Everyone present knew what she was about to ask.
Lin Qingyan looked at Shangguan Yunying with a hint of surprise.
Gu Chengyin’s expression remained unchanged, still as calm and composed as ever, as he said lightly:
“Mm, something unexpected happened.”
There was no explanation, no denial.
Just that one sentence, brushed over as if it were nothing.
Shangguan Yunying didn’t press further. She simply picked up her teacup, took a gentle sip, and her gaze grew laden with meaning.
When she had seen Lin Qingyan earlier, she had found it quite baffling.
But if it was like Luo Zhao pretending to be fine, then she could understand.
From there, it wasn’t hard to deduce.
Gu Chengyin had tried to control Lin Qingyan but had failed.
That was why Lin Qingyan had exploded, acting as if she had been caught.
And the fact that Gu Chengyin had taken her out and now brought her back meant he had managed to calm her down.
Still, this wasn’t surprising—after all, even the hypnosis on Luo Zhao hadn’t fully succeeded.
With Lin Qingyan, who was an invincible Golden Core cultivator, it was naturally even harder.
Shangguan Yunying set down her teacup, but worry crept into her heart.
Lin Qingyan’s case was right in front of her.
Could Gu Chengyin start suspecting Her Highness again because of this?
She glanced at Gu Chengyin. His expression was normal, revealing nothing unusual.
Never mind.
She would just take things one step at a time.
As long as the consciousness puppet was in place, with Her Highness’s endurance…
No matter how clever or cautious Gu Chengyin was, he wouldn’t spot a single flaw.
Shangguan Yunying lowered her eyes and quietly took a bite of lamb.
Meanwhile, Gu Xiaoli’s gaze had never left Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan from the moment they entered.
First she looked at Gu Chengyin, then at Lin Qingyan.
Then at their joined hands, and then at Lin Qingyan’s slightly reddened lips.
That dark, glimmering gaze flickered with light.
Finally, her eyes settled on Lin Qingyan, and she blinked slowly.
There was curiosity, scrutiny, and a hint of amusement in that look.
Lin Qingyan met Gu Xiaoli’s gaze, and her face stiffened.
This Dead Cat!
Here she goes again!
But remembering what she had promised Gu Chengyin, she could only take a deep breath and suppress her annoyance.
Then she forced out a smile.
It was stiff, reluctant, but still a smile.
Gu Xiaoli’s eyes widened slightly at the smile, as if a little surprised.
Then she blinked and returned a smile of her own.
It was soft, well-behaved, and harmless.
But no matter how Lin Qingyan looked at it, she felt there was a hint of mockery hidden in that smile.
Never mind.
She told herself.
Don’t stoop to a Dead Cat’s level.
Don’t stoop to a Dead Cat’s level.
Don’t stoop to a Dead Cat’s level.
Important things must be said three times.
Lin Qingyan took another deep breath, looked away, and sat down at the table.
Gu Chengyin sat down beside her, picked up his chopsticks, and placed a piece of lamb in his mouth.
“Mm, truly excellent.”
Shangguan Yunying laughed. “Of course—this place’s roasted lamb is a true specialty of the Divine Capital.”
Gu Xiaoli nodded in agreement.
Her little mouth was stuffed full, her cheeks bulging.
Lin Qingyan watched the scene and felt a sudden sense of surrealness.
Just moments ago, she and Gu Xiaoli had been at each other’s throats, ready to toss each other out the window.
Yet now they were sitting at the same table, eating lamb in peace?
She glanced at Gu Chengyin beside her.
He was eating the lamb, his expression unhurried, as if all of this was only natural.
Lin Qingyan suddenly understood.
It was him.
Gu Chengyin had turned everything into this.
It was his dominance that had forced them to sit down.
It was his soothing that had made her set aside old and new grudges.
It was his fierce kiss that had made her forget to keep scores.
A flicker of complexity passed through Lin Qingyan’s eyes.
Gu Chengyin caught her gaze and turned his head.
“What’s wrong?” he asked gently.
Lin Qingyan shook her head and said softly, “Nothing.”
She lowered her head and picked up a piece of lamb as well.
The aroma of the lamb melted in her mouth—tender, juicy, truly delicious.
But what she was thinking about was something else entirely.
This man—she wanted him.
No one else was going to take him.
No matter what it cost.
No matter how long she had to wait.
She would have him.
Lin Qingyan snuck another look at Gu Chengyin, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
As for Gu Chengyin, he ate his lamb while scanning the faces of the three women.
Shangguan Yunying looked thoughtful, occasionally glancing at him as if there was something on her mind.
Lin Qingyan was quiet and well-behaved, stealing glances at him now and then, her eyes filled with affection.
Gu Xiaoli ate happily, occasionally lifting her head to look at him, her brows curved in a cheerful smile.
Three women, three different minds.
Gu Chengyin did some mental calculations.
Lin Qingyan was temporarily stabilized for now.
As long as she didn’t stir up trouble, everything would be fine.
Shangguan Yunying seemed to be worried about something.
As for Gu Xiaoli—
Gu Chengyin looked at the little girl, her mouth greasy from eating, and found it a little amusing.
This little creature had caused such a big mess tonight, and now she acted as if nothing had happened.
Still, thanks to her.
If she hadn’t provoked Lin Qingyan, Lin Qingyan would still be pretending to have heart demons.
Though Gu Chengyin had his suspicions, Lin Qingyan’s acting had indeed been very convincing.
Looking at it that way, Gu Xiaoli had actually done him a favor.
Gu Chengyin smiled faintly and picked up the largest piece of lamb, placing it in Gu Xiaoli’s bowl.
“Xiaoli, have some more.”
Gu Xiaoli looked up, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at him.
“Thank you, Big Brother!”
She smiled, her brows curving sweetly, and her tail swayed gently behind her.
Lin Qingyan watched this scene, and her heart ached slightly.
But thinking of her promise to Gu Chengyin, she could only silently lower her head and continue eating the lamb.
Time passed in a delicate atmosphere.
The lamb on the table gradually dwindled, and the moonlight outside the window slowly sank westward.
Shangguan Yunying put down her chopsticks and suddenly said quietly, “It’s getting late.”
Gu Chengyin looked up at her.
Then he met a pair of eyes filled with tender emotion.
Shangguan Yunying’s eyes now seemed brimming with moonlight— soft enough to drown someone.
She gazed at Gu Chengyin like that, with a faint smile on her lips, and said in a leisurely tone:
“How will you be getting back later?”
The moment the words fell, silence filled the room.
Gu Chengyin keenly sensed that there was more meaning beneath her words.
How to get back?
Right now, there were three women present.
Shangguan Yunying, Lin Qingyan, Gu Xiaoli.
So the key was not “how to get back,” but “with whom to get back,” and “where to go.”
Gu Chengyin’s gaze quickly swept across the faces of the three.
Shangguan Yunying looked at him with tender hope, her eyes full of expectation.
Lin Qingyan’s expression was still cool and aloof, but her eyes narrowed slightly, staring at him sharply like swords.
Gu Xiaoli blinked her big, innocent eyes at him, looking perfectly harmless—but her cat ears, twitching slightly, clearly betrayed her tension.
Three pairs of eyes, three gazes, all focused on him.
Carrying expectation, tension, and an indefinable something.
Gu Chengyin’s heart skipped a beat.
This was…
A battlefield?
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
