A barely audible cough broke the eerie silence.
It came from the throat of the person lying beneath her—faint, yet unmistakable.
Su Nian’s heart suddenly jumped, as if it was about to burst out of her chest.
The Horned Demon Bastard… is awake?
She forced down the panic swelling inside her and worked hard to keep her breathing steady.
No panic.
Absolutely no panic.
Now was the critical moment.
She had to act like she was truly worried about him, to make him believe she genuinely cared.
After hesitating for a moment and settling on a strategy, her delicate lips parted.
“Ma… Master… you… you’re awake?”
The girl lifted her small head, her voice trembling, like a kitten both overjoyed and afraid of being scolded.
She widened her eyes as much as she could, putting on a look of mixed surprise and relief.
A few sparkling tears clung to the corners of her eyes, as if she had just been crying.
Of course, the tears weren’t real.
She had condensed them with Water Magic to make her performance more convincing.
“That’s great!” Su Nian quickly ran through her calculations, deepening the expression of joy on her face, with a hint of relief that she had survived a disaster.
Chu Tian was slightly stunned.
Now, he truly saw the expression on the girl’s face before him.
He wasn’t dreaming!
When he had fallen, unable to get up, Su Nian had really been concerned about him, not gloating or even stabbing him further…
However, what Chu Tian didn’t know was that on the original first timeline, Su Nian hadn’t hesitated to deliver a sword strike to him.
Of course, the current Chu Tian had no way of knowing any of this.
“Wildcat, are you… caring about me?” Chu Tian still found it hard to believe what was in front of him.
His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a trace of testing and doubt.
He slowly opened his eyes.
In his dark purple-black pupils flashed a complicated emotion.
Surprise, confusion, joy, and a subtle… indescribable tenderness?
“Mm… I’m not caring… Master…”
Su Nian pretended to be shy and quickly looked away, like a little girl caught with her secret revealed.
Her cheeks blushed like ripe apples, her gaze flickering, avoiding Chu Tian’s eyes.
To admit it outright?
Too fake!
Playing coy, hesitant, and shy like this was the only way to make the Horned Demon Bastard truly believe her.
Su Nian felt proud inside, certain her acting skills were outstanding.
She tilted her face slightly, covertly observing the Horned Demon Bastard’s reaction from the corner of her eye.
The girl’s cheeks flushed with a gentle rosy glow.
Like peach blossoms blooming in March, tender and juicy, making one want to take a bite.
“Oh? Not caring for Master, then why did you feed me… medicine?” Chu Tian spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse, tinged with playfulness, curiosity, and a barely perceptible hint of expectation.
He reached out and gently touched the girl’s lips.
There—the softness he had touched while she fed him medicine before.
At this moment, a faint warmth remained, along with a subtle medicinal fragrance.
Chu Tian’s fingertips lightly brushed against them.
Feeling that softness and warmth, waves of fluttering stirred within his heart.
“Mm… this… caring for Master is because… because…”
Su Nian might have been too immersed in her “performance” to even mind the Horned Demon Bastard’s touch, letting his fingers gently graze her lips.
“It’s because…”
She hadn’t thought of a better excuse, but suddenly inspiration struck.
Shyly, she tapped her jade-clad foot in heels, adding a hint of girlish coquettishness, and unexpectedly said,
“Master is a big bad guy!” Her voice was soft and tender, carrying a slight grievance.
It was exactly like a put-upon little wife acting spoiled with her man.
Two young lovers playfully teasing each other?
After saying that, she seemed to exhaust all her strength.
Her already rosy cheeks deepened to an almost bleeding red.
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, nearly inaudible.
“Who… who let Master get hurt… And it’s because I’m afraid you’d die—this place is so gloomy and scary, no one can protect me…”
Su Nian’s words grew more and more uneasy.
She didn’t believe her own lie!
Could the Horned Demon Bastard believe it?
He was probably laughing at her foolishness in his heart!
But… acting requires confidence…
What if he did believe it?
Su Nian secretly glanced at Chu Tian. Seeing no reaction, she quickly lowered her head again.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.” Chu Tian almost blurted it out.
He didn’t know why, as if these words had long been carved into his bones.
Don’t be fooled by how he had bullied Su Nian by all means before.
He had never truly received affection from a woman.
Being single all his life, he’d never seen such a scene!
Now, the girl he secretly admired was suddenly “gentle” with him, throwing his mind into chaos.
He couldn’t think about right or wrong—he was completely dizzy.
Moreover, her instinctive care for him when he was near death moved him deeply, causing his IQ to plummet…
Chu Tian felt his heartbeat quicken by several beats.
‘Could this be…’
The bond that only appears in moments of crisis?
He looked at the shy, lovely girl before him, a strange feeling swelling in his chest.
This feeling… Was damn sweet!
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
‘Pah pah pah!’
Su Nian silently spat a few times in her heart.
Disgusted with her own cheesy words, she never imagined she’d say something like that.
On the battlefield, she couldn’t defeat the Horned Demon Bastard head-on.
Now, all she could do was this kind of “Beauty Trap”.
It was… a bit embarrassing.
She felt like a bad woman who would stop at nothing to achieve her goal, forced to swallow her pride.
But… What choice did she have now?
This Horned Demon Bastard was so powerful, so hard to deal with.
Countless attempts, countless failures, had made her realize clearly…
The Horned Demon Bastard… was invincible.
She could only…
Take a different path.
Su Nian planned her next act in her mind.
Thinking about the scene she was about to perform, the corner of her mouth almost couldn’t hold back a smile…
The next moment, Su Nian cast a coy glance that casually swept over the man’s wounds.
A look of “concern” appeared on the girl’s face.
Then, as if remembering something, she gently shook the healing potion in her hand.
The pale blue liquid swayed lightly inside the vial, refracting a mysterious light.
At that moment, the clouds parted, sunlight pierced through the hole in the dome, casting a golden shaft of light that enveloped the girl holding the potion.
Her golden hair poured down like a waterfall, framing her delicate profile, breathtakingly beautiful.
“Don’t be stubborn. You’re hurt this badly—just lie still. The potion isn’t all used up yet.”
Su Nian pretended to be stern, pointing at the Horned Demon Bastard with one finger while waving the half-empty healing potion in her other hand.