Love at First Sight? Or a Plan Years in the Making?

"Hiss—"

Li Qingyang drew a sharp breath, his face full of regret. Frowning, he said, "I thought those aunties just liked me and my little sister. Wait, Mom. Whenever you were away handling business at the Papal Hall, they'd come over, give me Gold Soul Coins, and coax me into taking my sister out to play. Dad wouldn't have..."

His voice dwindled toward the end. He stole a cautious glance at Qian Renxue's face, his stomach in knots. The last thing he wanted was to make his mother angry.

"Oh, that? I know all about it."

Qian Renxue was using divine power to work the utensils and stir-fry a dish. Her movements remained steady, her wrist never wavering, her expression as calm as ever.

Li Qingyang's eyes flew wide. "Mom, you knew? And you still gave them the chance?"

A faint smile touched Qian Renxue's lips. She kept cooking as she spoke. "What belongs to me has long been mine. Why quibble over every little thing? The worst thing a woman can do is grow insatiable."

With that, she changed the subject.

"Enough of these little matters. Let me tell you how your father and I first met."

Li Qingyang had a head full of questions, but he could only nod and listen.

Qian Renxue guided the spatula with divine power, tossing the food in the pan as she began her story.

"Your father had just joined the Imperial Fighting Team. As soon as he arrived, he defeated its captain, Yu Tianheng, and naturally took his place. He led the team through one victory after another, all the way to the finals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament. I'd actually been watching him from the shadows since then. Before I knew it, I'd developed feelings for him."

"Later, the tournament moved to Spirit Hall. It was your father's first visit to Spirit City. He couldn't sit still and decided to go exploring on his own. When I heard, I had someone discreetly follow him while I took my time dressing up. Then I chose the right moment and arranged for us to bump into each other on the street. That's why everyone, including your master and your aunt, thinks we fell for each other at first sight. But that isn't quite the whole story."

Li Qingyang stared at her, mouth slightly open. "So... Dad really did fall in love at first sight, but you'd planned it all along?"

"You little brat. Don't make it sound so awful." Qian Renxue chuckled and used her divine power to transfer the food onto a plate. "I merely dressed myself up as a little white rabbit for a hunter to find."

Nod Town.

As Qian Renxue's story unfolded on the Heavenly Screen,

Tang San could no longer keep his thoughts to himself. He turned to Li Xun beside him and said, "Brother Xun, from the sound of it, Qian Renxue was awfully calculating. In the future, she had you wrapped around her finger."

"Ahem..."

Li Xun coughed lightly, a playful look in his eyes. "Xiao San, has it occurred to you that I might have walked into her trap willingly from the start?"

"Willingly?"

Tang San frowned, utterly baffled. He couldn't make sense of it.

Li Xun had no intention of revealing his real thoughts in front of everyone.

He knew perfectly well that his future self must have recognized the blonde beauty in that carefully arranged encounter as Qian Renxue.

The young mistress of Spirit Hall and future Angel God had disguised herself as an innocent, vulnerable little rabbit on the streets of Spirit City. She had deliberately turned on her charm to make him fall for her at first sight.

So his future self must have decided to pretend he'd fallen for it. But somehow, as they spent more time together, he had genuinely fallen for her.

That was probably the truth of it.

Beneath the Heavenly Screen, the scrolling comments erupted. Countless viewers weighed in on the two gods' secret history.

[So that's it! Angel God Qian Renxue didn't fall in love at first sight at all. She'd been planning it for ages!]

[A clever hunter often disguises herself as prey. What a brilliant move.]

[I'm taking notes! Thank you for the lesson, Sister Qian Renxue!]

[Does that mean Asura God Li Xun probably still thinks they fell for each other at first sight? Hahahaha.]

[The more beautiful a woman is, the harder it is to fathom what she's thinking.]

While the comments were still teasing Qian Renxue about her staged encounter, one message with an entirely different take appeared and sent the discussion in a new direction.

[Wait. Think about what Li Qingyang said at the start! Those aunties kept giving him Gold Soul Coins to take his sister out to play. Use your heads. What were these "aunties" after?]

The comment section went quiet for a beat. Then countless people caught on, and messages flooded the screen.

[Hiss—what else? It couldn't be more obvious. They wanted to "do it."]

[And the wildest part is that Angel God Qian Renxue knew all along and didn't even care.]

At the Crown Prince's Estate in Heaven Dou City,

Qian Renxue covered her face as she read the comments on the Heavenly Screen.

Could my future self please keep these secrets to herself? Why make things harder for me now?

But as for her future self not caring that her husband had been with other women,

others might not understand, but she did.

By then, she would have won Li Xun's heart completely and secured a place in it that no one else could replace.

Why fret over the rest?

She had already claimed what mattered most: his heart. Anything else could be a gift to those proud, gifted women whose devotion would never be fully returned.

She slowly lowered her hand and looked up at the Heavenly Screen. Her golden eyes were calm, without a trace of jealousy.

Inside the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect,

only Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong remained. The air felt stifling.

"So in the future, Rongrong will become his..."

Gu Rong stroked his beard and looked toward the Heavenly Screen. He stopped halfway through the sentence, but the other two knew exactly what he meant.

Ning Fengzhi's face darkened. The thought that his precious daughter, whom he treasured above all else, would one day become someone's mistress made his heart bleed.

Even knowing that the man was the future Asura God did nothing to ease the pain. A murderous urge surged within him, almost too strong to suppress.

After a long while, Ning Fengzhi let out a slow breath and forced down the fury in his chest. His expression turned grave.

"When Li Xun goes to Heaven Dou Academy, Uncle Jian, Uncle Gu, I'll go with you. I want to meet this young man myself."

Chen Xin and Gu Rong exchanged a glance. Ning Fengzhi was serious.