Chapter 16
by GideonChapter 16: The Doll Is Too Delicate to Take Care of Herself (9)
To be honest, the man was certainly good-looking. However, what Ye Jiujiu valued more was his strength.
The sense of danger emanating from Qing Guizhu was in no way inferior to Tu Jin’s.
In other words…
Despite his gentle, harmless appearance, this man was at least an S-rank NPC on the inside.
Since he could appear in this instance dungeon… he was probably the resident of Room 3-02.
Wonderful.
There were three NPCs ranked A+ or S in total, yet in the end, she was the only A+-rank one. The other two were both S-rank.
What had she done to deserve being placed in the same category as these two?
Ye Jiujiu felt that the game system really thought far too highly of her…
Just as she was drowning in despair—
“Hey, hey, hey! Earth to you! Come back to reality!”
A pair of hands suddenly pinched her cheeks.
Ye Jiujiu instinctively turned her face away in the direction of the pressure. When she raised her eyes, she found herself looking straight into Tu Jin’s eyes. There seemed to be a hint of restrained irritation in them.
“Had enough of looking?”
What?
Ye Jiujiu stared at him blankly, unable to understand what he meant.
Hah!
She was still pretending in front of him!
Tu Jin let out a cold laugh.
“Stop thinking about it. Qing Guizhu isn’t like me. He’s not going to let you look and touch to your heart’s content.”
Ye Jiujiu: “…?”
“I didn’t! You’re making things up! I’m a respectable person!”
Did this man have no shame? Did he have no sense of decency? How could he just go around telling people about something like that?!
“If you didn’t, then why were you staring at his face for so long just now?”
Tu Jin’s tone grew increasingly sarcastic.
“Oh, so you’re a respectable person who fell asleep on top of me while touching my abs?”
Ye Jiujiu: “???”
You little—
“You’re the one who failed to uphold proper masculine conduct! You took your clothes off to seduce me! Who could possibly resist that kind of temptation?!”
Tu Jin: “…?”
What did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that. Why don’t you say it again?
“Wasn’t it you who asked to see my abs?”
“Then you could’ve refused!”
Ye Jiujiu had absolutely no logical basis for her argument, yet she was still indignant. Even the volume of her voice seemed determined to compete with Tu Jin’s.
“If you weren’t willing, was I supposed to forcibly strip your clothes off myself?”
Just admit it. This was entirely your own fault!
Tu Jin: “…”
He desperately wanted to argue back. But after a moment of silence, he suddenly realized he had nothing to say.
Just as it looked like a full-blown argument was about to erupt, a soft chuckle interrupted them.
Qing Guizhu, who had accidentally laughed aloud, silently picked up his teacup. He raised it slightly to conceal the corners of his mouth, but the faint upward curve of his lips was still impossible to hide.
“Please, carry on.”
His voice was tinged with amusement. Clearly, he was having a hard time holding back his laughter.
“Just pretend I’m not here. I haven’t heard anything, so don’t mind me.”
In reality, he had heard everything. And what he had heard was some truly explosive gossip!
Tsk, tsk, tsk…
Qing Guizhu cast a meaningful glance at his good friend.
Who would’ve thought? Tu Jin had actually taken the initiative to remove his clothes and let the little doll look at and touch his abs just to seduce her…
Who knew you had such a wild side, young man?
Tu Jin, the innocent victim who had suddenly lost his good name: “???”
“Wait, no! Listen to me, I…”
“All right, all right. Yes, yes, yes. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”
Qing Guizhu nodded perfunctorily, clearly not taking a single word to heart. His slightly teasing gaze gradually shifted toward the little doll, who was puffing up with indignation.
How should he put it…
“The little one is quite pretty. I can understand.”
Tu Jin: “…”
No, he really didn’t understand what this guy was talking about.
“What exactly do you understand? What are you talking about?”
And another thing…
“Where exactly are you looking?”
Couldn’t he praise his own doll’s beauty himself? Why did Qing Guizhu have to do it?
In an instant, the look Tu Jin directed at Qing Guizhu changed.
Was this guy planning to take advantage of his pretty-boy looks and steal his little doll?
But he hadn’t shared the little doll’s status panel with him. There was no way Qing Guizhu could know just how valuable she was. So, could it be…
Had this guy simply fallen for her looks?
Tu Jin felt as though he had finally uncovered the truth.
Without drawing attention to himself, he pulled the little doll closer and tucked her more firmly into his arms. He no longer bothered worrying about his tarnished reputation. Instead, he turned to the little doll and began earnestly lecturing her.
“Some men may look decent on the outside, but don’t let appearances fool you. They’re full of dirty tricks and ulterior motives. You’re still young and haven’t seen much of the world, so remember this: you can’t judge someone by their appearance alone.”
Being a superficial beauty lover never ended well!
Qing Guizhu: “…”
No, if you want to say something, then say it. Why are you looking at me?
You’re making it sound as though I’m the one who looks decent on the outside but is rotten on the inside…
The smile on Qing Guizhu’s face briefly froze.
Wait a minute. Was this guy taking a jab at him…?
Watching Tu Jin, who was practically on the verge of announcing Qing Guizhu’s name and identity outright, Qing Guizhu fell silent for a moment.
Then…
He turned toward Ye Jiujiu, who was practically rolling her eyes at Tu Jin, and slowly revealed a warm, refined smile befitting a noble young gentleman.
With that smile, Qing Guizhu gently pushed a cup of tea toward Ye Jiujiu.
“If you’ve only just woken up, you should have some tea to moisten your throat.”
His eyes lowered slightly. A slightly long strand of hair brushed softly against his cheek, giving him an air of natural elegance and considerate refinement.
“It must be exhausting, staying by Tu Jin’s side all the time, isn’t it? Unlike me, Tu Jin has always been rather careless and insensitive. If he ever makes you feel wronged, just try to bear with it. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
Well, now…
Why did that sound so… sugary sweet?
Faced with this questionable behavior, and under Tu Jin’s gaze, which had instantly darkened, Ye Jiujiu naturally…
Happily reached out to take the teacup.
You have to understand: why do people dislike sweet-talking, manipulative types?
Because they’re usually not the target of that person’s sweet talk!
Take Qing Guizhu, for example. Why call him a scheming flirt? Wasn’t that an unnecessarily unpleasant way to describe him?
He was clearly just a considerate, gentle gentleman with an old-fashioned charm!
He was showing her concern, wasn’t he?
Just as Ye Jiujiu’s fingertips were about to touch the cup—
A hand suddenly shot out and snatched it away before she could reach it.
And then—
Ye Jiujiu silently watched as Tu Jin tilted his head back and gulped down the entire cup of tea.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp.”
“What are you looking at? Am I not allowed to be thirsty?”
He casually placed the empty cup on the table and smiled at Ye Jiujiu. Then, as though he had just thought of something, his face took on an expression of sudden realization.
“Oh, you’re thirsty too?”
“You should’ve said so earlier!”
Still smiling, he personally poured another cup of tea and brought it right to Ye Jiujiu’s lips. He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.
“Here. Moisten your throat.”
Ye Jiujiu suddenly wasn’t so interested in drinking anymore: “…”
But…
Looking at Tu Jin’s insistently generous expression, she silently took the teacup and began sipping it in small mouthfuls.
With the way Tu Jin was gritting his teeth, he probably wouldn’t go so far as to poison the tea… right?
Only after Ye Jiujiu had finally settled down did Tu Jin turn his attention back to Qing Guizhu, who appeared to have done absolutely nothing.
“Ah, speaking of which, I’m hungry.”
Before Tu Jin could say anything else, Qing Guizhu promptly raised his hand and summoned a waiter from the restaurant.
It should be a player, right…?
Ye Jiujiu paused mid-sip.
She had originally intended to raise her head and sneak a glance, but the moment she did, her eyes met those of the waiter, who happened to be looking her way at the same time.
Well…
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the word Storm on the waiter’s name badge.
Ye Jiujiu silently lowered her gaze again and, for good measure, shrank farther into Tu Jin’s arms.
Although Tu Jin was, at present… rather tactlessly intelligent, at least he was an S-rank NPC. He could still offer her a little sense of security.
Besides, she was just an item now. What was this thing called Storm? She had absolutely no idea what that meant!
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