One of my fairy-like friends

"Is Aunt Ning angry?" Ming Yan released Ning Mengru and blinked. "I thought... Aunt Ning wouldn't mind..."

"...But you'd have to ask me first, and only after I agree, right?" Ning Mengru coughed lightly, not wanting to overdo the act. After all, Ming Yan had already taken advantage of her so many times. Although she didn't plan to tell Ming Yan that she was Yue Ningshuang, if he found out, her current resistance would feel hypocritical...

"Then? I want to hug Aunt Ning now, does Aunt Ning agree?" Mingyan asked with a smile.

"..." Ning Mengru pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. She sighed softly, "If you want to hug me... then hug me."

Mingyan smiled and hugged Ning Mengru again, feeling her warmth and tenderness.

"You only come to see me once in so long, and you even said you like me," Ning Mengru couldn't help but say, her tone slightly disappointed and a little sour.

Are you jealous?

"I returned to Fenglingyueying with my master, and then we went to the Holy Yuan Dynasty together, which took up quite a bit of time," Ming Yan said with a slight smile. "I'm sorry, Aunt Ning..."

"You and your master..." Ning Mengru's tone became even more melancholic upon hearing this. If she didn't know that Ming Yan and Yue Wuxia had a somewhat ambiguous relationship, it wouldn't be so bad. A master and disciple relationship is usually quite good, so she wouldn't feel sour. But now that she knew Ming Yan and Yue Wuxia weren't a proper master and disciple, and she had no idea what they had been doing during their time apart...

"Has there been any progress in your relationship?" Ning Mengru bit her lip and asked softly.

"Aunt Ning, are you asking about me and Fei Xuan, or me and Master?" Ming Yan asked with a smile.

Ning Mengru snapped out of her reverie. She had naturally been asking about Ming Yan and Yue Wuxia, but Ming Yan's counter-question made her realize that she had perhaps neglected her disciple...

"Both of them..."

"Feixuan and I have reconciled, so Aunt Ning doesn't need to worry anymore," Mingyan said with a slight smile. "As for my master and me... that's a bit harder to say..."

"It's hard to say...?" Ning Mengru frowned slightly, and asked suspiciously, "You and your master... have you already slept together?!"

"Hmm... how should I put it..." Mingyan didn't answer the question directly, but his behavior made Ning Mengru immediately certain, and she was greatly surprised.

So these two have gone beyond just being ambiguous; it's gotten to this point? No... don't you two care about your master-disciple relationship at all?

"You...!" Ning Mengru couldn't help but break free from Ming Yan's arm, turn around, and say incredulously, "...You really?"

Mingyan smiled but didn't answer, which was tantamount to neither admitting nor denying. Seeing this, Ning Mengru couldn't help but turn her head to the side...

Under Ming Yan's previous guidance, Ning Mengru now somewhat views Yue Wuxia as a rival in love...

Yes, it's impossible to have Mingyan all to yourself right now, and Ning Mengru doesn't have that idea either. After all, if you want to have Mingyan all to yourself, do you want to kick Feixuan aside?

But Ning Mengru claims she had absolutely no intention of vying for the most important place in Mingyan's heart, and even she herself doesn't believe it...

Although she had actually slept with Ming Yan much earlier, the problem was, it wasn't Ning Mengru, it was Yue Ningshuang...

After all that, he was still waiting for Ming Yan to attack, while Yue Wuxia had completely abandoned all pretense and started playing the baby-making game with Ming Yan...

I'm messing with you...!

Actually, Yue Wuxia was monitoring Ming Yan right now... She knew that Ming Yan had come to see Ning Mengru, and she wanted to see if Ming Yan would say that she was more important than Ning Mengru in front of her, and then say that Ning Mengru was more important in front of him.

Speak human language to human beings, and ghost language to ghosts... If Mingyan is really like that, then Yue Wuxia has decided to prevent Mingyan from climbing into her bed for a year!

...Isn't a year too long...? Half a year, please...

Half a year... seems... a little bit... long?

About a week.

Although Mingyan was unaware that his master was watching him, he didn't want to say that Aunt Ning was more important in front of Ning Mengru. If he didn't put any pressure on Aunt Ning, it wouldn't be conducive to winning her over.

"Aunt Ning... what's wrong?" Mingyan asked Ning Mengru with a smile.

Chapter 182 It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality.

Ning Mengru grew angrier the more she thought about it. He had promised to pursue her, but instead, Mingyan had gone on his honeymoon with Yue Wuxia...

Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Ming Yan, and a faint hint of anger appeared on her originally gentle and dignified face, which exuded an aura of imperial grace. "You clearly said that you were here to pursue me."

Ning Mengru's tone wasn't harsh; her voice was naturally very gentle, so even when she got angry and raised it, it didn't make anyone feel tense.

"...Does Aunt Ning think that I left during this time to have a romantic relationship with Master?" Ming Yan looked at Ning Mengru and asked in return.

"...In fact, that is indeed the case, isn't it?" Ning Mengru crossed her arms, making her already full figure even more alluring. Ming Yan's gaze unconsciously drifted over, but he quickly pulled it back to Ning Mengru's face.

"Actually, I went back earlier because Yu Mudan went to Fengling Yueying, and she invited my master and me to the Holy Yuan Dynasty." Ming Yan explained roughly, and the details were naturally unnecessary to elaborate on. Although the Holy Yuan Dynasty did invite Ming Yan, it did not invite Yue Wuxia. However, there was no need for Aunt Ning to know these things, was there?

After hearing Mingyan's explanation, Ning Mengru's tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little. She rolled her eyes at Mingyan, "So after being away for so long, you come back and immediately start touching me? You haven't even started pursuing me yet."

Mingyan reached out and took Ning Mengru's slender hand, smiling slightly, "Is it really so hard for Aunt Ning to accept just holding hands and hugging her?"

"...After all, it's not proper or legitimate..." Ning Mengru shifted her gaze to the side.

“Even if it’s perfectly legitimate, our relationship shouldn’t be known to others, right? Although I don’t really care, Aunt Ning probably doesn’t want others to know either, does she?” Mingyan smiled.

Upon hearing this, Ning Mengru frowned again. She looked at Ming Yan and said, "You know what I mean is... to make me feel that we are at least legitimate... This has nothing to do with whether or not others know."

In other words, Ning Mengru was seeking a sense of peace of mind, a feeling that allowed her to be with Mingyan with a clear conscience.

"Aunt Ning...you don't even allow this level of contact?" Mingyan asked again.

Ning Mengru was silent for a moment, then said, "When you finally win me over, it'll be up to you. So what are you waiting for?"

She neither pulled her hand away nor broke free from Mingyan's embrace.

“I’ve thought about a lot of things, and I’ve realized that it seems difficult for us to develop a relationship as naturally as a normal man and woman,” Mingyan said. “If I were to say who I’ve deliberately pursued, it would probably only be Feixuan. But I haven’t done very well with her. Back then, Feixuan wasn’t particularly interested in me.”

Ning Feixuan, who was eavesdropping through the mirror, felt a sharp pain in her heart upon hearing this. Why did this bring up me again? I know I was wrong... Let's move on from this... okay?

Ning Mengru snorted when she heard Ming Yan's words, "So, you're saying you're not good at these things?"

"I'm indeed not good at it, but I won't give up." Mingyan smiled slightly. "I've actually thought about traveling the world with Aunt Ning. Just the two of us, stopping and going as we please, we're sure to gain something..."

“But now… isn’t it inappropriate?” Ning Mengru pursed her lips. Although the idea was indeed good, taking Ming Yan away would obviously make others unhappy, especially the two of them. Putting aside others, Wang Qingchu would definitely be the first to disagree. Moreover, even if they traveled at a leisurely pace, she couldn’t just give herself to Ming Yan directly, although she would definitely give herself to him in the future, and she had already been… cough cough… In short, given her current status, it was still necessary to maintain her composure, but in doing so, Ming Yan’s strength improvement would slow down.

Mingyan gripped Ning Mengru's hand tightly. "It's a little strange for the two of us to go out alone. It's alright if Feixuan knows, but I wonder what Feiyan and Auntie will think when they find out that Aunt Ning and I are together..."

Ning Mengru pursed her lips. She didn't want these people to know about her relationship with Ming Yan; otherwise, her image in their eyes might completely collapse...

If I accidentally end up with them, that's one thing, but if I can keep it from them, I'll avoid letting them know...

Let alone going out together, even within the Huang family, if we acted even slightly intimately, it would attract strange looks, right?

Thinking of this, Ning Mengru sighed softly in her heart. It was indeed a case of a skilled cook having no rice to cook.

But... just like that, hand it over to Mingyan? Ning Mengru was slightly unwilling...

Whether or not he likes Mingyan is beyond doubt. If he didn't like him, how could things have turned out this way?

But in the end, she gave it to Mingyan for free. Although Mingyan treated her quite well, she still felt a little unbalanced.

Although it wasn't to the point of being unacceptable, the thought of Yue Wuxia's position in Mingyan's heart made him feel vaguely unhappy.

Perhaps it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. While it didn't quite reach the point where "seeing Yue Wuxia deeply loved by Ming Yan is more painful than being unloved myself," there was definitely some jealousy towards Yue Wuxia. It didn't bother with the others, but with Yue Wuxia...

“...Never mind…” Ning Mengru remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, “I don’t want you to pursue me anymore…Let’s talk about it later when we have time. Let’s just consider it an obligation for now, and make it up to you when you reach the top, when we both have time.”

Ning Mengru realized that, given their respective mindsets, there was no need for any pursuit at all. Her desire for Mingyan to pursue her was simply a way to experience being valued. But did Mingyan really... not value her? Perhaps not...

Of course, most importantly, Yue Wuxia had already slept in the same bed with Mingyan. If she didn't make a statement and kept pretending to be reserved, Yue Wuxia might whisper sweet nothings in Mingyan's ear, and she might lose sight of the bigger picture for a trivial matter.

Mingyan paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. Although there are many restrictions, but..."

"You don't need to say anything more." Ning Mengru raised her head and said seriously, "I already said, I'll owe you for now. Right now, you should focus your energy on improving your strength. If I take up too much of your time, I'll feel bad about it..."

"But... Aunt Ning, is this really okay? You really... like me?"

Chapter 183 Ning Mengru's Heart Is Filled with Unease

Ning Mengru's reason for asking Mingyan to pursue her was that she wanted to give him a chance to fall in love with her...

Therefore, Mingyan asked this question at this moment, even though he already knew that Aunt Ning definitely had feelings for him.

Ning Mengru rolled her eyes at Ming Yan, "If I didn't like you, do you think you could be this close to me? Get so close to me? Hold my hand and put your arm around my waist? In your eyes, I'm too easy."

It seems that Yue Ningshuang was indeed like that at the beginning... Although Aunt Ning only enjoyed this honor when she used the identity of Yue Ningshuang, Aunt Ning did indeed sever ties very cleanly...

Aunt Ning still didn't want to tell me that she and Yue Ningshuang were the same person. I guess Aunt Ning was still hoping that one day the identity of Yue Ningshuang would simply disappear...

"What are you thinking about?" Ning Mengru noticed that Ming Yan suddenly seemed lost in thought, and couldn't help but pinch his waist playfully. "Why are you reacting so calmly?"

"Hmm?" Mingyan snapped out of his reverie. After hearing Ning Mengru's words, he smiled, then became serious again. "Aunt Ning, I don't want you to wrong yourself. You seem to have misunderstood what I just said. Although there are indeed some circumstances that prevent me from preparing a complete plan to pursue you right now, but..."

"Alright, alright, alright, I've already said it. You owe me now, but we can talk about it later when we have more time." Ning Mengru interrupted Ming Yan again. This time, she frowned and spoke very seriously. "I don't feel wronged. Anyway, you have to pay me back what you owe me now."

Mingyan fell silent. Hearing Aunt Ning's statement, Mingyan felt relieved. He didn't want to wrong Aunt Ning; this wasn't his initial intention. He had only mentioned the difficulties to tell Aunt Ning that pursuing someone required time and effort, but he hadn't expected it to completely change Aunt Ning's mind...

However, since Aunt Ning herself said it's a debt... there will surely be a chance to pay it back in the future, right?

Mingyan hugged Ning Mengru tighter and whispered, "Aunt Ning... why are you so good to me?"

What else can you do when you've fallen for someone?

Ning Mengru was silent for a moment, then said, "Then... can you treat me the way I treat you?"

"I will do my best to treat Aunt Ning well." Mingyan nodded without hesitation.

"Give it my all...?" Ning Mengru sighed inwardly. Since she had already given up on letting Ming Yan continue to pursue her, then... it seemed that the identity of Yue Ningshuang was no longer necessary?

So how do we strip away this identity?

Ning Mengru didn't want Ming Yan to know that she was Yue Ningshuang for many reasons, the most important of which was that she didn't want her image in Ming Yan's mind to collapse.

If he knew that the elder he secretly admired had shamelessly disguised himself as someone else to approach him and give himself to him for free... what would he think?

He might be overjoyed, but Ning Mengru was more worried that after her image collapsed, Ming Yan would no longer care about her as much as he did now... It is said that what you can't get is the best, the second best is what he actively gets, and the third best is what comes to you on his own initiative.

Yue Ningshuang belonged to the very bottom of the hierarchy. Because she offered herself up voluntarily, she didn't even have the right to make any demands. She could only humbly beg Mingyan for some favor.

What you can't have is the best, but in a sense, it's also the worst.

Ning Mengru's identity is actually the most ideal state... Although she would not ask Mingyan to leave other women and dote on her alone, at least Mingyan would care more about her, wouldn't he?

"Does Aunt Ning not believe it?" Seeing that Ning Mengru remained silent for a long time and her eyes were slightly unfocused, Mingyan asked.

“…I believe you.” Ning Mengru snapped out of her reverie, then pursed her lips. “Um…I have some things I’d like to discuss with your sister…”

Upon hearing this, Mingyan immediately became alert. Talk to her sister? Could it be that Aunt Ning had already decided to completely sever ties with the identity of Yue Ningshuang?

That won't do. We have to make Aunt Ning face reality. She dares to do something but doesn't dare to admit it, right?

"Aunt Ning, what do you want to say to my sister?" Mingyan decided that it was time to break the ice. There was no need to keep it a secret. They were already family, so what was there to hide?

“...There are some things...that require you to leave.” Ning Mengru coughed lightly twice. “In short, just call the ancestors over first.”