Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

"What do you want?" Yan Yu asked.

"That depends on what you want," Chen Lingyun said leisurely. "If they found out, Sister Zhao would definitely explode on the spot, Yun Jin wouldn't be able to resist pressuring you, Ningning would sulk alone, and probably only Ruoxi would swallow her anger—You definitely wouldn't want to see such a scene, just thinking about it gives me a headache."

Yan Yu: ......

F*ck, she hit the nail on the head with each one of them, are you the reincarnator or am I?

"Make your terms," Yan Yu said calmly.

It was clear that if the above situation really happened, it would be a great joy for Chen Lingyun. Reversing this reasoning, Chen Lingyun holding back such joy meant she was plotting something even bigger.

Yan Yu wasn't afraid of threats of this level, just worried about what more exaggerated things she might be scheming, so he decided to test the waters.

"Mm-hmm," Chen Lingyun said with a smile. "I haven't decided yet."

She saw through him... Knowing that she wouldn't speak up, Yan Yu sneered:

"Since you don't want to take the opportunity I'm giving you, don't blame me for what comes next."

Chen Lingyun also realized that this guy wasn't fazed by threats and didn't continue to tangle with him, smiling before leaving.

She came to the kitchen and saw Lin Ning humming a tune while cutting asparagus, seemingly in a very pleasant mood.

"Ningning," Chen Lingyun said with a smile. "How would you feel if the captain pretended to be someone else's boyfriend?"

"I wouldn't think much of it," Lin Ning answered casually. "The captain would never do that kind of thing."

"Oh, is that so," Chen Lingyun nodded, turned to leave, but suddenly Lin Ning grabbed her arm.

She threw the cut asparagus into the water basin, turned around again, her expression extremely serious and her voice slightly stern:

"Who did the captain pretend to be the boyfriend for?"

"Mm-hmm," Chen Lingyun was somewhat amused. "Who could it be?"

"Ling Yun, I'm not joking," Lin Ning frowned and asked. "Who is it?"

Chen Lingyun didn't answer, just shook her finger.

"Don't know or can't say?" Lin Ning asked.

"I'm going upstairs now," Chen Lingyun said with a beaming smile.

She elegantly turned and left, while Lin Ning fell silent for a while before she continued working.

After getting all the ingredients ready to cook, she washed her hands at the sink, meticulously dried her fingers with the towel next to her, then left the kitchen and sat down on the sofa opposite Yan Yu in the living room, staring unblinkingly at him.

Stare.

Yan Yu, who was playing with his phone, was baffled by Lin Ning's staring but felt it was better not to ask too many questions, so he chose not to inquire further.

Unable to hold back any longer, Lin Ning said:

"Pretending to be someone else's boyfriend, huh?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Yan Yu replied calmly.

"Ling Yun already told me," Lin Ning decided to bluff him.

"Then why are you asking me?" Yan Yu chuckled. "You're trying to deceive me, aren't you?"

His chuckle only confirmed Lin Ning's suspicions; she howled and pounced on him, gripping his neck fiercely and yelling indignantly:

"Last time you wouldn't pretend to be my boyfriend! Last time you wouldn't! And now you cover for some unknown woman, you're going to die, you biased, stinky captain!"

Yan Yu quickly hugged her tightly to prevent her from continuing her violent struggle.

This move was just reflexive; after all, he had hugged too many people lately... but the moment he felt her softness in his arms, Lin Ning pushed him away forcefully, leapt up from the sofa with her face red as if about to emit steam:

"What are you doing! Playing the rogue, huh? I'll beat you to death!"

She grabbed the pillow next to her and began to viciously chase after Yan Yu.

Yan Yu could only flip over the sofa to momentarily dodge, his mind filled with bewilderment.

Lin, why the pretense, I've hugged you before, haven't I? After the joint cultivation, you stayed over in my room, have I hugged you too little? The scent of your sea salt lemon shampoo is almost steeped into me!

He peeked his head out to defend himself, only to have a pillow hurled his way, forcing him to duck quickly out of sight.

A few minutes earlier, Su Yunjin had finished cleaning Yan Yu's room; she had wiped down the table and was now gathering the bedsheets from his bed to take out and sun for mite removal.

It was then that she suddenly noticed a strand of hair.

The hair was long, it definitely couldn't have belonged to Yan Yu.

Unfortunately, none of the girls in the Zhenhai Team dyed their hair, so there was no way to infer the owner through hair color. Besides, even if she could figure out who the hair belonged to, what would it matter? Everyone lived in the same villa, and it was perfectly normal to lose some hair while visiting each other's rooms.

Su Yunjin threw the hair into a nearby trash can and was just about to take the sheets out the door when she saw Chen Lingyun walking over from the opposite side.

"Yun Jin?" Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "Are those Yan Yu's sheets?"

"Mhm," Su Yunjin replied, "I'm taking them out to air them, not sure if the sun in the Mysterious Realm has any ultraviolet light."

Chen Lingyun passed by her, and with a feigned sniff remarked:

"Why do the sheets smell like shampoo?"

"Of course, the captain uses shampoo when he washes his hair," Su Yunjin said.

"It smells similar to Ningning's shampoo," Chen Lingyun smiled, "Perhaps they use the same brand."

Su Yunjin didn't respond and continued to carry the sheets to the communal balcony on the second floor, where she hung them on the clothesline.

Then, she couldn't help but sniff the sheets.

There seemed to be a hint of lemon scent indeed...

Taking into account the hair she had found earlier, Su Yunjin pondered quietly for a moment before turning and heading downstairs.

In the living room on the first floor, Lin Ning's and Yan Yu's battle had ended—the pot was boiling on the stove, and Lin Ning didn't have time to continue lecturing the captain as she had to attend to dinner in the kitchen.

"Ningning, what's for dinner?" Su Yunjin peered over, "Oh, asparagus beef stir-fry."

"I'll make a salad you like too," Lin Ning said as she went to fetch vegetables from the fridge.

As she was picking out fruits and vegetables, Lin Ning suddenly felt Su Yunjin hug her from behind.

"Ningning, thank you," Su Yunjin spoke softly.

"For what?" Lin Ning laughed, "Don't blow on my neck, it tickles."

Su Yunjin wasn't blowing air; she was simply smelling carefully.

The scent was almost the same as on the sheets.

So Su Yunjin rested her head gently on Lin Ning's shoulder and suddenly asked:

"Ningning, why did you go to the captain's bedroom?"

Lin Ning's hands shook, she tried to keep her composure as she answered:

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do," said Su Yunjin with a smile, "Your neck is all goosebumpy."

Lin Ning opened her mouth, trying to find an excuse, but couldn't think of any, and she started to resent her own inability to lie convincingly. She could only silently plead with Su Yunjin through telepathy:

"Yun Jin, can you stop asking, please? I promised not to tell."

"Okay," Su Yunjin said gently, "I won't ask for details, but I do want to know, are you and the captain in a romantic relationship?"

"Of course not!" Lin Ning yelped, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "I was there on legitimate business! Business! It's not what you're worried about, Yun Jin, nothing to do with romance, I swear!"

"Is that so," Su Yunjin remarked with an "oh," "Speaking of business, it must have been cultivation, right? After all, there's nothing else for us to do here."

Lin Ning could only laugh awkwardly, saying nothing.

She had promised the captain to stay silent; that was her final stand and stubbornness!

"In that case, I'll join you," Su Yunjin said with joined hands, her voice becoming cheerful and lively, "I happen to have some cultivation matters to discuss with the captain myself."

"Then you can go find the captain on your own..."

"I want to go with Ningning," Su Yunjin said earnestly, "If it's about cultivation, it will be more efficient for the captain to handle it all at once, right? I wouldn't want to waste the captain's time either."

With a few words, Su Yunjin cornered Lin Ning into a dead end, leaving her with no choice but to remain silent, her heart filled with regret.