Bai Lingfeng’s forced smile became even more pronounced.
Lin Huanhuan could clearly hear the sound of herself swallowing nervously.
The fragrance of the incense in the room seemed especially strong at this moment.
Her fingertips turned slightly pale from clutching them so tightly.
Her body was stiff, sitting up straight as a rod, and without realizing it, tiny beads of cold sweat had appeared on her fair forehead.
‘Damn it, this useless brain, hurry up and think of something! All you do is eat and never work, one day I’ll swap you out!’
Even though she was furiously raging in her heart, the crisis before her showed no sign of easing.
“Well, this, um, how should I put it.”
Lin Huanhuan stammered, and Bai Lingfeng thought she simply didn’t know how to explain: “Is it hard to say? If so, then you don’t need to say it.”
The words ‘don’t need to say it’ exploded in Lin Huanhuan’s mind.
‘Warning, this is definitely a warning! If I don’t come up with a reasonable explanation right now, he’ll just kill me on the spot! Oh heavens, why am I so unlucky!’
‘Crap, is he about to draw his sword and chop me down? What should I do? What should I do?’
“I didn’t do it on purpose, I really didn’t mean to! Please, just forgive me this one time, I promise it’ll never happen again.”
Unsure how to defend herself, Lin Huanhuan simply pressed her palms together and bowed her head, begging for mercy, looking exactly like a slave who had done wrong and was pleading with her master to avoid a terrible punishment.
“Ah, this… why is that?”
A question mark seemed to slowly float above Bai Lingfeng’s head; he was thoroughly confused now. He’d just picked a random topic, so why was Lin Huanhuan reacting like this?
‘Was my topic too abrupt? But it shouldn’t be to this extent…’
Bai Lingfeng couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so he quickly said, “There’s no need for this, just sit up, let’s talk it out.”
He tried to sound as gentle as possible, but when these words reached Lin Huanhuan’s ears, they turned into: “Heh heh heh, prepare to die, you damned villainous blond! The moment you lift your head, it’ll be your execution day! Even if it costs me dearly today, I’ll be sure to crush you!”
With thoughts like this, she dared not lift her head even more, and her whole body was trembling with fear.
Bai Lingfeng couldn’t help but begin to suspect, ‘Was that thing just now actually a big secret?’
‘Should I not have asked about it? Better make a note of this.’
While Lin Huanhuan was racking her brain for a way to survive Bai Lingfeng’s hands, and Bai Lingfeng was racking his brain for a way to get Lin Huanhuan to raise her head without making it awkward, the door was suddenly pushed open.
“Young Master Bai, Miss, how’s the conversation going? I brought some pastries for you both to try—eh? What are you two doing?”
Holding a plate of pastries, Dong Yun’er saw Lin Huanhuan bowing her head and trembling, who-knows-why, while Bai Lingfeng wore a look of embarrassment and scratched his head. The two of them looked just like children caught doing something wrong.
The next moment, the two oddballs simultaneously looked up at her, their eyes filled with excitement, startling her out of her wits.
“W-what?” Dong Yun’er guarded her chest with one hand and held the pastries in front with the other, her small face full of wariness.
“It’s nothing, just that you came at the perfect time.”
“I feel the same way.”
Lin Huanhuan and Bai Lingfeng nodded at the same time, then quickly looked away when they noticed their synchronized movements.
Dong Yun’er’s mouth twitched.
‘Why do I feel like they’re up to something shady? No, it must be my imagination. Miss only likes women, she shouldn’t be interested in men, and Bai Lingfeng is definitely a man—there’s no way that’s happening.’
Lin Huanhuan thought to herself: ‘Yun’er really saved my life this time! For her sake, I won’t punish her next time.’
Dong Yun’er set the plate of pastries on the table: “They should taste good, Miss usually likes them.”
“Indeed.”
Dong Yun’er retreated out of the room.
“Then I’ll give them a try,” said Bai Lingfeng.
He picked up a pastry and took a light bite, swallowed, then nodded approvingly: “Not bad at all. Looks like Senior Sister Dong really does take good care of Miss Huanhuan.”
“Of course.”
Lin Huanhuan lifted her chin a little, watching this wretched male lead’s behavior. She could more or less tell now that she had probably misunderstood—Bai Lingfeng hadn’t discovered anything.
‘Well, it makes sense. This guy just came back, and before Ye Jin Xiu arrived, she wouldn’t have told him. There’s no way he could know.’
She did feel a bit relieved, but the person below her could barely hold it in anymore.
A tiny fist landed twice on her calf, perfectly expressing the frustration of the person hidden below.
Lin Huanhuan originally didn’t want to pay any attention and planned to wait for Bai Lingfeng to leave before dealing with it, but Bai Lingfeng just sat there leisurely eating pastries, completely ignoring social cues. If he’d lived in her previous life, he’d have been doomed to spend his whole life in the cold bench!
Bai Lingfeng took a bite of pastry, sipped some tea, and commented,
“Miss Huanhuan, your room looks quite nice too. These carved decorations are exquisite, obviously the work of a master craftsman. May I ask who made them? Perhaps I could pay a visit one day.”
‘Ugh, all you do is eat, eat, eat. You’re not the male lead, you’re a male pig! “Master craftsman”? They just grabbed this stuff from home, how should I know who made it? Next time you come back, I’ll put something in your tea, see how cocky you act then!’
In her heart, Lin Huanhuan was cursing Bai Lingfeng into a walking fungus, while at the same time growing more anxious—because Ye Jin Xiu was getting angry, her hand was now on Lin Huanhuan’s calf. She dreaded to imagine what would happen if Ye Jin Xiu’s patience finally snapped and she made a move on that forbidden area.
‘I haven’t even touched that place myself, how could I let someone else get there first? Absolutely not!’
Even so, she kept her expression calm and composed, as if nothing was amiss:
“I’m not too sure, really. My family arranged everything. If you’re truly interested, Young Master Bai, you can ask them yourself.”
“I see. I’ll do that if I have a chance.”
“By the way, Miss Huanhuan, where do you usually like to go for fun? I usually focus on cultivation, but lately I realized I’ve been a bit too uptight and want to relax. Do you have any recommendations?”
“There are plenty of places. At Mirror Lake, there are ten miles of peach blossoms, the scenery is always lovely. There’s also the Inquiry Pavilion, supposedly left behind by some great cultivator. Lots of people go there—you could give it a try.”
“I see.”
And so, the two of them chatted on and off, mostly with Bai Lingfeng asking questions and Lin Huanhuan answering.
Although Lin Huanhuan’s expression was a bit off, the socially oblivious Bai Lingfeng didn’t notice at all and continued cheerfully.
Lin Huanhuan’s face grew uglier and uglier, because the hand of the person below was inching higher, nearly touching the forbidden zone.
At last, Bai Lingfeng seemed to realize that it was getting a bit much to talk so long. He stood up and clasped his hands together: “I’ve disturbed Miss Huanhuan long enough. I’ll take my leave for now. Farewell.”
“Farewell, farewell,” Lin Huanhuan replied happily at once, not even daring to say a polite word of farewell, for fear this blockhead male lead would actually take her up on it.
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