Chapter 231: What

Indeed.

Since she is now the Holy Mistress's junior sister, Mr. Ye, and Ye Zhuoyu.

Then why must she carry the burden of being the Heavenly Jade Holy Mistress, caring about things that only the Heavenly Jade Holy Mistress must care about?

He had been playing along all this time, which was actually his consistent attitude: I hope you can be a little more relaxed.

But at this very moment, it became a clarion call for an offensive: since you are not the Heavenly Jade Holy Mistress, why can't you fall in love?

Ye Tinglan truly felt a mix of every possible emotion in her heart; it was extremely complex.

After a long silence, she picked Lu Xingzhou up from the floor in a bridal carry: "If you know you're a wounded patient, stop running around."

As she spoke, she placed him back on the bed, reached out to flick his nose, and said in a gentle tone, "Don't be in a rush to cultivate in your current condition; it will be counterproductive. If you find lying down boring, I'll find you some books to read."

Lu Xingzhou grabbed her hand, not letting her leave: "Chatting with me is fine too, don't go looking for books."

Ye Tinglan let him hold her hand and sighed: "Just like a child."

Though she said that, Ye Tinglan knew full well that she was particularly susceptible to this, and that sense of being needed was completely overwhelming. This scoundrel had long since figured her out; she didn't even know how much of that pitiful look was intentionally put on.

Sure enough, Lu Xingzhou said: "In front of you, Teacher, I am just a child."

This was so intentionally obvious that Ye Tinglan said crossly: "You also know I am your teacher, so what does it mean for you to treat me like this?"

Lu Xingzhou was righteous and confident: "We aren't true master and disciple; we never performed the apprenticeship ceremony. In my hometown, pursuing one's private tutor is very common."

Ye Tinglan became even more cross: "Isn't your hometown Danxia Mountain? I've never heard of such rebellious customs in Xiazhou."

"That's right, the Huo family's house rules aren't good; I learned it from them."

Ye Tinglan: "..."

"Besides, for a disciple to pursue a teacher is rebellious, but for a teacher to torment a disciple is only logical." Lu Xingzhou closed his eyes: "Come on then."

Ye Tinglan couldn't help but laugh out loud, reaching out to pinch his face: "Shameless."

If I wanted to be shameless, I would never be able to win you over... Lu Xingzhou could sense that this teacher seemed to have loosened a string in her heart; her current behavior was clearly much more relaxed and natural, and she was no longer resisting physical contact.

The price was that he really had to be pinched.

"Alright." Ye Tinglan leaned against the head of the bed side-by-side with him quite casually, and fished an alchemy book out of her ring: "Teacher will read with you. This is a secret alchemy text of the Heavenly Jade Holy Land, not the public textbook from the Alchemy Academy, you know."

"So Teacher was keeping secrets before, huh?"

"Stop being cheeky after getting a bargain. How could things from the Heavenly Jade Holy Land be passed around casually? Hmm... can your spirit handle reading right now?"

Lu Xingzhou read a few paragraphs and still felt tired.

The traditional characters in vertical columns without punctuation—he had been used to it for so many years that it was usually fine, but in his current state, it was easy to feel dizzy. Plus, this was an obscure alchemy book, not a novel...

"Not really, it makes me dizzy." Lu Xingzhou said: "Does Teacher have any storybooks here? Like vernacular fiction?"

How would Ye Tinglan carry that kind of thing around? She could only say: "I'll go tell the innkeeper to go out and buy one."

This was a private courtyard at a small-town inn. The shopkeeper was currently sitting by the counter reading a storybook. Ye Tinglan walked over, took one look, and dropped a piece of silver: "Sell me this book."

The shopkeeper's mouth twitched: "Customer... are you sure?"

Ye Tinglan thought he meant it was too extravagant to buy a book with a piece of silver: "Of course."

The shopkeeper carefully handed over the book and clutched the silver to his chest.

Ye Tinglan returned to the room with the storybook, and Lu Xingzhou was waiting expectantly. Ye Tinglan felt her heart soften at the sight of him like this; she walked up, leaned against him again, and spread open the first page: "Is this okay?"

As soon as she opened it, she was dumbfounded.

The frontispiece was an illustration showing a man and a woman leaning side-by-side against a bed headboard. The woman was wearing a small bodice, revealing snowy shoulders and lotus-root arms, while the man's hand was around her shoulder, whispering in her ear.

It was so similar to their current posture, save for his arm not being around her; it was practically a reflection of reality.

Glancing at Lu Xingzhou's strange expression, it seemed as if he were wondering if Teacher had intentionally bought a book like this. His hand moved slightly, as if struggling with whether he should imitate the posture in the picture—was this a hint from Teacher?

Ye Tinglan's face flushed red, and she fiercely flipped to the next page: "What's so good about it? It's an accident!"

Lu Xingzhou's restless hand had not even been raised before it was declared a failure.

Fortunately, at least it wasn't an erotic illustration; this storybook should still be decent. The two of them put their heads together to read the first chapter, and as they read, they were dumbfounded again.

It was written that the protagonist was a top graduate who had been invited by a Marquis's mansion to be a private tutor for the young lady. The young lady was a sheltered maiden who couldn't withstand the playboy's tactics; while taking lessons, she was being taken advantage of in various ways—secretly touching her hands, heart racing like a deer, and so on.

This wasn't a decent storybook; it was a piece of erotica.