A Maiden's Blushing Surpasses All

As usual, Huo Chen arrived at the Frost Cultivation Room on Thursday afternoon.

The moment he pushed open the door, he sensed something unusual.

It was not Ling Luocheng's presence. She still stood quietly atop the ice platform, snowflakes swirling around her, her gradient ice-blue hair gleaming softly beneath the cultivation room's cold lights.

It was another presence—scorching and familiar, like burning flames, utterly at odds with the chill of this cultivation room.

Ma Xiaotao was leaning against the wall in a corner of the cultivation room, arms folded across her chest, one leg slightly bent with her foot against the wall. Her posture was lazy and casual.

Today, she wore a cropped black leather jacket over a dark red shirt, along with black skinny pants that outlined her long legs.

She was clearly not here to cultivate. She had not even released her martial soul, merely lounging against the wall with a meaningful smile at the corner of her lips, her gaze moving back and forth between Huo Chen and Ling Luocheng.

"Well, you're here?" Ma Xiaotao raised a brow, a teasing note in her voice.

"I was wondering just how punctual you two were with these 'every-other-day meetings.' Looks like you don't even miss it by a minute."

"Xiaotao." Ling Luocheng spoke, her voice cool and carrying a hint of warning. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course." Ma Xiaotao answered as though it were only natural, her tone almost excessively innocent.

"We're best friends. Can't I come check on your cultivation progress because I care about you?"

Ling Luocheng said nothing, but her pale ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly.

Ma Xiaotao knew that expression far too well. It meant Luocheng's patience was running out. Any other inner courtyard student would have wisely shut up at once upon seeing it.

But Ma Xiaotao was clearly not among those intimidated by that signal.

Not only did she fail to rein herself in, she pushed off from the wall and strolled over to the ice platform in her boots. She circled Ling Luocheng once, looking her over from head to toe with an appraising gaze.

Ling Luocheng remained where she was and let her inspect her, her expression cool as though she were an ice sculpture for others to admire. Yet her back was straighter than usual.

"Hmm..." Ma Xiaotao stroked her chin and nodded thoughtfully.

"You do look much better than before. Every time I used to see you, you had that 'don't talk to me' look on your face. You still have that 'don't talk to me' look now, but the gloom between your brows has faded quite a bit. Your skin seems clearer too. Have you been sleeping better lately?"

She leaned closer and lowered her voice, though it was still just loud enough for Huo Chen to hear. "Looks like someone's every-other-day 'systematic guidance' has been working quite well."

The tips of Ling Luocheng's ears reddened at a visible pace.

Yet her expression remained cool, and her tone stayed even. "Xiaotao, if you have no business here, you can go back to training. I remember you have an extra flame-control class this afternoon. Dean Yan won't be pleased if you're late."

"I do have business here." Ma Xiaotao wore a serious expression as she spouted nonsense, completely ignoring the reminder about her extra class. "My business today is inspecting your cultivation progress. As your best friend, it's my duty to make sure some improper teacher hasn't led you astray in your cultivation."

"Huo Chen's teaching is not a problem." The words nearly flew out of Ling Luocheng's mouth.

The instant she said them, even she froze slightly.

Ma Xiaotao's eyes immediately lit up, as though she had discovered some incredible secret.

The smile on her lips deepened as she deliberately drew out her words. "Oh~ Huo Chen's teaching is not a problem. You used to nitpick even my guidance for ages, saying, 'Your path of flame differs from my ice-element path. Your experience has no reference value for me.' And it hasn't even been half a month, yet you're already speaking up for him?"

Ling Luocheng pressed her lips into a straight line. A faint flush surfaced on her cheeks, especially noticeable against her snowy skin and ice-blue hair.

She did not respond. Instead, she turned to Huo Chen, a faint trace of appeal in her gaze—so subtle that no one could have noticed without looking closely.

Huo Chen caught her gaze, gave a light cough, and said, "Xiaotao, stop teasing her."

"How am I teasing her? I'm concerned about her."

Ma Xiaotao spread her hands innocently, then turned and walked over to Huo Chen. Tilting her head up at him, she looked at him with mischief in her eyes. "But speaking of which, Teacher Huo, what do you think of our Luocheng? Is she easy to teach? Is she well-behaved? Has she caused you any trouble?"

She fired off three questions in a row, every one of them deliberately suggestive.

Ling Luocheng stood on the ice platform, her fingers tightening slightly until her fingertips turned pale. Yet she maintained that cool expression, as though Ma Xiaotao's words had nothing to do with her—if one ignored the increasingly red tips of her ears.

"Student Ling Luocheng is very serious and diligent in her cultivation," Huo Chen answered properly. "Her improvement has been obvious."

"That's it?" Ma Xiaotao was clearly dissatisfied with the answer. "Nothing else?"

"Nothing else."

Ma Xiaotao curled her lips, her expression plainly saying, "You're no fun."

She turned and returned to Ling Luocheng, reaching out to pat her shoulder. Her tone suddenly became more serious. "All right, I'll stop teasing you two. I really did just stop by while passing through, and I still have training to get to. Luocheng, keep at it. If anything comes up, come find me."

After saying that, she headed for the door. As she passed Huo Chen, she stopped, rose onto her toes, and leaned close to his ear to say in a voice only the two of them could hear, "She has never let anyone touch her wrist. You're the first."

With that, she stepped back half a pace, winked at him, and strode out of the cultivation room. The door closed behind her, separating the two worlds within and without.

The cultivation room returned to silence.

Ling Luocheng stood on the ice platform, her gaze resting in the direction of the door as she fell silent for a moment.

The tips of her ears were still faintly pink, but her expression had returned to its usual coolness.

She withdrew her gaze and looked at Huo Chen. In an even tone, she said, "You don't need to take what she said to heart."

"I know." Huo Chen nodded.

Ling Luocheng did not continue the topic.

She raised her right hand, palm up, and an icy crystalline snowflake condensed in her palm, gleaming with a cold, pure light beneath the lamps.

Its structure was more translucent than before, its patterns clearer, as though it possessed a life of its own.

"Let's begin," she said.

Huo Chen stepped forward and began today's instruction.

But as he explained the day's cultivation, he noticed Ling Luocheng's gaze occasionally drifting to her wrist, lingering there for a moment before quickly moving away.

Her expression remained cool and detached, yet on the hand where she had condensed a snowflake, her fingertips lightly brushed her wrist from an angle Huo Chen could not see—the spot he held each time he helped clear her meridians.

She did not ask, and Huo Chen did not explain.

In the cultivation room, only the crystalline snowflake in her palm slowly spun, refracting specks of delicate, pure light.