CHAPTER 45: ACTING

The soft flicker of lantern light danced across the elegant chamber as dawn approached. A faint breeze flowed in from the open window, causing the spiritual silk curtains to flutter gently, brushing across the smooth jade walls with a whisper.

The luxurious bed, vast enough to accommodate three people comfortably, lay draped in scattered layers of rumpled bedding. On it, two figures remained beneath the covers—one already awake, the other beginning to stir.

Su Lan’s long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings before her eyes opened slowly. Her breath caught in her throat as the ceiling of her private chamber came into focus. For a brief moment, her mind was blank—then a rush of fragmented memories from the night before surged forth, slamming into her consciousness like waves crashing onto the shore.

She sat up abruptly.

Her long hair cascaded like a black waterfall over her shoulders, spilling across her pale, naked skin. The blanket slipped down, baring her graceful back and revealing faint reddish marks along her smooth collarbone—evidence of the previous night’s chaos. Her curves, perfect in proportion, gleamed faintly under the warm light, and her bare thighs brushed against the silk sheets, stirring something in the air that felt both electric and heavy with memory.

And then she saw him.

Meng Hao.

Sitting there, still under the same blanket, calmly leaning against the carved jade bedpost. His posture was casual, yet there was something subtly powerful in his presence. His bare torso was exposed to the morning light, highlighting every curve of his well-toned muscles, now even more defined than before. His gaze was fixed on her, calm and unreadable—but his eyes held a trace of amusement. Almost mocking.

A strange, inexplicable heat surged into Su Lan’s chest.

She blinked.

He’s... different," Su Lan thought, a ripple of confusion stirring within her chest like wind disturbing a placid lake. Her gaze lingered on the man seated beneath the morning glow, his silhouette outlined by the golden light spilling in through the intricately carved jade windows. The faint warmth of dawn traced the lines of his face—sharp, but not cold; refined, yet infused with a masculine vigor that left her breathless.

His once-boyish appearance had transformed overnight. Now, every feature seemed carved by the heavens themselves. His hair fell slightly over his eyes, glinting with a silken sheen, and his lips—those very lips that had once whispered trembling obedience—now held the power of silent dominance. There was a calm to his presence, but it was not the quiet of inexperience.

Her pupils narrowed slightly as a strange current surged through her. Her spiritual sense trembled—not from threat, but from awe. "Why... why does he feel so utterly irresistible now?" Her heart raced. The charm she had previously sensed within him had once been like a gentle stream—subtle, teasing, easily resisted with the strength of her Dao heart. But now... now it was a tidal wave, surging and crashing with unrelenting force.

It wasn’t just attraction.

It was something deeper.

His aura coiled around her, invisible yet ever-present, like a silken cord wrapped tight around her soul. The charm he exuded had blossomed, not into mere handsomeness, but a raw, unrelenting beauty. Looking at him now was like staring into the core of a divine flame: captivating, blinding, and utterly fatal.

"He’s not just good-looking anymore," she admitted to herself with a silent gasp, "He’s beautiful. Lethally so."

Her throat tightened. Her body, still sore from the overwhelming night they had shared, quivered beneath the thin silken blanket. The firm grip of desire, which she had once thought she could purge with a single night of indulgence, now returned tenfold, rooted deeper, more consuming than ever before.

She clenched the covers, her nails slightly digging into the fabric. "This... This wasn’t supposed to happen..." But her thoughts refused to obey reason. The more she looked at him, the more she felt herself unraveling.

What scared her most... was that she didn’t want to resist anymore

"What happened...? Why... why does he feel so impossibly charming now?" Her thoughts tumbled in disarray. "Compared to before, he’s like a completely different man. If before he was like a sharp stone—ordinary but sharp—now he’s become a mountain... ancient, vast, irresistible..."

An unfamiliar tightness formed in her chest, and her lips parted slightly, but no words came. Her heart pounded like a drum inside her chest, loud and uncontrollable, as if warning her of the changes that were already beyond her ability to resist.

Meanwhile, Meng Hao sat there, watching her with a small smirk on his lips. Internally, he chuckled coldly.

"Oh? So my cold and proud master is finally awake, hmm?" he thought with amusement. "Interesting. I wonder what kind of excuse she’ll come up with now. After drugging me, seducing me, and writhing under me for an entire night, she’ll probably try to act as if it never happened."

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"But I’m curious... how will she react when she realizes she’s no longer the one in control?"

The system buzzed in his mind, as if trying to say something, but Meng Hao ignored it entirely. His full attention was on Su Lan’s expression—on her wide, confused eyes and the growing flush on her cheeks.

The once aloof and cold peak master looked completely dazed now, unable to process the magnitude of the shift in her emotions.

Inside her, it was chaos.

"Last night... I thought if I had him once, my obsession would vanish. That a single night would be enough to release the pressure inside me and restore my Dao heart. But now... now I want him even more..." Her thoughts were panicked. Her breath grew shallow. "I thought his charm would weaken after fulfilling my lust... but instead, it has increased—by several folds! It’s like the more I look at him, the harder it is to breathe. The harder it is to think."

Her thighs squeezed involuntarily under the covers as her mind spiraled. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the edge of the blanket, as if seeking stability. The desire she had once suppressed through years of cultivation and icy demeanor now surged forth like a tidal wave, crashing into her psyche with uncontrollable force.

"No... no man has ever made me feel this way before... no one. Not even once. Why does he affect me like this? Why him?"

Then suddenly—

[Ding! Favorability has increased!]

[Su Lan – Sixth Peak Master]

Cultivation: Nascent Soul – Late Stage

Status: Single

Known for: Rejecting all male disciples

Personality: Cold, Dispassionate, Untamed

Affinity: ★★★★☆ (4 Stars)]

[Status Update: Host is now the most important person in her life. She is extremely interested in you and views you as the ideal man—both in beauty and power. Her lust for you has increased dramatically. She now thinks of making you her husband. You are the first and only man to ever awaken such emotions in her.]

The notification popped up before Meng Hao’s eyes, its tone indifferent—but the message made his grin widen ever so slightly.

"Oh? Four stars now?" he mused with a raised brow. "Just last night, she was still three stars. And now she’s thinking of marrying me?"

He suppressed a laugh, his heart brimming with mischief.

"Looks like she’s completely fallen for me. But... let’s play a little longer."

His expression shifted in an instant—from smug amusement to sudden, quiet sorrow. His breathing became uneven. His lips trembled. Slowly, a tear rolled down his cheek.

Of course, this was all acting.

As a Golden Core cultivator, he could easily manipulate his body, his aura, even his emotions. He didn’t need to cry—he chose to.

And it worked.

Su Lan, still disoriented from the emotional storm inside her, noticed the shift in Meng Hao’s expression instantly. Her eyes widened.

"He’s crying...?" she whispered. "Why?"

Without thinking, she leaned toward him, her voice soft and hesitant.

"Wh-what happened... disciple?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly.

But in her heart, she already knew the answer.

"It’s... it’s because of what I did," she thought bitterly. "Because I used him. I drugged him. Took advantage of him. All for my own selfish needs."

A pang of guilt stabbed her in the chest.

She bit her lower lip, her hands trembling. Her icy composure from before was completely shattered. She had never imagined that the guilt would be so suffocating.

"I... I ruined everything," she thought. "He must feel disgusted by me now."

And yet, as she stared at Meng Hao’s sorrowful expression, another emotion began rising deep inside her.

Fear.

Fear of losing him.

"No..." her heart whispered. "No. I can’t let him go. This is the first time in my entire life I’ve felt something like this. Last night wasn’t just lust—it was something else. Something deeper. Something I’ve never known."

Her eyes hardened with newfound determination.

"I won’t lose him. No matter what."

She reached forward instinctively, cupping Meng Hao’s cheek with her palm. Her thumb gently brushed away the tear. Her other hand grasped his arm.

She leaned closer.

"Meng Hao," she whispered, her tone unusually soft and tender. "I... I’m sorry."

Meng Hao said nothing.

He kept his expression vulnerable, but inwardly, he was already laughing.

"Oh? So she’s gone from drugging me to apologizing with gentle touches?" he mused. "This four-star favorability thing is really something..."

Still, he couldn’t deny it—it was satisfying.

Gone was the cold, untouchable woman who once looked down on all men. In her place was someone fragile, almost desperate, her eyes filled not with superiority but warmth. Love. Longing.

He gazed up at her, allowing his aura to waver subtly, as if still wounded.

She tightened her grip.

Her lips trembled.

"I won’t let this end here," she thought, steeling herself. "I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him by my side. I don’t care what I must do. I won’t lose him—ever."

Meng Hao could feel it—the shift in her presence. Her spiritual aura, once aloof and cold, now pulsed with attachment, tenderness, and barely restrained passion.

She wasn’t the same anymore.

And neither was he.

"So now," he thought, glancing into her trembling eyes, "I am just as important to her... as I am to Li Yao."