Want to Ask You

Xu Ya was dreaming again.

It was still that same vast, white expanse.

Perhaps her body had recovered to the point where she could now cultivate and nourish herself, because the mist in this place seemed to have thinned considerably.

But in that instant, Xu Ya was reminded of the time she had accidentally stumbled into this place.

Could it be that she had unknowingly taken the wrong pill again?

That familiar pain surged through her dream, forcing her to walk a few steps, then pause, looking around in all directions.

Cupping her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, Xu Ya shouted into the void, “Shi Yuzhen—!”

“Great Senior Brother—!” “System—!”

As expected, no one answered…

Is anyone out there? Can someone save me?

Xu Ya quickened her pace, wandering aimlessly through this realm, hoping to find a path she could follow out.

She lost all sense of time. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall the scene she had seen last time.

The further she walked, the colder she felt.

She vaguely sensed that this place was different from the one before.

Sure enough, there were no withered trees this time. Instead, she saw a delicate… birdcage?

Was that really a birdcage? Xu Ya squinted, trying to confirm, but the closer she got, the larger it appeared.

Only when she was near did she realize—it was a cage several stories tall.

“Hehehe… hahahaha…”

The entire cage radiated a chilling cold. Frost had formed on the metal. Xu Ya squinted, trying to see what was inside, listening intently to locate the source of the eerie laughter.

“We meet again… Xu Ya…”

She heard every syllable clearly. Her skin broke out in goosebumps. “Who are you?!”

“Hehehe… You are mine… Xu Ya…”

“Who are you—?!”

Just as Xu Ya was about to uncover the truth—

She jolted awake in Shi Yuzhen’s arms, eyes flying open. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them: “Who—?!”

Xu Ya blinked back to awareness. Her head was resting against something warm. She looked up—Shi Yuzhen’s handsome face was inches away.

Her face turned bright red in an instant. She—she was in his arms? Wasn’t she in her own bed? Why were they so close??

With a startled cry, Xu Ya pushed herself away, still half-convinced she was dreaming.

But the unmistakable feel of firm muscle beneath her hand made her start to doubt.

“System?! What’s going on!!”

【Emm… it’s a long story.】

Shi Yuzhen’s expression remained unreadable as he looked down at her, his forehead resting lightly against hers. Xu Ya couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

But somehow, she just knew—something had definitely gone wrong.

She tried to pull away, but Shi Yuzhen’s hand was firmly cradling the back of her head, making it impossible for her to move.

This doesn’t feel right… Xu Ya’s mind was a whirlwind of panic.

【Emm, if the male lead wants you, just go with it. It could be part of the plan.】

“What do you mean?! Are you selling me out to save yourself?! Aaaaah!!!”

The next second, the male lead leaned in, closing the distance.

Xu Ya clutched her collar, eyes wide. She tried to shake her head, but Shi Yuzhen’s hand held her nape in place, unrelenting.

Their strength was nowhere near equal. With just one more inch, their lips would meet like lovers…

Still unwilling to give up, Xu Ya tried to resist, but the system’s voice rang in her ears, full of schadenfreude: 【Hehehehe, looks like the male lead’s into you, Host.】

Without warning, his thin lips pressed down on hers. Shi Yuzhen felt a slight resistance. Xu Ya’s soft, plump lips were elastic and tender, and the sensation instantly reminded him of the fried chicken he was often fed.

That thought triggered something. His lips parted slightly, teeth grazing the corner of her mouth as he began to nibble and tug, completely absorbed.

Xu Ya: …………

Am I having a sex dream? Did I just make the male lead the star of my sex dream?

She couldn’t fight off Shi Yuzhen’s advances. In that moment, she convinced herself: This has to be a dream!

Her body slowly relaxed. Even if she wanted to resist, she couldn’t! Just go with it! Even if it’s a ridiculous dream…

Xu Ya’s thoughts drifted aimlessly…

She had never kissed anyone before. In fact, love had never even existed in her survival manual. In the real world, she had always been too busy worrying about making ends meet.

After getting into school with the help of the orphanage, she was one of the few kids her age who had a clear understanding of her background. She knew she could never enjoy life the way children with parents could.

So from a young age, she shed her mischievous side and became a quiet, reliable little adult. The clueless orphanage director had even received regular repayments from her at some point and praised her for it—but that’s a story for another time.

Back then, she had received her fair share of attention from classmates and coworkers. Maybe it was the contrast between her delicate appearance and her tenacious spirit that drew people in. But she always brushed it off with a polite smile.

After arriving in the cultivation world—even with her memory lost—survival became even more brutal. Every day, Xu Ya racked her brain trying to curry favor with low-level cultivators just to carve out a sliver of space to live.

Once her memory returned, she focused entirely on helping Shi Yuzhen become the number one cultivator in the world. She never forgot her mission, not even for a second.

But how long was the male lead planning to keep kissing her?!

Xu Ya could no longer fool herself into thinking this was a dream. The strange, unfamiliar sensation of their lips touching—along with the slight sting of being bitten—was far too real. What was going on with Shi Yuzhen? Was he, like before, being controlled by inner demons again?

Shi Yuzhen kissed her for a long time, leaving her lips swollen and red.

Finally, as Xu Ya squirmed like a frightened little animal, he lifted his head. His own lips, rubbed raw from the contact, were just as swollen.

But Shi Yuzhen showed no emotion. He simply lowered his gaze and continued to stare at her.

The atmosphere was getting… off.

Yet Shi Yuzhen seemed completely unaware, still staring intently.

Xu Ya couldn’t take it anymore. At the very least, she needed to put some distance between them. Her entire body was covered in goosebumps from being in his arms. Forcing herself to speak, she asked, “Ahem, Great Senior Brother, why did you…”

Shi Yuzhen didn’t answer her question. Instead, he gently lifted her chin with his fingertips, his tone cool and detached. “Don’t you like me?”

「………………」

When did that happen?!

Xu Ya felt like she’d been struck by lightning. She struggled even harder to sit up in his arms.

“Why did you ask An Jiaze to post that message?” Shi Yuzhen’s voice carried a subtle undercurrent of frustration and gloom.

Xu Ya answered honestly, “Um… because he said if I ever needed help, I could ask Senior Brother An…”

She was used to going along with the flow and immediately realized—was Shi Yuzhen angry about… An Jiaze?

But what did that have to do with her?! Xu Ya screamed internally.

Whether Shi Yuzhen heard her explanation or not, he continued to respond with questions that made no sense. “Are you falling for someone else?”

Xu Ya was speechless. She hadn’t even fallen for anyone to begin with—how could she fall for someone else? It was like being accused of cheating when you’d never even been in a relationship.

Damn it, she wanted to go home!!

Her voice rose slightly. “I…!”

“You’re being very naughty,” Shi Yuzhen murmured, covering her soft, trembling lips with his hand just as she tried to speak. “Why did you go and provoke An Jiaze? You clearly like me. And I… am responding to that.”

【Aaaaah! I’m shipping this!】

“That’s enough.”

【Heehee.】

Xu Ya was silenced by Shi Yuzhen’s hand over her mouth. She tried to defend herself through the gap between his fingers, her voice muffled like it was wrapped in gauze. Her soft hand brushed against Shi Yuzhen’s larger one as she mumbled, “But I only asked Senior Brother An to make a post for me…”

Shi Yuzhen saw that same clueless, stubborn look on her face again, and a wave of frustration surged within him. He was too proud to understand what this subtle emotion truly meant, but every time, he experienced it in full when it came to Xu Ya.

Why did she say she liked him, yet still treated others just as kindly? She was willing to share her fried chicken with them, willing to give them hugs.

The moment he let his guard down, she had gone and asked An Jiaze to make a post on her behalf again! Did she not understand what that implied?

That morning, after finishing his meditation, Shi Yuzhen noticed something off when Zhan Zhengzhen came to report with a hesitant expression.

Sure enough, with his sharp perception, he quickly uncovered what Zhan Zhengzhen was trying to hide.

A strange sensation swept through his body then. He had rushed to show Xu Ya the kind of intimate gestures only lovers would share, to prove their relationship was special. Meanwhile, the culprit behind it all was still saying sweet things to distract him.

“I can take care of all these things for you,” Shi Yuzhen said seriously.

Huh? Isn’t it a bit much to trouble the male lead with something as small as making a post?

Shi Yuzhen let go of Xu Ya’s mouth and instead cupped her face in both hands. “You can rely on me more. Didn’t I already give you my answer?”

He clearly cared a lot about that post. Xu Ya suddenly felt alarm bells go off in her head and asked the system, with all seriousness, what it meant to have someone else post on her behalf.

The system in her mind went silent for a moment, then quickly groveled and revealed the original setting: 【Yes, Host. If you ask someone else to post for you, it’s equivalent to announcing to everyone in Yunmeng Immortal Marsh that you’re that person’s partner.】

???

An Jiaze was just waiting here for her??? What kind of repay-kindness-with-grievance logic was this?

【……】

Shi Yuzhen grew annoyed that Xu Ya wasn’t responding to him directly. He grabbed the hand she was tugging nervously at her clothes with. Xu Ya couldn’t match his strength, so her hand ended up enveloped in his. Then the cold and aloof male lead dropped another bombshell: “You want to increase your cultivation, don’t you? We can dual cultivate…”

……!!!!!!

Xu Ya felt like a mushroom cloud the size of a nuclear explosion had just gone off in her brain. Excuse me, did Shi Yuzhen eat some kind of wild mushroom???

She immediately yanked her hand out of his grip and, in a bold and reckless move, slapped her own hand over his mouth.

Xu Ya had turned into a giant tomato, her pale skin flushed crimson. “Great Senior Brother, w-what are you even saying!!”

She carried a faint, clean fragrance, likely from using soapberry and cleansing spells the night before.

Her hands could only cover the lower half of Shi Yuzhen’s face. Completely overwhelmed by embarrassment, Xu Ya stammered incoherently, her mind a total blur.

Shi Yuzhen found it amusing. He wrapped his large hands around her smaller ones and left a kiss mark in the center of her palm.

— Translator’s Notes —

– dual cultivate: A cultivation practice where two partners, typically romantic, cultivate together to enhance their spiritual power, often through intimate means.

– soapberry: A traditional Chinese cleaning agent made from the fruit of the soapberry tree, used for washing before modern soaps were common.