167: Chapter 167: Qian Renxue's Teasing

He left... He still didn't understand.

He treats me as a friend...

But what I want, it seems... is more than just friendship.

But what should she do?

How should she bring it up?

How should she face Dong'er?

She was like an ice butterfly lost in a labyrinth of emotions, possessing immense power but unable to find the way out.

...

Lu Jing left Snow Empress's room, but the doubts in his heart were not dispelled; instead, they grew stronger.

Snow Empress's unusual shyness, panic, and determined refusal to reveal anything all pointed to one possibility.

That was that this matter might really have something to do with him, and it was the kind of relationship that was difficult for her to speak of, involving personal feelings.

Since he couldn't ask anything from Snow Empress, he would change his target.

Lu Jing changed direction and went straight to the door of Qian Renxue's room.

He believed that with Qian Renxue's intelligence and observation skills, it was impossible for her not to know about Snow Empress's state of mind; in fact... she was likely an insider, or an indirect facilitator.

"Knock, knock."

The sound of knocking rang out.

Soon, the door opened.

Qian Renxue had already changed into casual clothes, her long golden hair draped loosely, and there was nothing unusual on her stunningly beautiful face, as if she had long expected him to come.

"Xiao Jing? Is something the matter?" Qian Renxue turned sideways to let him in, her tone casual.

Lu Jing walked into the room, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point, his gaze fixed on Qian Renxue's bright golden eyes that seemed to be able to see through everything:

"Sister Xue'er, Sister Snow... she was very strange this morning. I asked her, but she wouldn't say anything. You know what's going on, right?"

Upon hearing this, the corners of Qian Renxue's beautiful lips slowly curled into a meaningful arc, and a flash of understanding and a barely perceptible hint of mischief crossed her violet eyes.

She looked at Lu Jing and didn't answer directly, but instead asked with a hint of playfulness:

"You... are so smart and have such keen observation skills, could it be... that you really can't tell why Sister Snow is so troubled?"

Lu Jing was stunned by her counter-question.

He frowned and carefully recalled every move Snow Empress had made this morning.

Every subtle expression, the panicked look in her eyes, her flushed cheeks, and that determined attitude of refusing to disclose anything, as if it involved a huge secret...

Did these really have any clear direction?

He pondered for a moment, and finally, he honestly shook his head, his brows furrowed: "I really... couldn't tell. She was just very panicked, very shy, and very resistant to talking about it, but as for what specifically... I can't guess. You know, Sister Snow's mind is sometimes very simple, but sometimes very hard to understand."

Seeing Lu Jing's stumped, genuinely confused expression, the mischievous smile in Qian Renxue's eyes deepened.

She shook her head gently and let out a sigh that was both helpless and amused.

Then, using her ethereal and melodious voice, she slowly and clearly reminded him:

"Xiao Jing, oh Xiao Jing, sometimes you are truly wise for a lifetime, but foolish for a moment."

She paused, her gaze becoming serious and profound, and looking at Lu Jing, she said word by word:

"In terms of emotions, Sister Snow is... much simpler than me, or even... a blank slate. In her hundreds of thousands of years of life, apart from ice and snow, Spirit Beasts, and cultivation, she has almost never been exposed to these things."

"But, she has stayed by your side and experienced so many things with you. From meeting in the Far North, to traveling together for years on Sea God Island, to facing life and death together in the Sunset Forest. You saved her and helped her overcome the most terrifying heavenly tribulation. And when you were taken away, she unhesitatingly and without regard for her own safety, broke into the Star Dou Great Forest alone—a place that was strange and dangerous to her—just to find you and ensure your safety."

Qian Renxue's voice was very soft, but it carried the power to clear away the fog:

"Think carefully, everything Sister Snow has done for you, the trust, reliance, care, and even... self-sacrifice she has shown you, is this... really just the emotion that should exist between ordinary friends?"

"Would a ruler of the Far North who has lived for seven hundred thousand years, seen through the ways of the world, and has a heart like ice and snow, go to such lengths for a human who is merely a friend?"

"Her panic, shyness, and hesitation when facing you, yet when you press her for answers, she would rather bear it herself than say it out loud... What else could it be because of, other than that kind of... special emotion that even she doesn't quite understand yet, but cannot suppress?"

Qian Renxue's words, like thunderclaps, exploded one after another in Lu Jing's mind!

Friends?

Beyond friends?

Trust, reliance, care, self-sacrifice...

Panic, shyness, hesitation...

Snow Empress... towards him?

Lu Jing was completely stunned.

His pupils contracted slightly, and for the first time, his face revealed an extremely clear mix of shock, disbelief, realization, and a hint of extremely complex emotions he hadn't anticipated himself.

That's it!

That's it!

How could he not have thought of it!

Snow Empress's unusual behavior today, her unexplainable shyness and panic, her state of mind that she firmly refused to reveal but was clearly related to him...

So, the crux was here!

She had... fallen for him?

That cold as the moon, aloof and peerless ice and snow monarch, had actually... developed romantic feelings for him?

No wonder she reacted that way!

Given her personality and experience, suddenly realizing that such a strange, burning emotion had sprouted in her heart, yet not knowing how to handle it, how to face it, how to express it, or even how to define this emotion...

It was perfectly normal for her to be panicked, shy, and at a loss!

Seeing the look of sudden realization on Lu Jing's face, yet also seeing him fall into an even deeper, more complex contemplation and silence because of this realization, Qian Renxue knew that he had thoroughly understood.

A complex and inscrutable smile slowly bloomed on her stunningly beautiful face; in that smile, there was relief, release, and also a trace of a faint, barely perceptible melancholy.

She spoke softly, her tone carrying a hint of teasing, yet it also seemed to imply something:

"It seems that our brilliant and unfailing Young Master Lu Jing also has times when he is made foolish by matters of the heart."

Lu Jing remained silent and did not speak.

He was digesting this sudden, and for him, extremely shocking truth.

Snow Empress had feelings for him... This was completely beyond his previous expectations and plans.

He had never thought that there could be such a possibility between him and Snow Empress, besides being partners who fought side by side and close friends who could entrust each other with their lives.

His heart was also completely thrown into chaos by Qian Renxue's words.

How should he respond?

How should he face Snow Empress?

Countless questions, like a tangled mess of hemp, instantly wrapped around his heart.