The worse you are, the stronger you become: My summoned beast is a photographer.

Aura was taken aback, then burst out laughing at the domineering CEO's line. She smiled with a touch of naivety on Ming Luochen's chubby face, her eyes narrowing into slits, and lightly flicked his forehead: "Alright, stop fooling around, my legs are still weak."

Ming Luochen then noticed that his legs were still trembling slightly, like two overcooked noodles, and his knees were shaking uncontrollably. Feeling a little guilty, he looked away and said, "Then... I'll massage them for you when we get back?"

"You're rubbing it?" Aura raised an eyebrow, giving him a meaningful look, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Serious, huh?"

Ming Luochen laughed—she could still drive. He reached out and pinched her butt, grinning mischievously, "Super serious, absolutely serious."

"Who would believe you?" Aura rolled her eyes at him, but a gentle smile appeared on her lips. She stood up, supporting herself on her knees, and stretched her still sore legs, her bones cracking twice. "When we get back, you're going to teach me that... stretching thing? I remember athletes doing that after running."

"Okay, I'll teach you." Ming Luochen agreed readily, but couldn't help adding with a hint of heartache in her voice, "But take it easy, that's my body, don't ruin it."

"Don't worry, it won't break." Aura patted his shoulder—using Ming Luochen's hand, but patting Aura's own shoulder; the scene looked incredibly awkward. She herself felt uncomfortable and quickly withdrew her hand, shaking it. "Let's switch back, this is too strange."

"Switch back?" Ming Luochen looked conflicted. Would it be tiring to switch back his body now?

"Switch back." Aura closed her eyes, concentrated, and tried to guide Ming Luochen's soul.

A few seconds later, the two opened their eyes at the same time, their gazes clearing from a daze.

Ming Luochen looked down at his short, chubby hands and then touched his round belly. Suddenly, a wave of weakness washed over his body, and his chest felt hot and heavy, as if it had been sanded from the inside out with sandpaper—it was the soreness and weakness caused by strenuous exercise, and every muscle was protesting.

It really hurts.

A strong sense of powerlessness washed over him instantly, and Ming Luochen almost couldn't hold on. His legs felt like they were on cotton, and he was about to collapse forward.

The next second, he felt himself being embraced in a warm and strong hug. Looking up, he saw that Aura was holding him firmly, her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him into her embrace.

Aura lifted Ming Luochen up in her arms, raised an eyebrow with amusement, tilted her chin slightly, and whispered, "My little darling."

Being carried in a princess carry by his wife, Ming Luochen felt inexplicably embarrassed. His face flushed red, and his ears burned. He instinctively buried his face in her chest. "You're so naughty."

Ola stretched and yawned, moving his familiar yet unfamiliar limbs, feeling the abundant power in his muscles. Like a bird released from its cage, he couldn't help but run a few steps in place, his four hooves lightly treading the ground: "Phew—I'm finally alive again."

"I feel terrible right now," Ming Luochen muttered in dissatisfaction, his voice muffled.

"You have no idea how useless your body is," Aura retorted without any politeness, glancing down at him with a look that was three parts disdain and seven parts heartache. "After running five thousand meters, I felt like I was about to meet my ancestors."

Ming Luochen opened his mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but thinking of his body's physical capabilities, he silently closed his mouth, like a duck with its beak pinched.

"Alright, alright, I'll train from now on, okay?" Ming Luochen finally relented, her tone tinged with a hint of reluctant coquetry.

"That's more like it." Aura lowered her head in satisfaction and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, making a crisp "pop" sound.

After switching back into his body, the awkwardness she felt before disappeared. She couldn't resist giving him a light kiss on the lips, thinking how adorable her husband was—his chubby cheeks and soft lips. She bent down and scooped him onto her back: "Let's go home."

Ming Luochen was so shy that she bit her lower lip sweetly. Being kissed domineeringly by her tall and strong wife felt really good, and her heart was pounding like a rabbit.

The setting sun cast long, long shadows of the two figures. A tall centaur carried a short, stout human on its back; their shadows overlapped, creating a warm silhouette that moved slowly in the golden afterglow.

Ming Luochen lay on Aura's back, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pressed his face against her back. Suddenly, he said, "Thank you, wife."

"Thank me for what?" Aura tilted her head, her long hair brushing against his face.

"Thank you... for not disliking me."

Aura paused slightly, then continued walking, her voice as gentle as an evening breeze across a lake: "Fool."

She paused, then said seriously, her tone earnest: "Don't believe those ridiculous short dramas anymore. I'm different; you're the only one in my heart, you know?"

"I know..." Ming Luochen grinned foolishly, her mouth almost reaching her ears—was she confessing her feelings?

Aura gazed at the distant horizon with a complex expression, the sunset reflected in her eyes like two gentle flames. Her tone grew heavy, yet exceptionally firm: "If we can't have children, I won't have any with someone else. If it really doesn't work out, we'll adopt one."

"Um……"

Was she comforting herself? A warm current welled up in his heart, as if someone had poured a cup of hot tea into his heart. Ming Luochen happily buried his face in her soft, long hair, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

With her words, it seems not so unacceptable that she would have a child with someone else.

"I will not have children with anyone else." Aura turned to look at Ming Luochen, looking directly into his eyes, and said solemnly again, each word as if carved in stone, "I only love you, and I belong only to you."

As night falls, stars spread across the sky like scattered diamonds on a blue velvet cloth.

Aura carried Ming Luochen on her back on the way home, her steps light and quick, the horse's hooves clattering on the stone pavement, her heart filled with peace.

She thought, this must be what happiness looks like.

—It doesn't need to be grand or dramatic. As long as the person on your back is safely and securely by your side, that's enough.

Back at the manor, Ming Luochen slid off Aura's back, his legs buckling and he almost collapsed to his knees again.

"Slow down." Aura quickly caught him, half helpless and half worried. "Your body is really not up to par. Running five kilometers is like losing half your life."

Ming Luochen pouted: "Then you still finished running. If I were running by myself, I would have just treated the rest of the run like a stroll."

The two entered the bedroom, and Ming Luochen plopped down on the bed, leaning back and sprawling out in a wide arc: "Ah—I'm so tired, so tired—"

Aura couldn't help but laugh at his expression. She walked over to him, bent down, and placed her hands on his shoulders: "Lie down, I'll give you a massage."

Ming Luochen rolled over, buried his face in the pillow, and mumbled, "Wife, you're so good to me..."

Aura placed her palms on his broad back, starting from his shoulder blades and pressing down inch by inch. Her pressure was just right, each press precisely hitting his aching muscles.

"Is it sour here?"

"Sour—hiss—gently, gently—"

"And here?"

"Hmm...over there, yes, right there..."

Ming Luochen groaned in pleasure. He had been to massage parlors before, but none of the masseuses there could compare to the care and attention his wife gave him.

As she massaged, Aura suddenly spoke, her voice tinged with emotion: "Honey, I only now realize how much you've suffered."

Ming Luochen was stunned for a moment.

Yes, after swapping bodies, Aura no longer just "knew" he was weak, but truly "felt" that helplessness. The heaviness of being imprisoned by fat, the suffocating feeling of muscles stretched to their limits, cannot be summarized by a vague word like "lazy" in telepathy.

"Your shoulder..." Ming Luochen turned over, took Aura's hand, and helped her sit on the edge of the bed. He then got up himself. "Come on, let me massage it for you."

"Can you?" Aura raised an eyebrow.

"Just kidding, haven't you seen pigs run even if you haven't eaten pork? I used to go to massage parlors to relax all the time." Ming Luochen had her turn her back to him and placed his hands on her shoulder blades. Centaurs have a different body structure than humans, with broader shoulders and more muscular builds.

His fingers probed into the gap between her shoulder blades, and with a gentle press, Aura gasped.

"It hurts here?"

"...Hmm." Aura responded softly, her voice carrying a hint of unease.

Ming Luochen didn't say anything more and quietly massaged her. His technique wasn't professional, and the pressure was sometimes light and sometimes heavy, but his patience and seriousness were more touching than any professional technique.

He could feel the weariness that Aura had accumulated over time. Martial arts training, horseback riding, combat, weight training... all the hardships he had never experienced were etched into her muscles, piling up into hard knots.

As the only daughter of an earl, she bore too many missions and responsibilities, yet she was willing to give up her earldom in order to not have children.

"Wife," he suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse, "you've worked hard."

Aura's shoulders stiffened slightly, then relaxed again. She didn't turn around, but her voice was as soft as melting sugar: "You've worked hard too."

They both laughed.

At that moment, they didn't need many words. After swapping bodies, they understood each other's bodies better than anyone else, and were closer to each other's hearts than ever before.

Ming Luochen gently hugged her from behind, pressed his face against her shoulder blade, and closed his eyes.

Moonlight streamed through the window, falling gently on the two of them, as soft as a thin veil.

The next day in class, Ming Luochen, completely caught up in the whirlpool of love, didn't want to escape anymore. He completely opened his heart to Aura, thinking about her all the time, even affecting his IQ. He laughed like a fool all day long, and acted like a clingy and childish child, following her wherever she went, wishing he could be attached to her.

The old professor walked into the classroom with his textbooks, glanced around the room, and his gaze fell on two people in the back row who were whispering to each other.

"Aura, in the last lesson we talked about the energy loop of summon contracts. Can you answer this: what are the three core nodes of the contract energy loop?"

This is the key point of the last lesson, and it's also a frequently tested topic in past exams.

Aura opened her mouth, but her mind went completely blank.

Ming Luochen sighed, stood up, and cleared his throat: "Professor, the three core nodes of the contract energy circuit are: the soul anchor point, the energy channel, and the contract seal. The soul anchor point is responsible for locking the spiritual connection between the two parties in the contract, the energy channel is responsible for transmitting magic power, and the contract seal is the final solidification node."

He paused, looked at the old professor, a sly glint in his eyes: "Professor, I also have a question for you. In the contract energy circuit, if the soul anchor point shifts by three-thousandths of an angle, how much will the transmission efficiency of the energy channel decrease? How can it be recalibrated to restore it?"

The old professor was stunned.

He'd been teaching for so many years and had never thought about this question. A deviation of three per thousand? Who would care about three per thousand?

"Well..." The old professor's forehead was beaded with sweat, "Theoretically speaking, a slight shift shouldn't affect the overall structure..."

"Professor, I've checked the data. A 0.3% deviation will result in a 7.3% energy loss," Ming Luochen said earnestly. "Moreover, the calibration method is actually quite simple; you just need to add an energy compensation rune when drawing the loop. What do you think?"

He already knew, so why did he ask? The old professor's face turned a deep shade of liver.

"This... compensation rune... uh..."

"If the professor doesn't know, I can draw it for you." Ming Luochen picked up the chalk and started drawing on the blackboard.

The old professor stood there, like a student being punished.

The classroom was completely silent; all the students stared wide-eyed at the scene.

After finishing his drawing, Ming Luochen dusted off his hands and turned to the old professor: "Professor, do you think this method is feasible?"

"It's...it's feasible." The old professor managed to squeeze out two words, his voice dry and hoarse like sandpaper.

"That's good." Ming Luochen smiled slightly and sat back down next to Aura.

[You dare cause trouble for my wife? I'll teach you a lesson!]

Aura squeezed his hand under the table, mentally giving him a thumbs up: "My husband is awesome!"

The old professor seemed distracted for the rest of the class, his gaze frequently drifting towards Ming Luochen as if he were looking at a monster, worried that Ming would raise his hand to ask a question.

After class, he strode over to Aura's desk, forcing a smile: "Aura, your summoned beast... seems to have a good understanding of contract theory?"

"It's alright, just browsing around," Ming Luochen replied for Aura, his tone very casual.

"Um... could you explain the compensation runes you mentioned earlier in more detail?" The old professor rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with thirst for knowledge, completely forgetting that he was the professor.

Ming Luochen didn't hide anything and told him the story again.

After listening, the old professor nodded thoughtfully and then asked another question.

Ming Luochen answered.

He asked another question.

Ming Luochen answered again, and then asked a deeper question in return.

The old professor got stuck again.

After this happened three times, the old professor's face grew increasingly grim, and sweat poured down his forehead. Finally, he left with the words, "I'll go check the information," and fled in a panic.

Ming Luochen watched his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Aura pinched him from the side: "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"No, not at all." Ming Luochen looked completely innocent. "I just wanted to discuss academic issues with the professor."

"Is that a discussion? That's an execution." Aura rolled her eyes at him, but her eyes were full of laughter.

From then on, the old professor would walk around Ola's seat during every class and never dared to ask her a question again.

He even began to fear Ming Luochen—fear that he would raise his hand, fear that he would ask a question, fear that he would smile and say, "Professor, I have a question to ask you."

This sentence has become his nightmare; he is afraid of being made a fool of in public.