The first thing felt was softness, like a fresh bundle of cotton dried in early spring, carrying the clean scent of sunlight.
Then came the warmth—a small but certain temperature that pressed clearly against your chest and waist through the thin fabric.
This was an embrace, tentative yet not at all unpleasant.
As Qian Yu’s words echoed in her mind and she felt this clumsy warmth against her body, a faint blush flickered across Nalan Yunyan’s cold and proud face.
“Why say so much? Isn’t it just the principle that if you do your best, no one can surpass you?”
She turned her head away and said with disdain, “This young lady has known that since I was a child.”
This girl is calling herself “this young lady” again…
Quietly encircling the golden-haired girl before her, Qian Yu, as likely the first person in this world to ever hug Nalan Yunyan, didn’t spare a single thought for what kind of impact this embrace might have on the other party.
Her mind was filled only with the smile of someone who had successfully pulled off a scheme.
After all, the version of Gu Qinghan after Blackening was both meticulous and paranoid.
If she really saw Qian Yu being led by the hand by Nalan Yunyan, there was no telling what she might overthink.
Qian Yu didn’t want that to happen, which was why she staged this scene.
Looking at it now, the effect was excellent.
Nalan Yunyan hadn’t made a scene, nor had she reacted by crying and screaming, “How dare you touch this young lady’s body, I’ll definitely kill you!”
The friendship-based Embrace Battle Operation was a grand success.
Qian Yu’s large tail twitched upward silently, but she failed to notice that while she was hugging Nalan Yunyan, a cold, black-haired girl was watching everything from behind with an expressionless face.
It was Gu Qinghan.
Ever since she accidentally made Nalan Yunyan’s fur stand on end earlier, she had been puzzled.
She couldn’t even calm her heart enough to cultivate.
She had clearly done very well, being both friendly and indirect, so why was Nalan Yunyan still annoyed?
It couldn’t be that despite undergoing Rebirth, she still lacked emotional intelligence or the ability to communicate, right?
As someone who tended to be stubborn about logic, Gu Qinghan would never rest until she figured out something she couldn’t understand.
Therefore, unable to find an answer, she decided to look for Qian Yu.
From a bystander’s perspective, perhaps the other party could offer some advice.
Gu Qinghan, who had almost no social circle, couldn’t find anyone else anyway.
After some inquiries, she found this place—the private cultivation grounds the Nalan Family had cordoned off at the Sect’s Heavenly Pool.
Then, stepping in as if no one else were there, she witnessed the scene before her.
Qian Yu was actually… trying to hug Nalan Yunyan to death?
Is this kind of combat method really effective?
Moreover, based on the conversation just now, they weren’t fighting.
Wasn’t Qian Yu comforting the other person?
Then why the hug?
Gu Qinghan subconsciously frowned at the sight, confused as to why Qian Yu wasn’t the “victim” being threatened by Nalan Yunyan.
However, very soon, her persistence regarding the Great Dao overrode this confusion, and she began to reflect on Qian Yu’s words.
Reach the Peak, unsurpassed.
Preeminent and peerless.
As long as one did their best, no one else could surpass them.
This viewpoint was actually quite good; she hadn’t expected such words to come from Qian Yu’s mouth.
However, it was also somewhat one-sided.
The Ancestor of Dao also said, “By Not Contending, there is no one in the world who can contend with him.”
Seeking to be first in everything could sometimes lead to an obsession.
Gu Qinghan wanted to have a Dao Discussion with Qian Yu, but then she thought that while this reasoning might be extreme for others, it was perfectly suited for Nalan Yunyan.
The other girl was indeed too concerned with winning or losing against her, which had led to an obsession. Focusing on self-improvement was instead a form of progress.
Qian Yu’s rhetoric seemed as if it were specifically customized to enlighten Nalan Yunyan.
A strange emotion suddenly surged in Gu Qinghan’s heart.
She had frowned at the hug and then let it go, but the fact that Qian Yu specifically enlightened Nalan Yunyan made her very displeased.
Why did Qian Yu never use such methods to speak with her, instead always acting so silly?
Who exactly was her fellow Daoist?
“…”
Her heartstrings, which were like an eternal iceberg, were occupied by a faint, indescribable emotion.
After a moment of silence, Gu Qinghan, her face wearing a “cold expression,” walked out from behind.
Amidst two pairs of dazed eyes, she grabbed Qian Yu’s hand and pulled her out of Nalan Yunyan’s arms, her tone flat yet decisive:
“Sorry, let me borrow her for a bit.”
“Huh?”
Feeling the emptiness in her arms, Nalan Yunyan first felt a faint sense of loss, then she was stunned.
Upon realizing what had happened, she became exceptionally angry. “Gu Qinghan, what are you doing?”
“I explained just now. I’m going to borrow her,” Gu Qinghan clarified.
“This is my territory, and she’s my subordinate.”
Nalan Yunyan had never seen anything like this before.
Stealing someone right in front of her face.
Did she think Nalan Yunyan was just decoration?
She furiously tried to pull the dazed Qian Yu back, but in the next second, after seeing Gu Qinghan’s lips move slightly, the pulling force in her hand suddenly weakened:
“Is what you said true?”
“Yes.” Gu Qinghan nodded.
“Fine.”
The previously furious Nalan Yunyan suddenly released her grip on Qian Yu, allowing her to be pulled toward Gu Qinghan.
“But remember, she’s only being lent to you. You have to return her in half an hour.”
“Mhm.”
Half an hour should be enough.
Qian Yu was completely “given” to Gu Qinghan.
Her little head still hadn’t processed what was happening.
Who was she?
Where was she?
Wasn’t she just making foolproof plans?
How was she now caught in the act by Gu Qinghan with Nalan Yunyan, only for Nalan Yunyan to sell her out?
This won’t do!
Watching Gu Qinghan lead her further and further away, Qian Yu began to panic.
Her story to the other party had always been that she and Nalan Yunyan were enemies.
Now that she had been caught, and the other party insisted on taking her away, Gu Qinghan must have realized her lies and was going to execute her.
If she left now, she might never come back.
Qian Yu pleaded with her eyes for Nalan Yunyan to hold on a bit longer, but the girl whose face had just been flushed from a hug now avoided her gaze.
After a long time, she sent a message through her Telepathic Bracelet:
“Go ahead with peace of mind. This is also for your own good.”
She’s not doing this for my own good, she’s going to kill me! Look at how icy she is!
Qian Yu tried to struggle, but it was futile.
After a bout of Cloud Soaring, she was actually taken directly back to the Cave Residence by Gu Qinghan.
Gazing at the snow-covered peak, the Little Fox felt like crying.
If she wasn’t mistaken, this would probably be her burial place.
Gu Qinghan, having discovered that she was playing both sides, wouldn’t let her off, and Nalan Yunyan’s recent heartlessness was surely because of this.
It’s a complete disaster, boohoo…
Qian Yu was filled with regret.
In the face of a Child of Destiny, her prideful Perception of Fortune and Misfortune had become sluggish and disordered.
Just as she was whimpering about whether to fight to the death, Gu Qinghan, who had been coldly silent since taking her out, turned around.
“Tell me the words you used to guide Nalan Yunyan again.”
“And it’s not a mere repetition, but something customized based on your understanding of me.”
After saying that, the ice in front of them instantly condensed into a table and chairs.
Feeling this wasn’t enough, she even gave Qian Yu what she considered a friendly smile and handed her a cup of tea containing unknown ingredients.
As mentioned before, she was stubborn; once there was something she didn’t understand, she had to figure it out.
Now, Gu Qinghan wanted to understand the source of that inexplicable sourness in her heart.
She was going to make Qian Yu make up for the Dao Discussion she was owed.
As for the relationship between the other party and Nalan Yunyan—sorry, she didn’t have the mental capacity for that right now.
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