Chapter 282: Acting Skills Have Improved

The bedroom light was soft.

Chen Shu shifted the position of the bed so that the distance to the inner wall was just enough to lay down a thin mattress, then he began to set up the floor bedding.

Ning Qing stood to one side, watching quietly.

No one spoke in the room, only Chen Shu's shadow swayed.

Once he had finished spreading the sheet, tossed a quilt on top, and taken a pillow from the bed to throw onto it, he turned and said to Qingqing:

"Alright, are you sleeping on the bed or the floor bedding?"

"The bed."

"The floor bedding is so nice! Look, it's soft, it has a mattress, and the bedding is all new, it smells great. It just doesn't have a bed frame, but don't you think that being wedged between the bed and this wall, and being lower, makes it feel very secure to sleep in?"

"It feels very insecure."

"Why?"

"Because someone might roll off in the middle of the night."

"How is that possible? There are only two of us in the room, who would roll off the bed in the middle of the night?"

"……"

"Hiss! You aren't talking about me, are you?" Chen Shu gasped, contributing a little more to global warming. He opened his eyes wide, his expression gradually becoming pained, "We grew up together, do you not even have this much trust in me?"

"Continue."

"……" Chen Shu was silent for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "If I'd known I was the one sleeping there, I wouldn't have set it up so nicely. A mat would have been enough. Anyway, no matter how cold the mat is, it's not as cold as my heart; no matter how hard the mat is, it's not as hard as your heart."

"Your acting skills have improved."

"It's truly chilling."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing left…… my heart is dead……"

"Then I'm going to wash up."

After Ning Qing finished speaking, she walked into the bathroom.

When Chen Shu also walked in, the vanity was already cluttered with many things only a woman would have—bottles, jars, and all sorts of odds and ends.

The water flowed in a column from the faucet.

It made a splashing sound.

"Pfft!"

Qingqing spat out the last mouthful of water, wiped her mouth, rinsed her toothbrush under the water column, shook it out of habit, placed it back in the cup, and set it on the shelf, right next to Chen Shu's cup.

She caught a glimpse of Chen Shu walking in through the mirror but didn't react, simply letting her hair down, putting on a headband, picking up the facial cleanser, and bowing her head to cup the water.

Chen Shu took his own cup from beside hers.

In the time that followed, he brushed his teeth while watching the two of them standing side-by-side in the mirror, watching Qingqing wash her face and apply skincare. A strange feeling rose from the bottom of his heart, difficult to describe.

"Pfft!"

Chen Shu cleared his mouth and, without turning his head, said to the mirror: "I suddenly feel like you're so beautiful……"

Ning Qing was applying a facial mask; she paused at these words and glanced at him through the mirror.

But she said nothing and continued her routine. Only after the mask was applied did she squeeze all the remaining essence out of the packaging, put it on her hands, turn around, and very naturally smear it all over his face, rubbing it in evenly.

"It's very expensive, don't waste it."

"Can I sleep next to you?" Chen Shu asked while letting her smear it on him.

"No."

"Then what if I coax you into a good mood?"

"Don't try to take advantage of the situation."

"You're smiling."

"I smile when I'm happy, but that doesn't mean I've lost my reason."

"You've got a line for everything……"

"Done."

"Pat, pat, pat……"

Ning Qing patted his face a few times.

"Does this help with absorption?"

"No, I just wanted to slap you a few times."

"……"

Ning Qing withdrew her hand. She didn't want to waste the essence stuck to her hands, so she rubbed it onto the backs of her hands and wrists. Only when the slippery feeling was gone did she stop.

After walking out, it was another round of maintenance.

It was the same principle: the body of an Intermediate Cultivator would present in its healthiest, most natural state and would follow the human body's original physiological metabolic mechanisms, but if one wanted to make the body even better than its healthy, natural state, or wanted to block normal physiological metabolism, one still needed to rely on external objects.

Chen Shu stood by the bed, watching her apply lotion to her feet, and couldn't help but recall past times he'd been tricked.

"Don't you find it troublesome?"

"I do."

Ning Qing looked up at him, her expression faint: "But there's no help for it. The person I like is a very superficial person, and he only values these things……"

"Who? Do I know them?"

"……Sleep."

"Boring."

Chen Shu lay down on the floor bedding, lying perfectly flat.

The floor bedding was wedged between the wall and the bed, and the position was even lower; it really did feel very secure.

Chen Shu took out his Mobile Phone.

These past few days, he had still been paying attention to news about the Group Owner; he had checked frequently during the first few days, but grew lazy later on. It was also because he had been most worried in those first few days, and later entered a state of emotional numbness. The reason for this was, on one hand, that worrying was useless, and on the other, perhaps his relationship with the Group Owner wasn't that close.

There was still no news of the Group Owner now.

Furthermore, many days ago, major domestic and foreign media and online platforms had successively broken the news that the missing military officer was the last direct descendant of the Dayi Imperial Family.

Domestic netizens were generally extremely indignant about this.

On one hand, they felt that Meng Haoran had gone on an expedition for the country and had been very low-key; there had been no publicity before he went into battle, and after he went missing, domestic news had not mentioned a single word about his status as a member of the Imperial Family. This behavior itself was very capable of winning favor, so naturally, they felt unable to accept the disappearance of such a war hero. On the other hand, they felt that this already concerned national dignity and was a provocation against the Dayi Imperial Family, the Government, and even the entire citizenry, and they hoped for the army to be dispatched to retrieve the Imperial Grandson and also kill that audacious Nine-Tier Cultivator to restore national dignity.

Even under the official accounts of sects like the Spirit Sect, Buddhist Sect, and Daoist sects, netizens left comments every day requesting that the big shots of these top-tier sects take action to execute the villain.

What foreign netizens discussed more was, after the Dayi Imperial Family voluntarily relinquished control over the country, how much capital did they actually have left now? Did this super-empire that had spanned eight hundred years still belong to the Meng Family? Did the Imperial Family still possess the power that once looked down upon the world?

The discussion was extremely intense.

"Snap~"

The bedroom light dimmed.

The mattress springs made a slight sound.

It seemed Qingqing had also gone to bed.

Chen Shu sniffed, catching a familiar, faint fragrance. He pressed his Mobile Phone screen against his chest, eyes open in the darkness, and asked, "When did you start practicing this?"

"This morning."

"Any gains?"

"Yes."

"What gains?"

"Joy is very beautiful."

"How many days are you going to practice for?"

"Three or five days."

"So short?"

"I am not a Heavenly Human, nor am I one of those Secret Sect seniors who are akin to 'gods'. In my life, for the most part, the emotion of Joy has not been absent." Ning Qing also had her eyes open in the darkness, lying flat on the bed, pillowing her head on Chen Shu's pillow, covered by Chen Shu's quilt, her heart very calm.

"For the most part? Then when was it absent?"

"Before I knew you."

"Secretary Ning is so smooth..."

"Average."

"Secretary Ning is being modest."

Chen Shu was almost rendered speechless by her.

At this moment, a sound came from the mattress beside him. Secretary Ning turned over to the edge of the bed. She pulled off the facial mask she had already warmed up and which was nearly dry, and, utilizing her Night Person Bloodline, borrowed the almost non-existent light in the room to forcefully stick it onto his face.

Chen Shu lay still, accepting this fate, only asking in a low voice, "Tell me, how is the Group Owner doing now? Is he being hung up and beaten by someone?"

"Don't know."

"When do you guess he will return?"

"The Heavenly Human Mirror is interfering with our search... You should still care about your roommate when you have time."

"You reminded me!"

Chen Shu had forgotten about Brother Meng these past few days.

It was all because studying these past few days had been too busy, too mentally taxing, and the schedule too full; by the time he returned every day, he had no extra brainpower left to think about these things.

Chen Shu opened Feixin.

Chen Shu: Brother Meng, have you been well lately?

Meng Chunqiu: Not bad.

Chen Shu: I'm returning to Yujing the day after tomorrow. What day are you returning to the Dormitory?

Meng Chunqiu: Hard to say.

Meng Chunqiu: There are some matters at home; I might be delayed.

Chen Shu: Have you had any troubling matters lately?

Meng Chunqiu: Why do you say that?

Chen Shu: Just caring about you.

Meng Chunqiu: Many thanks for Brother Chen's concern, but as Brother Chen knows, I was born to live a life of ease—carefree, unfettered, roaming between heaven and earth. You don't know how at ease I've been this winter break, tasting poetry and drinking tea, watching flowers and admiring bamboo in the palace every day. How could I have any troubling matters?

Chen Shu: Envious.

Meng Chunqiu: It's getting late, Brother Chen. Sleep.

Chen Shu: Okay.

Meng Chunqiu: Good night.

Chen Shu: /vomit

Meng Chunqiu: /dashing

Meng Chunqiu put down his Mobile Phone, his folding fan also placed to the side.

He reached out to rub his brow, smoothing away his worries, but a knock on the door sounded in his ears. He had no choice but to get up and go open the door.

Outside the door was a man with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes.

"Father King."

Meng Chunqiu hurriedly stepped aside.

The man walked into the room.

Meng Chunqiu followed behind him and asked helplessly, "Father, why have you come here so late at night? Is there news about my elder brother?"

"No."

"Then..."

The man did not answer, but walked straight to the carved chair and sat down. Seeing a cup of hot tea nearby, he raised his eyes and asked, "Drinking tea late at night, you don't want to sleep?"

"I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days."

"There are many people who don't sleep well." The man paused, "Have you seen the discussions on foreign websites?"

"I have."

"What did you see? Tell me."

"..." Meng Chunqiu was silent for a moment before saying, "Many people are saying that the Dayi Imperial Family has already declined and no longer possesses its former glory."

"What do you think?"

"They..."

As someone who had always taken pride in being a descendant of Meng Yi, Meng Chunqiu naturally felt disdain for this, and even some anger. He very much wanted to imitate his roommate's tone and say, "They don't know a damn thing," but he was a refined person after all, so he held it back and said:

"Dayi is still the Dayi of my Meng Family, and the brilliance of my Meng Family is still something that these short-sighted people cannot look up to."

"Do you truly think so?"

"Naturally."

"Then do you think that in this era, this country and its people still need an Imperial Family?"

"..."

Meng Chunqiu could not help but fall silent.

Only then did the man say, "While the knowledge of those netizens is limited, it does not mean they are short-sighted. They are right about one thing: in this era, great nations no longer need an Imperial Family. The previous generation of the Imperial Family was supported by the combined strength of the Former Emperor and the Ancestor King Jin, both at the Ninth Stage, so it seemed stable. But the future situation is becoming increasingly severe. Not to mention the safety of your elder brother this time, even if he returns safely, do you think he alone can support the continuation of the Imperial Family in the future?"

"... I Fear it would be difficult."

"If the situation turns for the worse and your elder brother cannot return safely, and he has no heirs, what then for the eight-hundred-year-old Yi Emperor Imperial Family?" the man said indifferently.

"... Father, you are still young, you can still have more children." Meng Chunqiu bit the bullet.

"Absurd!"

"..."

"These words have been repeated back and forth several times these past few days, and I am too lazy to say them again. In fact, given the current situation of the Imperial Family, you have never been allowed to be casual and free. It is just that you were truly unwilling to cultivate in the past, and your elder brother and I were holding things up for you, which is why you were able to be free. But now you have seen it yourself; this support is actually... not as solid as we imagined."

"Yes..."

"The Imperial Family needs another Ninth Stage in the future, and your talent is enough to allow you to reach that step." The man stood up, "Think about it carefully."

Meng Chunqiu lowered his head and remained silent.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

The sound of light and hurried footsteps.

Taozi was doing parkour in the room.

On the bed nearby, the little girl was half-reclined, eyes wide open, unable to sleep because her sister hadn't hit her all day.