Qian Renxue: Qin Feng, you are shameless!

Qin Feng met her gaze openly, walked over to the mahogany armchair at the side, and sat down, leisurely picking up a teacup to take a sip.

"Have you seen enough?"

Qin Feng set the cup down, a trace of languid amusement in his eyes.

Qian Renxue gave a soft huff and turned her head to the side.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"This Palace is merely curious as to what methods you used to learn so many of my core secrets."

Qin Feng stood up unhurriedly and walked step by step to the stairs in front of Qian Renxue.

The distance between the two closed in an instant.

Qian Renxue's breath hitched, and her body instinctively wanted to lean back, only to find her back already pressed against the hard chair.

"I know more than just your secrets."

Qin Feng looked directly into those golden eyes, which were like brilliant stars, his tone soft yet striking at her weakest point.

"I also know that you have had a harder life than anyone else these past few years."

Upon hearing these words, Qian Renxue's delicate body trembled violently.

The strong shell she had painstakingly forged over the years instantly cracked under this light, airy sentence.

Qin Feng did not pause, his voice continuing to echo through the grand hall.

"From the moment you were born, you never felt the warmth of a normal family."

"Your father died early, and your mother viewed you as a great disgrace, wishing for nothing more than to be rid of you."

"Although your grandfather protected you, he burdened you with the heavy shackles of stealing the Heaven Dou Empire, leaving you to walk on thin ice in this cold, stern palace for so many years."

Every word, every sentence, pierced precisely into the softest corner of Qian Renxue's heart.

She bit her silver teeth, her eye sockets uncontrollably turning a faint red.

She had never breathed a word of these hidden pains regarding her original family to anyone.

Even the two elders closest to her, Pufferfish and Snake Spear, only knew she was carrying out an undercover mission; they had no understanding of the despair and loneliness she felt when waking from dreams in the dead of night.

Qin Feng raised his right hand and gently patted Qian Renxue's slightly thin shoulder.

"You are too starved for love."

"That is why you always arm yourself with an arrogance that keeps people at a distance, masking the emptiness within."

"In truth, once this disguise is stripped away, you crave a pure, exclusive affection more than anyone else."

Qian Renxue's body stiffened, yet she did not dodge that broad, warm palm.

Feeling the gentle heat radiating from her shoulder, the grievances that had accumulated for years surged forth like a bursting dam.

Looking at the handsome, refined youth before her, her psychological defenses were crumbling layer by layer.

The two were very close, their breaths mingling in the air.

An indescribable, ambiguous sentiment heated up rapidly in the brief silence.

After a long while, Qian Renxue forcibly steadied her churning emotions.

She took a deep breath of air scented with ambergris, forcing back the moisture in her eyes.

The expression on her face regained a bit of her usual haughty nature.

"Don't you go acting all compassionate here."

"Don't think that just because you've pried into a bit of my past, you have the right to point fingers at me."

As she spoke, she suddenly changed the subject, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly with a dangerous glint.

"Since you fancy yourself so knowledgeable about women, why don't you explain yourself?"

"What is the deal with that vixen called Hu Liena?"

"And that Dugu Yan who just left—the way she looked at you, she practically wanted to melt into your arms!"

Qian Renxue crossed her arms over her chest, her tone carrying a heavy, sour note she hadn't even noticed herself.

When she was secretly gathering intelligence on this brat, she had discovered that he was always surrounded by women.

Seeing Dugu Yan's infatuated appearance in the hall earlier had stirred an inexplicable irritation in her heart.

Qin Feng raised an eyebrow and spread his hands innocently.

"What is there to explain?"

"Things between us have always been innocent; we are just friends with benefits of the lips."

Qian Renxue froze for a moment, her delicate brows furrowing.

"What do you mean by 'friends with benefits of the lips'?"

Qin Feng's lips curled upward, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"It means friends who usually chat, and occasionally kiss when the mood strikes."

As these words fell, the spacious grand hall plunged into a deathly silence.

Qian Renxue's eyes widened, her mind buzzing as it took her a long while to fully digest the meaning of that sentence.

A flush of red climbed her jade-white cheeks at a visible speed, spreading all the way to her translucent earlobes.

"You!"

"You shameless scoundrel! You vulgar rogue!"

Furious, Qian Renxue grabbed a teacup from the desk and hurled it straight at Qin Feng's face.

How could this guy speak of such indecent, scandalous matters with such a refined and righteous air!

Qin Feng casually raised a hand to catch the flying teacup, then set it back down on the table.

"Don't be so hot-headed."

"We're all people of the world; wouldn't it be better to be a bit more carefree?"

Qian Renxue felt her entire worldview suffering a violent shock.

The strange feeling in her heart grew even more intense, as if cat claws were scratching at her.

However, annoyance aside, the reason she had cultivated from years of holding a high position eventually suppressed her emotions.

She took several deep breaths to calm herself, her expression turning solemn once more.

"You made quite a scene in the imperial palace today; that old fellow Dugu Bo has surely set his sights on you."

"Although he ranks at the bottom among all Title Douluo, his unpredictable poison techniques are insidious."

"You are only level forty-five; if he were to secretly trip you up with poison, you wouldn't even know how you died!"

Qian Renxue's tone betrayed undisguised urgency and concern.

Seeing her look as if she were facing a formidable enemy, Qin Feng couldn't help but chuckle.

"So nervous—are you worried about me?"

Qian Renxue immediately turned her head to the side, her pride refusing to yield.

"Who has the spare time to worry about you!"

"This Palace is merely afraid that if you die too quickly, that Chat Group will disband!"

Qin Feng toyed with the thumb ring on his hand, his demeanor remaining relaxed and at ease.

"Set your heart at ease."

"That old man Dugu Bo may look fierce and unapproachable, but deep down, he is an honest man through and through."

"As long as you figure out his temperament, not only will there be no threat to your life, but you might even be able to wring a heaven-defying fortune out of him."

Upon hearing the label "honest man," Qian Renxue felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

She stared at Qin Feng with an expression that suggested she was looking at an idiot.

Poison Douluo? An honest man?

Did these two things have even half a copper coin's worth of connection?

That Old Poison had a bizarre temper and killed without blinking; he was a notorious bane in the high-level circles of the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

This kid must have been blinded by his own arrogance to call such a blood-soaked monster an honest man.

Meanwhile, in a heavily guarded, luxurious mansion within Heaven Dou City.

Dugu Bo sat grandly in the main seat of the front hall.

He drained a cup of steaming, premium fragrant tea in one gulp, feeling every pore on his body relax.