Chapter 427: 100% Qing-Content

Chen Shu gently carried Ning Qing out of the Quiet Room.

A white cat followed behind with small, pitter-patter steps.

In the hallway outside, the young girl stopped with a glass of water in her hand; she had just bathed and changed into floral pajamas, and she was turning her head to stare straight at them. When her brother-in-law carried her sister past her, she also stepped forward to follow.

Chen Shu placed Ning Qing on the bed, tucked her in, and pinched her cheek.

Turning around, he saw the young girl leaning against the doorway with the water, peeking into the room.

She was wearing floral pajamas, the kind with a shirt and shorts, which were very loose; a section of her lower legs was exposed, tender and white as if glowing, and she wore her usual flat-soled slippers on her feet, her small feet exquisite and cute.

"Yo, isn't this my little demon king sister-in-law?"

"What little demon king?"

"Your sister said it."

"Has sister finished her breakthrough?"

"Finished."

"Did she succeed?"

"I suppose she succeeded."

"!"

The young girl tightened her grip on the water glass; she hadn't expected that despite her own hard work, the gap between her and her sister had widened again.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing..."

"Eh, how come you seem a bit shorter again?"

"..."

The young girl immediately became fidgety, lowering her head to avoid her brother-in-law's gaze, her toes wiggling inside her slippers, feeling somewhat unnatural—because she hadn't known she would run into her brother-in-law coming out, and because she had to bathe, she hadn't worn those platform slippers, which made her a head shorter than her real height.

The young girl's eyes darted around, changing the subject:

"What little demon king?"

"Your sister told me just now. She predicted a timeline where I didn't exist; in that timeline, you became a little demon king... I don't know what it looks like specifically, if you want to know, wait until she wakes up and ask her."

"When sister wakes up, will she become a fool?"

"I don't know. If she does, I'll bring her out for you to play with."

"Okay!"

The young girl walked away with the water glass, her pace somewhat quick.

Chen Shu watched her back, his gaze shifting downward—

Oh, so she wasn't wearing her height-increasing shoes.

Chen Shu shook his head, returned to the room, picked up Taozi and tossed her out, then closed the door.

Qingqing's timing was just right; she started the breakthrough this morning and finished by evening. With a Restoration Pill, she would normally sleep until tomorrow morning, exactly one day.

But how could she sleep without changing her clothes?

"Sigh..."

Chen Shu let out a long sigh; he had his work cut out for him.

Yet, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile.

The next day, early morning.

Ning Qing opened her eyes once again.

What met her eyes was a stark white ceiling and a simple ceiling light, which made her frown immediately. She sat up and looked around; it was an unfamiliar environment, and she was lying on an unfamiliar bed.

Ning Qing did not panic, but instead calmed her mind to carefully observe her current state and the environment she was in.

A white shirt, a pair of small panties.

Besides that, she was wearing nothing else.

No trousers, no bra.

The bed was soft, and the quilt was soft too.

Most importantly, there was lingering warmth beside her; she touched it with her hand, and there was space for about one person, clearly not left by herself, as if proving that someone else had been lying beside her not long ago.

"..."

Ning Qing held her breath, then raised her hand to look at it carefully, before glancing at the desk in the corner of the room.

There were a mirror and a photo frame placed there.

Ning Qing got up and walked over barefoot.

She picked up the photo frame first.

It was a photo of three people and a cat.

The background was the Chang'an Gate of the Imperial Palace, with jacaranda trees everywhere, as beautiful as a scene from an anime. The three stood in front of the palace gate; in the middle was a man who looked five or six parts similar to the Chen Shu in her memory, the woman whose shoulders he was holding looked eight or nine parts similar to the version of herself in her memory, and he also had his other hand on the head of another girl. That girl had the shadow of Xiaoxiao on her face, but the Xiaoxiao in her memory was only eight or nine years old.

Then she picked up the mirror.

The person in the mirror was the same woman from the photo, not much different from the version of herself in her memory.

"So that's how it is..."

Ning Qing whispered to herself.

Just at this moment—

"Click."

The bedroom door was suddenly opened.

The man from the photo poked half his body inside, and upon seeing her, his eyes lit up: "You're awake? How do you feel?"

Ning Qing subconsciously raised a hand to block her chest, keeping her side turned toward him, yet she could not help but turn her head to stare straight at him.

Chen Shu only felt a strange luster flickering in her eyes, her gaze scanning back and forth over his body as if she felt both unfamiliar with and curious about him, yet she made no other extreme movements, which could not help but make him feel a bit puzzled.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"What year is it now?" Ning Qing finally spoke, her voice also slightly different from what she remembered.

"5024, it's the end of the year." Chen Shu blinked his eyes, "Are you like me, with your memory not fully awakened, and your mind returned to the past?"

"5024..."

Ning Qing continued to stare at him, repeating it in a low voice.

Chen Shu could not help but pull at the corners of his mouth, finding it interesting, even unable to suppress his excitement: "How old do you think you are in your memory?"

"13... 14... I guess?"

"So young!"

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm filled with Joy, it's fun."

"..." Ning Qing was silent for a moment, "You are still the same as when you were little."

"I suppose."

"But after you grew up, you weren't as good-looking as when you were little."

"??? What nonsense are you spouting!"

"I do not tell lies."

"??? Retract that yourself!"

"But I still like you very much."

"..."

Chen Shu's expression was stifled: "I forgive you."

"What stage am I breaking through to?"

"Eh? You know you are breaking through a Spirit Lock?"

"I have heard that using a Restoration Pill for emergency repair of the body and Spirit Soul after a breakthrough can lead to a series of problems; besides being delirious, there may also be situations like incomplete memory awakening causing mental confusion or the consciousness returning to childhood."

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu suddenly felt a bit ashamed.

"What stage?"

"Seventh Stage."

"?"

"Is it unbelievable?"

"Yes."

"If you are really shy, you can change your clothes." Chen Shu blinked his eyes, wanting to tease her a bit, saying things like he had long since seen the parts she was covering and that he had even held her while sleeping last night, but he gave up on it and just pointed at the wardrobe, "Clothes are there."

He then intended to close the door.

"Wait!"

"What?"

Chen Shu opened the door again and leaned in to stare at her.

He saw Ning Qing looking at him with a burning gaze: "Are we married?"

"..."

"What are you laughing at again?"

"I find it interesting, it's fun."

"?"

"Last time after I broke through, I also returned to this age and asked the same question."

"..."

Ning Qing's expression softened slightly:

"So..."

"Not yet, for the time being."

"Are we together?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Since the beginning of this year."

"Oh."

This "oh" sounded exceptionally obedient.

Ning Qing then withdrew her gaze, stared at the floor, and stopped making a sound.

Chen Shu did not close the door again immediately, but stared straight at her, his thoughts dancing in his mind.

The young Qingqing was actually just as indifferent as she was now, but the younger her was more timid and more foolish—that is to say, easier to scare and easier to trick. Therefore, fearing he would leave while also trusting him deeply, she would appear much more obedient in front of him than she did now.

"Qingqing~"

Qingqing immediately looked up at him, like a little deer that had suddenly heard a sound.

"There is a black tight-fitting camisole dress in the wardrobe, wear it for me to see, will you?"

"..."

Ning Qing lowered her head slightly again, raised her eyelids to peek at him, and after a long while, asked: "Why do you want me to wear it? Does she not wear it for you to see usually?"

"Her?"

"Me."

"You won't."

"Why?"

"The older you get, the worse your personality becomes; now you even hit me sometimes." Chen Shu revealed a helpless expression, "I've almost called the police several times."

"You're lying again."

"It's true."

"Then it must be love for you."

"Wow, you're so smooth... were you this smooth when you were a teenager?"

"Close the door."

"Alright, call me when you're changed."

Chen Shu closed the bedroom door, turned around and leaned his back against the wall, waiting.

Inside the room, Ning Qing was unhurried; she lowered her head to find her slippers by the bedside and put them on, finding them a perfect fit, then began to walk slowly around the room, turning her head to look at this place where her future self lived with him.

What was marvelous was that this simple yet elegant and cozy room was very similar to what she had imagined before.

There was a large, soft bed to hold dreams, a large floor-to-ceiling window to welcome the sunlight, a desk with the faint scent of solid wood, on which sat photos belonging to them, and clothes for both of them in the wardrobe...

Very, very similar.

It came true.

Ning Qing thought to herself, picked up that slip dress, found a piece of lingerie from the other side, pondered for a moment, then switched to a strapless piece of lingerie, and looked down at her own development...

It felt so strange.

A few minutes later, the bedroom door was opened from the inside.

By this time, Qingqing had already put on that black tight-fitting slip dress, which accentuated her tall figure, slim waist, and long legs; even more eye-catching were her delicate collarbones and shoulders, her slender neck, and her skin, which was white and tender—no matter how one looked at it, there were no flaws to be found, like an exquisite work of art, and it formed a sharp contrast with the black fabric, a flavor that was both cold and alluring.

Chen Shu couldn't look away for a moment.

"Is it this one?"

Ning Qing asked him in a low voice.

Chen Shu did not answer, and she was not in a hurry, just standing at the doorway, waiting for him quietly.

Not until she felt he had seen enough did she speak, asking softly: "After we grow up, was it you who kissed me first, or me who kissed you?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"When I kiss you, you always know, but when you kiss me, I don't necessarily know."

"I see."

Ning Qing pursed her lips, having roughly arrived at an answer, then she was silent for two seconds, gave herself courage, and said again: "Can I kiss you?"

"Hm?"

"I've always wanted to do this." Ning Qing's expression was calm, without a hint of shyness, "It's just that I was too embarrassed when I was little."

"This..."

"What?"

"How old are you, exactly?"

"Have you already forgotten what you had in your heart when you were a teenager?"

"Well... that's true."

"?"

"You're too young, I have a sense of guilt..."

"I am already twenty-four."

"Then after you recover, won't you be jealous of yourself?" Chen Shu's mouth couldn't help but twitch, "Your personality is strange; the older you get, the stranger it becomes."

"I am her, and she is me; this has always been a wish for both me and her. If it could really be realized at thirteen or fourteen, I think both I and she would be happy because of it." Ning Qing said calmly, paused for a moment, seemingly feeling that with her own personality, she might indeed be jealous because "the past self kissed the current self's boyfriend," so she added, "Don't worry about her."

"Alright then..."

Chen Shu turned his face to the side: "Only on the cheek."

Ning Qing was silent, saying nothing, just walking over in two steps, her footsteps light as an elf's, hooking her arms around his neck, and gently pressed her lips to his cheek.

They separated again very quickly.