Ling Luochan's Suspicions

After leaving Sea God's Pavilion, Ling Tianchen did not immediately return to the outer courtyard.

He took out his soul communication device and saw that it had been bombarded with messages. The prominent 99+ at the top was especially eye-catching.

He casually scrolled through them. Almost all were from Ling Luochan and Ning Tian. It seemed they really had been worried.

Xiao Xiao somewhere: I want to call too, but I still haven't gotten Brother Chen's soul communication number...

Naturally, Ling Tianchen had no idea about a certain little girl's regret at that moment. He simply dialed Ling Luochan's soul communication number.

"Beep—"

The call was answered almost the instant it rang.

"Hello?"

Before he could finish speaking, a barrage of furious questioning came crashing down on him.

"Ling Tianchen—! You got locked up and didn't even tell me! Do you know how I felt when I went to the outer courtyard and couldn't find you anywhere?!"

He subconsciously moved the communicator a few inches away from his ear.

"Sis, you're overreacting a little. If I was in confinement, how could I have had the chance to notify you?"

"Hmph, not necessarily. I've never heard that confinement means you can't check your soul communication device."

Ling Tianchen was instantly rendered speechless, then coughed lightly.

"Well, the soul communication device was confiscated. Besides, Sis, after I was locked up, I thought about you day and night."

Ling Tianchen looked at the soul communication device in his hand. The incoming call alerts had been changed from vibration to silent mode, probably Ma Xiaotao's doing. Still, thanks to her, he had not been interrupted during deep meditation.

The other end of the call fell silent for a moment. Ling Luochan's voice became noticeably gentler. Clearly, his random reassurance had worked.

"Really? Your sister missed you too. You're out now, right? Where are you? I'll come find you."

Ling Tianchen looked around, about to tell her his location, when he suddenly realized he had just come out of Sea God's Pavilion and had not had time to properly identify his surroundings.

"I'm at..."

Standing near a landmark building, he suddenly spotted a familiar blue figure not far away. Wasn't that Ling Luochan?

"Wait... Sis, when did you get behind me?"

"I just wanted to see how long you would drag it out before remembering to message your sister."

"And what was the result?"

Ling Tianchen scratched his head.

"I'll say you passed."

Ling Luochan walked up and naturally reached out to straighten his collar.

Ling Tianchen, of course, wore an expression of pure enjoyment as he basked in the feeling of being cared for.

However, Ling Luochan's movements suddenly stopped the next second.

Her brows knitted slightly, and the tip of her nose twitched a few times. Her expression gradually turned unpleasant.

"A woman's scent. And..."

She narrowed her eyes.

"It's a scent I find extremely disgusting. Tell me, what happened?"

Ling Tianchen's heart skipped a beat.

Come on, Sis, it had been a whole month and she could still smell it? He had cultivated on the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Bed for thirty full days. Even if there had been a scent on him, it should have dissipated completely by now.

His gaze flickered.

"Sis, you know how people say a dog's sense of smell is more powerful than a human's—"

Before he could finish, an icy hand had precisely grabbed his ear.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sis, easy! Easy! That hurts!"

Ling Luochan gritted her teeth. "Well, well, Ling Tianchen. You dare make fun of your sister now?"

She increased the force in her hand slightly, though an almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Think your wings have grown strong? Explain yourself properly!"

Ling Tianchen bared his teeth and tilted his head, repeatedly saying, "I'll confess, I'll confess! I'll tell you everything, okay?"

"That's more like it." Ling Luochan loosened her grip slightly, but still did not release his ear, looking ready to exert force again at any moment. "Tell me, which vixen seduced you?"

"It was Ma Xiaotao, Ma Xiaotao. She accidentally killed Zhou Yi, and Dean Yan believed I bore some joint responsibility, so he arranged for us to be confined together."

Ling Tianchen said it in the most casual tone he could manage.

"So it really was that crazy woman Ma Xiaotao! Knowing her, she definitely tried to use you to vent her evil fire."

"Tianchen, she didn't put her hands on you, did she?"

Her tone was soft and even carried a trace of concern, yet Ling Tianchen sensed a deep chill within it.

"No, no." Ling Tianchen hurriedly waved his hands.

"Really?"

Ling Luochan narrowed her eyes slightly and tilted her head as she leaned close to his face. They were so close their noses nearly touched. Her dark eyes stared straight into his, her pupils filled with amusement.

"We've been together for so long. Your left eyelid twitches whenever you lie. Only I know that little secret."

Ling Tianchen felt a slight chill run down his spine.

He forced himself to remain completely still as he met her gaze, trying his best to imagine that there was nothing before his eyes, lest he fail to resist looking away and expose himself while staring at his sister.

"Really! Sis, you know how strong I am. If I didn't want to, there's no way Ma Xiaotao could do anything to me."

His tone was resolute, and his eyelid did not twitch in the slightest.

After a long while, Ling Luochan gave a soft snort, drew back from her forward-leaning posture, and returned to stand beside him.

She pursed her lips slightly, clearly deciding not to pursue the matter any further.

"Then let's say that's how it was. I still trust Tianchen very much."

Ling Tianchen finally breathed a secret sigh of relief.

This was killing him. Although his sister was far weaker than he was, whenever he stood before her, he always felt inexplicably guilty, as if he had become that little kid who used to follow behind her again.

Sure enough, he would always be a little brother in front of her.

"Dean Yan's intentions are obvious to everyone. He just wants to match the two of you together. This is practically an arranged marriage—it's complete nonsense! Tianchen, you absolutely must not be fooled by Ma Xiaotao. Her looks are passable, but her temper is violent. She's not the virtuous-wife-and-good-mother type at all. You absolutely cannot take things any further!"

"Dean Yan's intentions are obvious to everyone. He just wants to match the two of you together. This is practically an arranged marriage—it's complete nonsense!"

The more Ling Luochan spoke, the angrier she became. Though she was fiercely criticizing Yan Shaozhe, her gaze never left Ling Tianchen.

"Tianchen, you absolutely must not be fooled by Ma Xiaotao. Her looks are passable, but her temper is violent. She's definitely not the virtuous-wife-and-good-mother type. You absolutely cannot take things any further!"

"Mhm, Sister is right. Nothing happened between us, though."

Ling Tianchen could only nod again and again in agreement, but regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. It really sounded like he was protesting too much.

He secretly glanced at Ling Luochan. There was no extra expression on her face, as though she had not noticed his unnecessary remark.

But come to think of it, why did this situation feel more and more like one thing countering another?

Ma Xiaotao was completely obedient before him, he could never act tough in front of his sister, and his sister had to avoid Ma Xiaotao whenever she saw her.

If he could sort out this triangular relationship, there might not be no room to maneuver.

Perhaps he could have Ma Xiaotao restrain his sister a little?

Ling Tianchen pondered silently, increasingly convinced that he was a genius.

"Tianchen, do you have anything to do next?"

Ling Luochan spoke, her tone returning to its usual gentleness.

"No. I'll walk around the inner courtyard, then head back to the dormitory."

"Then that's perfect."

Ling Luochan's eyes lit up slightly.

"It's getting late. How about staying the night at your sister's place? My house is quite large, and I'll cook for you myself."

"Great! Then it's settled. I haven't had anything made by Sister Luochan in so long. Tonight, I'm going to savor it properly."

"As long as you like it."

Ling Luochan gazed at him tenderly, her eyes seeming soft enough to drip with water.