Su Nian looked at her flowing, moon-white dress and then down at the exquisite silver high heels on her feet.
Looking at the outfit she had specially chosen for this date, her brain buzzed, and her mind went blank.
Directly across from her stood a man armed to the teeth, looking as though he were ready to go out and slay a dragon at any moment.
‘Is Chu Tian an idiot?’
Who wears a full suit of armor to a date!
‘Wait… had Emma failed to relay the message properly?’
***
Meanwhile, Chu Tian looked at the girl standing in the moonlight, who was so beautiful she seemed otherworldly, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.
‘Why is my Little Nian dressed like this to “discuss strength improvement”?’
The girl before him wore a moon-white dress made of silky fabric that clung to her graceful curves, making her look like a celestial being drifting in the night breeze.
Her long golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her skin practically glowed under the moonlight.
‘This outfit…’
Its lethality was indeed immense, so much so that his original intention for a hearty, dripping-wet battle began to waver.
‘Could it be?’
‘Is this a special sparring plan Su Nian customized for him? That was it!’
He had heard from Su Nian’s Contract Beast before that their leader was a special kind of Succubus.
They specialized in using beauty and mental power to seize a person’s soul.
If a memory-erasing spell hit him, it would be a disaster.
‘It must be that Su Nian wants to simulate an extreme environment, using her peak beauty to shake her opponent’s resolve to prepare for when they encounter a Succubus next.’
Chu Tian reached a realization, ‘It must be that Su Nian wants to simulate an extreme environment through ultimate beauty to deal with the Succubus’s tactics.’
‘As expected of her! Even a sparring session is so cleverly thought out!’
Once he figured this out, a bright, encouraging smile appeared on Chu Tian’s face.
He even rotated his wrists, letting out a series of crisp “cracks” from his knuckles.
“Come on!” His voice was booming, filled with soaring fighting spirit.
“Let me see your best effort. I understand your intentions… Come on, let the battle begin!”
Su Nian: “???”
She felt as if there was something wrong with her hearing.
‘Come… Come on?’
‘Come on for what?’
‘What battle?’
Looking at the man’s eager, battle-ready expression, Su Nian felt like she was about to faint from anger.
She had dressed up meticulously, changed into her most beautiful dress, and waited for him in the Maze Garden under the moonlight for what?
It was so he would compliment her beauty!
And then they could walk through the garden hand in hand!
Then they would share a sweet embrace—that was what a formal date was supposed to be!
It was not so he could show up in a clunky suit of iron, armed to the teeth, wearing a helmet that covered his entire face, and tell her “Come on, let the battle begin”!
Dammit, she was so angry!
Su Nian’s chest heaved violently, and her breathtakingly beautiful face flushed a deep red.
“You…”
She opened her mouth, but she was so furious that she couldn’t get a single word out.
She could only glare at him with eyes that shimmered like water.
When Chu Tian saw the girl’s “aggressive” appearance, far from realizing something was wrong, he became even more convinced of his judgment.
‘She’s already started mobilizing her emotions and entering a combat state!’
‘Even her gaze has become so oppressive!’
“Good, that’s the spirit!” Chu Tian nodded approvingly and even took two steps back to create enough space for the upcoming “sparring session.”
Su Nian: “…”
“There’s no need to hold back. Attack with everything you have.”
“…”
She was truly going to be driven to death by this unromantic blockhead, this muscle-brained bastard!
“Chu Tian!”
Su Nian finally couldn’t take it anymore.
With a hint of a sob in her voice, she screamed his name.
She stomped her foot hard, and the thin heel of her shoe struck the hard stone path, letting out a sharp, aggrieved “clack”.
“Are you an idiot!”
This roar, tinged with a sob, finally caused the smile on Chu Tian’s face to crack.
He froze.
Something was wrong.
The atmosphere seemed… different from what he had imagined.
‘In Little Nian’s voice, there was no battle intent, only… grievance?’
Moreover, the rims of her eyes were red.
Chu Tian’s gaze finally moved slowly down from her “battle-filled” eyes, landing on the girl’s body and the surrounding environment.
Su Nian was wearing a beautiful dress that was completely impractical for fighting…
She was standing in a setting that had been meticulously decorated by the maids with glowing flowers—an obvious, deliberate date setup.
Aside from the floral arrangements, there was a delicate round table and two chairs.
If it were a sparring session… there clearly wouldn’t be such a setup.
He seemed to have… misunderstood the girl’s intentions a little bit.
A thought slowly surfaced in his mind.
And by “a little bit,” he meant “by a mile.”
The expression on Chu Tian’s face shifted from confusion to shock, then to realization, and finally settled on an extreme, soul-crushing embarrassment that made him want to find a hole to crawl into immediately.
For the first time, Chu Tian’s voice hitched.
He subconsciously reached up to scratch his head, only for his fingertips to hit the cold, hard metal of his helmet.
The air, in that moment, became terrifyingly quiet.
The only things left were the “rustle” of the night breeze through the flower bushes and Su Nian’s suppressed, aggrieved, and quiet sobbing.
It was over.
The misunderstanding was massive.
Chu Tian felt his cheeks heating up at an unprecedented speed.
The heat was even more scorching than being blasted by a Giant Dragon’s Dragon Breath.
He finally understood how ridiculously wrong he had been.
What “discussing strength”?
What “novel sparring plan”?
He had made it all up in his own head!
The young girl had dressed up so beautifully and specifically changed into such a lovely dress to wait for him in such a romantic place—was it to have a fight with him?
Even a fool could see that was impossible!
How could he have made such a stupid mistake!
Chu Tian’s gaze fell on Su Nian’s slightly trembling shoulders.
Seeing her fuming expression, a mixture of regret and heartache instantly overwhelmed him.
No.
He had to do something to fix this!
One second before Su Nian’s patience completely ran out and she prepared to turn and leave this place of heartbreak.
Chu Tian moved.
At a speed so fast he left afterimages, he snatched the mood-killing helmet off his head and tossed it aside.
A second later, a hand that wasn’t covered by an iron gauntlet wrapped around Su Nian’s hand.
Only the “clatter” of metal hitting the ground followed.
His voice was low and sincere, carrying a clear sense of vexation.
“I’m sorry.”
He firmly grasped her small, cold hand.
“I was wrong.”
Su Nian’s body stiffened abruptly.
The man’s palm was dry and bore the characteristic callouses of a swordsman as it rubbed against her skin.
The heat traveled through her skin and straight to her heart.
She looked up.
In her line of sight was the man’s face, which was written all over with apology.
Looking at Su Nian, Chu Tian stammered slightly as he tried to explain his actions.
“I… I thought… you wanted to spar.”
“Idiot, would I dress like this to spar?”
Su Nian crossed her arms and turned her head away.
She acted as though she were disgusted, but the hand Chu Tian was holding didn’t pull away.
Chu Tian breathed a sigh of relief.
He explained everything he had imagined—his thoughts about Su Nian simulating a Succubus encounter through extreme environment training.
Su Nian listened to Chu Tian’s ridiculous train of thought.
The man’s face was full of regret and tension.
He held her hand carefully, fearing she might shake him off.
“Pfft.”
As she listened, Su Nian finally couldn’t hold it back anymore and burst into laughter.
Seeing Su Nian laugh, Chu Tian’s racing heart finally settled back into place.
He let out a long breath, a look of relief washing over his face.
“Not angry anymore?”
He gripped Su Nian’s hand and quietly squeezed it a bit tighter.
Su Nian gave a soft huff and turned her face to the other side, refusing to look at him.
“Who said I’m not angry?” Her voice still carried a bit of a nasal tone.
She didn’t sound angry; it sounded more like she was acting spoiled.
Even she hadn’t noticed the soft, sweet quality in her voice.
Chu Tian immediately followed her lead, his tone full of indulgence and remorse.
“Yes, yes, I’m a devil.”
“Coming to a date wearing a full suit of iron… are you a devil?”
“I am the most unromantic devil in the world.”
He led Su Nian into the center of the garden.
There was a pre-arranged small round table covered with a pristine white tablecloth.
“Beautiful Holy Lady, please, have a seat.”
Mimicking a Knight from a play, Chu Tian bent down clumsily to pull out the chair for Su Nian.
Since he was still wearing most of his armor, this “elegant” movement looked incredibly comical.
The metal joints let out a loud “creak”, and he nearly tripped over his own greaves.
Seeing Chu Tian’s clumsy yet hardworking attempt to please her, most of Su Nian’s anger dissipated.
After she sat down, Chu Tian didn’t go to the opposite side but sat directly in the seat next to her.
“Thud!”
His metal greaves struck the table leg hard, letting out a loud bang.
Even the vase on the table shook three times.
“By the way, I’m actually curious—what did you say to Emma?” Chu Tian spoke up, trying to break the awkward tension.
Su Nian’s cheeks began to heat up again.
“I… I was too embarrassed to say it was a date… so I made up an excuse.”
Looking at Su Nian’s ears, which were red enough to bleed, Chu Tian finally understood where the problem lay.
“And then she told you I wanted to discuss improving our strength?”
Su Nian looked away, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.
He wanted to laugh, but he was afraid Su Nian would truly explode in shame, so he could only try his best to hold it in, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Su Nian turned back, glaring at him in shameful indignation.
“You’re still laughing!”
“I’m not laughing, I’m not laughing.”
Chu Tian quickly raised the hand that wasn’t in armor in surrender.
Su Nian looked at the cumbersome armor on his body with a look of disdain.
The distance between them felt a bit far because of all that iron.
“You… can’t you just take off that scrap metal?”
“I can! Of course I can!”
As if given a grand amnesty, Chu Tian immediately began fumbling to unfasten the armor on his body.
“Click, clatter.”
Breastplate, pauldrons, greaves…
Piece by piece, the cold, metallic parts were tossed onto the nearby grass, creating a series of dull thuds.
Soon, the majestic iron Knight disappeared.
In his place was a man wearing only black, tight-fitting martial arts clothes.
Without the obstruction of the armor, the smooth and explosive lines of his muscles were partially visible under the moonlight, exuding a masculine sense of power.
Chu Tian breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down beside Su Nian.
This time, there was no armor to block him.
He reached out again, using his broad palm to completely and seamlessly wrap around Su Nian’s slightly cool hand.
The clean, sun-like scent from Chu Tian’s body, mixed with a faint warmth, instantly enveloped Su Nian.
“This is much better.”
Su Nian’s heart skipped a beat.
Her fingertips subconsciously curled inward, but she didn’t pull away.
The constant heat flowing from his palm gave her an unprecedented sense of peace.
“Were you… always this stupid in the past?”
The question made Chu Tian pause for a moment, ‘In the past?’