Let me explain, it's not what you think.

After dinner, when Lu Chen pushed open the door, the candlelight flickered.

The first thing he saw was the raised blanket on the bed, the corners of which were clenched tightly, revealing a section of long purple hair and half of a fair ear.

He stood at the door for a moment, then recognized it as Zi Yao's hair.

"Yaoyao?"

The figure under the covers suddenly froze.

The exposed part of the ear instantly turned bright red, burning from the earlobe all the way to the tip, so red it looked like it was about to bleed.

Lu Chen walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to gently pull the corner of the blanket.

The blanket was being held too tightly; he pulled on it once but couldn't budge it, so he pulled again.

The person under the covers finally let go, and the covers slipped off, revealing Zi Yao's flushed face.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and her eyelashes trembled incessantly; clearly, she was not at peace.

After all, this was the first time she had disobeyed the king's orders, and that was not allowed!

The thought of this made her feel uneasy, and she trembled all over, making Lu Chen seem like the villain.

Actually, she was still nervous about what was about to happen, and at the same time worried that Lu Chen would reject her.

Lu Chen sighed inwardly as he looked at her like this.

What are you doing here?

Zi Yao's eyelashes trembled, but she didn't open her eyes.

Her lips moved, uttering a very soft, delicate sound: "Sister Jiang said..."

She betrayed Jiang Huaiyu in just 0 seconds.

There's nothing I can do, she's just too nervous right now.

"What did Sister Jiang say?"

Zi Yao bit her lip and remained silent.

Her face turned even redder, and even her neck was tinged with a thin layer of pink.

"She said...she said I should wait for you here."

Lu Chen remained silent for a while.

"What else did she say?"

She said a lot. I didn't dare listen, and I don't remember much.

"I only remember... she said that as long as I'm here, you won't kick me out."

Lu Chen did not respond.

Zi Yao waited for a while, but when she didn't hear his voice, she finally opened her eyes.

She turned her head to look at him, her purple eyes glistening with a thin layer of tears, filled with fear, grievance, and a hint of barely concealed anticipation.

Looking into her eyes, Lu Chen suddenly felt like laughing. A lion queen at the Integration Stage, who had lived for countless years and killed countless living beings, was now lying in bed, trembling like a frightened rabbit.

"Did you want to come on your own, or did she send you?"

Zi Yao's lips moved slightly, then closed again.

"I want to come."

Lu Chen stared at her for a long time.

"So what are you afraid of now?"

Zi Yao shook her head and did not answer.

Lu Chen reached out and took her hand in his palm.

Zi Yao looked at his hand, at the way he held her hand, and tears suddenly fell, silently sliding down her cheeks and into the pillow.

"Stop crying, it makes it sound like I'm bullying you."

"I didn't cry, but... but I don't know what happened..."

Lu Chen sighed, released her hand, put his arm around her shoulder, and helped her up from the bed.

Ziyao obediently nestled into his arms, burying her face in his chest.

"I remember when you kidnapped me, you were quite forceful. How come you've changed like this now?"

"At that time, I only thought about bringing the King here; I didn't think about anything else!"

"Yao Yao".

"Um."

"Next time, you don't need anyone to teach you; you can do it yourself."

Zi Yao's body stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed. She buried her face even deeper.

"Because you deserve it."

The candlelight flickered, illuminating the two people, their shadows overlapping on the wall like a blurry silhouette.

……

The next morning, Ziyao didn't get up, which was unusual for her.

Last night, her bell kept ringing non-stop, without a moment's rest.

Lu Chen even asked her about it.

Then they learned that this was her natal magic weapon, and its power was terrifying.

But for Lu Chen, it became a treasure for entertainment.

In fact, the treasure was no longer at her ankle, but at her neck.

Life went on like this until one day, Zhuang Jingbai was so restless that she had a sudden urge to move.

She always felt that something was calling to her from the shadows, as if it were some kind of destiny. She didn't want to miss such an opportunity, so she told Lu Chen.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen immediately realized that it was Heaven's Will at work.

Although the novel's perspective always revolves around Lin Tian, ​​she is the female lead.

Therefore, she also has her own extraordinary adventures and will eventually grow into someone second only to the male protagonist.

Lu Chen had no objection to this; it would be a waste to hinder the female lead's development because of him.

Furthermore, he never considered limiting their lives; on the contrary, he supported them in having their own careers.

Of course, some people don't want to do that; they just want to live a life with him, and he supports that too.

Take Yu Ning for example.

She just wants to live with him right now and doesn't want anything else, so he won't say anything more.

In the end, Jiang Huaiyu and Zhuang Jingbai, who were initially "enemies," chose to leave together to gain experience, while Yu Ning stayed by Lu Chen's side to take care of the child.

Lu Chen did not choose to leave.

It has only been a little over a year since the incident with the demon, which is far from enough for everyone to forget. So he plans to wait a few more years until he has cultivated enough and everyone has forgotten enough before going back.

After all, Zi Yao's primordial yin energy was also extremely vast, which she kept in her dantian.

If he can absorb and refine this energy, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage shouldn't be too difficult.

Unfortunately, it backfired.

Not long after Zhuang Jingbai and Jiang Huaiyu left, an uninvited guest arrived at Ziyao's home, Lu Chen's "territory".

Zi Yao was the first to sense it.

Her gaze swept over the courtyard wall toward the horizon, a complex emotion flickering in her purple eyes.

"So you still came."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen also raised his head and followed her gaze.

There was nothing on the horizon except for a few white clouds drifting lazily by.

Just when he thought Zi Yao had misjudged, a crack suddenly appeared in the clouds, and a white ribbon descended from the heavens.

The white light dissipated, revealing the figure of a woman.

She was extremely tall, about the same height as Zi Yao, but much thinner, with a waist so slender it seemed as if a gust of wind could topple her over.

At this moment, she was dressed in a plain white Buddhist robe, without any extra decorations.

The fabric was extremely thin, and it clung to her body when the wind blew, outlining her slender figure.

It's not emaciated, but rather a slender figure with well-proportioned bones and flesh, where every line is just right—any more would be too plump, any less would be too thin.

Her face has a sense of sophistication, a purity that comes from being cleansed a thousand times by Buddhist scriptures.

She landed without making a sound.

Barefoot on the amethyst floor, her toes were round and white, her nails clean and without any nail polish, like ten polished pearls.

Crimson Jade.

Lu Chen somehow learned about this name.