The light in Luo Qingyan's room flickered back on.

Around the round table, Xiao Lin and Luo Qingyan sat facing each other.

The overall layout of this room was almost identical to Ning Yunmiao's, except for some changes in the placement of the furniture. There were no longer those pink plush toys from Ning Yunmiao's room; instead, there were some books... As for whether there was a copy of "Immortal Sect Tragic Romance: The Sword Immortal's Runaway Little Sweetheart," Xiao Lin wasn't sure.

[Huff... Huff... Huff... Is Senior Brother really in my room? Will something happen between us? Should I create some sort of accident, pretend my clothes fell off? Or pretend to faint? Or maybe pretend to be affected by the Harmony Powder? Where's the spirit wine? Why didn't I stock up on spirit wine before? How can I get a chance if I'm not drunk!]

Boys really need to protect themselves out there...

Retracting his gaze from the room, Xiao Lin silently moved his chair slightly away from Luo Qingyan before speaking, "Second Junior Sister, so you're really planning to find Fellow Daoist Gu?"

"Yes."

Luo Qingyan snapped out of her deep contemplation on how to create an opportunity and nodded gently.

Faced with Xiao Lin's question, she could naturally deny it, but...

[Senior Brother, did you hear that? Yes, yes, your guess is correct! We are in sync! Understand? We are in sync!]

No, I don't understand...

Xiao Lin's mouth twitched slightly, but he continued, "Second Junior Sister, although I know you want to spar with a strong opponent, you can't be so reckless."

[A strong opponent? Senior Brother, do you really think she's stronger than me? Don't worry, I'll prove to you that only I am worthy of being Senior Brother's wife!]

Focus on the main point!

Xiao Lin looked at the silent, cold-faced Luo Qingyan, resisting the urge to flick her forehead, and continued to explain the potential negative impacts and consequences if Luo Qingyan really went to find Gu Qingqing.

"...So, Second Junior Sister, you mustn't be so impulsive next time, especially when Master isn't around... Sparring can happen anytime, why rush it now?" Xiao Lin concluded his lecture with these words, looking expectantly at Luo Qingyan.

After all his painstaking efforts, this girl should have some realization, right?

Then he saw Luo Qingyan nodding expressionlessly and heard...

[Senior Brother, don't worry, I'll prove to you that only I am worthy of being your wife!]

Tsk, this girl is really impervious...

Xiao Lin raised his hand to rub his forehead, feeling a bit troubled—if he couldn't convince her today, Luo Qingyan might still sneak off to find Gu Qingqing later.

The problem is, how do you reason with someone so lovestruck?

Reasoning with a lovestruck person is simply impossible!

Xiao Lin sighed inwardly and could only try one last tactic—not starting from the big picture, but from Gu Qingqing.

With this in mind, Xiao Lin put on a reminiscent expression and said, "Second Junior Sister, it's good that you understand... Speaking of which, when I first reached Foundation Establishment, I was always keeping an eye on the younger generation worldwide. According to my statistics, Gu Qingqing was ranked ahead of me at that time, so I have a slight impression of her."

[Hmm? Senior Brother only has a slight impression of Gu Qingqing?]

Here it comes, she's hooked...

Xiao Lin watched Luo Qingyan, who still wore a cold expression, and placed a slightly yellowed piece of paper on the table. "Don't laugh at me, but I even found an old ranking list I made back then."

Back then, he would gather information and update it every so often, thinking he might find it useful as a persuasion tool. He didn't expect to actually find a copy.

Luo Qingyan, maintaining her indifferent demeanor, took a casual but serious look at the paper and found that besides Gu Qingqing's name, there were other young talents' names, including her own.

And the name "Luo Qingyan" was ranked first on that paper.

[I'm ranked higher than Gu Qingqing! I'm number one in Senior Brother's heart!]

I already said it's just a ranking, and at that time, your cultivation level happened to be the highest among the younger generation...

Listening to Luo Qingyan's inner thoughts, Xiao Lin silently retorted and continued, "But later, I stopped paying attention to these things. If it weren't for this sparring match, I might never have remembered... Speaking of which, this list reminds me of something interesting."

Luo Qingyan didn't respond, just gave a high-cold "what is it" look.

"Haha, it's a bit embarrassing. Back then, I saw that Second Junior Sister's cultivation progress was unrivaled among the younger generation, and I thought you were really impressive. I wanted to praise you, but when the words were on the tip of my tongue, I got a bit shy and ended up praising someone else. Huh? Who did I praise back then... I can't quite remember." Xiao Lin said this and then showed a perfectly timed puzzled expression.

[So... Senior Brother wanted to praise me back then? And he forgot he praised Gu Qingqing...]

Luo Qingyan stared at the perplexed Xiao Lin, completely stunned.

And then, for the third time today, Xiao Lin heard the groundhog-like scream in her heart.

Xiao Lin: Looks like my ears are going to suffer here.

"Sigh, why am I talking about this? Let's get back to the main topic." Seeing that the effect was almost achieved, Xiao Lin stood up and finally said, "Second Junior Sister, you mustn't be so impulsive in the future."

[Impulsive? What impulsiveness? Gu Qingqing? Ha, just a clown. Gu Qingqing, what do you have to compare with me? I've already won by a mile!]

Luo Qingyan, inwardly ecstatic, nodded lightly and said calmly, "Alright."

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Phew, it's settled. Gu Qingqing, rejoice, I've helped you reduce a life-and-death enemy... Although the reason you inexplicably gained a life-and-death enemy seems to be related to me...

Xiao Lin let out a long breath and, ignoring Luo Qingyan's frantic inner pleas for him to stay, took his leave.

Anyway, when I say I'm leaving, Second Junior Sister will just nod coldly on the surface.

What Xiao Lin didn't expect was that as soon as he left Luo Qingyan's room, an unexpected change occurred.

...

(If there are any typos or bugs, feel free to @ me, otherwise, I might not notice.)