Sleepless Night

Xia Kong lay sprawled on the bed, resting for a moment before preparing to get up and wash up simply, but the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open gently.

He raised his gaze and saw Ya Fei step inside, dressed in a lightweight black gauze robe. Freshly bathed, her hair was slightly damp, and a faint fragrance of flower petals drifted around her, lending her demeanor a gentle yet indescribably enchanting quality.

"Sister Ya Fei? So late, is something the matter?"

Xia Kong felt a slight confusion, noticing that Ya Fei's gaze was somewhat evasive, carrying a hint of unnaturalness. Yet as he had never quite been able to read this clever beauty's mind, he did not think much of it.

Ya Fei walked step by step to the bedside, sat down sideways, and slowly leaned her soft body toward Xia Kong. The refined fragrance that belonged uniquely to her, mixed with the scent of bathing flower petals, drifted thread by thread into his nasal cavity, instantly turning the atmosphere in the room lingering and ambiguous.

"When Brother Xia Kong left, you clearly said you would return half a year later for the Jia Nan Academy admissions. Why are you back so much earlier?"

Ya Fei raised her eyes, her gaze carrying a hint of a dazed smile, and her tone held a trace of playful reproach and teasing: "Could it be, truly as Little Blue Sister-ah, Little Xiao Yi Xian said, that our hearts beat as one, and sensing that I had fallen into mortal danger, you specially returned to play the hero saving the damsel?"

"If I said yes, would Sister Ya Fei believe it?" Xia Kong raised an eyebrow with a smile.

"Hehe, brat, this elder sister isn't as pure and easily fooled as Xiao Yi Xian."

Ya Fei let out a charming laugh, extended a fair, slender fingertip, and tapped Xia Kong gently on the forehead. Leaning slightly forward, she pressed almost her entire weight against him, and the swell at her chest seemed squeezed out of shape, making the dark cleavage grow even deeper.

Xia Kong's nose was filled with a captivating fragrance, and feeling the unusual sensations from his body, he felt a secret astonishment inside. Ya Fei had teased him like this in the past, yet tonight she had truly not been drinking, and only the refined aromatherapy and her natural scent surrounded her. But her posture and demeanor were gentler and clingier than usual, carrying an even more alluring intoxication.

He grew secretly vigilant in his heart. If they continued to interact at such close quarters, he feared he really would lose control, and he quickly reined in his focus, taking the initiative to change the subject.

"To be honest with you, running into Lei Le's affair this time was purely a coincidence. My early return this time, aside from formally introducing you and Xiao Yi Xian, truly does involve a matter of vital importance."

Hearing these words, the smile in Ya Fei's eyes faded slightly, and her gaze knitted together a fraction.

In her heart she had long known that everything was a coincidence, yet hearing it spoken aloud by Xia Kong in person still inevitably produced a sliver of subtle disappointment and grievance.

"You, you're still the same as ever, not changing at all, completely incapable of coaxing a woman into happiness."

Ya Fei gave a gentle, reproachful scoff, then her gaze burned brightly, carrying a hint of stubborn, tender softness: "Also, you are not allowed to call me sister tonight. Call me Ya Fei."

Hearing this, Xia Kong felt his heart skip a beat, instantly sensing that something was amiss.

In past days, Ya Fei had been most willing to acknowledge him as her monstrous younger brother and frequently took pride in it, yet today she deliberately changed her tune, forbidding him from calling her sister. When he looked at her current state once more-her body delicate and weak, the dazed moisture in her eyes as though someone had dosed her with an aphrodisiac-and felt the amorous atmosphere quietly breeding in the room, Xia Kong's understanding blossomed into absolute clarity.

The young man's heart accelerated abruptly, hot blood surged through his chest, and every cell in his body radiated expectation and excitement.

The corners of his lips curved into a knowing, shallow smile. Leaning down slightly, he moved close to Ya Fei's ear, his voice low and gentle, carrying a well-measured dominance and strength.

"Very well, Ya Fei. Tonight, you are not my Sister Ya Fei; you are the woman who belongs to me alone."

A simple sentence, direct and burning hot.

Ya Fei's body stiffened slightly, the warm breath beside her ear causing her cheeks to instantly burn. Even though she had long since prepared herself mentally, and tonight had even specially bathed in flower petals designed to arouse passion with a calm and deliberate buildup, when the moment actually arrived, her heart remained entirely filled with shyness and a fluttering tremor.

Her throat moved slightly, overflowing with an extremely soft, sweet nasal sound, as faint as the hum of a mosquito.

Yet how could this possibly escape the ears of Xia Kong, whose mental focus was entirely concentrated? The smile in Xia Kong's eyes grew even deeper, and his heart became completely certain.

"The soundproofing here is mediocre. Don't wake Xiao Yi Xian next door."

He chuckled lightly, and without waiting for Ya Fei to react, he leaned down and swept her up horizontally in a steady embrace.

"I'll take you to a place where no one will disturb us, and explain in detail the full purpose of my return this time."

The next instant, the light and shadow in the room flickered slightly, and the two figures that had originally been seated by the bedside vanished into thin air without a trace.

The guest room next door.

Xiao Yi Xian had just been pressing herself against the wall, quietly paying attention to the movement next door.

The whispers and laughter that had still been faintly audible a moment before suddenly fell into complete silence, and the entire adjacent room grew as quiet as a dropped pin.

Her heart tightened fiercely, instantly filling with confusion as she cautiously raised her gaze toward the back of the folding screen.

The room was empty and desolate with the door tightly shut, devoid of the slightest trace of a person, let alone Xia Kong and Ya Fei looking at her with smiling expressions.

The hanging heart dropped slightly, yet that nameless sourness and disappointment in the depths of her heart grew all the more intense.

In the corner of the courtyard, Little Blue the Blue Eagle sensed the male master's aura vanish abruptly once more, and it let out a low, puzzled chirp. But since Xiao Yi Xian's aura was close at hand, it settled down, folded away its presence, and continued to rest under the moonlight.

Hearing Little Blue's cry, Xiao Yi Xian understood instantly.

Puffing out her cheeks with a face full of aggrieved resentment, she buried herself in the bedding and muttered in a small voice: "What is this... to actually hide away in the Secret Realm, guarding against me like I'm a thief. I wouldn't go eavesdrop, nor would I disturb the two of you at will... I definitely wouldn't."

Though she stubbornly argued the point with her words, the young woman's inner sourness, jealousy, and entanglement were laid completely bare.

She had clearly only been curious, yet at this moment her heart was flooded with a complex mixture of sour and stifled feelings. As she thought about it, she couldn't help but laugh softly to herself, secretly murmuring in her heart: The person who was just eavesdropping a moment ago was clearly me, yet now I'm putting on a serious act.

The moonlight tonight was simply splendid. Perhaps she, too, ought to dream a sweet dream that belonged to her alone.

Meanwhile, Xia Kong's exclusive Secret Realm farmland.

The night wind was gentle, the moonlight bright, and the entire Secret Realm was peaceful and tranquil, undisturbed by anyone.

The abruptly changing environment allowed Ya Fei's dazed eyes to clear a fraction. Wrapping her arms around Xia Kong's neck, she curiously looked around her surroundings.

The attic was elegant and exquisite, the farm plots were neatly laid out, and the bizarre Spiritual Plants that covered them radiated an abundant spiritual mist everywhere.

"This place is..."

"My exclusive Secret Realm Space, bound to my soul."

Xia Kong lowered his head to gaze at the beauty in his arms, his eyes filled with tender lingering warmth: "You can understand it as a Soul World belonging exclusively to me. Tonight is also a world for just the two of us."

"Slick-tongued."

Yet Ya Fei understood everything completely in an instant, casting a light, coquettish sideways glare at him with a dainty reproach.

Those wondrous fruits, vegetables, and spiritual medicines whose medicinal efficacy defied the heavens, along with Xia Kong's bizarre disappearances and reappearances-all the mysteries were completely unraveled at this moment.

"So... all your spiritual medicines originate from this Secret Realm."

"Indeed."

Carrying her, Xia Kong walked slowly toward the attic in the center of the Secret Realm: "Weren't you curious about the purpose behind my early return? The moonlight tonight is just right. We shall converse through the entire night without sleep, and I shall explain it to you thoroughly from the shallows to the depths."

As he spoke, Xia Kong carried Ya Fei step by step into the attic. Along the way, Xia Kong's equipment and Ya Fei's veil dropped to the ground one by one, and when they lay down upon the bed, both of them were already like newborn babes.