The most infuriating thing might be knowing that someone is deceiving you, yet you still can't get them to tell the truth.
"Miss Cui."
"Hmm?"
"If you keep tightening, I won't be able to breathe."
Cui Jinqi released the arm she had wrapped around his neck from behind and asked through gritted teeth, "Are you going to tell me?"
"What do you want me to say?" Cheng Jinyang said helplessly. "I'm telling the truth. I don't know why my blood concentration would jump in a stepwise manner."
"You're lying! Was Wanrou living with you because of this?"
"How would I know what she was thinking? You should ask her yourself."
"I'll call her right now." Cui Jinqi pretended to press the phone, and seeing that Cheng Jinyang was indifferent, she became a little angry again.
"Where does Miss Wang usually sleep?"
"She used to sleep in another bed."
"Then bring another bed for me."
"Why? This is my room."
"I want to sleep like Wanrou tonight. If she usually sleeps a certain way, that's how I'll sleep." Cui Jinqi asserted confidently.
She usually sleeps in my arms...
Cheng Jinyang was silent for a long time, and finally decided not to mention it. He said lightly:
"Do as you please, I don't care."
Direct refusal definitely wouldn't work. Knowing Miss Cui's character, the more you resist, the more curious and suspicious she becomes. It's better to adhere to the three don'ts principle: don't refuse, don't deny, don't take responsibility. Once her suspicions fade and she gets bored, then you can cleverly extricate yourself.
Seeing him agree so readily, Cui Jinqi couldn't help but mutter to herself. But then she thought, maybe he's just playing games, people like Miss Wang do it all the time, why can't I? So, she said with a snarl, "Although we'll be sharing a room tonight, if you have any evil thoughts, beware that my family might just castrate you!"
"That won't do." Cheng Jinyang said, "I haven't even come to propose marriage yet, and your Cui family is thinking of castrating me. How can you get married in the future?"
"Phooey!" As soon as the topic turned to marriage proposals, Cui Jinqi couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. "Is this how you and Wanrou usually talk?"
"Not at all," Cheng Jinyang said. "She doesn't go around talking about castration all the time."
As they continued their conversation, they both started to feel sleepy.
On the bed brought over by a maid, Cui Jinqi yawned tiredly, calling out "Young Master Cheng" a few times, seeing no response from the other side, she figured he must have fallen asleep, so she turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
Half an hour later, Cheng Jinyang suddenly sat up, quietly got out of bed, and slipped out of the room.
Based on past experiences, entering someone's dream isn't about proximity, but about timing. For instance, when Yang Wangshu stayed up all night, avoiding the time when she slept resulted in no interference. However, when Miss Wang tricked her into sleeping at the usual time, he ended up in her dream.
In other words, as long as he avoided Cui Jinqi's sleeping time, he could avoid entering her dreams, right?
Leaving the room, Cheng Jinyang put on a single garment and walked through the family compound. The September night was beginning to chill slightly, as he looked at the few houses still brightly lit, he recalled they were the residences of the Tianluo department employees.
Even after withdrawing from the battlefield, the mountain of work didn't stop abruptly. There were still matters to handle such as compensation for the fallen, insurance for the injured, and a pile of other administrative tasks that needed to be addressed by the clan's administrative staff.
In a little while, things should ease up a bit.
In the distance, faint gunshots once again echoed, distracting his thoughts. Relying on the military project "Yi," the Shendu Cheng family managed to extract themselves from the meat grinder battlefields scattered throughout Jiankang City, taking a breath.
This, of course, indirectly illustrated the importance of that plan and the immense risks faced by its participants; otherwise, the court wouldn't have been so quick to release them.
For most families, the lives of high-level supernaturals are much more important than those of lower level ones, but for the Shendu Cheng family, it was not the case: maintaining their noble status was paramount.
Once expelled from the noble circle, the assets retained by the family couldn't support nearly a thousand people. Regardless of whether they were ninth-grade, eighth-grade, seventh-grade, or sixth-grade, as long as they couldn't become a fifth-grade, the family couldn't make a comeback, so what would be the point?
After pondering for a while, Cheng Jinyang became determined:
This war must be joined!
Standing in the cold wind for a while, he began to feel a bit sleepy.
At that moment, his phone suddenly vibrated.
Taking it out and checking, it was unexpectedly a call from Yang Wangshu.
"Hello?"
"Brother Jinyang!" came the synthesized electronic voice from the other end, although the tone was flat, Cheng Jinyang still sensed a hint of pleading, "I've been kicked out by the family, can you take me in?"
"You ran away from home?" Cheng Jinyang asked in surprise.
"They won't let me touch the computer!" Yang Wangshu said indignantly.
Well, not letting Xiao Wangshu touch the computer was as outrageous as not letting Ah Zhi take a bath, indeed enough to arouse public indignation.
"Where are you now?"
"Right at your doorstep!"
Cheng Jinyang: ...
"You come all the way to my doorstep to ask me? If I don't agree, are you not going to leave?"
"No," Yang Wangshu replied, "then I'll go to Sister Ah Zhi's house."
"Then why did you come to me first instead of going to her?"
"Because she's currently restricted in her movements, I can't see her if I go in." Yang Wangshu explained.
Cheng Jinyang was taken aback by her words.
In his previous contact with Ah Zhi, he also sensed that her emotions were somewhat weary, but Cheng Jinyang thought she was just busy these days. However, according to Yang Wangshu's words, it meant that Ah Zhi was not unable to come to see him, but was simply not allowed to leave, being kept under house arrest?
So, while going to the door to greet Xiao Wangshu, he also called Ah Zhi.
She answered the phone instantly, surprisingly still awake at this hour.
"Yeah." After listening to Cheng Jinyang's inquiry, Ah Zhi sighed and said, "It's not exactly house arrest, just afraid that I'll use the excuse of going elsewhere to secretly come and see you."
"But I was really busy recently, didn't have the time to go out, so the clan leader didn't bring it up later, so don't worry. By the way, did Xiao Wangshu go to your place?" Ah Zhi asked.
"Yes, she just arrived at the entrance of the family estate."
"She ran away. Originally she wanted to come to my side, I asked her to go to your place first." Xing Yuanzhi whispered, "Her ability is more useful to you."
Cheng Jinyang knew she was talking about the dream-related matters, so he replied in a deep voice:
"Yeah, I'll take care of her here."
"Okay, then I'm going to sleep." Ah Zhi hung up the phone, "You should sleep early too, goodnight."
Bringing Xiao Wangshu in from the entrance of the family estate, the masked girl couldn't stop looking around curiously, typing:
"Haha. Big Pig, you're the clan leader now, and your living quarters are much more spacious than before... Where's our bedroom?"
"Call me Brother Jinyang." Cheng Jinyang pretended to grab her mask, "There's no Ah Zhi here to protect you."
So Yang Wangshu quickly ran a few meters away before typing angrily:
"Shameless! Pervert! Shameless! Always snatching things from little girls!"
"If you curse again!"
Leading the grumbling Yang Wangshu into his bedroom, Cheng Jinyang suddenly felt like he had forgotten something important.
It wasn't until they walked in and saw the sleeping Cui Jinqi that he secretly cried out.
"Wow!" Yang Wangshu also jumped back suddenly and yelled, "Now that no one is at home this time. You, a big pig, really couldn't bear the loneliness and went to hook up with other girls again!"