No Matter How Late You Want to Go, I Can Keep You Company

"Xin Lan, I'm still a virgin," Xuan Jia suddenly said, looking very serious.

Xin Lan nodded gently. "Mm, got it. What do you want me to do, give you an award?"

Xuan Jia choked, and his expression darkened. "You know that's not what I mean."

"I don't."

Xin Lan lied through her teeth, her gaze dropping again.

"Just tell me if you're going to show me or not. If not, let's hang up. There's no point dragging this out."

Xuan Jia: ...

Wait, why was she so unpredictable?

Was she really unwilling to give him even the slightest commitment? The way she looked at him clearly showed she liked him...

"I just want you to take responsibility for me, Xin Lan. I feel very insecure."

After thinking it over, Xuan Jia still didn't dare refuse outright. He deliberately slowed down instead, hoping to coax her into saying what he wanted to hear.

Xin Lan, however, raised her eyes, clicked her tongue impatiently, and hung up the video call.

What a joke.

It wasn't as if she had begged him for a deep link to save her life. He was the one begging her, yet he was trying to whet her appetite. It was ridiculous.

No wonder he and Mo Xiao were brothers. They each had their own way of putting on an act.

"Beep, beep."

Xuan Jia called her again and kept calling.

Xin Lan had Fuxi bring her some fruit and ate it while watching videos of previous Joint Combat Exercises, not bothering to pay him any attention.

Eventually, she found the notification sound annoying and deleted him.

"The recipient has refused to receive your messages. Please add their Star Network ID again..."

In his office, Xuan Jia, who had already stripped naked and prepared to apologize, turned pale at the bright red exclamation mark and sank heavily back into his chair.

It was over. He had prepared so many topics in advance and even gone all out to take that kind of photo. He had finally been on the verge of success, only to ruin everything in an instant.

Xin Lan clearly liked his body and his looks. As long as he followed her instructions, she would be willing to accept him sooner or later.

But he had gotten carried away for a moment, thinking he could use that trick to get a commitment from her and naturally become her exclusive sentinel.

If she could really be seduced that way, Mo Xiao should have succeeded long ago...

His feverish head finally cleared, and Xuan Jia suddenly wanted to slap himself.

"Xin Lan, I was wrong. Please let me out. I won't dare do it again, really."

"From now on, I'll show you whatever you want to see. I definitely won't say anything I shouldn't. Xin Lan, please, take me off your blacklist. I can't do without you."

"..."

"Can you give me another chance? I promise this is the last time. I promise I won't make the same mistake again..."

He sent dozens more contact requests, begging for forgiveness.

Xin Lan didn't look at any of them.

For one thing, she didn't really know how to use a smart wristband like this. For another, the videos of previous exercises were so dull and boring that even the finals weren't interesting, so she went to the gym.

Since she couldn't disrupt her workout schedule, she had only intended to take a brisk walk and work up a sweat so she could sleep better that night, so she hadn't called anyone along.

She just hadn't expected Yun Jin to be there too.

He was doing push-ups, a few strands of his flame-red hair damp with sweat. He wore a very thin, close-fitting black workout outfit that hugged his body so tightly it even looked a little sexy.

Xin Lan took a few extra looks at him, then ignored him and headed straight for a treadmill.

But before she could turn it on, Yun Jin walked over with a frown. "Miss Guide, your body isn't suited to exercising before bed. Even a brisk walk will leave your lower body sore tomorrow and affect your sleep quality."

He stared at her face without the slightest attempt to look away, his firm manner showing a hint of disapproval instead.

Xin Lan didn't have a particularly good impression of him, but for the sake of her health, she didn't insist that he leave. Instead, she followed up on what he had said.

"But I came here to tire myself out so I could sleep tonight. If you won't let me exercise, what am I supposed to do if I can't sleep?"

"You could listen to some sleep music or watch videos that help you sleep."

Yun Jin's suggestion was reasonable, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"I'm a light sleeper. Any noise will keep me awake, so those methods won't work."

"Then you could find someone to sleep with you."

Yun Jin thought about it and decided it was a good suggestion.

After all, she had slept soundly when Chi Ming and Wu Xi slept with her, so presumably they both had good ways of getting her to sleep.

But would it be a bad thing if she got used to having them sleep with her like that?

Yun Jin's brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed again. He even regretted making such a hasty suggestion.

"Then who do you think would be suitable to sleep with me? I'm not sleepy at all right now, so I might be at it for a long time tonight."

Hearing such blunt words out of nowhere, Yun Jin's brow twitched sharply again.

He took a deep breath. He had been about to say Chi Ming might be more suitable, but seeing that she seemed ready to take his suggestion, he quickly changed what he was about to say.

"If you don't mind, I can sleep with you."

It was Yun Jin's first time offering to share someone's bed, and every inch of him showed how uncomfortable he was.

He truly despised this kind of behavior from the bottom of his heart, but when he thought that this day would come sooner or later if he became her exclusive sentinel, he quickly straightened his back and said seriously, "I'm in excellent physical condition. Before Chi Ming's Mental Landscape was purified, none of the three of them could beat me. So no matter how late you want to go, it's fine. I can keep you company."

"But my goal is to sleep, not to keep going." Xin Lan pressed a hand to her forehead and gave him a strange look.

His first attempt to offer himself had left Yun Jin red-faced, his cheeks burning.

But he still persisted in making a case for himself.

"It's fine. If you want to keep going, we can keep going. When you want to sleep, I'll help you fall asleep. If you like, I can even sing you a lullaby."

Xin Lan: ...

A damn lullaby.

Did he take her for a three-year-old? Did she need a lullaby to get to sleep?

She was a grown woman! The only things that could lull her to sleep were a male mommy's big pecs and eight-pack abs!

"Forget it. I'll have Wu Xi sleep with me instead."

Wu Xi talked a lot and had plenty of energy, but he was very well-behaved when he slept. Most importantly, his pecs were soft enough, and she hadn't gotten her fill of touching them today.

Having made up her mind, Xin Lan promptly left the gym.

Yun Jin found it utterly unbelievable that his first offer had failed.

He touched his face, then lifted his shirt and examined his physique in the mirror. Suddenly, he ran his hands wildly through his red hair and sank dejectedly to the floor.

"Why..."

Why would she rather go to Wu Xi than have him sleep with her?

He was the one she had asked. This opportunity should have been his in the first place...

The ninety-first floor.

"Xinbao~ Where have you been? I haven't seen you for an hour, and I missed you so much~"

"Can we sleep together tonight too? I promise I'll be good and won't disturb you."

As soon as Xin Lan got home, she found herself surrounded by Wu Xi alone.

It was as though an invisible tail behind him was wagging like a propeller, nearly fanning her into catching a cold.

Still, tonight was rather boring, and she didn't find him noisy.

"Sure. We'll play a few little games before bed."

"You got it! When it comes to games, you can count on me, Xinbao. I'm the best at them. I guarantee I'll carry you to victory!"

Having won the right to sleep with her, Wu Xi jumped three feet into the air with joy. He followed close behind her into the room and shut the door at lightning speed, afraid the others wouldn't take the hint and would follow them in.

Chi Ming and Cang Leng, who had likewise gotten up to greet Xin Lan the moment she got home but hadn't managed to get a word in: ...

"Wait, is today Wu Xi's lucky day? Why is Miss Guide treating him so well? It was one thing for her to purify his Mental Landscape and sleep with him this afternoon, but now she's going to sleep with him again tonight? At this rate, it won't just be me who has no chance. He'll outshine you too."

Cang Leng slumped his shoulders and stared resentfully at Xin Lan's door, hoping to complain along with Chi Ming, who had also been neglected.

Chi Ming, however, calmly turned around and went straight back to his room, ignoring him entirely.

Seeing Wu Xi receive more favor than he did, it was impossible to say he didn't mind.

But Chi Ming could control his emotions.

He knew Lanlan didn't like noise, and that she had only chosen Wu Xi because of the novelty. So as long as he made sure he was irreplaceable, he wouldn't be abandoned.

With that thought, he opened his wardrobe, immediately took out several special outfits, and began trying them on one by one...