"No, don't go!"
The timid yet resolute voice came through, her cold, delicate hand gripping Luo Yu's firmly.
Fearing that he might turn around and leave.
Luo Yu did not turn around.
"Miss Bai, what are you doing?"
"Men and women shouldn't easily touch, and you'll have to get married eventually."
Bai Chenxiang held onto his hand, moving her feet to stand in front of Luo Yu.
"You... what are you really thinking?"
Luo Yu shook his head.
"I don't understand what Miss Bai is saying."
"All I know is that a man can't be pestering; if a lady doesn't like you, you should keep your distance and not make yourself unwelcome."
Bai Chenxiang bit her thin lips, looking extremely troubled.
"You... you never even asked me."
"How do you know whether I like you or not?"
Luo Yu sighed.
"Is there any need to ask?"
"Your cold attitude towards me, doesn't that say everything?"
"Also, I still remember, you once said in front of everyone."
"Even if I were dying of thirst or hunger, or stranded on the streets, I wouldn't marry any one of us."
"You..." Bai Chenxiang's beautiful eyes widened in anger, her cheeks flushing red.
Luo Yu observed calmly, without a trace of guilt.
Quietly he thought, "Impatience will not bring success."
"What... have I said something wrong?"
"You are so mean, you are the biggest bad guy," Bai Chenxiang said through gritted teeth, "all the nice words have been taken by you, what else can I say?"
"Do I have to admit that I was wrong and that without realizing it, I have come to like you?"
"What a joke."
"As if I have no dignity."
Luo Yu's mouth fell slightly open.
"Ah?"
"Miss Bai likes me?"
"When did that happen, how come I didn't know."
Bai Chenxiang's beautiful legs shook, she stomped her booted feet impatiently and breathed hastily:
"You... you're going too far."
"You must be pretending to be dumb to torment me, right? It must be revenge for how indifferent I was to you back then."
Luo Yu shook his head.
"How could that be, Miss Bai's dislike for me, her coldness, and even her hitting and scolding me, all seem very reasonable."
"That's a slander!" Bai Chenxiang exclaimed excitedly: "When have I ever attacked or scolded you?"
"At most I just didn't talk to you, that's all."
Luo Yu sighed.
"Doesn't Miss Bai realize that in the world of love, the coldest thing is the silent treatment?"
"You... you're changing the subject!" Bai Chenxiang argued in panic: "Was I giving you the silent treatment then? I was being reserved, okay?"
"You think I'm the kind of girl who'd run after you just because you gave me a look?"
"So, you like me?" Luo Yu asked with a smile.
"What else?"
Bai Chenxiang responded without hesitation.
Then seeing the smile on his face, she suddenly felt at a loss.
Panic flickered in her beautiful eyes.
Her face burned as if on fire, her entire body shyly flushing with heat.
Her small hands felt awkward no matter where she placed them.
At this moment, Bai Chenxiang suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around her slender, fair waist.
Pulling her into an embrace.
Before she could struggle, she was hit by a wave of the man's robust scent mixed with a hint of alcohol.
Bai Chenxiang, her face reddening, became frantic, her hands beating against the man's chest.
"You... what are you trying to do?"
"What am I trying to do?"
Luo Yu brought his face close to Bai Chenxiang, looking at her exquisite, radiant face up close.
Like fresh flowers after the rain, about to bloom, emanating a pure and sweet scent.
"You like me, don't you? How about a hug?"
"Get away, get away from me, even at this point you still want to tease me," Bai Chenxiang pushed against him.
Feeling inwardly timid, now terrified someone else might suddenly appear and see her in someone's arms, she would be mortified.
"Tease?"
A crease formed on Luo Yu's forehead.
"Miss Bai, you can't just use that word carelessly. Otherwise, if someone overheard, they might think I'm a heartless man."
"You are, you just are, the one who stole someone's heart and then acted indifferent," Bai Chenxiang scolded relentlessly.
"That's called knowing the ways of the world, and being a hero for it," Luo Yu said.
Bai Chenxiang harrumphed, "I think that's called having a blockhead; you totally don't understand what a girl is thinking in her heart."
"That's called being reserved, okay? Being reserved," he corrected.
"You big straight guy, you've never been in love before, have you?""
Luo Yu bore the girl's slaps, the smile on his face vanished, and his black pupils became deep and captivating.
"Then... Miss Bai..."
"Would you like to have a sweet romance with me?" he asked.
The man's unexpected seriousness made Bai Chenxiang's struggling subside for a moment.
Beautiful Eyes stared blankly at that Banished Immortal face.
She couldn't help but be infatuated.
In her mind, she recalled every moment since she had met Luo Yu.
The first time he spent a fortune recklessly.
The daily encounters with the sound of the zither.
And finally, that earth-shattering terrifying power.
Where in the world could you find such a man?
"Can I... can I do that?" she stammered.
Bai Chenxiang really wanted to agree, but suddenly she felt uncertain.
A smile tugged at Luo Yu's lips.
"You called me a straight guy,"
"So teach me how to deal with women from now on," he said.
Bai Chenxiang burst into laughter.
Her jade finger pointed at the man's chest.
"You, I think you are good at everything,"
"But you really don't understand what's on a girl's mind."
"She was just being reserved and shy, and you took it as a sign of rejection, that's really something,"
"If it weren't for me taking the initiative, would we have kept missing each other?"
Luo Yu watched the twin-pigtails girl in his arms posing like a little proud teacher without a word of objection.
Nodding his head, he agreed over and over.
The two looked at each other silently, and everything quieted down around them.
The sounds of cicadas were rhythmic in the background.
Their cheeks inched closer and closer until they finally closed their eyes.
Their lips touched.
The girl's delicate body obviously shivered.
Her long eyelashes fluttered.
This was her first kiss.
Time rewound.
Bai Chenxiang pushed Luo Yu away, glared at him with Beautiful Eyes, and gave him a fierce look.
"You, bad man,"
"Being so handsome and so strong, you couldn't have never been in love before, right?"
"How come you kiss like the Wicked Desires, huh? As if you wanted to devour me."
"Can I devour you?" Luo Yu's eyes shone.
Seeing Luo Yu's "dumb" look, Bai Chenxiang giggled behind her hand.
"No way."
"You can't seriously have never been in love."
Luo Yu said, "Shall we... go back to the room together now?"
Bai Chenxiang first froze, then shook her head repeatedly.
"No... That won't do."
"We're moving too fast."
Luo Yu said with a smile,
"True,"
"We've just established a relationship; it really is too hasty to rush things."
The two were affectionate in the courtyard, eventually ending up in Bai Chenxiang's boudoir.
Luo Yu took quite a few liberties.
That pair of slender jade legs in black boots naturally couldn't escape his wicked hands.
But ultimately, it was a journey left unfinished, as he was pushed out by Bai Chenxiang, who was blushing to the extreme.
...
A night passed, and as the morning sun rose,
The four great clan chiefs and the Bai Family Clan Members were still asleep when they were awakened by a rumbling noise outside the courtyard.
"Boom!"
The gates of the Bai Family home were pushed open, and waves of formidable, surging auras descended upon the Bai Family's estate...