After reading the message, he didn’t reply. His lips thinned, and his expression darkened as he released her.

Jiang Yunnuan’s consciousness immediately withdrew from her Light Brain. She walked over to the man with silver hair and fox ears. Behind her, a flash of hostility flickered in the handsome, domineering man’s eyes.

Hmph!

Seeing her approach, Si Xie let out a cold snort and turned his head away, ignoring her.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yunnuan felt even more guilty, but she quickly composed herself and sat down beside him, hugging his arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

He huffily tried to pull his arm away, but not only did he fail, she just held on even tighter.

A DING sounded in his mind—a Light Brain message notification.

He opened it. Sure enough, it was from her.

"I’m sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me. Don’t be mad, okay? I’ll make you something delicious when we get back."

The message was followed by several adorable stickers of a character begging for forgiveness.

Si Xie was furious and jealous, but his heart melted the moment he saw her apology. He turned to look at her.

"You only love him, not me, and I’m not even allowed to be angry?"

Jiang Yunnuan’s heart leaped when she saw him respond.

’Yes, he replied!’

’As long as he’s talking to me, I can win him over.’

"How could you think that? I swear, you’re just as important to me as he is. I’m absolutely not playing favorites."

"Really?"

"Of course, it’s true. Cross my heart."

’You’re all my targets, so of course I have to treat you equally. How else am I supposed to complete my mission?’

’Sigh. One second I was being all lovey-dovey with Jun Yao, and the next, I’ve barely pulled my pants back on and I’m saying this to Si Xie. I’m such a shameless tramp.’

’Boo-hoo, I don’t want to be this trashy either, but what can I do? The situation calls for it...’

Si Xie: "..."

’This damn woman... so she knows she’s a player. Hmm, she’s surprisingly self-aware.’

"I’ll believe you this time. When we get back, not only do you have to make me something delicious, you also have to sleep with me. You can’t just sleep with Jun Yao. Otherwise, I’m not forgiving you!"

Jiang Yunnuan blinked as she read the new message.

’Sleep with him?’

’Hmph, if he wants to sleep with me, fine. Who’s afraid of who?’

’This guy’s so handsome, and he has the nerve to ask me to sleep with him? Heh, I’ll have my way with him when we get back.’

’Speaking of which, his face is so gorgeous, but what does he look like... down there? What if it’s ugly? Does he have ridges and spines? Jun Yao does...’

Si Xie: "..."

He watched as her gaze traveled down from his face, lingering on a certain embarrassing area.

He watched as her gaze grew hotter and a faint blush crept up to her ears. He, in turn, felt a surge of both shame and anger.

’This damn woman’s mind is always in the gutter, filled with nothing but lewd thoughts all day long.’

He gritted his teeth as he typed and sent a reply.

"Where are you looking? Your ears are red. What kind of filthy things are you thinking about?"

Jiang Yunnuan’s eyes flew wide, and she quickly averted her gaze.

’Crap, he found me out!’

’What’s he putting on an act for? Wasn’t he the one who told me to sleep with him?’

’Does he really expect us to just huddle under the covers and chat?’

"I wasn’t looking at anything. You’re not mad anymore, are you?"

Si Xie: "..."

"I’m still a little mad!"

"Then what will it take to make you not mad at all?"

"Figure it out yourself!"

Jiang Yunnuan frowned at him, feeling a little deflated.

’Wasn’t he usually so easy to placate? Why is he being so difficult today?’

’No, wait. Judging by his expression, he probably isn’t mad anymore. He must be sending those messages on purpose.’

’Yeah, that has to be it!’

A smile touched her lips. She suddenly leaned in and planted a light kiss on his chin.

At this, his gaze instantly deepened. His Adam’s apple bobbed. With a wave of his hand, he erected a Barrier, then cupped her face and crashed his lips onto hers.

The moment their figures were concealed by the Barrier, Jun Yao’s fists clenched so tightly that bright red drops of blood dripped onto the ground.

「By broad daylight.」

The indestructible Barrier was dispelled.

As they had agreed the day before, the seven of them split into two groups.

Jun Yao, Fu Yuan, and Si Xie formed one group, while Ming Ye, Jiang Yunnuan, Jiang Tang, and Jiang Wang formed the other.

Although Jiang Tang and Jiang Wang didn’t understand the decision to split up, neither voiced an opinion and quietly followed the plan.

"If you run into danger, don’t try to tough it out. Contact us on your Light Brain immediately."

"Remember, don’t wander too far. Keep sending me your location. We’ll meet back up before this afternoon."

Si Xie and Jun Yao hovered around Jiang Yunnuan, fussing over her endlessly, earning looks of utter disdain from Fu Yuan and Ming Ye.

They were only splitting up for a little while, not forever. Was all this drama really necessary?