The private booth was equipped with Snow Wind Pearls, keeping the air inside fresh and cool. Even with three people squeezed onto a single VIP couch, it did not feel hot at all. Yet Yan Zhen, sandwiched between Good Big Sister and Mentor Yu Xuan, felt a little stuffy—and movement was rather inconvenient.
Yan Zhen tried to pull his hand back from their embraces, but the moment he moved, they held him even tighter. He did not dare to struggle anymore.
On one side was Mentor Yu Xuan, on the other Good Big Sister. He could not afford to offend either one.
“Little Brother Yan Zhen~” Ji Ya’s voice carried a natural seduction that made one’s bones go soft. “What snack would you like? Sister will get it for you.”
“Thanks, Sister Ji Ya, but I just ate. I’ll pass.”
“Then how about some fruit? What do you think of honeydew?”
Yan Zhen was about to nod when Good Big Sister suddenly arched her chest forward on purpose, trapping his arm even deeper. The meaning was all too clear.
Thump-thump! Yan Zhen had been barely holding back his instincts, but her teasing sent his heart racing and his face burning.
“If you don’t say anything, Sister will take it as a yes.”
Ji Ya picked up a toothpick and speared a piece of cut honeydew from the nearby fruit platter, holding it to Yan Zhen’s lips.
“Open up~”
Yan Zhen opened his mouth like a robot, bit off the melon, chewed it up, and swallowed.
“Is Sister’s melon tasty?”
“Y-Yes, it’s tasty.”
“Then how about another piece?”
“Good… Mmph!”
Before Yan Zhen could finish speaking, he felt a pinch on the soft flesh of his left waist. He quickly changed his tune:
“One piece is enough for me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Honeydew is too sweet. Eating too much at night will rot my teeth.”
Yan Zhen threw out a random excuse, but Ji Ya did not mind. She tossed the toothpick aside, plucked a bright red cherry from the platter, and clamped it between her glistening jade fingers, shoving it toward his mouth!
“Then have a cher-ry instead. Much healthier. Ahh—”
Yan Zhen could not refuse. He glanced at Mentor Yu Xuan and saw no reaction from her, so he carefully avoided Good Big Sister’s fingers and snatched the little red fruit like a puppy, chewing it before spitting out the pit.
Ji Ya did not mind his saliva at all. She caught the cherry pit in her hand and set it aside on the platter.
“Tasty?”
“Yes, tasty.”
Ji Ya smiled radiantly, her beautiful eyes fixed on his profile, brimming with affection as she said:
“As long as you like it. Though the cherries here are just average. Once we get to headquarters, Sister will give you better ones~”
Yan Zhen always felt there was something off about her tone, the kind that made his thoughts wander to improper places:
“…Thanks, Sister Ji Ya.”
Mentor Yu Xuan frowned slightly. She also wanted to feed Yan Zhen, but there was no fruit platter within her reach.
—This woman was so calculating.
But what concerned her even more was the line Ji Ya had just said:
“Once we get to headquarters.”
As expected, just like in her previous life, Yan Zhen would take leave in a few days and follow Ji Ya to the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce Headquarters to treat her illness.
Mentor Yu Xuan did not know the exact details, though. After a moment’s thought, she spoke up:
“What do you mean by going to headquarters? Are you leaving the academy, Yan Zhen?”
“Uh, it’s like this, Mentor. I— Mmph!”
Before Yan Zhen could finish, Good Big Sister stuffed another plump, red cherry into his mouth. He bit down gently, and sweet juice burst forth.
“—Let Sister explain instead, Little Brother Yan Zhen.” Ji Ya smiled faintly, her gaze passing over Yan Zhen to meet Mentor Yu Xuan’s eyes. “To be honest, this humble lady suffers from a hidden ailment that only Little Brother Yan Zhen can treat. The process is quite involved and will take at least a month. Plus, we need many rare medicinal ingredients that aren’t available here, so he has no choice but to come back to headquarters with me.”
As she spoke, she gestured for Yan Zhen to spit out the pit, catching it neatly in her hand and setting it aside.
Their interaction was intimate and natural, nothing like mere siblings. It was the atmosphere of lovers.
“And it works out perfectly. While we’re at it, this humble lady would like to request about a month’s leave for Little Brother Yan Zhen from Mentor Yu Xuan. Once he cures my illness, he’ll return straight to the academy.”
“If I may be so bold, Chief Manager, what sort of strange and intractable disease do you have? Yan Zhen is certainly talented, but he’s only a Tier 1 Pill Refiner right now. The Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce surely doesn’t lack Tier 1 Pill Refiners. Why him specifically?”
“Mentor Yu Xuan is one of us, so this humble lady can be frank. But please don’t spread it around.”
“Of course.”
Yan Zhen had a bad feeling and tried to speak up, only for Good Big Sister to plug his mouth with another cherry.
Ji Ya’s cheeks flushed pink as she said:
“This humble lady has accumulated too much residual pill energy in her body, eroding and damaging her meridians. It flares up with excruciating pain from time to time. To cure it completely, she must perform Body Fusion Dual Cultivation with a Pill Refiner who possesses Extreme Flame, using her own body as the furnace to refine that accumulated energy back into a pill. Little Brother Yan Zhen knows me well, he possesses Supreme Flame Gold-Silver Fire, and he has excellent Pill Refining skills. He’s the perfect Dual Cultivation partner~”
—Oh no, we’re done for.
Yan Zhen closed his eyes in resignation.
When Mentor Yu Xuan heard that the treatment involved Dual Cultivation, her expression changed just as expected, shock flickering in her beautiful eyes.
“Chief Manager, you’re not joking, are you? What kind of treatment is Dual Cultivation?”
“It’s a bit unusual, yes, but that’s the reality.” Ji Ya sighed wistfully. Her jade finger slipped into Yan Zhen’s mouth to fish out the pit he was holding, placing it atop the little pile. “My illness has lingered for three years already. In another year or so, it’ll be beyond saving. I can’t delay any longer. Please make an exception, Mentor Yu Xuan, and approve Little Brother Yan Zhen’s leave. This humble lady would be endlessly grateful.”
—The key issue is the leave? No, it’s the Dual Cultivation!
Mentor Yu Xuan sensed something was off:
If the treatment required Dual Cultivation, then in her previous life, how had they stopped at just a sibling relationship? Look at their intimate posture—they were one step away from confessing. After Dual Cultivation, wouldn’t they just get married right away?
“Is Dual Cultivation absolutely necessary?”
“There’s no other way.”
Ji Ya shook her head helplessly. As she spoke, she took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her little hands clean, then resumed feeding Yan Zhen cherries.
When he had bitten halfway through one, she pulled her hand back, as if struck by a sudden idea:
“Sister wants to taste it too.”
With that, she popped the half-eaten cherry—the one Yan Zhen had bitten—straight into her own mouth.
Yan Zhen’s face turned red. Mentor Yu Xuan was outright annoyed.
She was certain now: Ji Ya absolutely had ulterior motives!
That attitude was nowhere near “helplessly accepting fate.” It was pure “smugly flaunting her scheme.”
“Yan Zhen, is what she says true?”
Yan Zhen braced himself and replied:
“It’s true, but I’m still working on an alternative to Body Fusion Dual Cultivation. I hope to figure something out before we reach the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce Headquarters.”
Ji Ya arched a brow, displeased.
—Naughty little brother, still thinking about that method!
—Hmph, even if you come up with it, Sister won’t use it. Better give up on that idea sooner rather than later.
—No good! Little Brother Yan Zhen still resists the idea of Dual Cultivation. Before then, I need to find a way to completely shatter his defenses.
Mentor Yu Xuan was even less pleased. She’d thought Yan Zhen was just leaving for a few months, which would leave her—the one in the heat of romance—feeling lonely and unbearable. But no, this was her little chick getting carried off by a vixen! By the time he came back, wouldn’t he have been devoured clean?
