Amid laughter and playful banter, the two returned to Phoenix Perch Pavilion.
Long Jinyu was still caught between laughter and tears over the title "Little Junior Sister." He felt an even stronger urge to visit the genuine "Senior Sister," Zhang Lexuan, and at least make a familiar impression.
Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao continued teasing him with his new title, absentmindedly fanning the air beside her cheek.
"Why does the room feel a little stuffy..."
she muttered softly, feeling an inexplicable heat rise from the depths of her heart.
Although she was still joking around with Long Jinyu, the energy she had been forcing herself to maintain seemed to be rapidly fading. Her breathing grew slightly faster than usual, and an unnatural flush spread across her smooth cheeks, like phoenix feathers whose wingtips still smoldered with embers after passing through flames. Fine beads of sweat seeped from her temples, which she wiped away irritably with the back of her hand.
Long Jinyu had originally still been acting wild. Relishing the "leaderly bearing" he had displayed at the Medical Pavilion, as well as his great feat of impersonating Gu Yuena to scare off the Holy Spirit Cult, he imagined the Holy Son's shocked expression and felt rather pleased with himself.
But he quickly noticed that something was wrong with the person beside him. Ma Xiaotao's face was far too red, and her breathing was uneven.
"Senior Sister, your face is really red. Are you okay?" He put away his teasing and asked with concern.
Ma Xiaotao's heart skipped a beat. Forcing herself to remain calm, she even deliberately used a disgusted tone to conceal it. "I'm fine! I'm just tired from flying back while carrying you, you little pig! You... you should hurry back to your room and rest! No running around again!