Two hours later, the moonlight grew increasingly deep and heavy.
Following a round of high-intensity training, Tang Ya was left aching all over, her legs weak and sore, making walking somewhat difficult to the point that she could only limp along at a slow, halting pace.
Chen Jie tidied his clothes, stopped teasing, and thoughtfully slowed his pace. Reaching out to offer light, illusory support, he accompanied the staggering, flushed Tang Ya as she walked slowly down the tranquil campus path, safely escorting her all the way to the foot of the girls' dormitory building.
"Go on up and get some rest."
Tang Ya steadied herself by holding onto the stair handrail, her legs still trembling slightly. Forcing herself, she deliberately struck a cute, playful pose, holding up small fists on either side of her cheeks as she looked at Chen Jie with sparkling eyes, speaking stubbornly yet prettily:
"Meow~, Chen Jie, I'm heading back to rest! Come back in a couple of days, and I'll fight you again!"
As the words faded, Chen Jie reached out and patted her bottom, then produced a few brand-new pink dresses from his tunic, handing them to Tang Ya with a smile on his lips:
"Wear this one for our next training session."
Tang Ya stiffened all over, her face turning beet red in a flash. She hurriedly took the pink garment, her fingertips brushing against the soft fabric, and lowered her head to examine the style before suddenly freezing and speaking in a small voice:
"Why does this dress... look so much like the one our ancestor Xiao Wu wore?"
She raised her eyes to look at Chen Jie, her gaze filled with confusion.
A smile lingering at the corners of his lips, Chen Jie replied with a straight face: "As the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, you should fulfill the duty of remembering your ancestors. When the time comes, you can cosplay Xiao Wu and I'll cosplay Third Brother."
Hearing this, Tang Ya's face flushed even more, leaving her both embarrassed and bewildered. Still burdened by the soreness and discomfort in her legs, she dared not linger any longer, clutched the dress tightly, turned around with a limp, and trotted into the dormitory building.
Watching Tang Ya's figure disappear into the depths of the hallway, the smile on Chen Jie's face slowly faded. He turned around and walked toward the boys' dormitory along the quiet path.
Pushing open the dormitory door, only a small desk lamp was lit inside. Wang Dong was not yet asleep, sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting for him with eager eyes. Seeing him return so late, Wang Dong immediately looked up with chubby cheeks, eyes filled with aggrieved jealousy, and demanded:
"Confess honestly, what on earth is your relationship with that Tang Sect senior sister?"
Chen Jie casually closed the door, leaned against the door panel with a calm expression, and answered indifferently: "What's wrong? She's just a female friend of mine. Tonight I was simply accompanying her with Tang Sect Hidden Weapon training; her foundation is too poor, and she trained until her limbs went weak and she was limping everywhere, so I stayed with her a little longer to help hone her foundations and prepare for the revitalization of the Tang Sect."
Hearing this, the doubt in Wang Dong's eyes faded by a fraction, yet a heart full of bitterness still choked within. Wang Dong whimpered softly to confirm:
"Really?"
Without waiting for Chen Jie to say more, Wang Dong stepped forward quickly, threw arms around him in a tight embrace, and buried his head deeply into Chen Jie's shoulder. The grievances and longing that had accumulated for two long months instantly broke through, and warm tears quietly soaked Chen Jie's tunic as a choked, aggrieved voice sounded:
"I missed you so much these past two months, waiting day and night for you to come back. But the moment you return, you get entangled with two pretty senior sisters and even take such careful care of others."
The warm dampness spread against his neck, making Chen Jie's body stiffen and his heart tighten instantly.
Lifting a hand to gently pat Wang Dong's back, Chen Jie slowed his tone entirely and soothed softly: "Don't let your imagination run wild. The others and I are just engaging in simple training spars, nothing more."
Wang Dong raised his head, crystal tears hanging from long eyelashes, eye sockets thoroughly red. Watery pupils stared fixedly at him while small hands clutched tightly at his hem, tears rolling continuously down cheeks with stubborn grievance:
"Even training is out of the question... You stayed with her so late and specially took care of her. You've seen and touched my body, so you have to take responsibility for me, and I'm no worse than those two."
The more Wang Dong spoke, the more agitated the emotions became, shoulders trembling slightly with a heart full of resentment and sourness.
Looking at Wang Dong's tear-streaked face, Chen Jie's heart softened completely. Reaching out to wrap an arm around the slender waist, Chen Jie used the other hand to gently stroke the crown of the head, pulling Wang Dong tightly into his embrace.
Leaning against Chen Jie's warm chest, Wang Dong's grievances gradually dissipated by more than half. Raising reddened eyes, small hands reached gently toward Chen Jie's lapel, fingertips moving slightly to unbutton the garment slowly.
The lapel parted gradually, revealing neat and upright lines.
Wang Dong looked up at the figure before him in a slight daze. Gazing at the well-proportioned and powerful physique, Wang Dong's throat unconsciously rolled, swallowing quietly as the cheeks instantly turned scorching red.
Hurriedly lowering his head with earlobes completely flushed, Wang Dong spoke in a voice no louder than a mosquito's hum:
"You kept helping me massage and relax last time... This time, let me help you."
Chen Jie's Adam's apple rolled gently, a trace of a smile flashing across the depths of his eyes. Without refusing, he went down onto the bed on his stomach in one fluid motion.
Wang Dong mounted his back, a pair of warm little hands resting gently upon his shoulders and back. Wang Dong's technique could hardly be called skilled, carrying the clumsy greenness of youth, yet it was executed with extraordinary care as fingertips slowly kneaded the tense muscles of his shoulders and neck.
For the past two months, Chen Jie had been pouring his all into assisting the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress in elevating their cultivation, and tonight he had accompanied Tang Ya through high-intensity training, leaving all his accumulated fatigue pressed against his shoulders and back. Massaged by these soft palms, waves of relaxation washed over his entire body.
A faint maiden fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose, and warm breaths brushed against Chen Jie's nape from time to time, causing his spine to tremble slightly.
Massaging away, Wang Dong still remembered the jealousy from moments before and muttered in a small voice: "In the future, you aren't allowed to spend so much time on others. You have to accompany me more."
Chen Jie closed his eyes, leaving the maiden's soft palms to wander across his shoulders and back. Only their shallow breathing remained in the room as moonlight spilled in through the lattice window, lending the entire atmosphere an exceptionally ambiguous air.
Seeing that Chen Jie remained silent for a long time, Wang Dong's fingertips paused lightly at his shoulder pocket and poked his back softly.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
A smile so faint it could hardly be any lighter slowly curved at the corners of Chen Jie's lips. Instead of keeping his back turned, he slowly rolled over.
He raised his eyes and locked gazes with Wang Dong. There was no evasion in the girl's eyes; watery pupils gazed straight ahead, still retaining the slight redness of recent tears, yet carrying a stubborn boldness.
Immediately afterward, Chen Jie's gaze shifted slightly downward, sweeping past the cheeks and landing upon Wang Dong's pristine and exquisite jade feet. Skin as delicate as jade cast a warm luster under the dim, soft lighting, and small toes curled inward slightly and instinctively, revealing a raw, captivating allure.
As Chen Jie's gaze swept across his feet, Wang Dong's body shuddered slightly, yet he did not look away, still meeting his gaze boldly. Even so, his cheeks instantly burned even more fiercely, the tips of his ears flushing with a ripened crimson as his breathing quietly grew somewhat hurried.
Having finished looking, Chen Jie let his gaze fall back onto Wang Dong's face, fixing his eyes firmly as he spoke:
"If you want me to accompany you more in the future... that depends on your performance."
Wang Dong's hands stopped abruptly.
His heart thumped wildly, fingertips trembling slightly, until after a long moment he mustered the courage to ask in a voice barely larger than a mosquito's:
"Then... what counts as good performance?"
Chen Jie did not answer, instead reaching out to gently grasp Wang Dong's slender feet, pulling them toward his own chest with a slight exertion of force.
Wang Dong stiffened all over in an instant, feeling somewhat dazed with cheeks turning red enough to drip blood, yet he still did not pull away, simply gazing at him like that.
Chen Jie's fingertips rested lightly upon his ankles as he looked at him with an earnest gaze and spoke in a low voice:
"Watch closely. I'll only demonstrate once, so learn well."
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