...
Night quietly fell.
Xuan Hao took a hot shower, washing away his fatigue and travel dust, and was about to lie down on the soft bed for a good night's rest.
"Click—"
Suddenly, there was a very slight turning sound from the doorknob of his room.
Xuan Hao's ears twitched slightly, but he didn't get up.
With his immense mental power, he had already sensed the other person's presence when they crept closer outside the door.
As the door was quietly pushed open a crack, a petite figure slipped in like a thief and locked the door behind her.
Before Xuan Hao could even speak...
"thump!"
The figure, like a nimble kitten, pounced directly onto Xuan Hao's large, soft bed.
With a flip, it wrapped itself around him like an octopus, using both hands and feet.
A faint fragrance of jasmine wafts through the air.
"...In the middle of the night, instead of sleeping, you're breaking into my room to steal?"
Xuan Hao sighed helplessly, and in the faint moonlight coming through the window, he looked at Ning Rongrong, who was lying on his chest with bright, sparkling eyes.
"Stop playing dumb with me!"
Ning Rongrong pouted angrily and punched Xuan Hao in the chest without any hesitation, then started bringing up old grievances:
"Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, you personally promised to make it up to me!"
"And what happened?
First, he made an excuse to help Zhu Qing hunt for a soul ring, then he said he had an emergency at home and ran off in a flash, leaving me alone in Soto City for more than two months!"
Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes were filled with resentment as she stared at him like a little creditor demanding payment.
"Now you're finally back. You've got Zhu Qing's spirit ring, and you've taken care of things at home.
We'll have plenty of free time in Soto City now. Let's see what excuse you can come up with to fob me off this time!"
Listening to Ning Rongrong's rapid-fire accusations, Xuan Hao was both amused and exasperated.
He reached out and pinched Ning Rongrong's slightly flushed face, saying helplessly:
"My dear aunt, why are you in such a hurry?
How old are you?
Can't you think about those things in a few years?"
"Who's in a hurry! I'm just afraid you, you womanizer, will be seduced by some wild fox outside!"
Ning Rongrong clung tightly to Xuan Hao's arm like a protective mother hen, her face flushed as she retorted:
"And don't try to make a big deal out of your age!
Don't think I don't know how much of a fling you and Sister Yan Yan had behind the scenes when you were in Tian Dou City!"
"Sister Yanyan has grown up a long time ago, and her figure is even better than mine now!
Moreover, she secretly shared her experience with me.
She said that you seem so serious on the surface, but you have some... extremely special 'little quirks' in private!"
Ning Rongrong raised her snow-white chin, looking smug as if to say, "I have mastered the core secrets."
"If you hadn't tried it on Sister Yan Yan, how would you know so many weird ways to play?
I don't believe you've always been so obedient!"
"..."
Upon hearing the words "Dugu Yan" and "little quirks," Xuan Hao's face flushed slightly, a rare occurrence for him, and he immediately felt somewhat embarrassed.
"cough..."
Xuan Hao coughed somewhat guiltily, trying to salvage his glorious and imposing image:
"Well... Yan Yan and I did do some... fun games that helped us relax. But!
I swear, I absolutely kept my bottom line, I didn't actually sleep with her!"
"Oh? It's just a little game to relax and unwind~"
Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong's eyes shone even brighter.
Like a cunning little fox, she leaned close to Xuan Hao's ear, her breath sweet as orchids:
"Since you can play those little games with Sister Yan Yan, then you can play the same games with me, right?"
"And, for tonight..."
Ning Rongrong blushed and expertly wiped her wrist with the storage bracelet.
"Splash—"
The next second, a whole bunch of colorful little trinkets, made with very little fabric, landed on the large bed like a shower of flowers.
"..."
Looking at the pile of daring "battle robes" in front of him, enough to make any normal man's blood boil, Xuan Hao was completely dumbfounded, his head buzzing.
"You...you've been in Soto City all this time, buying all this stuff?!"
"Hmph, if it weren't to prevent you from running away, I wouldn't buy these embarrassing things!"
Ning Rongrong blushed, biting her lower lip shyly, but her eyes were extremely determined.
She reached for the black ribbon dress and boldly held it up in front of her budding figure, her voice barely audible, yet carrying a resolute air:
"Anyway... I'm definitely not going to let you go tonight."
Looking at this little white lamb that "voluntarily delivered itself to his door," "a lamb entering a tiger's den," and even had to bring its own cumin, Xuan Hao's Adam's apple bobbed.
"You asked for this."
Xuan Hao took the initiative, flipping Ning Rongrong down and pinning her beneath him.
He placed his hands on either side of her ears, looking down at her beautiful, delicate face, his voice slightly hoarse from deliberately suppressing his emotions:
"I'm letting you know in advance that I'm not going to take the final step today. But..."
"Once these 'little games' start tonight, don't regret calling a halt!"
...
The following morning, the rising sun shone through the end of the corridor, illuminating the hallway of the Soto Grand Hotel's luxury suites.
"Click".
Xuan Hao yawned, gently closed the door to his room, and walked out.
Although he had indeed held firm to his bottom line last night and hadn't crossed the final line, those extremely physically demanding and willpower-testing "relaxation games" had kept him up for most of the night, almost making his blood run cold.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw Xiao Wu standing in front of Ning Rongrong's door at the other end of the corridor, banging on the door.
"Rongrong! The sun's already high in the sky!
Get up and have breakfast, we have special training today!"
Xiaowu shouted as she knocked on the door.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Hao's eyes twitched violently.
He rushed over in three quick steps and grabbed Xiao Wu's wrist.
"Brother? You're up?"
Xiao Wu turned around and looked at him with some confusion.
"Why can't I wake Rongrong up?
She usually sleeps in, but she should wake up after a couple of taps."
"Stop knocking." Xuan Hao coughed seriously, lying without changing his expression, "Rongrong... she's not feeling well and is still resting."
"Not feeling well?"
Xiao Wu's rabbit ears immediately perked up, her face full of worry.
"What happened?
You were fine during special training yesterday, weren't you?
Did you catch a cold from the wind?"
"Uh...yes, she caught a bit of a cold."
Xuan Hao's eyes flickered slightly as he gave a vague and perfunctory reply.
"It's nothing serious, she's just too tired. Let her get some sleep and catch up on her rest."
"Oh, I see. Then I won't bother her."
The simple-minded Xiao Wu didn't think much of it.
Since Xuan Hao said everything was alright, she obediently nodded, turned around and walked towards Zhu Zhuqing's room next door, preparing to wake up the aloof cat girl.
Watching Xiao Wu's retreating figure, Xuan Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If that girl had really pushed open Ning Rongrong's door and found it empty, then today's matter would have been completely impossible to explain.
However, he hadn't fully caught his breath yet.
"Smack."
A small, fair, and soft hand reached out from behind without warning and gently patted his back.
"hiss--!"
Xuan Hao, who was already feeling guilty, was startled by the sudden slap and turned around abruptly.
Na'er, with her silver hair, had emerged from the room opposite.
She stood with her arms crossed, her deep, beautiful purple eyes slightly narrowed, scrutinizing him with an extremely strange and appraising gaze.
"elder brother..."
Na'er's lips curled into a half-smile, and she asked softly, "Why are you reacting so strongly?
So guilty so early in the morning?"
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