When that thought surfaced, Lin Qingyan’s eyes grew hot.
She buried her face even deeper into the crook of Gu Chengyin’s shoulder and rubbed against him with all her might, like a cat that had finally been petted the right way.
Gu Chengyin did not push Lin Qingyan away.
Instead, one hand supported her back securely while the other gently patted the back of her head.
At the same time, he turned his head and glanced at the other two people on the bed.
Luo Zhao was looking at him, her eyes and nose red, her lips slightly pursed. She had curled up pitifully beneath the covers.
She looked exactly like a little puppy that had been abandoned by its owner, only to see him return at last—wanting to rush over, yet not daring to.
Her eyes held grievance, expectation, and a faint, indescribable resentment:
Why are you hugging her instead of me? Didn’t you come to save me? Why are the two of you holding each other?
Shangguan Yunying, on the other hand, seemed to be in the process of rebuilding her entire worldview.
She was not looking at Gu Chengyin, nor even at Lin Qingyan. Her gaze rested on the tassels of the bed curtains, her expression as complicated as an ink-wash landscape.
From a distance, it looked calm and serene. Up close, however, every stroke was filled with shades of emotion too tangled to put into words.
Her hand moved unconsciously over the coverlet, her fingertip tracing circles across the satin. Round and round it went, as though she were sketching something—or perhaps simply trying to wear something away.
Looking at the situation, Gu Chengyin could not help feeling a headache coming on.
He did know why Lin Qingyan was acting this way.
In front of others, this immortal maiden was cold and distant. Behind closed doors, however, she was as soft as a pool of spring water.
All those seemingly outrageous, ill-timed actions of hers had only one purpose:
To eliminate the barriers between them and resolve their conflicts.
To extinguish, while they were still small, any hidden dangers that might someday erupt into devastating conflict.
That was the mindset of a principal wife.
It was also something Lin Qingyan had realized after her clash with Gu Xiaoli.
She had genuinely reflected on herself—on what, exactly, she was doing.
She had reflected on the fact that it was Gu Xiaoli this time, but who would it be next?
As for Shangguan Yunying’s feelings, Lin Qingyan understood them perfectly well.
One thing was certain: Shangguan Yunying would definitely break through to the Core Formation Realm.
The woman’s mental fortitude and sheer tenacity had long since revealed themselves.
And the forbearance she had learned from Luo Zhao was a double-edged sword.
It could help someone survive in the harshest of circumstances. But once one endured to the absolute limit, once a certain threshold was crossed…
The energy released in that eruption would be utterly devastating—far more violent than anyone could imagine.
Most importantly, Shangguan Yunying was dissatisfied with Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan knew that if she did nothing, if she simply allowed that dissatisfaction to take root in Shangguan Yunying’s heart, grow branches, and spread luxuriantly…
Then the day Shangguan Yunying broke through to the Core Formation Realm—the day that woman’s strength was no longer inferior to hers—
The buried land mine would certainly explode.
And when that happened, who would suffer the most?
Lin Qingyan?
No.
Shangguan Yunying?
No, not her either.
It would be Gu Chengyin.
He would be trapped between them, caught in an impossible dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
Just as he had been after the conflict between Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli.
No matter which side he chose, he would hurt the other.
And if Gu Chengyin suffered, could Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying really come out of it unscathed?
No.
It would only end with all three of them losing.
Lin Qingyan would lose, Shangguan Yunying would lose, and Gu Chengyin would suffer the worst of all.
There would be no winner.
So Lin Qingyan had to do something.
Taking advantage of Gu Chengyin’s decision to have Shangguan Yunying follow her, she began deliberately drawing closer to her.
She had Shangguan Yunying put on her clothes to seduce Gu Chengyin. She had even carried out those boundary-pushing “special training” sessions.
And behind all of it, it was not because Lin Qingyan had fallen for Shangguan Yunying.
Quite the opposite. She was using an approach that was almost self-sacrificial to eliminate the barriers between them.
Lin Qingyan exposed her weaknesses to Shangguan Yunying and revealed her private side to her, allowing the two of them to form a bond that surpassed an ordinary relationship—a bond marked by a certain degree of intimacy.
That way, even if Shangguan Yunying broke through to the Core Formation Realm in the future, even if her strength was no longer inferior to Lin Qingyan’s, the experiences they had shared fighting side by side, the feeling of having stood shoulder to shoulder through danger, would prevent that land mine from ever existing in the first place.
As for Luo Zhao…
Lin Qingyan actually had no grand scheme where Luo Zhao was concerned.
She simply wanted to teach this princess, who was all bark and no bite, a lesson.
She wanted Luo Zhao to understand what restraint was, and what boundaries were.
And for some reason, Lin Qingyan had a vague feeling.
The final—and greatest—enemy would not be Shangguan Yunying, Gu Xiaoli, or even Cui Zilu, who had yet to return to the imperial capital.
It would be Luo Zhao.
The feeling was difficult to explain. It was like a sixth sense, or perhaps some instinct buried deep in her bones.
It existed with absolute certainty, like a thorn lodged in Lin Qingyan’s heart.
It prevented her from ever lowering her guard around Luo Zhao. It made her feel that she had to do something, or she would certainly regret it in the future.
And so Lin Qingyan had made her move against Luo Zhao.
It was not the gradual, deliberate intimacy she had shown Shangguan Yunying.
It was much more direct and brutal—in a word, punitive suppression.
You want to seduce your little uncle-in-law?
You want to act all sweet and innocent in front of me?
Fine. Then I’ll show you what it really means to be completely under someone’s thumb.
Lin Qingyan ran through these thoughts in her mind, the corners of her lips curving upward.
Only she knew the truth behind all of this, so her sole concern had been whether Gu Chengyin might misunderstand her.
But now, Lin Qingyan was no longer worried.
As for Gu Chengyin, all he felt in the face of the current situation was a headache.
The women around him were each more extraordinary—and more troublesome—than the last.
Luo Zhao was curled up in the corner of the bed, gazing at him pitifully. Shangguan Yunying sat at the foot of the bed, rebuilding her worldview. Lin Qingyan clung to him like a cat that had finally been understood.
Three women. Three different states. Three different thoughts.
All crammed onto one bed, like a tangle of yarn after a cat had played with it—knotted together, impossible to sort out, impossible to cut apart.
Just then, Shangguan Yunying finally finished rebuilding her worldview and came back to her senses.
She also noticed the scene before her, and a devilish idea suddenly floated into her mind.
It was not the result of careful deliberation. It was more like a flash of inspiration.
A certain thought streaked through her mind like lightning, illuminating a direction she had never considered before.
Shangguan Yunying lowered her lashes and weighed the reactions this mischievous idea might provoke.
Then she lifted her eyes to Gu Chengyin, the corners of her mouth curving into an expression impossible to tell whether it was playful or serious.
“How about having Her Highness help push from behind?”
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
