Late Autumn Do You Like Me

Because of me?

Before Gu Yan could react, Mei Xue continued speaking.

"After the master learned that you were with Long Zaitian, she abandoned her plan to control Yan Huang. After clarifying some matters, she killed him, even though... a living Yan Huang would have provided much more value than a dead one."

When Mei Xue said this, her emotions were incredibly complex.

She hadn't expected that to control the Gu family, the master would directly change her established plans. Could there be something within the Gu family that held more value than the King of Hell Palace?

It was because of this?

Gu Yan considered all possibilities in his mind, but never imagined that Leng Qingqiu had simply abandoned her original plans just because she knew Long Zaitian was by his side.

Why? In the original story, Leng Qingqiu was cold-blooded and ruthless, her methods so brutal that readers trembled in fear. She was an undisputed villain whom readers desperately wanted killed off.

It could be said that she would sacrifice everything, abandon all emotions for her revenge plan.

But why would she...

!!

Gu Yan's heart jolted. Wait, wait, something's not right.

He suddenly realized a blind spot.

He opened his eyes in frustration. That's right, because of his intervention in this life, not only had the plot become completely different.

Leng Qingqiu hadn't turned evil, but instead became his fiancée. Just thinking about that tsundere wife in his mind made Gu Yan's lips curl into a smile.

Hiss! No! Now wasn't the time to think about his wife's stunning beauty.

Gu Yan covered his face, his fingers revealing a pie chart of his emotions - frustration, shock, delight, regret, struggle, and pain.

If Leng Qingqiu changed her original plans because of him, could that mean...

Could she... have feelings for him? Is that why she wanted to consider his feelings?

Gu Yan didn't know why, but whenever it came to matters concerning Leng Qingqiu, he could deduce her psychology by comparing it with the original story.

Though not entirely certain, Gu Yan strongly suspected Leng Qingqiu's inner thoughts were something like this—

Because she liked Gu Yan, she didn't want him to know how cruel her methods could be.

She didn't yet know Long Zaitian and Gu Yan's relationship.

So rashly having her subordinates kill Long Zaitian by Gu Yan's side might make him sad and upset, causing some emotional changes in him.

And later, if Gu Yan discovered she was the mastermind behind it all, then...

Gu Yan smiled until his cheeks hurt, nodding in agreement: "Though this guess might be a bit of an exaggeration."

"Ah no no no no, this clearly isn't it."

Gu Yan shook his head again, the image of Leng Qingqiu's sometimes cold and beautiful face appearing in his mind.

How could Leng Qingqiu have such thoughts?? She was THE Leng Qingqiu after all!

Of course, what if she did like him a little bit? But even if she did like him a tiny bit, it wouldn't necessarily mean she'd abandon her original plans for him.

But, what if she liked him a lot?

At this thought, Gu Yan laughed and shook his head. Impossible, don't be so narcissistic, Gu Yan.

In the original story, she was someone who chopped up her enemy's family members into minced meat, used it to make dumplings, and fed them to her enemy to break their psychological defenses...

Someone who absorbed warriors' souls for cultivation and listened to their agonized screams...

How could that Leng Qingqiu come to like him so much?

Though it's not to say she wouldn't like him, at least not now!

If it wasn't because she really, really liked him and wanted to consider the feelings of the person she loved most...

After thinking about it, Gu Yan fell into confusion again. Then why did Leng Qingqiu kill Yan Huang for his sake?

[.........]

Mei Xue fell silent. She lay against the car, concealing her presence.

She had even changed her face using the shadow ability of [Night].

Because Gu Yan had recognized her earlier in the banquet hall, she had been severely scolded by her master, so she took to heart the lesson about wearing full makeup.

Sensing Gu Yan's shock and confusion,

Her lips curled into a slight smile.

Good, telling Gu Yan some information about the master would make him trust Leng Qingqiu completely.

This would lay a better foundation for the master to take over the Gu family in the future.

Hehe, learning that the master changed her plans because of him, Gu Yan must be overwhelmed with emotion right now, right?

On Gu Yan's side, he had stopped thinking.

Thinking too much was too troublesome. Anyway, Leng Qingqiu wouldn't possibly change her main plans from the original story because of him.

After all, Leng Qingqiu had left him with a deeply profound impression of coldness in the original story.

That woman had schemed against even her own sister Leng Bingning for the sake of revenge.

She even had a series of bizarre poisonous plots afterward that made readers shiver.

Like setting up an evil sacrificial array in the city center, sacrificing half the city's population. Why not the whole city?

That was because Leng Qingqiu's goal was merely to delay the protagonist's group from reaching an important location, forcing them to rush back to the sacrificed city for rescue.

It was simply disastrous.

He propped his face with his left hand, leaning against the car window, watching the constant flow of traffic outside. As he watched, he became conflicted again.

No way... could Leng Qingqiu really have fallen for me?

.........

........

At the Leng Family residence.

Outside the bathroom door.

"Qingqiu! Do you like me?"

Gu Yan gathered his courage and stood in front of Leng Qingqiu, blurting out in one breath: "And Qingqiu, you smell so nice!"

"Huh?"

Leng Qingqiu was wearing a bathrobe, obviously having just finished bathing. She had been using cold water to wash away her complicated feelings.

She had also been asking herself, what exactly was Gu Yan to her?

Lover? No, no, no, that was just for show.

Friend? Maybe they were friends... but it seemed like more than just friendship.

Family? That definitely wasn't it. Her family was dead, and now only Leng Ling'er was considered family to her.

So what was Gu Yan? Her slave? Or a slave backed by a powerful family?

Hmm, thinking about it this way made Leng Qingqiu feel a bit better.

However...

Just as she was feeling better and walking out of the bathroom.

She saw that dazzling source of life suddenly standing at the bathroom door.

And whether it was her imagination or not, the moment she came out, that life source's head seemed to be scanning up and down her entire body.

This made Leng Qingqiu feel both embarrassed and angry.

Especially when he directly asked a question that made her want to curse.

Why would someone ask if she liked them right outside the bathroom?! Read the atmosphere, would you!

Leng Qingqiu gritted her teeth and shouted: "Get lost!"

After saying this, she pattered barefoot upstairs.

Leng Ling'er flashed behind Gu Yan, pat pat pat pat!

She vigorously patted Gu Yan's back: "Hehe, got scolded, didn't you! You small fry, I told you sister hates being disturbed while bathing!"

"Hey, what's wrong with you??"

As Leng Ling'er was patting, she noticed Gu Yan wasn't speaking, so she walked around to take a look.

Then.

She saw Gu Yan with an excited expression, and his nose was... bleeding.

Leng Ling'er's expression gradually turned to shock: "Are you a pervert?"

"Pervert, no."

Gu Yan's mind was still replaying the image of Leng Qingqiu's beauty after her bath. Like a sage who had just finished meditation, he spoke kindly to Leng Ling'er while his nose was bleeding:

"I was simply moved by witnessing something incredibly beautiful."

"My love gushes endlessly, turning the passionate blood in my heart into tears of emotion flowing from my nose."

?

"That makes you sound even more like a pervert, no, more like disgusting!!"

Leng Ling'er shouted with a red face. What was all this about!

"Small fry, can you at least tilt your head back? Your nosebleed is as exaggerated as in manga and novels!! We're in the three-dimensional world here!"

She hurriedly supported Gu Yan, who was standing rigid like a board, and walked towards the living room.