The air in the room seemed to thicken. The two suppressed the surging impulses within them, yet were stirred by each other's presence, making them restless.
Di Qiu'er's fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, a hint of confusion flashing in her crimson eyes.
At this moment, the male hormones emanating from Toji were like the strongest aphrodisiac, making her body feel hot all over.
"You..." she suddenly spoke, her voice softer than usual, "Could you tone down your breathing? It's making me very uncomfortable."
Toji opened his eyes and said abruptly:
"This is beyond my control. Why don't you leave? This place is indeed too small; it's not suitable for the two of us to live together."
"Why should I go out?" Di Qiu'er was furious and embarrassed, but then realized her loss of composure and forced herself to remain calm, saying, "I mean... we can talk about serious matters to distract ourselves."
Oh, I see.
Toji agreed and then asked:
"Did you come out alone?"
"No, it's not that. I was caught by Di Tian many times when I tried to run away. In the end, he felt he couldn't keep me, so he let me out."
Di Qiu'er touched the necklace hanging around her neck.
" The Scarlet King has come with me."
Toji was startled and quickly asked, "Where is he?"
"Don't be nervous." Di Qiu'er rolled her eyes at him. "I told him that it would be too obvious for him to follow me around and protect me all the time. He would be easily discovered by humans, so I asked him to protect me in the shadows."
"This way, I'll be free. Even if something happens, the Scarlet King can protect me in time."
"Is this why you're dressed like this?" Toji glanced at Di Qiu'er, who was still wearing a black robe. "As expected, girls love beauty. They'd rather attract more trouble, even wear clothes that villains would wear, than make themselves look ugly."
"None of your business." Di Qiu'er put her hands on her hips and looked at Toji lying on the bed. "So, are you really going to sleep? Not cultivating anymore?"
"It's my own cultivation method. I can practice however I want, and my reaction time won't hinder my cultivation speed. It's fine if it's still this slow."
Toji glanced lazily at Di Qiu'er, then immediately closed his eyes.
"It's late, and I have to go out early tomorrow morning. This is pointless to chat with. I'm going to sleep now. Do as you please."
Seeing that he wanted to rest, Di Qiu'er finally came to her senses and stared wide-eyed:
"Wait! You're asleep, but what about me?"
Toji closed his eyes and pursed his lips:
"Sleep wherever you like—on the sofa, the floor, the windowsill."
"You—" Di Qiu'er gritted her teeth in anger, her fists clenching so tightly they cracked, "How could you be like this?"
Toji slightly opened one eye and glanced at her:
"What, do you want to sleep in the bed? Sure, the bed is big enough, I don't mind."
"Who wants to sleep in the same bed with you!" Di Qiu'er stomped her foot in embarrassment and anger, her beautiful red eyes almost spitting fire.
"So what do you want?" Toji asked. "You can't expect me to sleep on the floor, can you?"
Di Qiu'er bit her lip and looked around.
This shabby room really didn't have any decent place to rest; the sofa was narrow and hard, and the floor was filthy.
She hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence:
"Get up, I'll sleep on the bed, you sleep on the floor!"
Toji burst out laughing:
"Dream on."
Di Qiu'er was so angry she wanted to hit someone, but she was afraid of making too much noise and attracting unnecessary trouble, so she could only hold back.
She glared fiercely at Toji:
"One day, I'll teach you a lesson!"
Toji turned to the side, propped his head up with one hand, and looked at her with a half-smile:
"It's not certain who will teach whom a lesson. You're no match for me if you don't use your true power."
"You—" Di Qiu'er was speechless with anger, yet unable to refute it.
After all, the previous exchange had already proven that in a pure hand-to-hand combat situation, she indeed couldn't gain the upper hand.
But she still walked a few steps to the bedside and grabbed the corner of the blanket.
"Couldn't you at least get me some blankets or something from that Storage Soul Tool of yours...?"
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly threw off the covers, intending to look at the Storage Soul Tool on Toji's body.
But the next second, time seemed to freeze.
Di Qiu'er's gaze involuntarily shifted downwards, and when she saw the scene before her, she froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
Her delicate, pretty face flushed crimson at a visible speed, even the tips of her ears turned pink.
"You, you..." Her voice suddenly faltered, her crimson eyes trembling violently.
Toji slowly opened his eyes, looking completely innocent, and curled up to cover Optimus Prime's spot:
"Don't you know any manners? Pulling back someone's blanket like that... and if you want something, just say so, why do you have to do it yourself?"
"Abnormal!!"
Di Qiu'er then seemed to wake from a dream, hurriedly throwing the blanket back up, the force of which almost covered Toji completely.
She staggered back a few steps, her back slamming against the wall with a thud.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became incredibly awkward.
Toji peeked out from under the covers, looked at Di Qiu'er huddled in the corner, practically burning up, and couldn't help but laugh out loud:
"Now you're shy? Weren't you quite brave just now?"
"Shut up!" Di Qiu'er covered her eyes tightly, her voice trembling, "Who told you to... do... that..."
"What?" Toji had never seen Di Qiu'er so shy before, guessing she was the type with high aggression and low defense. "This just proves I'm a virile man. Don't you even know common sense? Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night, I'd be a saint if I didn't react."
"You still dare to talk back!" Di Qiu'er stomped her feet in anger, the face plaque peeking out from between her fingers turning bright red, almost dripping blood. "It's all your fault, it's all because of your constitution..."
Toji shrugged. "Then I should blame you, barging into a man's room in the middle of the night and pulling off his blankets..."
Di Qiu'er took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Finally, she snorted coldly, turned around, walked to the corner of the room, and sat down against the wall with her arms crossed.
"Forget it, I can't be bothered arguing with you. I'm going to cultivate."
Seeing her frustrated yet proud expression, Toji couldn't resist teasing her again:
"Really not coming? The bed is quite soft."
"Shut up! Go to sleep!"
Di Qiu'er simply closed her eyes and ignored him.
"Then I'll start cultivating too, just don't take advantage of me when I'm not looking."
He stretched lazily for Toji, then continued his cultivation.
Di Qiu'er was still pondering her next plan when she looked up and her gaze met Toji's cultivation. Her eyes involuntarily roamed over him, from his collarbone to his chest, and then to his taut waist and abdomen...
How can this bastard have such a great body?!
She abruptly turned her face away, her ear tips turning slightly red, and her heart beating much faster than usual.
Her mind was filled with the images she had just witnessed.
That guy's physique... his genes are really good, much better than most Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, even some Ferocious Beast...
Di Qiu'er quickly stopped herself from having that thought.
Ugh, what am I thinking? It's all because of that guy's presence that I'm reacting so strongly.
She shook her head violently, forcing herself to calm down, and was finally able to focus on her cultivation.
Nothing more was said that night.