Playboy

What a massive misunderstanding!

Xu Ya kept calling out to the system in her mind, but the system played dead, which told her everything she needed to know.

Most likely, Shi Yuzhen had already started misunderstanding her feelings back then…

Aaaahhh!! This is going to kill me!!

As for why he believed such a clumsy excuse, Xu Ya figured it was probably because the male lead was the story’s chosen one, the entire plot revolving around him.

Even this little shop she ran had been part of Master Xu’s scheme to get close to the male lead.

But still, just because your junior likes you doesn’t mean you have to respond! What are you even responding to?! I won’t allow a cold and aloof male lead to act like this!

Xu Ya began to reflect on her own behavior, wondering if she had somehow crossed a line. After thinking it through, she couldn’t find anything inappropriate. She had only been following the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh’s principle of strength above all.

She had never dealt with such a thorny issue before. Frustrated, she shook her head like a rattle-drum.

Her ultimate goal was to return home. She was supposed to avoid forming any emotional ties to this world.

While Xu Ya was collapsed on the table like a puddle of “meat pie,” fast asleep in despair…

Shi Yuzhen, who had been meditating on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes.

He stared at Xu Ya’s silly sleeping face for a while, then gently picked her up and laid her on the bed. With a flick of his fingers, he used a spell to cover her with a blanket.

Shi Yuzhen clearly felt that they lacked communication. But after cultivating for over a decade in the Immortal Marsh, there had never been anyone qualified to speak with him. He was annoyed to realize that this was something he wasn’t good at, and so, without thinking, he chose to avoid it.

Looking at her, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Xu Ya’s forehead.

He had indeed given her a so-called response, but for some reason, his heart still felt empty and insecure. What was missing?

When Shi Yuzhen went to Zhan Zhengzhen with a serious face to seek answers…

Zhan Zhengzhen was just about to sip his morning tea, testing the temperature with his lips.

Hearing that his usually untouchable Great Senior Brother was actually troubled by love, a visible crack appeared in his expression.

But the more Zhan Zhengzhen listened, the more off it sounded. So even Great Senior Brother was just an old house catching fire for the first time.

He had always thought the Great Senior Brother practiced the path of emotionlessness. Poor Yunmeng Immortal Marsh—countless admirers had been throwing themselves at a blind man.

Then Shi Yuzhen asked, “Why did she reject my invitation to dual cultivate? Doesn’t she like me?”

Zhan Zhengzhen promptly spilled his tea all over himself.

Great Senior Brother, if she didn’t hit you, it’s probably because she couldn’t…

How could someone with such a handsome face make such an inappropriate invitation?

Zhan Zhengzhen, who also couldn’t beat Shi Yuzhen, could only gently remind him, “Dual cultivation is a very private matter between Dao companions. If you haven’t formed a Dao bond and still make such a request… well… if she doesn’t think you’re a playboy, that’s already being generous…”

“What is a playboy?”

“Uh…” Zhan Zhengzhen didn’t dare explain in detail, so he summarized, “It means you need to have a solid emotional foundation and formally become Dao companions before you can ask about something like that. Otherwise, it’s extremely disrespectful.”

Shi Yuzhen fell silent, seemingly deep in thought. A moment later, his expression cleared as if he had figured it out.

He praised Zhan Zhengzhen sincerely, “Thank you, Junior Brother. I understand now.”

Zhan Zhengzhen looked at Shi Yuzhen’s enlightened expression and didn’t dare ask what exactly he understood.

He had a bad feeling he hadn’t understood at all.

Meanwhile, the delivery business at A Ya Fried Chicken Shop was booming.

Cultivators could place orders through their spirit boards by channeling spiritual energy, and the cultivators acting as “riders” could pick up and deliver orders of their choosing.

This greatly reduced the long lines that used to form in front of the shop.

A Xi had also learned a few basic spells. Since this business didn’t require her to stand at the storefront, Xu Ya assigned the task to her.

A Xi was obedient, and the handover went smoothly.

With this new system, monthly revenue was bound to increase rather than decrease. At the same time, lower-level cultivators working as delivery riders could earn some savings.

This further boosted the enthusiasm of the cultivators.

For a time, Xu Ya’s fried chicken had become a must-have for everyone cultivating in the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh.

Ever since An Jiaze helped post that message, rumors inevitably started reaching both parties.

At first, Xu Ya had no idea and just thought a small group of cultivators in the Immortal Marsh were really into matchmaking.

Later, when she realized she shouldn’t have let someone else post on her behalf, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear!

Several times, An Jiaze had tried to meet with her, but Xu Ya managed to avoid him each time.

Logically, Xu Ya hoped An Jiaze was just another cultivation-obsessed shut-in with no romantic intentions toward her.

But with his frequent visits, she couldn’t keep dodging him forever.

When Xu Ya finally decided to talk things through with An Jiaze…

Shi Yuzhen clung to her like a resentful husband, wearing the expression of a rightful spouse as he said, “You’re really being naughty.”

After venting with words, Shi Yuzhen suddenly pulled Xu Ya into his arms and stepped forward.

With a cold expression, he asked, “What do you want with her?”

An Jiaze responded politely, “I came to see Junior Sister. Great Senior Brother, would you mind stepping aside? I have something to discuss with her.”

“She is my Dao companion. You should know your previous actions have already caused her to be caught up in baseless rumors. Instead of making an effort to clear them up, you still want to meet with my Dao companion in private?” Shi Yuzhen emphasized the words “Dao companion” and “private” heavily.

An Jiaze froze.

Xu Ya froze too.

Who? Who’s your Dao companion?!

The memory of that awkward, tender kiss suddenly resurfaced, and Xu Ya’s face flushed red again.

An Jiaze’s expression shifted rapidly. He clenched his fists but still looked Xu Ya in the eye and asked, “Is it true? Are you and Senior Brother Shi… Dao companions, Junior Sister Xu?”

“This…” How was she supposed to answer that?

The system suddenly popped up with a snide remark: 【This guy’s up to no good. Reject him already.】

“She likes me, and I like her. Why wouldn’t we be Dao companions?”

An Jiaze was stunned to hear such a direct declaration from the usually aloof Shi Yuzhen.

Knowing he couldn’t win against Shi Yuzhen, he left with a face full of frustration.

Xu Ya couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted to slap him, but when her hand reached Shi Yuzhen, it only came out as a gentle pat. “What are you talking about?! Great Senior Brother!!”

Shi Yuzhen just stared straight into Xu Ya’s eyes and said seriously, “I like you, Xu Ya.”

Xu Ya’s heart skipped a beat, and she instantly turned into a blushing tomato.

She scrambled away, flustered, dodging Shi Yuzhen’s attempt to repeat his confession. She stumbled into the house, limbs all out of sync.

Shi Yuzhen noticed a change in her and raised an eyebrow, then followed her in. He thought to himself, Asking Zhan Zhengzhen really was the right move.

He didn’t care whether he had learned the wrong lesson. It worked, and that’s what mattered.

She didn’t reject him, so that meant she accepted him.

Thinking this, Shi Yuzhen smiled and followed her inside.

The auntie in the back room had overheard everything. When she saw Boss Xu Ya come in, she gave her a knowing smile.

In her mind, Xu Ya was a kind and understanding young lady. Not only had she given an old woman like her a job, she’d even taken in a beggar girl like A Xi from the countryside. Now A Xi was clean and well-kept—completely unrecognizable.

To make fried chicken accessible to more cultivators, Xu Ya had actively adjusted her business model, improving the financial situation of lower-level cultivators. The auntie had seen all of this.

In her eyes, a girl like Xu Ya not being loved? Impossible.

But Auntie still thought like an ordinary mortal. She had no idea that Xu Ya had once spent over twenty years in the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh living a life where everyone avoided her like the plague.

And those two “handsome sons-in-law” in Auntie’s eyes were, to the cultivators of the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, completely incompatible with Xu Ya.

A Xi scowled as he looked at Shi Yuzhen, who was following closely behind Xu Ya.

In truth, the little spells A Xi knew were taught to him by Shi Yuzhen when she had nothing better to do. But when it came to how he behaved, he seemed to have inherited Shi Yuzhen’s attitude too—he didn’t show much respect for his teachers or elders.

A Xi didn’t want to owe Shi Yuzhen anything, but when she casually said, “Once you learn, you can help your sister,” A Xi gritted his teeth and forced himself to learn.

Just earlier, when he was in the back room with Auntie, A Xi had already become a “little cultivator” who knew a few minor spells.

Naturally, his hearing was much sharper than Auntie’s.

So when he heard Shi Yuzhen say to that unfamiliar man, “I like her, and she likes me,” A Xi’s heart nearly leapt into his throat. He didn’t know why, but it felt like all the blood in his body was flowing backward.

Like… what did it mean to like someone? He desperately wanted to know. And what was a Dao companion?

A Xi didn’t quite understand what kind of feeling this was. He only heard Shi Yuzhen sounding like she was competing with that strange man.

In the end, Shi Yuzhen planted her flag in victory.

A Xi saw that man clench his fists and walk away in fury, and he too unconsciously clenched his fists.

Watching Xu Ya run back into the house with a flushed face, A Xi immediately lifted his foot to follow right behind her.

He didn’t understand what this emotion was. His heart felt hollow, and he had this urge to beat up every cultivator who got close to his sister. That violent impulse inside him was growing stronger and stronger, becoming a secret growing pain in his path to adulthood.

He had grown too tall. He could no longer curl up in his sister’s arms and act spoiled. And when he looked at other children his age, none of them played around with their parents anymore either.

He felt stifled. Why hadn’t Shi Yuzhen left yet?

Ever since he’d dumped all his emotional questions on Zhan Zhengzhen, Shi Yuzhen had unexpectedly awakened a new kind of radar.

Though he’d only taught that brat A Xi a few basic spells to humor his Junior Sister, he’d never really liked A Xi.

But then again, there were plenty of people Shi Yuzhen didn’t like. At first, he didn’t pay much attention. But now, seeing the sharp, wolf-like gaze A Xi fixed on him, Shi Yuzhen understood.

He could now clearly sense the intense, familiar affection A Xi had for Xu Ya.

Shi Yuzhen skillfully sidestepped A Xi’s attempt to follow him, and shamelessly lingered around Xu Ya until nightfall before finally leaving.

A Xi could only crawl back into bed, fuming, his eyes practically slicing into the hem of Shi Yuzhen’s robe.

— Translator’s Notes —

– Dao companions: Cultivation partners who share a deep spiritual and often romantic bond, vowing to support each other on their path to enlightenment.