The next day.
Ye Chuan woke up unusually early, perhaps because of last night's basketball dribbling session, which had led him to dream—a dream where Bai Qianshuang had used a slime entanglement on him, and it felt like everything had been squeezed out.
Why would he have such a dream?
"Ha." Ye Chuan yawned, kicked the egg by his bed out of habit, and then checked his phone for the daily rewards as usual.
Bai Qianshuang had dropped some pills and cultivation manuals again, Lan Xiaoke had given ghost-type talismans and tools, while Lilith provided an item called [Magic Crystal], which seemed to be the currency of the Aiser Continent. The first two weren’t particularly useful, but the Magic Crystal held some value.
"Just stockpile them." After collecting the daily sunflower rewards, what Ye Chuan looked forward to the most were the items from Ke Ning.
After all, she often dropped conceptual-level items, though the probability was frustratingly low. He tapped on Ke Ning’s chibi avatar, only to find that today, the science girl had dropped nothing.
In fact, inside the phone, Ke Ning looked like she was on the verge of collapsing—face-down on the floor, motionless.
After checking the logs, Ye Chuan immediately rushed to Ke Ning’s room and dragged the unconscious girl out, feeding her a Revival Pill.
Beside them, the Rubik’s Cube emitted a faint glow, spinning as it followed them out.
……
"I’m fine, just temporary shock," Ke Ning said after recovering, sitting on a chair while sipping coffee. "It’s nothing serious."
"Nothing serious?" Ye Chuan sighed.
"No, I’m used to it."
"……"
Ke Ning seemed to remember something. Her drowsy eyes flickered as she retrieved a crystal from the Rubik’s Cube. "Here."
"What’s this?" Ye Chuan initially thought it was a core crystal, but upon holding it, he realized it was something entirely different.
"A special ore I modified using the rift data you provided. If a certain quantity is injected into a rift, it can seal it shut." Ke Ning adjusted her glasses, as if discussing something mundane.
Ye Chuan was surprised. "You can do that?"
Was Ke Ning just too overpowered?
"Yes, I—mmph—" Before she could finish, Ke Ning slumped forward onto Ye Chuan, completely still. Panicked, he immediately reached for more pills, only to realize she was breathing steadily—she had fallen asleep.
"She’s asleep?" Ye Chuan glanced at the Rubik’s Cube.
"Bzz… bzzz…" The cube wobbled slightly, emitting a mechanical hum.
"You understand me?"
"Bzz…"
Ye Chuan found the cube’s existence rather fascinating. He had even tried replicating it with a duplication spell once, but it had no effect—the result was just a lump of iron.
Later, Lilith explained that to perfectly duplicate an object, one needed to dismantle and fully comprehend its internal structure.
The more complex it was, the harder replication became.
This was also why, before teaching Ye Chuan the duplication spell, Lilith had straight-up disassembled his phone.
Ye Chuan wasn’t skilled enough to dismantle Ke Ning’s Rubik’s Cube to study its structure—or even if he did, he probably wouldn’t understand it.
Seeing Ke Ning asleep on his lap, he gently patted her back.
When she remained unresponsive, like a powered-down machine, he had no choice but to pick her up.
Carried in Ye Chuan’s arms, Ke Ning’s head tilted slightly, her wavy hair cascading loosely. Her breathing was steady, her skin smooth—yet her dark circles were shockingly pronounced, completely at odds with her delicate features.
Like a doll, she didn’t react at all to being carried.
"So light." Adjusting his grip on this precious burden, Ye Chuan gauged her weight.
Probably not even a hundred pounds, yet her figure was surprisingly well-endowed—something her lab coat couldn’t hide.
Come to think of it, all his tenants had great figures.
Well, except Lilith and the Rubik’s Cube.
Carrying Ke Ning back to her room, he found the lab table as cluttered as ever, strewn with equipment. Ye Chuan didn’t dare touch anything, carefully placing her on the bed instead.
Oddly, despite the chaos everywhere else, the bed was immaculate—even the blanket was neatly folded.
Ye Chuan doubted Ke Ning would ever take the time to fold her blanket. She’d sooner sleep on the floor than bother with that.
"Has this bed even been used much?" He had a feeling Ke Ning treated time like a scarce resource, squeezing every second into her research.
The girl’s obsessive dedication left Ye Chuan in awe.
"Why not try cultivation first? Improve your physique before diving back into research?" Ye Chuan tucked her in. The Rubik’s Cube spun slightly beside him, as if expressing gratitude.
"Bzz…"
"No need to thank me." As he spoke, Ye Chuan noticed the jar of coffee powder on Ke Ning’s desk.
"Using this to stay awake every day? What’s so great about it?"
Picking up the jar, an idea struck him. He retrieved a bottle of Deer Blood Pills from his inventory.
Crushing one between his fingers, he mixed the powder into the coffee.
After shaking the jar thoroughly, he checked the blend and placed it back on the desk.
Good enough.
"Bzz—" The Rubik’s Cube floated nearby, scanning the jar with a blue beam. Detecting no toxins, it returned to Ke Ning’s side.
"What, afraid I poisoned it? I’d never harm her."
Ye Chuan tapped the metallic cube lightly before leaving the room.
He knew Ke Ning wouldn’t spare time for cultivation, so he opted for dietary adjustments to improve her health. Deer Blood Pills weren’t the best, but they were better than nothing.
It wasn’t like Luo Xi, who could chug spirit liquid for physical enhancement.
Injecting it into her coffee wasn’t feasible either—Ke Ning would probably taste the difference.
The pills would do for now. Once Ye Chuan got his hands on the Qingyun Sect’s alchemy recipes, he could brew better pills to properly nourish her. At least then she wouldn’t suddenly drop dead from overwork.
Just as Ye Chuan stepped out of Ke Ning’s room, he nearly collided with Bai Qianshuang, who had just emerged from hers.
The girl wore snow-white pajamas, her cheeks tinged faintly pink.
Their eyes met—
"Morning, Qianshuang." Ye Chuan smiled warmly.
Bai Qianshuang lowered her head, murmured a soft "Good morning," then hurriedly retreated into her room, as if avoiding something.
"Shy, huh?" Ye Chuan quickly caught on.
Yes, definitely shy.
But it was fine—she’d get over it in a few days.
Ye Chuan wasn’t a novice in romance. He understood the minds of young girls, especially blank slates like Bai Qianshuang.