The spotless room fell into silence.

Faint chatter and laughter from students in the hallway and downstairs drifted in.

“Striptease?” Luo Qingchuan nearly choked.

“Didn’t you go on a date with the Chen family’s girl at Qinggang Bar?”

Lu Chuning covered her upturned lips with slender, fair fingers, flashing Luo Qingchuan a mischievous smile.

“It wasn’t a date.”

Luo Qingchuan defended himself. “I was just accompanying her.”

Leaning forward slightly, the girl asked with burning curiosity, “How much did they take off? *Really* all the way? They must’ve had great figures! Mature, alluring older sisters?”

Her rapid-fire questions hammered Luo Qingchuan’s nerves.

Uncomfortable under her gaze, he turned his head.

“I didn’t look closely. The bar wouldn’t go that far.”

Suddenly, Luo Qingchuan’s brow twitched. He shot Lu Chuning a sharp glance.

His heart skipped a beat.

A smile leaked from the corners of Lu Chuning’s pale pink lips. “You were still at Qinggang Bar when Peony attacked the dancer.”

Luo Qingchuan stayed calm, offering a faint smile. “I was there, but I ran immediately. Chen Yanyu protected everyone with her lightning art.”

“And the shadowy figure?” Lu Chuning tapped her fingertips together over her chest, thoughtful.

“No idea. Maybe a hidden transcendent among the customers.”

Only then did Luo Qingchuan notice:

Two delicate white jade bracelets adorned Lu Chuning’s wrists.

Silver rings graced her right index and pinky fingers, highlighting slender, exquisite hands.

…Spatial rings. Faint spiritual energy hummed from them—clearly her storage artifacts.

Two spatial rings, impossible to buy. And the bracelets too.

Four storage artifacts total. *What a little rich girl!*

*What’s even inside them?*

After studying him a moment, Lu Chuning cupped the subtle swell beneath her dress with both hands and grinned. “So… how *were* those older sisters’ figures?”

To outsiders, it might just look like she was adjusting her dress.

*Was there even anything there?*

Luo Qingchuan sweat-dropped. “Teacher Luchu Ning, why humiliate yourself? And what do you *really* want?”

Lu Chuning lowered her hands with a huff, cheeks flushed. “I was *supposed* to be big too!”

“No one cares!”

“I do!” The petite girl’s expression was dead serious.

Luo Qingchuan slumped. “…My apologies.”

Perched on the desk, she sighed dejectedly. “Guess they really *were* big.”

Luo Qingchuan bit back a grimace. Instinctively, he avoided looking at Lu Chuning’s bewitchingly pure face.

After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again. “Cultivating demonic arts usually has a price, right?”

“I’m not cultivating demonic arts,” Luo Qingchuan said wryly, finally grasping her intent. “I’m not a demonic cultivator.”

“Do you like swords?”

“I *said* it wasn’t me!”

“Fine, fine.” Lu Chuning deflated, then puffed her cheeks. “No direct evidence? So I can’t take you in?”

Luo Qingchuan slumped deeper into his chair. “If you insist. It’s not me.”

*Can’t get angry at a senior. Just… be cowardly.*

“Big or small—which do you prefer?”

“Teacher Luchu Ning, please just spare me.”

“You *must* answer! First step to teacher-student understanding!”

“Each has its charm?”

“Ew! So you *are* into faces!”

“If you say so.”

*Gave up completely.*

Luo Qingchuan felt like a toy—seriously.

*What weird question comes next?!*

“Before Peony died… did she beg or threaten you?”

“What… what?” A clear, innocent smile touched Luo Qingchuan’s eyes. “How would I know?”

“Oh.” Lu Chuning’s brows softened with boredom. “You’re so dull.”

“Likewise.”

“Talking back to your teacher?”

“…Sorry.”

“Stand. Apologize.”

Luo Qingchuan rose, finally meeting the gaze of the youthful girl seated above.

He’d avoided her face instinctively—fearing trouble.

Lu Chuning sat perfectly obedient, like a caged creature, pitifully sweet.

She smiled angelically.

“A reward for you, Luo Qingchuan—the anonymous good Samaritan.”

She undid one side twin tail. Silky black hair cascaded down, framing a porcelain-doll face.

Only then did he see the crimson thread circling her swan-like neck.

“Later… do you prefer twin tails,” she murmured, angel-pure smile unwavering, “or just… like any ordinary girl?”

*Thump. Thump.*

Luo Qingchuan’s heart hammered. His body moved on its own—he pinned her to the desk.

Lu Chuning didn’t resist. She’d already softened, melting back as he leaned in.

Like the most exquisite blossom falling to earth.

Her fair calves dangled off the desk, parted by his pressing knees.

He loomed over her, breath ragged, hands braced beside her face, gaze darkening.

Beneath his arms, Lu Chuning seemed to expect it all. Lips curved, cheek tilted, her large eyes glancing *up* at him—

Spring water in her gaze. Clear as a thawing March stream, sparkling.

“Answer me,” she said calmly. “What did Peony say? Obedient children get *more* rewards.”

That upward glance was shameless. *So* shameless he wanted to imprint himself there.

And…

*So big.*

Her eyes.

Paired with her poetic, pure face, they were hazy, dreamlike. Tiny diamond sparks glittered deep in her pupils—crimson embers flickering, bewitching, searing.

Luo Qingchuan’s pupils dilated. A violent, twitching hunger surged for the “beauty” beneath him.

*Nature concentrates its divine beauty here.* He finally understood the poem’s power.

Every strand of hair, the blush on her cheeks, the light in her eyes, her parted lips, the red ribbon, her faint scent, every inch of skin—

All fused into the world’s most perfect fruit.

*Waiting to be plucked.*

Guilt clawed his mind. How could he feel such wild, terrifying longing for her youthful face?

*She’s an old woman! An older sister!* he chanted inwardly.

But stronger surged the urge to tear apart every rule—and her dress with it.

*Pluck her.*

Her tender arms lay limp beside her face, surrendering. Tense breaths escaped her parted lips. A posture of utter obedience.

“You’re too beautiful,” Luo Qingchuan murmured.

Lu Chuning shuddered. Her eyes widened.

Tears glistened in his.

Her lips trembled. Blushing, she whispered, “Luo… are you sad? I meant to *reward* you. Not punish.”

A tearful smile graced his delicate features.

“Teacher Luchu Ning… you’re so cute, so beautiful. Just looking at you… moves me to tears.”

*How can something this perfect exist?*

*So touching!*

—but he was fighting the craving with every shred of spiritual sense.

Emotions shattered. Tears blurred his vision. Expression wrecked.

*Truthseer.* He remembered.

Lu Chuning’s artifact. Her specialty: swaying hearts.

She’d wielded her breathtaking beauty as a weapon—heart-bewitching arts, unleashed without warning.

Impossible to guard against.