"What… should I do?"
The chaotic thoughts swirling in her mind left Liu Erlong momentarily at a loss.
"Fine… consider it as thanks… thanking him for pulling me out of this quagmire… just this once… let him have his way… and afterwards…"
"Afterwards, it absolutely cannot happen again…"
"My age… I'm old enough to be his mother…"
In the end, all her thoughts gradually coalesced into a complex mix of bitterness, confusion, reckless abandon, and even a faint, indescribable flutter that she herself didn't fully recognize—quietly coursing through her turbulent heart.
With this resolve, the hand Liu Erlong had pressed against Dai Chengfeng's chest slowly curled its fingers inward. Finally, she completely relaxed all resistance, allowing her palm to softly rest against his shirt.
Her thick, damp lashes trembled violently a few times before tightly shutting, as if surrendering to fate.
Dai Chengfeng's kiss was overwhelmingly forceful yet strangely infused with a level of skill that seemed far beyond his years.
He expertly captured Liu Erlong's slightly parted lips, which had opened in shock.
A crisp yet scorching sensation instantly enveloped Liu Erlong, leaving her already confused mind utterly blank.
At this moment, Liu Erlong felt as inexperienced as an innocent young girl before Dai Chengfeng, passively enduring this sudden intimacy.
An unfamiliar, spine-tingling numbness spread through her limbs, weakening her knees and making it hard for her to stand steady.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly, yet it also felt like only an instant.
Just as Liu Erlong was about to completely succumb, she suddenly felt a coolness sweep over her, jolting her back to reality.
"Mmm…!"
Snapping out of it, Liu Erlong pushed forcefully against Dai Chengfeng's chest.
Dai Chengfeng didn't resist; he let her push him away and released her. A fleeting, lazy smile of satisfaction flickered in his deep eyes.
Liu Erlong stumbled backward, her cheeks burning red like fire.
She panted heavily, hurriedly pulling her collar back together to cover the exposed skin that Dai Chengfeng's hands had loosened moments ago.
"Dai Chengfeng! How dare you… how brazen of you!"
Liu Erlong raised her head, her beautiful eyes still shimmering with unshed tears, now filled with a mix of shame and anger as she glared at Dai Chengfeng, who appeared perfectly calm and even somewhat innocent.
Her voice trembled slightly from both the lingering effects of the kiss and her current embarrassment, as she tried to mask her flustered state with stern rebuke.
"You… how could you… I never agreed to let you… let you…"
Dai Chengfeng watched as Liu Erlong tugged at her collar, a hint of awkwardness crossing his face. "Ah… it's a habit. I couldn't help myself."
"A… habit?!"
Hearing this response, Liu Erlong froze briefly, then felt even more humiliated and angry.
"Dai Chengfeng is truly incorrigible! Even though he has a fiancée, how can he possibly…"
Liu Erlong wanted to scold him sharply. After all, as far as she knew, his fiancée Zhu Zhuqing was so much younger!
But alas, Liu Erlong would likely never know that this unconscious habit of Dai Chengfeng's wasn't honed on Zhu Zhuqing.
Instead, it originated from her rival—the Empress of the Spirit Hall, standing above all but one, Bibi Dong!
Meanwhile…
The scolding words were already on the tip of Liu Erlong's tongue, but in the end, she swallowed them back.
What right do I have to lecture Dai Chengfeng?
As a teacher?
Or as the "sister" who just got kissed by him?
Moreover, it was undeniable that she hadn't firmly pushed him away earlier…
These tangled thoughts made it impossible for Liu Erlong to truly reprimand him. Instead, she forced down her surging emotions and awkwardly changed the subject, her voice carrying a faint tremor:
"…Fine! What just happened… don't mention it again! Today's… today's lesson will continue!"
Dai Chengfeng readily complied, acting as if the person who had just aggressively kissed her wasn't him.
But soon, Dai Chengfeng glanced at Liu Erlong's still-red eyes and slightly disheveled hair, and smiled. "Let's skip today's lesson."
"Sister Erlong, you cried so hard earlier—it must have taken a toll on your spirit. You should rest."
"Here's an idea: today, I'll treat you. Let me cook something delicious for you, alright?"
"Treat me?"
Liu Erlong froze momentarily, then reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. The suppressed feelings of shame and anger flared up again.
Why does he suddenly want to treat me?
Is it because I let him… let him kiss me, so now he feels obligated to repay me?
Or is it because his unruly hands got what they wanted?!
Who asked for this kind of reward?!
The more Liu Erlong thought about it, the redder her face became, leaving her almost flustered. In the end, she simply waved her hand, turned around, and walked toward her room, leaving behind a stiff remark:
"If we're resting, then leave! I don't want to see you right now!"
The door slammed shut with a loud bang, cutting off the inside from the outside.
Dai Chengfeng scratched his head, baffled by Liu Erlong's sudden outburst. "I just wanted to treat her. Why did she get so mad?"
Though perplexed, Dai Chengfeng didn't leave immediately. Instead, he headed to the kitchen.
Meanwhile…
Inside the room, Liu Erlong didn't actually rest. She slid down to sit against the door, covering her still-burning cheeks with her hands while her heart raced uncontrollably.
There was no sound outside, so she held her breath and listened intently, a strange sense of unease creeping into her heart.
Did he really just leave?
While Liu Erlong's thoughts were in turmoil, faint sounds from the kitchen reached her ears.
He hasn't left.
Without realizing it, Liu Erlong exhaled a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
She buried her flushed cheeks into her knees, her heart filled with mixed emotions, and couldn't help but mutter to herself:
"Dai Chengfeng, you little perv!"
"He's despicable, frivolous, and improper… but… at least he's better than Yu Xiaogang, that coward who only knows how to hurt others by running away!"
After a while, she lifted her head and looked at the manuscript on her desk—a detailed study she had written on the Trinity Spirit Fusion Technique.
"I've already taught him the theory and details," she murmured softly, as if trying to rationalize her thoughts, "but what if he forgets? Or misunderstands something…"
Thinking this, she stood up and walked over to the desk, picked up her pen, took a deep breath, and tried to push aside the distracting thoughts. She refocused her attention on the lines of text about Spirit Theory.
The pen scratched softly against the paper as she began annotating and elaborating with greater detail.
---
Meanwhile, in the kitchen.
Dai Chengfeng skillfully retrieved ingredients from his Soul Ring storage device and began preparing them.
His movements were clean and efficient.
Before long, several dishes with excellent color, aroma, and taste were ready, carefully arranged on plates.
Finally, Dai Chengfeng took out a few bottles of high-quality red wine from his storage device and placed them on a tray.
"Done!"
After preparing everything, Dai Chengfeng picked up the food container and walked to Liu Erlong's door, gently knocking.
"Sister Erlong," Dai Chengfeng's voice carried through the door, clear and bright as usual, with a hint of amusement, "dinner's ready. Open up—I brought wine too. Maybe… you need a little?"
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