117: Chapter 117 Thoughts

Night had fallen.

Xing Yaoyan emerged from the bathroom.

The girl's skin glistened faintly with moisture, appearing even more delicate.

They say 'a lotus emerging from the water' for a reason. A girl truly looks her best right after a bath.

Xing Yaoyan admired her beautiful reflection in the mirror for a moment before walking to the dressing table and picking up the hairdryer.

She could have simply used the Power Of Will to evaporate the water from her hair, but that tended to make it tangle, and it never looked as good as when blow-dried.

She unwrapped the towel from her head, tilted her head to the side, and began blow-drying her hair.

"Tsk..."

A slight stinging pain came from a spot on her scalp.

Xing Yaoyan gritted her teeth inwardly but didn't stop what she was doing.

This was her first time using a hairdryer as a woman.

The long hair not only frequently got in the way of her hand movements but also significantly increased the area that needed drying.

So, it was almost inevitable to accidentally burn herself sometimes while trying to dry a particular section.

It would be nice if someone could help...

As the girl thought this, a familiar face gradually surfaced in her mind.

She quickly shook her head, trying to shake that handsome boy's face out of her thoughts...

"Click."

Turning off the hairdryer, Xing Yaoyan flopped backward onto her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, a faint blush still lingering on her cheeks.

"Was I too harsh with what I said today..."

Such a thought suddenly popped into her head, but she dismissed it almost immediately.

"Harsh my foot. It's all his fault anyway. It's pretty good of me not to have gone out of my way to give him trouble."

Thinking this, she rolled over and casually picked up her phone from beside the pillow.

Sister Yan: Linglong, are you asleep?

Cute Little Kitten: Not yet, still scrolling through videos.

Sister Yan: You know I was brought over from the humans by Elder Sun, right? If someone shows you my old photo and asks where I am, you absolutely must cover for me. He might be one of the bad guys who was after me before.

Cute Little Kitten: So, is that human who took us out to play today a bad guy?! Meow!

Sister Yan: He asked about me? When?

Cute Little Kitten: Probably after dinner. He knocked on my door with your old photo, Sister Yan. I said I didn't know. That's what the King specifically told me to say.

Reading this, Xing Yaoyan felt a wave of belated fear.

Timing it out, that must have been shortly after Qian Mo left her place that he went to find Ying Linglong.

I didn't expect him to be so persistent. Good thing nothing was given away...

Cute Little Kitten: But is he really a bad guy? He patiently taught me so many things today, much more patient than the servants back in my clan's territory!

"He's not a servant..."

Xing Yaoyan unconsciously typed these words rapidly on the screen but immediately realized it and quickly deleted them all.

Sister Yan: I just meant some people. He doesn't count. Also, this is the Human Alliance, not the Kingdom of Myriad Demons. When people help you here, it's out of kindness. You can't compare them to the servants back home.

Cute Little Kitten: Understood... Sister Yan (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ).

"Heh, this girl's already using emojis. She learns fast..."

Sister Yan: Alright then, goodnight (*^ω^*).

Cute Little Kitten: Goodnight (*^ω^*).

The phone screen went dark. Xing Yaoyan lay sprawled on her bed like a starfish, turning her head to look out the window.

"Xiao Dao, what do you think the real starry sky looks like?"

The girl's faintly golden-glowing eyes seemed to mirror the twinkling stars in the sky.

Within her spiritual sea, Xiao Dao's Star Soul paused for a moment.

"I haven't really seen much either. I was very young when I was forced to leave, and I've lost a lot of memories..."

"What about Little Chaos?"

"Sigh~ This guy only has food on his mind. He wouldn't know even if you asked him."

Xiao Dao was seen holding Little Chaos's head back with one hand, keeping its stubby little arms from reaching it.

"Alright then..."

Watching the antics of her two spiritual tenants, Xing Yaoyan felt her mood improve considerably.

She slowly reached her hand toward the stars in the night sky, making a grasping motion, a breathtakingly beautiful smile appearing on her face.

My future... I can only grasp it with my own hands...

Unnoticed by her, her phone on the bedside table lit up as a text message arrived, breaking the screen's sleep mode. Beneath the time display, it read: Cloudy today.

...

Meanwhile, in a certain male four-person dormitory.

"Qian Mo... do you always sleep with your eyes open?"

A blond-haired boy looked fearfully at the boy lying on the upper bunk opposite him.

He had personally watched Qian Mo maintain this exact posture for an hour.

The most terrifying part was...

"If he's just staring at the ceiling, fine, but why is he staring right at me?!"

Hearing his words, Qian Mo's body gave a slight jolt.

"Sorry."

He then turned over to face the wall.

"Hey, listen..."

A moment later, Yun Lan's voice sounded right beside him.

Qian Mo whipped his head around to find this guy had somehow already perched himself on the edge of his bed.

"Get down."

"Wait, hear me out first."

As he spoke, Yun Lan pulled out a notebook and pen from who-knows-where, even putting on glasses, striking the pose of a 'self-proclaimed strategist'.

"Qian Mo, I feel like you're a really stubborn guy. Whenever something's up, you always try to shoulder it alone. Why not talk to us, your friends?"

"Sigh... You guys couldn't solve it anyway..."

"Don't be so absolute... Let me guess, did the girl-chasing method I taught you today fail?"

"Get lost! What girl-chasing! I just didn't get the information I wanted."

The boy retorted, throwing a punch at Yun Lan.

"Ouch! So harsh... But I gotta say, your ears are turning red, you know? Admit it, you're actually interested in her, right..."

Qian Mo fell silent.

To be honest, the moment he saw her, he felt his heart beat incredibly fast.

This feeling was very similar to what his Master in his previous life had described as 'love at first sight'.

It was a strange sensation he had never experienced in his previous life, so he... was afraid of it.

This time, when he went to ask about Xing Yaoyan, he could have sent a message on Lingxin first to let her know.

But he had listened to his buddy's advice, gone to clean up in advance, all to give her a pleasant surprise and boost her favorable impression of him.

He never expected his own emotional outburst to end up leaving both parties unhappy.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. From what Xiao Meng and I observed, I think she might actually be a little interested in you, at least not disgusted. When she was talking to you, the corners of her mouth kept lifting up a few degrees unconsciously. That's a positive feedback signal!"

"What should I do now?"

"Hehe... You should be happy you have me as your strategist."

Saying this, Yun Lan picked up his pen and started writing quickly in the notebook.

"Simple. When chasing a girl, the first step is to leave a deep impression on her. You've pretty much done that already. You even have her Lingxin contact. That puts you way ahead of others."

"Your next step is to deepen that impression, make her get used to your presence!"

At this point, Yun Lan vigorously circled the word 'used to' a few times.

"Like appearing in front of her more often, creating 'coincidental' encounters, helping her out with troubles..."

"I think the last one is unnecessary..."

Qian Mo made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

His shoulder was still sore from where she had grabbed him this morning.

And given her strength, helping her with troubles? It was more likely she'd be helping him...

"You can't say that... She might be strong in combat, but her knowledge of technology definitely can't compare to yours. You're Elder Qian's Named Disciple, after all. If she has problems in class later, wouldn't that be your chance to shine?"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm..."

Seeing Qian Mo's earnest gaze, Yun Lan smugly swept the hair from his forehead back.

"But those are things for you to find opportunities for later. The first thing you need to do right now is send her a 'goodnight' message every day."

"Plus, this can also test her favorability towards you. If she doesn't block you, it means she doesn't dislike you. If she even replies, your chances of success are even greater."

Qian Mo didn't even realize when he had sat up straight, attentively memorizing the secrets his best friend was imparting.

After all, when it came to matters of romance, he was still far too inexperienced...