"Cough, cough..."
Su Chen gave a dry cough, then quickly changed the subject.
"Senior, what's your Martial Soul? I heard Sister Mu Xi say you really love running. Is that related to your Martial Soul too?"
He'd always been curious about Ouyang Zixin's Martial Soul. After all, it didn't seem to have been mentioned in detail in the original story.
"You guessed that?"
Ouyang Zixin glanced at Su Chen in surprise, then answered with a smile. "That's right. My Martial Soul is a horse, an agility-type Beast Martial Soul called the Gale Spirit Colt. Speed is my strong suit, so running is both a workout and a way to enjoy my Martial Soul's abilities."
Because of her Martial Soul, she'd loved running ever since she was little.
"The Gale Spirit Colt..."
Su Chen nodded to show he understood, then asked without thinking, "Then, Senior, when you use Martial Soul Possession... can someone ride you?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Su Chen regretted them.
That question was a little too forward...
Sure enough, Ouyang Zixin's pretty face instantly turned bright red.
"Of course not, you idiot! You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"
Ouyang Zixin reached over and gave Su Chen's arm a light pinch, her voice tinged with obvious embarrassment.
"No wonder Mu Xi always says you're a little improper... You're so young, and already picking up bad habits!"
"Haha..." Su Chen gave an awkward laugh and hurriedly waved his hands in explanation. "Don't be mad, Senior. I didn't mean it~"
But seeing Ouyang Zixin looking both embarrassed and annoyed, Su Chen found her kind of cute.
"You little rascal! You're asking for a beating!" Ouyang Zixin glared at him again. "Hurry up and keep up. Say any more nonsense, and I'll beat you up!"
Su Chen quickly caught up.
But he knew Ouyang Zixin wasn't really angry.
After all, Ouyang Zixin's affection level had already reached 27 points, and it had just gone up by two.
The two of them continued running, chatting as they went.
It was a chance for them to get to know each other better.
"Whew... That's about enough. That was a pretty satisfying run."
Ouyang Zixin slowed down and finally stopped, breathing lightly.
She stretched her limbs and took a few deep breaths.
"Yeah, loosening up a bit really does feel good."
Su Chen stopped too, adjusting his breathing.
His physique was formidable. This much exercise was only a warm-up for him and wouldn't even count as training.
After they finished stretching, the two sat down side by side on the grass.
The cool night breeze swept past, carrying away the heat of their workout and bringing a refreshing touch of air.
It had been dark for a while. Quite a few men and women had gathered on the track, including plenty of couples.
Ouyang Zixin hugged her knees and watched the scattered figures on the track. Suddenly, as if she'd thought of something, a sly smile curled her lips.
"Mm, we've been running for so long. My feet are getting a little sore." She spoke softly, then turned to Su Chen, her bright eyes glinting with mischief. "Little Chen, would you give your senior a foot massage?"
Before Su Chen could react, she took off her right shoe, revealing a small foot wrapped in a pure white athletic sock.
Then, as naturally as could be, she lifted her foot and slipped it into Su Chen's lap.
"Huh? Senior, this... this doesn't seem right."
Su Chen was completely stunned. A warm little foot had suddenly appeared in his lap.
He even instinctively raised a hand and rubbed his nose...
"What?"
Ouyang Zixin glared at him. "Don't you dare complain! It doesn't even smell! Get on with it!"
Her tone was a little domineering, but also utterly matter-of-fact.
Su Chen understood at once.
This was definitely revenge!
Revenge for his earlier, ill-advised question about whether someone could ride her.
"Fine, fine..."
Su Chen reluctantly cradled her white-socked foot. It really was quite light in his hands, and even through the sock he could feel her slender ankle and the curve of her arch.
He tentatively pressed and rubbed the sole of her foot with his thumb.
"Hmm..." Ouyang Zixin suddenly narrowed her eyes and gave him a probing look. "You've got pretty good technique... Come clean. Do you often massage girls' feet? You're way too practiced."
"Not at all."
Su Chen denied it with a perfectly straight face.
The most he'd ever done was wash Na'er's feet or rub her calves when she acted spoiled. It wasn't as if he did it often...
"Hmph, I don't believe you."
Ouyang Zixin pursed her lips, her face clearly saying, "Who do you think you're fooling?"
"Haha, Senior, it's getting late. Why don't we head back and get some rest?" Su Chen hurriedly changed the subject.
Ouyang Zixin's little foot was being a bit too restless. Su Chen felt that if this went on, he was going to embarrass himself.
There was one more reason: he needed to go home and shower, so Na'er wouldn't smell Ouyang Zixin's scent on him...
"All right, all right. I'll stop teasing you. That's enough for today." Ouyang Zixin didn't push things too far and pulled her foot back.
"Senior, let me put your shoe on."
Seeing that, Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief and offered to put her shoe on for her.
A moment later, the two stood up.
Ouyang Zixin stretched leisurely, extending her graceful figure.
"Click!"
Seizing the chance, Su Chen took out his camera and snapped a picture.
[Check-in successful~ Reward: Spirit Power +1, Strength +1, Constitution +1...]
A photo quickly developed, capturing Ouyang Zixin as she stretched her lovely figure.
"You silly junior, that's not how you sneak a photo!" Ouyang Zixin shot Su Chen a look.
Why would anyone make a sound while sneaking a photo?
"What do you mean, sneaking a photo? I'm just recording everyday life~"
Su Chen looked at the photo and smiled. "Time never stops flowing, but a camera can capture beautiful moments and freeze them forever~"
"You're so young, but you talk like a philosopher. Still, taking just one photo is a little selfish, don't you think?"
As she spoke, Ouyang Zixin moved right up beside Su Chen, then hugged him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.
Before Su Chen could react, she took the camera from his hands and snapped a photo of herself and Su Chen together.
"Click—"
The photo developed in no time.
"Pfft!"
Looking at Su Chen's slightly dazed expression in the picture, Ouyang Zixin found him especially cute and couldn't help covering her mouth as she giggled.
"Senior, why'd you take such an ugly picture of me? I wasn't ready! Take another!" Su Chen panicked and reached for the photo.
But Ouyang Zixin nimbly dodged him.
"What ugly picture? You look adorable. Keep my photo, and you can have this one. That's that~"
"I'm heading off. I'll come find you tomorrow so we can run together again~"
With that, Ouyang Zixin made her escape, leaving Su Chen standing there, dumbfounded.
Su Chen put the photos away, then turned and left.
Before going home, Su Chen showered outside...
"Big brother~"
As soon as Su Chen walked in, Na'er sensed him and rushed over, then took several big sniffs of him.
It was clearly her usual inspection, checking whether Su Chen had been up to anything bad while he was out.
"Big brother, why did you shower outside? Were you doing something bad?" Na'er stared straight at Su Chen, her eyes filled with hurt and resentment.
Although Na'er's memories hadn't fully awakened yet, she was already remarkably clever, nothing like a six-year-old child.
"What do you mean, doing something bad? I went running with my senior this afternoon, and I was all sweaty. Of course I had to wash up. Otherwise, you'd definitely complain about the smell." Su Chen explained.
"Hmph, I'd never complain about you, big brother~" Na'er grumbled.
Although Su Chen had gone running with his senior behind her back,
at least he hadn't lied to her.
That did make Na'er feel quite a bit better.
After all, Su Chen had a life of his own. She couldn't stop him from spending time with other girls.
It was a good thing Su Chen came home on time every day and could keep her company at night. She shouldn't be greedy.
"Come on, come on. We haven't had dinner yet..."
Su Chen rubbed his stomach, picked Na'er up, and headed to the dining hall, planning to eat his fill.
He and Na'er were both growing, so eating three, four, five, six, seven, or even eight meals a day was perfectly normal.
PS: The original story never specified Ouyang Zixin's exact Martial Soul. All Dragon King fanfics make it up, so it can be anything. It won't be too weak, but it won't be too strong either.
In the original story, Ouyang Zixin was Tang Wulin's first love and senior, but after Tang Wulin left East Sea, she was never mentioned again.
Before you continue