Chapter 60: Strike While the Iron Is Hot
Cheng Yuan’s senses were extremely sharp. He could feel Lin Ruoxi’s heartbeat quicken. He knew what this meant: she had noticed him holding her hand.
But Lin Ruoxi didn’t pull her hand away.
This thrilled Cheng Yuan. Their relationship had finally made a small breakthrough. At the very least, he had managed to hold her hand.
Lin Ruoxi was shy. After they walked hand-in-hand for about five minutes, she found an opportunity to pull her hand back.
Missing the warmth in his palm, Cheng Yuan wistfully rubbed his fingers together.
A date was hard to come by. He couldn’t let this opportunity slip away. He had to strike while the iron was hot and press his advantage.
He wasn’t aiming to conquer the enemy’s position tonight, but he could at least feint an attack before their lines to probe their defenses.
He had used the hemp rope to make a breakthrough earlier, so now he could use another prop!
Cheng Yuan activated his Double Pupil and looked around. His vision pierced through the bushes and trees, and not far away, he spotted a piece of clothing. He didn’t know if it had been discarded or dragged over by a cat or a small dog.
’It was probably the latter, right?’
The people living in Hao Ninth Number were mostly successful individuals. They should have some basic decency and not just litter everywhere.
Cheng Yuan unleashed his full Spiritual Power, activating his Mystical Object Ability.
After breaking through to the Grandmaster realm, Cheng Yuan’s Spiritual Power had skyrocketed. Otherwise, manipulating an object from a medium distance—even something as light as a piece of clothing—would have been quite strenuous.
Under Cheng Yuan’s control, the piece of clothing floated up and drifted onto an osmanthus tree.
Cheng Yuan sniffed the air and, feigning surprise, asked, "Hmm? What’s that wonderful smell?"
Lin Ruoxi also sniffed her cute little nose, a look of enjoyment on her face. "It smells so good. It must be an osmanthus tree. It should be this way."
With that, Lin Ruoxi strode toward the source of the fragrance.
Soon, the two of them arrived in front of the osmanthus tree. Lin Ruoxi said admiringly, "Hao Ninth Number really lives up to its reputation as one of Luocheng’s most high-end communities. The developers spent a fortune on landscaping; they even have osmanthus trees."
The moment she finished speaking, a dark shadow floated down from the osmanthus tree.
A piece of clothing suddenly floating down in the dim twilight was just too terrifying!
"Ah! A ghost!!"
Lin Ruoxi shrieked, jumped in fright, and instinctively hugged Cheng Yuan’s arm!
The corners of Cheng Yuan’s mouth turned up slightly. He comforted her in a gentle voice, "Ruoxi, don’t be afraid. I’m here."
As he spoke, Cheng Yuan pulled Lin Ruoxi into his arms.
Cheng Yuan was ecstatic. With just a little trick, he had made his "wife" throw herself into his arms!
’My wife smells so good.’
’My wife is so soft!’
Cheng Yuan looked rather slim, but he actually had a lean, muscular physique. Being held in his arms felt incredibly safe, and Lin Ruoxi gradually calmed down.
"Cheng Yuan, there was a ghost just now. Did you see it?"
Cheng Yuan chuckled. "It wasn’t a ghost, just a piece of clothing."
Clothing?
Lin Ruoxi mustered her courage and looked in the direction Cheng Yuan was pointing. Sure enough, she saw a piece of clothing on the ground.
Lin Ruoxi breathed a small sigh of relief, then started cursing again.
"Does the property management even do anything? First snakes, and now old clothes in the community!!"
"Exactly, exactly! This management is the worst!"
Cheng Yuan joined in on the cursing while taking a deep breath of his "wife’s" fragrance.
After denouncing the property management together for a while, Lin Ruoxi finally realized something was amiss.
Ah!
’Why am I in Cheng Yuan’s arms?’
’This big rascal, he’s too smooth, isn’t he?’
A little embarrassed, Lin Ruoxi pushed Cheng Yuan away. "First snakes, now old clothes... I’m not in the mood anymore. Let’s go back, shall we? We have to be busy again tomorrow."
Cheng Yuan was very satisfied with today’s results. He had held her hand and hugged her. His revolutionary campaign to pursue his "wife" had taken a giant leap forward.
"Alright, let’s go back. We’ll pick a different spot for our next date."
As he said this, Cheng Yuan very naturally took Lin Ruoxi’s small hand in his.
Before Cheng Yuan had hugged her, Lin Ruoxi might have felt a little uncomfortable and would have been somewhat reserved.
But now, Lin Ruoxi just froze for a moment before silently accepting his action.
This was why Cheng Yuan had to strike while the iron was hot!
By testing Lin Ruoxi’s new boundaries, he could solidify the ones he had just broken through.
And he had, without a doubt, succeeded.
Lin Ruoxi didn’t pull her hand back until they returned to No. 13 Small Villa.
"I’m going to go wash up and sleep. You should get to bed early too."
Cheng Yuan took a quick shower and walked into the bedroom. The bowl of water on the nightstand was particularly jarring. He stealthily hid the bowl, hoping to make further breakthroughs during the night.
Unfortunately, Lin Ruoxi saw right through Cheng Yuan’s little trick.
Or rather, Lin Ruoxi felt that it wasn’t yet time for any further breakthroughs.
Lin Ruoxi had high emotional intelligence. Instead of exposing Cheng Yuan, she shifted the blame to his mother.
"Cheng Yuan, where did that bowl of water go? Did Mom put it away? I’ll go get another bowl."
This made Cheng Yuan feel a bit defeated.
’Oh well, I’ll just have to keep trying, little by little.’
Cheng Yuan didn’t press Lin Ruoxi. He turned over and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Lin Ruoxi also quickly fell fast asleep.
Cheng Yuan and Lin Ruoxi slept soundly, but certain others could not sleep well at all.
Ever since sending his son off, Jin Pengfei’s father, Jin Tianxiang, had been sleeping poorly. He had nightmares all night, every night, and his mental state was terrible.
「Midnight.」
「The Jin Family Villa.」
On the luxurious, European-style king-sized bed, Ai Yuelan had practically cried herself dry. Utterly exhausted, she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Beside her, Jin Tianxiang was yawning nonstop but didn’t dare fall asleep. The last two days had left him with some psychological trauma. He planned to exhaust himself completely so he would fall asleep instantly. ’That way, I won’t have any dreams, right?’
Jin Tianxiang forced his bloodshot eyes wide open, but waves of drowsiness washed over him. His head bobbed, his eyelids gradually closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.
The moment Jin Tianxiang fell asleep, the Nightmare Soul-Catching Array activated at full power.
Driven by Jin Pengfei’s Residual Soul, all the deathly energy from several kilometers around was drawn in. Led by the Residual Soul, the deathly energy gradually gathered and surged into Jin Tianxiang’s body in one go!
Jin Tianxiang’s expression suddenly became one of utter terror, as if he were seeing the most horrifying sight in the world.
"No! Don’t come any closer! Pengfei, Dad never harmed you! Don’t come looking for me!"
Jin Tianxiang’s eyes snapped open. He shot up, gasping for breath.
Ai Yuelan, sleeping beside him, was startled awake. "Honey, another nightmare?"
Hearing Ai Yuelan’s voice, Jin Tianxiang’s consciousness slowly returned. He grabbed his hair in frustration. "Why?! Why have I been having nightmares these past few days? I always treated Pengfei well! Why is Pengfei coming back for me?"
Ai Yuelan frowned as well. ’It doesn’t make sense. Aren’t Evil Spirits only supposed to haunt their enemies?’
Suddenly, an idea struck Ai Yuelan. She said in a low voice, "Could it be the work of that kid who caused a scene at the funeral the other day?"