Yes, Lin En had shared the results with her straightaway. She was the first person besides him to enjoy them.
How could she eat from the bowl, then set it down and curse the cook?
"Sorry. I judged a gentleman's heart with a petty person's mind."
Zhu Zhuqing looked deeply ashamed. After hesitating for a long time, she asked again:
"But... is there really no other way?"
Lin En shook his head.
"When I opened my own meridian, I started from the chest too. After all, it's the safest, most reliable method. Starting from the back or anywhere else would be very difficult!"
Zhu Zhuqing fell into a long silence.
Lin En glanced sideways at her without disturbing her. She was probably still mentally preparing herself.
Once her mental defenses crumbled, everything would be easy!
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her eyes, her pearly teeth gently biting her lower lip. Her face was filled with conflict, and her delicate hands gripped the bedsheet tighter and tighter, bunching it into countless creases.
A long while passed.
Calm finally returned to Zhu Zhuqing's face. At last, she had made a great breakthrough and resolved herself, speaking in a firm, decisive voice:
"Does it... really have to be this way?"
Looking "distressed," Lin En heaved several heavy sighs.
"If there were another way, I certainly wouldn't choose a method that compromised your purity like this."
"It's just... there really is no better solution!"
"Then... all right!"
Zhu Zhuqing hunched her shoulders, her hands twisting together before her chest as she murmured softly.
Lin En watched her, his heart beating faster and faster...
Zhu Zhuqing pinched the edges of her clothes at her shoulders and slowly pulled them down.
Her smooth, rounded shoulders emerged into the air, her collarbones like two beautiful butterflies resting on either