“The two of them are chatting privately now. Aren’t you worried at all that Sister Lvye, your roommate, will convince Lady Shangguan to let her off the hook? What if she gets a light punishment and comes out to deal with you later?”
Feeling bored while waiting, Lin Huanhuan decided to try and scare the optimistic Ye Jinxiu.
Ye Jinxiu was not frightened at all. “Is being afraid useful? Even if Lady Shangguan really is convinced by Lvye, what would my fear here change?”
“Hmph, you’re a boring person.”
“Besides, don’t I still have you?”
Ye Jinxiu turned back with a captivating smile, looking like a crabapple in full bloom. “Huanhuan, you’ll help me, right?”
Although she was asking, her tone carried an unprecedented level of certainty.
Ye Jinxiu smiled at her like a fresh spring flower. Lin Huanhuan was momentarily dazed, her face turning red instantly as she quickly looked away. “You narcissist, who would help you? I don’t have that kind of free time.”
Once she regained some composure, Lin Huanhuan began to defend herself. “I already told you, I wasn’t helping you just now. I just couldn’t stand Shangguan Muqing’s arrogant attitude and wanted to teach her a lesson.”
“The so-called ‘helping you’ is just a scenario you’ve fantasized in your head. Use your brain and think about it—how could I possibly help you?”
All her excuses seemed pale and weak.
In Ye Jinxiu’s eyes, it was merely the outward expression of someone who said one thing but meant another.
Ye Jinxiu chuckled softly. “Fine, fine. I’ll believe whatever you say. I’ll believe all of it, just don’t get so worked up.”
Hearing that tone usually reserved for coaxing a child, Lin Huanhuan gritted her teeth, wishing she could give Ye Jinxiu a good beating. “What’s with that attitude? I already said I wasn’t helping! Do you have to keep acting like this? Watch out, or I won’t be polite!”
Ye Jinxiu tilted her head, appearing somewhat confused. “Didn’t I say I believed you? Why do you still have a problem, Huanhuan?”
“Oh, I see.”
Ye Jinxiu struck her palm with her fist in realization. “What you actually meant was that you don’t want me to believe you. I’m so sorry. In that case, I still won’t believe you.”
“Stop talking nonsense! That’s not what I meant!”
“Then what exactly do you mean? Why don’t we just speak plainly? I really don’t understand otherwise.”
“You!”
Lin Huanhuan pointed a finger at her, her body trembling with rage. She wanted to curse her out but found herself at a loss for words. Finally, she dropped her arm, crossed her limbs, and turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge her.
Ye Jinxiu just looked at her and laughed, feeling happier than ever before.
Before long, Shangguan Muqing returned. She didn’t say a word, but under everyone’s surprised gazes, she bowed to Ye Jinxiu. “I apologize. I misunderstood you.”
After the apology, she forcefully handed Ye Jinxiu 200 spirit stones as compensation, took her portion of the Mystic Water, and left.
Lvye returned shortly after, looking soul-crushed. The first thing she did was rush to the side of the Mystic Yin Pool, take her portion of the Mystic Water, and carefully tuck it into her cosmos bag.
Not long after, people from the Disciplinary Hall walked in and took Lvye away. They didn’t communicate with anyone else during the process; everything was strictly business.
After Lin Huanhuan and Ye Jinxiu finished collecting their Mystic Water, they also needed to take some Thousand-Year Jade Marrow. This marrow needed to be stored in boxes made of red sandalwood for long-term preservation.
—
“Why are you following me? I’m not interested in the current you.”
Walking on the way back, Lin Huanhuan glanced at Ye Jinxiu, who had been following her, and spoke with some impatience.
“Thank you. Thank you so much for today,” Ye Jinxiu whispered.
Lin Huanhuan rolled her eyes. “If you really want to thank me, then stay away from me. That would be the best gift you could give.”
Ye Jinxiu stared at her without a word, her expression making it clear: That was the one thing she would never agree to.
Lin Huanhuan had only said it in passing and hadn’t expected Ye Jinxiu to agree so easily, so she wasn’t particularly disappointed. If it were that easy to get rid of her, she would have done it long ago.
‘This must be my greatest tribulation. I can’t bring myself to really hurt the female lead, and instead, she’s seen through me and is sticking to me.’
‘Speaking of which, this girl is really something. She knows I have bad intentions, yet she doesn’t run away. She actually gets closer. Her thought process is beyond baffling.’
Lin Huanhuan grumbled internally but didn’t continue trying to drive Ye Jinxiu away. It was mostly useless anyway and a waste of breath.
Instead of letting Ye Jinxiu follow her for nothing, Lin Huanhuan decided to ask the question on her mind. “By the way, what’s the deal with you and that girl Lvye? Aren’t you roommates? You didn’t seem to have any grudges, so why did she try to frame you?”
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinxiu’s gaze dimmed, and her voice sounded somewhat lonely. “I don’t know. I used to think my relationship with Lvye was quite good. I really can’t figure out why she would plant evidence to frame me.”
As if recalling an old memory, Ye Jinxiu said in a low voice, “Lvye is six months older than me, so I could technically call her Sister Lvye, though we usually didn’t bother with titles.”
“When I first entered the sect, I was very shy. I was afraid of the unfamiliar environment and didn’t know how to get along with the people around me. I even had the thought of just going home and giving up on cultivation.”
“The person responsible for introducing me to the sect was Lvye, and she was also my roommate.”
“I still can’t forget how Lvye comforted me with gentle words when I couldn’t sleep because of the new environment.”
“She told me, ‘Don’t be afraid. Everyone in the sect is a good person. As long as you stay here, nothing bad will happen. If you’re worried about not having friends, I can be your first friend, and I definitely won’t be your last.’ We talked until very, very late, until the night grew silent.”
“She once told me that her ambition was to reach the peak of the immortal path and achieve longevity, so she would never be troubled by trivial matters again and would have the power to control her own destiny.”
“But later, I don’t know when it started, but we began to drift apart. I could clearly feel that even though I always treated her like an older sister and a good friend, she likely didn’t feel the same way anymore.”
“I don’t understand why it turned out like this. Why did it have to come to this?”
As Ye Jinxiu spoke, her tone was filled with an unspeakable sadness, and her brow furrowed in deep confusion.
Lin Huanhuan looked at her and said reassuringly, “People change. The human heart is the most unpredictable thing in this world. It’s enough to just ensure you don’t change yourself.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Ye Jinxiu nodded and let out a long breath, as if exhaling all her sorrow. She then asked, “So, will our relationship change in the future too?”
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