This counted as an unexpected windfall.
The system, which had been knocked offline by the Sleeping Curse, asked in bewilderment: [Then what happened last night?]
[How should I know?] Too bothered by the noise to sleep, Su Ying simply sat up and stretched luxuriously. Noticing that Chu Yu was already awake, she smiled and waved at him. "Good morning."
"Good morning, heroic big sister..." Chu Yu paused, his breath catching.
After Su Ying had tossed and turned all night, her dress had come loose. Its neckline hung open, barely clinging to her shoulders. The skin of her shoulders and chest was like creamy jade, pinning his violet eyes in place.
Chu Yu thought, Her face is ugly, but her skin surpasses snow.
He had no interest in women and had seen plenty of this in the Demon Realm. He had thought himself immune, but now he had to admit that he was drawn in.
If he savored this skin slowly, it ought to taste quite good.
It seemed this Su Ying was not entirely without merit.
Seeing Chu Yu staring straight at her, his face flushed crimson, Su Ying suddenly looked down and understood.
[Whoa, this Young Hunk is way too innocent! I love it!]
The system reminded her mercilessly: [Host, he is staring straight at you. That has nothing to do with innocence.]
[This body of mine isn't bad to begin with. What's wrong with looking? It proves I'm attractive, okay? But look at him-he's actually blushing! Would other men blush at this sight? They'd just let the worms of lust crawl into their brains!]
[Host, how do you know the worms of lust haven't crawled into his brain?]
[Such an innocent Young Hunk is definitely different from those other rotten men!]
Su Ying was right. Chu Yu really was rather different from other rotten men.
What he was thinking was, Skin this beautiful-how should I eat it...
Eat it right into his stomach.
As Chu Yu imagined various ways of eating her, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
She seemed to have misunderstood.
But that was no great problem.
Once Su Ying had straightened her clothes, the disciple delivering her meal arrived by Sword Flight.
At the sight of the boy with Violet Eyes, Ping Qingyun's eyes widened. "Junior Sister Su Ying, why have you been hiding someone here?"
Su Ying wanted to roll her eyes wildly. What was that supposed to mean? Was he accusing her of sneaking around with a man?
But remembering that Ping Qingyun was also an important supporting character, she could not break character, so she explained, "You've misunderstood, Senior Brother Qingyun. He's a disciple of a sect in the Lower Realm. Yesterday, he got separated from his master and accidentally fell off the cliff, then got caught on a rock halfway down. I heard his cries for help and rescued him. But I didn't dare return without Master's permission, so I let this young Daoist spend the night here. I intended to wait until you brought my meal, then ask you to take him back."
As she spoke, Su Ying grumbled inwardly: [This Ping Qingyun is really nasty. He's actually trying to accuse me of having an affair? What does he gain from ruining my reputation? Without a tragic supporting girl like me standing in the way, his beloved Junior Sister Ling Xian would have an even easier time falling in love with Xiao Muchen, and he'd die even sooner.]
[He is rather nasty, but Host, he hasn't exactly accused you falsely, either.] The system was puzzled.
[I've only thought about it. I haven't done anything yet, okay?] Su Ying desperately wanted a different system.
Chu Yu's eye twitched as he listened. This woman changed faces awfully fast.
Seeing Ping Qingyun's gaze settle on him, he cupped his hands and bowed. "This humble Daoist is named Chu Yu, from the Spirit Mountain Sect. My master's name is Dao Yang. Just as this heroic big sister said, without her rescue, I would probably have fallen to my death at the bottom of the cliff."
Ping Qingyun nodded. After setting down the food, he said to Chu Yu, "I know Master Dao Yang. I'll take you back."
With that, Ping Qingyun readied his flying sword at the mountain entrance.
Chu Yu glanced at Su Ying, silently memorized her scent, and stepped onto Ping Qingyun's sword.
Su Ying smiled and waved at him: [Ah, Young Hunk, see you in two days.]
"Stand steady." Ping Qingyun rolled his eyes at Su Ying, then flew off with Chu Yu.
Barely a second later, Su Ying felt she had come down with lovesickness. "Life without my Young Hunk is so hard to bear."
The system twitched: [Host, may I ask you a question?]
"Go ahead." Su Ying languidly settled back onto the mat, looking utterly indolent.
[Have you genuinely fallen in love with that young Daoist Chu Yu, or do you merely lust after his beauty?]
"Obviously the latter!" Su Ying rolled her eyes. "The wise never plunge into the river of love, understand? No matter how handsome a guy is, I only crave his looks and his body, never his heart."
Getting tangled up in feelings was such a hassle.
Before transmigrating, Su Ying had only dated once, back in college, but that relationship had wounded her heart and lungs. The price had been far too high.
From then on, she had severed affection and renounced love, craving handsome men's bodies without seeking their hearts.
Thanks to modern attitudes toward romance, she had kept an open mind and truly never gotten emotionally involved again.
[If young Daoist Chu Yu knew you were like this, he would surely be very hurt,] the system said slowly.
"You mean that Young Hunk has fallen in love with me?" Su Ying asked.
[I'm not sure, but he seemed reluctant to leave you just now.]
"Ha! That's how irresistible I am! A trash system like you could never understand," Su Ying said narcissistically.
The trash system fell silent.
Two days later.
Su Ying received word from Xiao Muchen that her punishment was over.
After putting everything back into her Spatial Ring, she headed toward the sect's central hall in high spirits.
In the plot, today was the day the Cultivation Sect's elders selected their disciples.
As Su Ying used Sword Flight, she prayed silently. Considering that Xiao Muchen had killed her four times, surely the heavens could bless her by having him choose Chu Yu.
If another elder chose him, their chances to meet would be greatly reduced, never mind doing anything with her Young Hunk.
Arriving at the central hall, Su Ying put away her flying sword and scanned the disciples from the various Lower Realm sects, trying to find Chu Yu.
The system reminded her: [Host, the plot!]
Only then did Su Ying remember that she still had a plot to follow. Reluctantly withdrawing her gaze, she knelt on one knee before Xiao Muchen. "Disciple Su Ying has arrived late. Please punish me, Master."
Xiao Muchen remained expressionless, aloof as a cool breeze. "Considering that you hurried here from Sit-and-Forget Mountain, I'll excuse you this time."
"Thank you, Master." Su Ying could hardly wait to stand and retreat to one side.
Ping Qingyun snorted and said quietly, "Junior Sister Su Ying, you only just returned, yet all you cared about was looking at the Lower Realm disciples. You nearly forgot to pay your respects to Master. Isn't that rather improper?"
"Senior Brother Qingyun, don't speak nonsense." Su Ying gritted her teeth and cursed inwardly: [Damn it, is this Ping Qingyun determined to stir up trouble? Even following the plot earns me a jab?]
[Ping Qingyun's character is designed to target you at every turn for Ling Xian's sake. Who told you to focus on finding young Daoist Chu Yu instead of following the plot immediately, Host?] The system joined in the mockery.
[Why the hell is such a narrow-minded man even cultivating immortality? He might as well just die.] Su Ying still wore that aggrieved expression, but her eyes kept searching. [Where's my Young Hunk? System, have you seen him?]
[There are too many people. I can't see him.]
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Chu Yu heard Su Ying's conversation with the system, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
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