"Fourth Master, are you really that worried I won't be able to learn it?"
Ye Ling could clearly tell that Ai Yueli was trying to back down. But if he didn't seize this chance now, he might truly end up having to grind through this ancient text on his own.
How could he possibly let such a good opportunity slip by?
What he didn't expect, however, was that Ai Yueli valued him far more than he had imagined.
"I'm sorry."
Ai Yueli spoke with genuine remorse, her tone sincere. "What I said earlier was just a joke. Your current method is already the best approach."
Before the stunned Ye Ling could react, she continued, reproaching herself openly. "It was my immaturity. I let my envy of your talent give rise to the thought of deliberately making things difficult for you. This time, it was my fault. I hope you can forgive my childishness."
"…"
Ye Ling was completely taken aback. Part of him felt a bit frustrated that his plan had fallen through, but at the same time, he felt a deep warmth from Ai Yueli's frankness. She hadn't tried to hide her mistake with even the slightest excuse.
Without a doubt, Ai Yueli was a good teacher.
She might lack teaching experience, often put on a stern face to intimidate others, and even now was acting somewhat immature.
But when it came to her students, she was exceptionally honest.
She didn't puff herself up and fabricate some half-baked grand theory to force Ye Ling to accept it. Nor did she try to laugh it off and hope the matter would simply pass. Instead, she laid everything out plainly, broke it down piece by piece, and sincerely placed it before Ye Ling, asking for his forgiveness.
That alone was enough to put many teachers who had educated countless students to shame.
A teacher who couldn't even teach honesty was never a good teacher.
As an orphan, Ye Ling was especially sensitive to lies. Or rather, from the very beginning, he had never truly trusted anyone.
In fact, it was precisely through lies that he had received the best care at the orphanage, avoided bullying at school, and secured a foothold in society. Ironically enough, lying was the very first skill he had learned from teachers.
Because of that, he didn't reject lies at all. Even if Ai Yueli had tried to deceive him and fabricate a fake cultivation system, he could have accepted it without hesitation and even used it to complete his system tasks.
But Ai Yueli hadn't done that.
Instead, she had placed her mistake right in front of him and asked for forgiveness.
Just like earlier on the rear cliff, when she had openly admitted to him that she had once harbored killing intent toward him, without the slightest attempt at concealment.
Before he realized it, a sense of respect had risen in Ye Ling's heart toward Ai Yueli.
People weren't machines. Feeling negative emotions toward those who were better than oneself was perfectly normal. He himself had once envied his classmates for having parents.
And judging by the fact that the system hadn't even registered any emotion points from Ai Yueli, that feeling was nothing more than an ordinary shadow of the human psyche. As long as it was restrained, it was never a serious issue.
Yet Ai Yueli was willing to apologize even for such a trivial emotion. To Ye Ling, that was simply unbelievable.
If it had been him, he would have sooner forced himself to make something up than lose face in front of his own disciple.
Of course, what he didn't know was that Ai Yueli was afraid that her mistake might end up ruining a genuine genius.
That didn't really matter, though. Even if he knew the truth, the warmth he felt wouldn't have diminished much.
The more a person relied on lies, the more they longed for honesty. At the very least, if it were him, he knew he couldn't be as honest as Ai Yueli.
Seeing Ye Ling remain silent for so long, merely staring at her with an unreadable expression, Ai Yueli pressed her lips together.
Being a Master really wasn't an easy job.
Thinking back to how casually the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden had taught them, Ai Yueli felt a tightness in her chest. In the end, it still came down to her own lack of talent.
If her talent were enough to suppress Ye Ling's, this awkward situation would never have happened.
She would have to work even harder from now on.
Still, she wasn't the type to give up easily. Even if Ye Ling didn't trust her for a while, she would keep trying. She would strive to become a truly qualified Master and win back Ye Ling's respect in the future.
Clenching her teeth, Ai Yueli looked straight at Ye Ling with her beautiful golden eyes and spoke seriously. "I'll stay by your side quietly. If there's anything you don't understand, come ask me. This time, I won't act petty again. I hope you can trust me one more time."
[Ai Yueli feels guilt toward the host +77]
"Fourth Master, you're being too polite."
Ye Ling quickly came back to his senses. With a gentle smile, he said to the slightly tense Ai Yueli, "I was just too moved earlier and ended up spacing out in front of you again."
Without waiting for her to respond, he continued in a playful, big-brother-next-door kind of way, winking with one eye. "Originally, I should be the one apologizing to you, Fourth Master. But since you also made a mistake, let's just call it even."
His unhurried tone was like a warm breeze, quietly seeping through Ai Yueli's emotional defenses and warming her heart.
Oh!
So this child actually has such an adorable side!
At that moment, Ai Yueli felt as if she'd been shot straight through the heart. Ye Ling's contrast, that unmistakable neighborly big-boy charm, pierced clean through her mental defenses.
After all, every man she'd ever met in the past had tried to show off how mature they were.
But what was the point of maturity? If they actually fought, all of them together still wouldn't be able to beat her. Why would she ever take notice of them?
Someone like Ye Ling, on the other hand, gave her an entirely new feeling. It wasn't the kind of affection that came from wanting a Dao Companion, but the kind that arose when you saw something cute and felt an instinctive urge to protect it.
If before, her interest in Ye Ling had been out of consideration for Bai Yiyi and Ye Ling's terrifying talent, prompting her to take him in as a disciple, then now, she genuinely found herself liking the big boy in front of her, the kind she wanted to pack up and take home to keep.
Yet the more excited she felt inside, the more expressionless her face became. So although Ye Ling could see the intensity in her eyes, he had no idea what the real issue was.
[Ai Yueli feels joy toward the host +520]
???
I just gave you a way out. Do you really need to be this happy?
Ye Ling was completely baffled, but he still gladly accepted the wave of emotion points, and even hoped Ai Yueli would give him a bit more.
"But Fourth Master, you haven't even taught me yet. How can you be so sure I won't be able to learn it?"
And it wasn't just Ai Yueli's emotion points he was thinking about. Ye Ling also had his eye on completing the system's task. Emotion points and system tasks, he wanted them both.
With Ai Yueli feeling guilty right now, the situation couldn't have been better.
"What if I'm just naturally talented and happen to learn it by luck?"