Chapter 44: 43. Pulling Back and Forth

43. Pulling Back and Forth

Inside the slightly cramped Alchemy Room.

Wen Zhiyun had her hands folded over the door bolt behind her, her curvaceous body leaning against the wooden door, a faint blush rising on her fair, mature face.

She had only just finished bathing, her hair still slightly damp, and her body was emitting a faint, delicate fragrance that smelled like peach blossoms.

Watching the beautiful woman before him, Chen An could not help but feel his heart stir.

Compared to the youthful innocence of Song Huaying and Gu Xinyue, he preferred the mature charm of Wen Zhiyun.

He steadied the stirring in his heart slightly.

Chen An said with a calm expression, "Fellow Daoist Wen, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Well, he was only calm on the surface; in reality, he was incredibly excited inside, waiting for Wen Zhiyun to break through that layer of membrane.

However, what Wen Zhiyun said next left him feeling disappointed.

Wen Zhiyun hesitated for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "That... I don't have the money to pay the rent. Could I use some valuable items as collateral first?"

Just this?

Chen An was extremely disappointed.

Seeing that he did not speak, Wen Zhiyun added, "Is that okay?"

"It is possible, but is that the only reason you came to find me? Is there nothing else you want to say?"

Chen An would not give up; he felt that Wen Zhiyun must have lost her nerve and was afraid to say what was on her mind.

Unfortunately, Wen Zhiyun disappointed him once again.

This charming, mature woman shook her head without hesitation and said, "No."

"..."

For a moment, the air seemed to congeal.

Neither of them spoke.

The Alchemy Room was so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeats.

In the end, it was Chen An who spoke.

"Fellow Daoist Wen, when did your savings run out?"

"A few days ago."

"You are a Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator; how do you have so little in savings?"

"I basically spend as much as I earn; cultivation is too expensive."

"How did you earn Spirit Stones in the past?"

"By going out to hunt Demon Beasts. Recently, the Bamboo Leaf Gang hasn't allowed anyone to go out, so my income was cut off directly."

"That is indeed quite difficult."

"..."

The two of them continued to exchange questions and answers like this.

As time passed by.

The atmosphere of a lone man and a widow sharing a room became increasingly prominent.

The mood gradually became ambiguous.

Looking at Wen Zhiyun's luscious, red lips, Chen An felt his heart growing increasingly restless and hot.

The atmosphere was right.

The feeling was there.

Chen An could no longer hold back; he moved closer to Wen Zhiyun, who was sitting to the side, and reached out, wanting to pull her into his arms and kiss her.

But just as his hand was raised, Wen Zhiyun quickly moved away, not letting him touch her.

"Alchemist Chen, what is our relationship right now that you would try to get handsy with me?"

Wen Zhiyun's face was clearly flushed red, but the words she spoke sounded cold.

She was forcing Chen An to speak, to make him admit that he had designs on her, so as to win the initiative in their future interactions.

It was that feeling of, "You, Chen An, were the one who pursued me, not me, Wen Zhiyun, throwing myself at you."

Hearing this from Wen Zhiyun, Chen An calmed down quite a bit.

He withdrew his raised hand and smiled, saying, "Fellow Daoist Wen is being a bit narcissistic. My hand was just a little numb, and I was raising it to stretch."

After saying this, he stood up and left the Alchemy Room.

To deal with a tsundere like Wen Zhiyun, if you want to completely conquer her, you must never follow her lead or bow to her.

Otherwise, you will have plenty of trouble from her in the future.

He left?

He just left like that?

Wen Zhiyun doubted reality for a moment, followed by a wave of anger and a wave of regret.

Angry that Chen An refused to indulge her.

Regretful that she had been so pretentious.

In the days that followed, Chen An was much colder toward Wen Zhiyun.

He basically did not communicate with her at all.

Conversely, every night when he interacted with his wives and concubines in his room, he would talk extra loudly, intentionally letting her hear it, keeping her awake all night.

During this period, relying on the devoted feelings his wives and concubines had for him, Chen An completely possessed them all.

Days passed by, one after another.

In the blink of an eye.

More than two months have passed.

At this time, Chen Yuejian is already eight months old, and her height has grown to nearly one meter tall.

When Chen An measures her height, he cannot help but feel a wave of emotion; a child with a Spirit Root is truly remarkable, as she is already taller at less than one year old than an ordinary child at three.

In terms of movement, she has also evolved from the wobbly walking of five-plus months ago to now being able to trot around happily.

However, in terms of speech, she can currently only make "yao yao yao" sounds and does not know how to open her mouth to call for Daddy or Mommy.

It seems that children with Spirit Roots only develop physically faster, and they are not much faster than ordinary children when it comes to learning how to speak.

"My expectations before were too high, so high that they seemed unrealistic."

"I must lower my expectations appropriately."

"Hmm, I hope Xiao Yuejian can learn to speak before she turns one."

Chen An lowers his head to look at his daughter, whose little hand he is holding as they take a stroll, and sets this small goal for her in his heart.

He wants to obtain the system reward for his daughter learning to speak as soon as possible, and at the same time, he wants even more to hear his daughter call him Daddy.

That feeling of being called Daddy must be wonderful.

Thinking this.

Chen An picks up his daughter in front of him.

He teaches her hand-in-hand, instructing her to call him Daddy.

However, Chen Yuejian is either responding with "yao yao yao" or giggling with a radiant face, thinking her father is playing with her.

Chen An is not in a rush and still patiently teaches her to call him Daddy.

He teaches for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Chen An has not lost his patience, but his daughter has already lost hers.

She struggles, wanting to get down.

She does not want to be held.

She wants to run around on the ground.

Chen An indulges her and puts her down.

Once on the ground, Chen Yuejian is like a wild horse that has broken its tether, happily wandering aimlessly around the courtyard.

Chen An follows behind, watching her the whole way.

As he walks, a thought occurs to him, and he opens the panel for himself and his wives and concubines to check the data.

【Name: Chen An】

【Cultivation: Sixth Layer of Qi Refining】

【Wealth: 555 Low-grade Spirit Stones】

【Alchemy: First-tier Advanced (1066/2500)】

【Divine Sense: First-tier Advanced (998/2500)】

【Golden Finger: Mastery (1111/2500)】

【Sleep Aid Technique: Proficient (233/500)】

【Spouse: Song Huaying, Gu Xinyue】

【Offspring: Chen Yuejian】

……

【Name: Song Huaying】

【Attribute: Repays a drop of kindness with a gushing spring】

【Affection: 3 Stars (1314/2500)】

【Alchemy Experience Provided: 1024】

【Golden Finger Mastery Provided: 468】

……

【Name: Gu Xinyue】

【Attribute: Pure and unsullied. Unwaveringly loyal】

【Affection: 3 Stars (520/2500)】

【Divine Sense Strength Provided: 998】

【Golden Finger Mastery Provided: 623】

"Husband, it's bad!"

Chen An is browsing the panel before him when the voice of his little beloved wife suddenly comes from ahead.

He looks up following the sound, and what meets his eyes is a worried-looking Song Huaying.

Song Huaying comes up and says: "Husband, Sister Wen is packing her luggage, saying she wants to move out and stop co-renting!"

"Hmm?"

Chen An is stunned for a moment, then his first thought is that Wen Zhiyun is throwing a tantrum and that his cold treatment of her during this period has gone too far.

Without thinking much, he immediately picks up his daughter Chen Yuejian to go in and see what the situation is.

……

PS: Setting out the bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!