Ma Xiaotao had indeed come to speak with Zhou Sichen about something important, but with Dugu Xianmeng standing right beside him, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Seeing Xianmeng's smug and gleeful expression, Ma Xiaotao swallowed her anger. After finishing the roast meat in her hand, she stood up.
"I'll come see you tomorrow morning, junior," she said before turning and walking away.
Dugu Xianmeng watched her go, humming triumphantly with an exaggerated grin.
Zhou Sichen smiled helplessly and turned to the charming beauty beside him. "What are you doing? Anyone watching would think you're my wife or something!"
Even though Zhou Sichen sounded a bit serious, Dugu Xianmeng responded with a sweet smile. "Well, it's not like that's off the table…"
Zhou Sichen raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Xianmeng giggled. "What I mean is, since Big Sis isn't here, it's only right for me, as her best friend, to take care of you in her place."
"Ma Xiaotao has always been the type to keep her distance from people. Waiting for a guy outside his house in the middle of the night? Clearly, she has ulterior motives. I'm just protecting you, alright?"
Zhou Sichen was speechless. "So, her intentions aren't pure… and yours are?"
As he spoke, he tried to let go of Xianmeng's soft hand—only to find she had already tightened her grip on his.
Raising their joined hands in front of her face, Zhou Sichen gave her a look. "You do realize she's gone, right? Are you really that unwilling to let go?"
"Oh, oh!" Xianmeng blinked in mock surprise. "I thought you liked holding my hand. If you do, just say so. I'll always be available whenever you want."
With that, she finally let go and picked up a piece of roast meat, offering it to his mouth.
Zhou Sichen hesitated for a moment but still took a bite.
"Well, thank you for the midnight snack, regardless."
Xianmeng grinned. "No need to thank me. If you like it, I'll bring you some every day."
Zhou Sichen waved his hand. "That would be too much."
Xianmeng leaned closer to his ear. "You have to accept. I need to talk to you about something."
Zhou Sichen pretended to play hard to get. He placed both hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back into her seat across from him. "Sister Xianmeng, if you've got something to say, just say it. You've already done more than enough for me."
He had already guessed that she wasn't just here to spend time with him. As seductive as she was, she wouldn't go through all this just for a chat. This midnight snack definitely came with strings attached.
Sure enough, Xianmeng got straight to the point. "Because of you, we now have to spar against your contracted soul beasts every week. You know how my abilities work—either they're completely countered by your beasts or they don't work at all..."
Before she could finish, Zhou Sichen gave her a meaningful look. "Ah, I get it. You're using your charms to get me to go easy on you? And here I thought Sister really liked me!"
He put on a mock-disappointed expression.
Xianmeng panicked slightly. "I do like you! But I also kinda want to take a shortcut..."
Her cheeks flushed a little. Confessing openly was very different from silently harboring feelings.
As long as nothing was said aloud, both could pretend nothing was happening. But now that she'd admitted it, she'd lost the initiative.
She cursed silently. This boy looked harmless, but he was a master manipulator! A few casual words, and she'd walked right into his trap—flipping from offense to defense.
Zhou Sichen, hearing her unintentional confession, put on a righteous look. "Hmph! I knew you had designs on me! I thought you genuinely cared, but turns out you were just into my looks!"
Xianmeng stared at his serious face and suddenly didn't know how to respond.
After a long silence, she blushed deeply, then grabbed his arm with both hands and gently shook it. "Come on, little brother, have mercy on your poor sister, won't you?"
Zhou Sichen smirked. "Nope."
"If I let you do whatever you want today, what's stopping you from trying to claim me openly tomorrow? I, Zhou Sichen, am a man of principle. I won't be seduced by beauty!"
Xianmeng gritted her teeth. "You brought this on yourself."
Zhou Sichen blinked. "Wait… what are you doing?"
Xianmeng released his arm. The pitiful expression disappeared from her face, replaced by a cold, commanding gaze.
"Zhou Sichen, listen carefully. Starting today, I'm your second sister. Big Sis isn't here, so you'll follow my orders."
Whoa.
Zhou Sichen froze for half a second. Was this a role-play now? When the sweet and gentle act didn't work, she switched to a domineering older sister?
He couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth. He had to admit—with her looks and figure, this "cool older sister" act was dangerously effective.
Sighing in resignation, Zhou Sichen said, "Alright, alright. You win."
He gently patted her smooth, fair hand. "I'll tell my soul beasts to go easier on you in the future. Don't worry."
"But I'll say this too—they won't actually hurt you. And training with them is great real-world experience."
Xianmeng understood that well enough. Hearing Zhou Sichen's words, her expression softened. She dropped her cold demeanor and beamed at him.
"I was mostly just testing how much I mattered to you. No need to give me special treatment. I'm not afraid of hardship."
"After all… the suffering I've endured since I was little is way worse than anything those soul beasts could throw at me."
As she spoke, her smile faded a bit—she seemed to be recalling something painful.
Zhou Sichen noticed her change in expression and grew more serious. After a pause, he said softly, "You're lucky you met me."
She had the double surname "Dugu," and she'd admitted that her ancestor was from the Dugu Bo bloodline. That meant she'd suffered from the Bilin Snake Venom since childhood.
Her innate soul power had reached Rank 8, already placing her firmly in the genius category. But she wasn't someone who accepted her fate.
Since the Bilin Snake Venom was so agonizing—and would likely kill her before she turned thirty—she decided to gamble everything.
Not only did she train with the venom in her body, she also practiced the terrifying Bilin Five Poisons Technique, layering one toxin on top of another.
By absorbing poison into her body, her cultivation improved by leaps and bounds. By the age of fifteen, she had already reached Rank 48.
But the torment she endured over the years was unimaginable. Among her peers—and even compared to many cultivators in their thirties or forties—few had suffered more than she had.
And still, she held on, teeth clenched, refusing to break.
She was gambling everything she had in a race against time—trying to reach Titled Douluo before the age of thirty. Only then could she escape her cursed fate.
Now, she could finally see a sliver of hope. Though toxic cultivation brought her immense pain, she was inching closer to Rank 90. Maybe she really could defy destiny.
It was precisely because of this that Zhou Sichen was more lenient and protective toward her.
And beyond that—if Dugu Xianmeng grew to her full potential, her Bilin Five Poisons would surpass even her ancestor Dugu Bo's, making her a priceless, strategic-level asset.
Zhou Sichen couldn't help but comfort her. "It'll get better. If I get the chance, I'll help you look for a cure."
****
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