Ya Fei's Surprise

Xiao Yan lowered his head, bringing his lips close to her ear. His warm breath brushed over her sensitive earlobe, making her body tremble again.

"Xun'er, listen carefully."

His voice was soft, so soft that it seemed he was afraid of disturbing something.

"I like you not because of your looks, nor because of your mysterious family background."

The girl in his arms shifted slightly, and the roots of her ears had already been dyed pink.

"I like you because you are you."

"You're the one who quietly sat beside me when we were young, listening to me talk about cultivation."

"You're the one who still called me 'Brother Xiao Yan' when I was at my lowest."

"You're the one who was willing to believe in me even when I said nothing."

Xiao Xun'er's body stopped trembling.

She lay quietly in Xiao Yan's arms, like a little cat that had found its home, curled up in the warmest place.

"The you now are like a flower that has yet to fully bloom. But in my eyes, you're already beautiful."

"When you've grown up—when the day comes that you truly bloom, you'll definitely be the most beautiful woman in this world. Able to topple kingdoms and cities, unmatched under heaven."

Xiao Yan's voice was low and gentle, every word falling lightly onto Xiao Xun'er's heart like a feather.

Xiao Xun'er's heartbeat suddenly quickened.

Thump, thump, thump—her heart beat so fast it seemed ready to leap from her chest.

A rush of heat surged up from the depths of her heart and swiftly spread through her limbs and bones, leaving her entire body weak and tingling.

The feeling was strange—her body was soft, yet even her bones felt weak; her hands and feet had no strength, yet her heart beat so powerfully.

She wanted to say something, but her lips parted and not a single word came out.

Brother Xiao Yan said he liked her.

Not her looks, not her family background, but her—the real, whole her.

"Xun'er isn't as good as Brother Xiao Yan says."

She buried her little head in Xiao Yan's arms, her voice muffled, as though it had risen from the bottom of a deep well.

Her little face was so red it seemed ready to bleed, the flush spreading from her cheeks to her ears, then from her ears down to her neck.

Her words were modest, but her large, watery eyes were clearly filled with delight, sparkling as if two stars were hidden within them.

So, she was this wonderful in Brother Xiao Yan's heart.

As for that tiny bit of unhappiness from before—what unhappiness? She seemed unable to remember it now. Perhaps it had happened yesterday? Or the day before? Who cared?

"Of course Xun'er is this wonderful."

Xiao Yan wrapped an arm around her soft, boneless waist, feeling the girl's softness and warmth. He lowered his head and gently rubbed against the top of her hair, his tone tender beyond measure. "Xun'er is the best girl in the world."

Those words were domineering, unreasonable, and entirely without basis.

Yet when Xiao Xun'er heard them, her heart became as sweet as if it had been filled with honey.

The roots of her ears and her entire face turned bright red, as though they had been dyed by autumn maple leaves.

She buried her head deeper and deeper into Xiao Yan's embrace, wishing she could hide her entire body inside. Her hands clutched tightly at his lapels until her knuckles turned white.

"Brother Xiao Yan is awful." Her voice was muffled, carrying a girl's particular sweetness and shyness. "We're still outside."

Though she said that, she did not push Xiao Yan away, nor did she struggle. She did not even move.

She simply nestled quietly in his arms, like a cat that had found a warm nest, content and at ease.

Xiao Yan smiled and held her a little tighter.

The private room fell quiet.

The clamor outside faintly drifted in, as though separated by a thick quilt, distant and unreal.

The two of them simply held each other in silence, as if time itself had stopped flowing at that moment.

In the shadows.

Ling Ying stood in a concealed corner, his gaze piercing through the wall and taking in everything within the private room.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He wanted to look away, only to discover that he could not.

He watched Xiao Yan hold Xiao Xun'er while Xiao Xun'er nestled in Xiao Yan's arms. The two were stuck together like conjoined twins.

Deep within his heart, he let out a long, soundless sigh.

Young Miss, Young Miss, this wasn't just "having a favorable impression." You had clearly fallen completely.

Ling Ying shook his head and silently withdrew his gaze.

If those elders of the Ancient Clan found out that their eldest young miss was embracing a young man outside, the entire Xiao Clan would likely be razed to the ground.

He silently sighed again, then continued standing guard, pretending he had seen nothing.

Elsewhere, the atmosphere on the central auction platform was being pushed to one climax after another by the woman in red.

It had to be said that Ya Fei was a genius at stirring up the atmosphere.

She stood there beneath the spotlight, her red gown flowing with the distinctive luster of silk amid the light and shadow. Every turn, every gesture, every coquettish laugh seemed carefully calculated, yet all of it appeared so natural and seamless, as though those movements had not been designed at all, but had grown from her very bones and become part of her.

Every smile and frown of hers sent the prices below soaring.

"Twelve thousand!"

"Thirteen thousand!"

"Fifteen thousand!"

The bids rose and fell like waves. Each increase was not large, but they came at an astonishing pace, as though the people raising their placards were not buying items, but fighting for Ya Fei's attention.

Whenever the bidding stalled, Ya Fei would send a seductive smile toward the highest bidder. Her eyes shimmered, her red lips curled slightly, and that smile held praise, gratitude, and a faint ambiguity that invited endless fantasies.

Thus, the wealthy patron who had just been aching over the cost immediately perked up and rejoined the battle as though injected with stimulants.

What budget? What limit? Before Ya Fei's smile, they could all go to hell.

The atmosphere in the hall remained at a fever pitch amid that alluring woman's soft laughter behind her hand.

Each strike of the hammer announcing "Sold" drew sighs of regret and satisfied applause. When the next auction item was brought out, that regret transformed into fresh fervor, repeating in an endless cycle.

Ya Fei raised her small wooden hammer and lightly struck the bronze bell before her.

The crisp ring marked the sale of the last auction item in her hands.

Just as she was about to signal for the next item to be brought out, a maid suddenly emerged from the side curtain, her steps hurried and her expression carrying a trace of urgency.

Ya Fei's gaze sharpened slightly.

After so many years at the Miter Auction House, she had long developed a keen eye—when to move quickly, when to slow down, when to follow the usual procedure, and when to make temporary adjustments, she had her own measure for all of it.

The maid's appearance meant something unexpected had happened, and there were usually only two possibilities for an "unexpected" event at an auction house: either something had gone wrong, or something good had arrived.

Without changing her expression, she gave the audience a slight bow. Her red lips parted, delivering words that were sweet enough to melt one's bones. "My apologies, but the auction will be temporarily paused."

Four or five dissatisfied mutters rose from below, but they were quickly shouted down by those whose minds had been clouded by Ya Fei's beauty.

An apologetic smile appeared on Ya Fei's face. She turned and walked down from the platform, the hem of her red dress swaying gently behind her like a moving flame.

Below the stage, the maid walked to her side and whispered a few words into her ear.

The professional smile on Ya Fei's face did not change, but the pupils in her alluring eyes contracted slightly.

She listened intently.

The maid's voice was low, but the information was dense—four bottles of second-tier medicinal pills, refined with pure technique and of superior quality, produced by a youth named "Xiao Yan," personally appraised and confirmed by Master Gu Ni.

Xiao Yan.

That name had been spreading like wildfire through Wutan City over the past two days.

Some said he was still that good-for-nothing. Some said he had regained his strength. Some said he had defeated the personal disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect's sect leader.

All kinds of rumors filled the air, true and false mixed together, with no one able to tell what was real.

And now, this youth of legend was sitting in a private room on the second floor.

Ya Fei's gaze casually swept toward the second-floor private rooms.

Through the dim light and the distance, she could not see the people inside clearly, but she could vaguely make out two figures standing by the edge of the balcony, one tall and one short, pressed very close together.

A trace of curiosity rose within her.

A fifteen-year-old youth could produce second-tier medicinal pills for auction?

Had he refined these pills himself, or was someone behind him refining them?

If he had refined them himself... what did a fifteen-year-old second-tier alchemist even mean?

"Understood."

She nodded, her tone calm, though a gleam flickered in her eyes.