in Sister Rongrong's bed so late that night? Could it be... you were after Brother Gu Tian? But, sneaking into Brother Gu Tian's room in the middle of the night..."
Dugu Yan was completely stunned. She stared blankly at Ye Lingling, who was covered in sweat and filled with shame and indignation, her mind racing through everything that had happened recently.
No wonder! No wonder Ye Lingling has been sticking to Gu Tian like a leech whenever she wanted to see him alone Gu Tian; no wonder Ye Lingling has been finding all sorts of excuses to stop her whenever she wanted to stay overnight.
"Ye, Ling, Ling!" Dugu Yan spat out these three words through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with the absurdity of being betrayed by her best friend. "What you told me before about being afraid I'd get too deeply involved, about Yu Tianheng being heartbroken—was it all a lie? You actually wanted to keep it all to yourself?!"
Seeing that the truth could no longer be concealed, Ye Lingling's shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon. She lowered her head with a hint of grievance and confessed the truth in a barely audible voice:
"I... I was just afraid you'd snatch Gu Tian away from me... who told you to improve so quickly lately..."
Hearing their conversation, everyone stopped what they were doing. The air in the restaurant seemed to freeze, with only the bubbling sound of the hot pot broth remaining.
Zhu Zhuqing and Gu Yue covered their mouths in shock, their eyes filled with disbelief. Even the usually composed Xiao Wu nearly dropped the carrot she was holding into the pot. Her mouth agape, she blurted out, "Wait, what do you two mean? This sounds so strange! Senior Lingling... you actually like Gu Tian?"
Ye Lingling's face was already flushed, but since her fig leaf had been torn away, she simply raised her head, looked directly into Gu Tian's eyes, and spoke with a hint of resignation:
"Actually, I didn't have this idea at first. I just saw that Yanzi's strength improved too ridiculously during that period. Whether it was her Soul Power or the purity of her Martial Soul, she was like a completely different person. I guessed that she had made some kind of... special secret deal with Gu Tian in private, after all, he is so lecherous. I was curious, so I kept investigating Gu Tian in secret, trying to find something to use against him."
Ye Lingling paused, a complex emotion flashing in her cool eyes. "But, as I investigated, I realized... I seem to be falling deeper and deeper into it. Gu Tian, you have too many secrets, so many that it's irresistible to want to get closer."
"What kind of deal is this!" Dugu Yan jumped up and down anxiously, loudly protesting, "That was a backlash from my Martial Soul! If it hadn't been dealt with in time, I would have almost lost my life, and of course my cultivation speed wouldn't have increased. Gu Tian was just helping me detoxify; it's not as sordid as you think!"
"Antidote?" Ye Lingling glanced at her sideways, her tone tinged with a hint of sourness as she questioned, "Then you said Gu Tian gave you some precious herbs, right? Those miraculous items that even your grandfather marveled at, could they also be part of the antidote?"
Dugu Yan was taken aback, and shrank her neck guiltily, the image of the ninth-grade Ganoderma lucidum that had transformed her appeared in her mind.
Seeing this, Princess Xue Ke couldn't help but interject, "That's the Immortal Herb in Brother Gu Tian's hand. After I took it, my Martial Soul also mutated."
Upon hearing this, Ye Lingling could no longer conceal the longing in her eyes. She looked at Gu Tian, even with a hint of pleading. " Gu Tian, I want one too... I want to become stronger. The destiny of the Nine Heart Begonia lineage is too heavy; I need greater power to protect my family."
"Why should I give it to you?" Dugu Yan crossed her arms like a protective hen. "That's Gu Tian's personal property. You're nobody to him."
Ye Lingling pursed her lips, her gaze shifting between Dugu Yan and Gu Tian, before suddenly revealing an extremely cunning smile, " Yanzi, if you can put in a good word for me, I can keep your secrets about those late-night affairs between you and Gu Tian at the villa forever. I can even cover for you at the academy, ensuring that Yu Tianheng can't find any fault with you. What do you think of this deal?"
Upon hearing this, Dugu Yan froze. Looking at Ye Lingling's confident expression, and then at Gu Tian beside her, she began to struggle internally. If she really had a good best friend to help cover for her, it would certainly save her a lot of trouble sneaking into the villa in the future...
"Oh dear, what's all this about!"
Gu Tian finally couldn't take it anymore. He helplessly slammed his hand on the table, interrupting the increasingly erratic transaction between the two girls.