Is Setting Up a Glorious Image Considered the End

We were chatting just fine, and suddenly you start ambushing me!

Thanks to the daily stacking of various buffs, Lin Yu's senses far surpassed those of ordinary people. Even the slightest change in temperature could be detected with crystal clarity.

And yet...

There was this steady stream of warm breath, puffing relentlessly against him.

This Shen Jiuyi really... If she was pointing at his face, she should’ve just endured it!

If this kept up, who knew who would be the one to lose control first?

Lin Yu had been holding back with tremendous effort, afraid that any reckless move might prompt Shen Jiuyi to utter that classic line of hers—"Chosen by Heaven."

But no, she kept inching closer.

Uncomfortable, Lin Yu sucked in a slight breath and tightened his abdomen.

That only made things worse.

The side Shen Jiuyi was leaning on happened to be the side where his shoulder and arm hadn’t fully regained strength.

Suddenly, his cheek lost its support.

The boneless Shen Jiuyi slid down another five centimeters.

Only when she hit an obstacle did she stabilize herself against the firm barrier.

Lin Yu: "!!!"

Shen Jiuyi: "Mmm!!!"

How to put it...

Before this moment, Lin Yu hadn’t believed in the authority of Zi Wei Dou Shu (a Chinese astrological system).

In fact, he felt that believing in it even a little would be a great disrespect to Shen Jiuyi.

But now...

He was starting to buy into it.

"Hey, you jerk Lin Yu, what are you squirming around for?"

"Your eyes are darting everywhere but at me, huh...?"

"Are you hiding someone else in the room?"

"Oh!!"

"I get it! You’re still mad about me tricking you earlier, so you’re trying to mess with me, right?"

"Hahaha, I’m too smart—you can’t fool me!"

Lin Yu held his phone in one hand and gave a thumbs-up with the other:

"Didn’t expect you to see through it. You really are sharp."

This antique sister’s brain could only be described as devilishly clever.

Her words didn’t scare Lin Yu, but they sure terrified Shen Jiuyi under the covers.

She had planned to quickly move away and escape the awkward situation.

But then...

Hearing Yao Yao talk about someone hiding in the room, she instantly turned into a statue, not daring to move a muscle.

When people are nervous, their breathing accelerates involuntarily.

The thin trickle of oxygen from her nose wasn’t nearly enough.

Add to that the fact that there was barely any air under the blanket...

Her brain, acting on pure instinct, forced Shen Jiuyi to switch to mouth breathing.

This was just fate.

She couldn’t blame anyone else for reading too much into it—she was the one overcomplicating things.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, for completing the limited-time mission "Disrupted Breath Flow"!]

[You have successfully aided the Honorary Elder of the Astrology Pavilion in recovering her healthy Dao Body!]

[Rewards: 200 Sect Contribution Points, 400 Spirit Stones, 1 free draw in the System Mall.]

Lin Yu’s inner thoughts:

Oh ho?

He hadn’t even started working on it, and her upper body had already recovered on its own?

Seems hiding under the blanket wasn’t entirely without its perks.

This saved Lin Yu a lot of time.

The only one suffering here was Shen Jiuyi.

She probably wouldn’t be able to escape the influence of her fate anytime soon.

...

Fortunately, Lin Yu’s video call with Yao Yao didn’t last too long.

At the sound of the disconnecting "beep,"

Shen Jiuyi, like Sun Wukong freed after five hundred years under a mountain, threw off the blanket and emerged with disheveled hair.

"Hah... hah..."

"Pant... pant..."

She gasped for fresh air, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Being trapped under a blanket in the middle of summer was pure torture.

Lin Yu stared at Shen Jiuyi’s wild hair, flushed cheeks, and overall disheveled appearance...

Every detail made her look like she’d just been robbed of her eggs.

Shen Jiuyi, however, remained eerily calm. Even in this state, she hadn’t forgotten to keep the blanket tightly wrapped around herself.

Regulating her breathing, she spoke first:

"Lin Yu, the way you’re looking at me... is it because I..."

Lin Yu cut her off, seizing the initiative:

"Shen Jiuyi, you hid under the blanket—fine. But why did you have to pin me down?"

"Couldn’t I have been on my computer? In the bathroom? Or in the study feeding the rabbits because I couldn’t sleep?"

"Even if none of those were options, was the blanket really that small?"

"Did you really have to press against me to feel secure?"

"I’m just an ordinary college student, you know?"

"Did you... Did you even consider how I felt? Did you stop to think if I was okay with this?"

Shen Jiuyi: "!!!"

Lin Yu’s words left her utterly stunned.

Normally, the ice-cold, composed girl would’ve easily seen through Lin Yu’s exaggerated acting and over-the-top anger.

But alas.

The smarter the person, the easier it is to fall into the trap of "can’t see the forest for the trees."

Especially when...

Shen Jiuyi had zero experience dealing with situations like this!

She hadn’t even considered it as a hypothetical!

The moment she emerged, her first thought was that she’d just been taken advantage of.

Even if her fate was that of a "born seductress," she didn’t deserve to be treated like this.

But after Lin Yu’s little speech...

It did seem like, in the face of an unexpected situation, there had been many better ways to handle it.

She was the one who’d barged under the blanket without discussion, pinning Lin Yu down.

Which led to everything that followed.

In other words...

The one who orchestrated all this wasn’t Lin Yu.

It was Shen Jiuyi herself!

"Lin Yu..."

"About what happened tonight... I’m sorry."

"It was my recklessness that ruined everything."

Lin Yu kept his stern expression intact.

Inside, though, he was secretly gloating.

Every time he put on an exaggerated performance in front of Shen Bumiao, Shen Jiuyi saw right through him.

This time, he’d been worried he might have overdone it again.

But clearly...

Right now, Shen Jiuyi wasn’t in any state to analyze anything.

The guilt planted during their first intimate encounter would now serve as his "get-out-of-jail-free" card for any future mischief.

Lin Yu sighed dramatically and moved to the edge of the bed, handing Shen Jiuyi her outer robe.

"Your body should be fully recovered now, right?"

"Put this on. I don’t want you thinking that just because I know about your fate, I’d ever disrespect you."

"That would be an insult to both of us."

[Ding!]

[Masterful move! By respecting her despite knowing her fate, you’ve earned the Honorary Elder’s deep gratitude!]

[Reward: 20 Spirit Stones.]

Shen Jiuyi took the robe and glanced at Lin Yu’s turned back.

For a moment, genuine appreciation welled up in her heart.

She dressed herself and stepped off the bed.

Standing awkwardly to the side, she hesitated.

Apologizing again felt excessive, but leaving just like that didn’t seem right either.

Her demeanor screamed "blank slate."

After a minute of silence, Lin Yu—ever the magnanimous hero—spoke first:

"Do you want me to walk you downstairs? About what happened earlier... Let’s just forget it."

Relieved by his offer, Shen Jiuyi quickly replied:

"Thank you, Lin Yu. I can go down by myself."

"As for tonight... I hope..."

Lin Yu nodded.

"Don’t worry. I won’t break my promise. No third person will ever know."

Seeing Shen Jiuyi's slightly relaxed figure walking away,

Lin Yu immediately pulled up the system interface...

[Ding!]

[Dream-Entry Technique (Duo Version) activated!]

[...]

...

(Second update for today. An extra chapter is coming soon—stay tuned!)