Chapter 385: A Favor to Ask of Me
Under the hazy moonlight, Chuchu began to bathe.
However, she intentionally kept the most important parts of her body hidden.
Of course, that didn’t stop her from washing herself clean.
As time slipped by, maybe Chuchu had miscalculated.
Or perhaps, so engrossed in her bath, she simply lost track of time. When she finally returned to the medicinal garden, she saw Leng Ning waving at her and whispering a reminder, "Too late, too late! The array has reactivated..."
Originally, Leng Ning had wanted to shout a warning to Chuchu.
But with Jiang Xinghai not far from her, and because voices carried so easily in the dead of night, she was afraid of causing a disturbance. She waited until Chuchu was approaching the ten-Mi Hong line before she hastily gave her warning.
"Crap!"
Chuchu saw the faint light flickering near the ten-Mi Hong line and froze, stunned.
She didn’t blame Leng Ning for not calling out louder. In the end, it was her own carelessness that was to blame.
It seemed her luck was just bad tonight. She couldn’t blame anyone else.
"Tonight, do your best."
Chuchu looked at Leng Ning, who was inside the red line, and encouraged her, "You just need to relax. Then, slowly cooperate... and then, you’ll get it..."
"I’ll do my absolute best," Leng Ning said, pressing her lips together and taking a deep breath.
Leng Ning turned to leave.
But then, Jiang Xinghai’s voice sounded in Chuchu’s mind.
"What’s going on?" Jiang Xinghai had split off a wisp of his consciousness to keep an eye on Chuchu and Leng Ning, so naturally, he had overheard some of their private conversation.
"I just wanted to take a quick shower so I could properly keep you company, but I didn’t expect to miss the window when the array was deactivated..." Chuchu murmured toward the medicinal garden, standing perfectly still.
Even though her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, Jiang Xinghai could still perceive it.
Ever since his cultivation entered the late stage of the Creation Realm and he had developed his Divine Sense, he could perceive anything he wished within a ten-meter radius.
"Then I’ll just open the array again," Jiang Xinghai said with a laugh. "Of course, if you’re not in the mood, I won’t stop you from leaving."
"Tch! You just saw Leng Ning and wanted a change of pace, didn’t you?" Chuchu almost shouted, but considering Leng Ning was nearby, she only mouthed the words.
Jiang Xinghai couldn’t help but give a wry smile. "This woman... did she come here on her own, or did you trick her into it?"
His voice was always transmitted via Divine Sense, directed only at Chuchu. No one else could hear it.
"Actually, she’s always admired you."
Chuchu mouthed back, "I just mentioned that I was staying to keep you company tonight, and she got the idea herself. This is good, isn’t it? When you first called for me to stay with you tonight, it’s because you had your needs, right? Besides, she’s never been with a man before..."
"You really do understand me," Jiang Xinghai laughed.
"Showing your true colors now, are we?" Chuchu complained flirtatiously.
Jiang Xinghai, however, replied with a serious tone, "To be honest, I can’t offer you any kind of official status, from start to finish. That’s why I don’t want to get overly involved with anyone else..."
"Have I ever asked you for any kind of status?" Chuchu asked back softly.
"..." Jiang Xinghai fell silent.
"That includes Leng Ning. She hasn’t said a single word about any so-called status. She just has a favor to ask of you," Chuchu explained.
"She has to offer her body just to ask a favor? Doesn’t that make me look like a total scumbag? No, that’s not right. Tell her that for what she wants, she only needs to trade inside information from the Black Cloak. She doesn’t need to offer herself." Jiang Xinghai’s tone was very serious.
Chuchu also fell silent, looking over at Leng Ning, who stood not far away with a doubtful expression on her face.
’Wouldn’t telling Leng Ning the truth now be a huge blow to her?’
"I’m going to open the array again right now. You only have half an hour, so resolve this quickly. The array will reactivate and close in half an hour. I’ll wake up at midnight on the dot. At that time, whether you’re here or not, I won’t hold it against you. And I have no right to, anyway," Jiang Xinghai said gently.
At the same time, he opened the array.
"Listening to your tone, you don’t want to get into any deep emotional entanglements with me, do you?" Chuchu gradually understood.
Jiang Xinghai said, "You can understand it that way."
"What if... what if I said you just need to treat me as a lover?" Chuchu said boldly.
Jiang Xinghai choked for a moment, then said, "What have I ever done to deserve such devotion from you?"
"You didn’t think to ask that the first time you wanted me, did you?" Chuchu retorted.
"You were the one who initiated it the first time, weren’t you?" Jiang Xinghai shot back.
Chuchu waved her hand dismissively. "Well then, tonight I’m claiming you. And that includes Leng Ning. I’m afraid it’s too late to reject her now. And don’t worry, neither of us will ask you to take responsibility. Even if we can’t be lovers, we can be... friends with benefits!"
"..." Jiang Xinghai was shaken to his core.
And with that, Chuchu had already stepped inside the array, crossing the ten-Mi Hong line.
"Chuchu, Divine Doctor Jiang was communicating with you again, wasn’t he?" Leng Ning said, taking Chuchu’s hand.
"Leng Ning, he asked me to tell you that you don’t have to use your body as some kind of trade."
"He just needs you to provide more inside information about the Black Cloak. So, you should go." In the end, Chuchu decided to follow Jiang Xinghai’s advice and relayed his message.