Chapter 35: Catering to Her Taste

BAM!

The door was flung open, then slammed shut with a heavy thud.

Xiao Yueluo leaned back against the wooden door, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for breath.

Her cheeks were flushed a deep red, as if they might bleed.

Her eyes darted about in panic, as if some primordial beast were chasing her.

Inside the room, Su Qingyan, who had been hunched over her desk studying talisman formations, was startled by the commotion.

The cinnabar brush in her hand paused, and a drop of red ink fell onto a discarded talisman paper, blooming into a blot.

“Yueluo?”

Su Qingyan turned her head, looking at Xiao Yueluo, who resembled a startled wildcat.

A flicker of confusion passed through her clear eyes, quickly replaced by a heavy wave of guilt.

She set down her brush, hurried to the door, and called out softly: “What’s wrong?

Did someone bully you outside?”

Xiao Yueluo didn’t speak, only biting her lower lip hard and shaking her head like a rattle-drum.

Seeing her like this, the guilt in Su Qingyan’s heart deepened.

She remembered how she had been so consumed by the schematics Bai Yue had drawn that she had completely neglected Xiao Yueluo’s feelings—even failing to notice her emotional state until she had already left the courtyard.

“I’m sorry, Yueluo.”

Su Qingyan reached out to take Xiao Yueluo’s wrist, her voice full of apology.

“I was just now… too absorbed in the formation calculations.

I know you’ve always been worried about me, but I neglected you…”

“No, that’s not it!”

Xiao Yueluo jerked her head up, cutting Su Qingyan off.

She grabbed Su Qingyan’s hand in return, her fingertips whitening from the pressure.

“It’s not your fault, Qingyan.

It’s me… it’s my own…”

Xiao Yueluo’s voice grew softer, until it was barely a whisper.

“It’s just me being difficult on my own.”

How could she possibly say it out loud?

That she had been jealous all on her own?

Such a shameful thing—she absolutely couldn’t let Qingyan know!

Su Qingyan looked at her evasive eyes, but didn’t back down.

Instead, she held Xiao Yueluo’s hands tightly in her own.

“I still owe you an apology.”

Su Qingyan’s gaze was gentle yet firm.

“Knowing how you are, I still let you carry all those feelings alone.

We promised to rely on each other, didn’t we?”

Xiao Yueluo froze.

“Know how I am?”

Her eyes widened slightly, the blush at her ears spreading to her neck.

“Wh-What do you mean, how I am?

My personality isn’t that bad!”

Classic stubborn denial.

Seeing her so eager to defend herself, Su Qingyan couldn’t help but let out a giggle.

She didn’t argue, just curved her eyes and smiled at Xiao Yueluo, her expression saying—”As if I don’t know what you’re really like.”

“What are you laughing at!”

Flustered by the look, Xiao Yueluo snatched her hands back, feigning an attack on Su Qingyan’s cheeks.

“No, no, no—I’m sorry, I wasn’t laughing!”

Su Qingyan dodged with a laugh, and soon the two of them were tussling in the cramped room.

“You were too!

That look just now was totally mocking me!”

“I wasn’t!

Yueluo, be reasonable—oh!”

With a yelp, Xiao Yueluo pounced and tackled Su Qingyan, sending both of them tumbling onto the soft bed.

The pillow bounced off and fell to the floor.

The bed curtains swayed with the impact.

“Huff… huff…”

After a bout of playful wrestling, both were exhausted.

They lay side by side on the bed, staring at the canopy above, breathing heavily.

The night breeze drifted through the half-open window, brushing against their slightly damp temples and bringing a hint of coolness.

The room fell quiet, broken only by their intermingled breathing.

The gloom and tension from earlier seemed to have miraculously dissipated in this unruly tussle.

“Qingyan.”

Xiao Yueluo suddenly turned her head, looking at the delicate profile of the girl beside her, and spoke softly.

“Hm?”

Su Qingyan turned as well, meeting her gaze.

“Tomorrow…”

Xiao Yueluo swallowed, took a deep breath, as if about to share a monumental secret.

“Bai Yue said… tomorrow she can help me restore my spiritual roots.”

The air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Su Qingyan’s mouth fell slightly open, her eyes widening bit by bit.

The surprise in them gradually transformed into sheer joy.

“R-Really?!”

She bolted upright in bed, grabbing Xiao Yueluo’s shoulders, her voice trembling with excitement.

“Yeah.”

Xiao Yueluo nodded firmly, her eyes growing warm.

“That’s wonderful… that’s absolutely wonderful!”

Su Qingyan pulled Xiao Yueluo into a tight embrace, tears falling unbidden onto her shoulder.

“Your spiritual roots can be saved—you won’t have to suffer anymore…”

Feeling the warmth and moisture on her shoulder, Xiao Yueluo hugged her back, a relieved smile curving at the corner of her mouth.

“Yeah… saved.”

“Yueluo, you must thank Bai Yue properly!”

Su Qingyan released her and said earnestly.

“Even though she can be a little… hard to read sometimes, she’s truly our great benefactor.

If not for her, who knows where we’d be right now.”

“Mm, I know.”

Xiao Yueluo nodded, but her mind involuntarily conjured Bai Yue’s half-smiling face, along with that spell-like command—”Wash up well and come to my room.”

Thank her.

Of course she would.

But the thanks… would probably have to be paid with herself.

Xiao Yueluo bit her lip, her gaze gradually growing resolute.

As long as her spiritual roots could be restored, as long as she could gain the strength to protect Qingyan and stand by her side, she would pay any price willingly.

***

The next day.

Time dragged on excruciatingly long in Xiao Yueluo’s anxious waiting.

Finally, evening arrived.

Inside the inn room, the two had finished dinner.

Su Qingyan had expended a great deal of mental energy that day working on the cooling formation and was visibly drowsy after the meal.

For the first time, Xiao Yueluo didn’t insist on chatting with her.

Instead, she was unusually thoughtful, helping Su Qingyan make her bed and urging her to rest early.

After Su Qingyan took off her outer robe, lay down, and began to breathe evenly, Xiao Yueluo quietly rose.

She walked to the folding screen in the corner and retrieved that outfit from her storage ring.

It was the black gothic-style miniskirt set Bai Yue had given her before.

Xiao Yueluo stared at the garment in her hands—the scant fabric, the intricate lace details—and felt her cheeks burn uncontrollably.

Why was she wearing this?

Because Bai Yue had said she wanted to see her “sincerity.”

She remembered the look in Bai Yue’s eyes when she had worn this before—the unmistakable admiration, the undisguised predatory gleam.

Since that vicious woman enjoyed this kind of thing, she would cater to her taste.

If wearing something shameful was the price for having her spiritual roots restored, what was a little humiliation?

Rustle—

The sound of fabric shifting was unusually loud in the quiet room.

Gritting her teeth, Xiao Yueluo pulled the tight-fitting black miniskirt over her body.

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