When Jing Ye opened his eyes, the scent in the air was very different from Herta's mysterious fragrance from before.
Even though his current impression of Herta was now completely "smelling like sea breeze," her fundamental scent profile hadn't really changed.
But what he smelled now was a gentle, refined fragrance, like plum blossoms just about to bloom.
And standing before him was exactly that long-legged, elegant, quiet beauty—Ruan Mei.
Compared to Herta, Ruan Mei's figure was even more graceful and statuesque—mainly in the sense that, next to Herta's modest, one-handful chest, Ruan Mei's "fruit" was… significantly fuller.
What pleasantly surprised Jing Ye was that the Ruan Mei in front of him wasn't wearing her usual noble, madam-like cheongsam.
That cheongsam which showed off her smooth, beautiful legs had always been very tempting, but compared to what she was wearing now, it clearly fell short.
Under Jing Ye's astonished gaze, a layer of thin, bluish gauze clung closely to Ruan Mei's body, outlining every graceful curve with startling clarity.
Ruan Mei didn't shy away at all from Jing Ye's appraising gaze—if anything, there was a hint of shy delight in her eyes as she stepped lightly toward him in her high heels.
All the groundwork Jing Ye had done with Ruan Mei earlier—just to get Herta to "deliver herself to his door"—was now finally bearing rich fruit.
No more words were needed. In that hazy, intimate atmosphere, Ruan Mei slowly melted against him like a boneless beauty snake, as if entrusting her entire self to him, letting him pick her as he pleased.
On the night Herta was truly humiliated for the first time, Ruan Mei had already kissed Jing Ye. It was only now that Jing Ye finally invited her out—
The reason for the delay was all the experiments he'd been doing with Herta in the meantime.
Ruan Mei knew nothing about that. She only assumed that Jing Ye was a bit slow on the uptake and too absorbed in "serious matters," so even though she was now limp against him, gaze hazy with charm, she still carried a faint sense of complaint.
As if determined to make up for all the times he'd "neglected" her, Ruan Mei showed a degree of initiative that even caught Jing Ye off guard.
The only problem along the way was… a phone call from Herta.
While Jing Ye and Ruan Mei were "discussing" traditional Xianzhou tai chi poses, Herta's anxious call came through.
At Jing Ye's mischievous urging, Ruan Mei, cheeks flushed, obediently answered.
What followed was a conversation in which—under Jing Ye's deliberate teasing—Ruan Mei had no choice but to brush Herta off and even lie to her:
"Herta? Wh-what's wrong?"
"I-I'm just out… for a run, h-ha… ha…"
"It's fine… I just wanted to get a little exercise, no need to worry, mm-mm…"
"Jing Ye? I don't see him… kya?!"
"I just got startled by a big dog passing by, it's nothing… mm-mm, I'll call you if anything comes up, u-uh…"
After Herta hung up, half suspicious and half convinced, Ruan Mei shot Jing Ye a sulky glare.
Then, as if she had to win back her dignity from this infuriating troublemaker, she threw herself even more enthusiastically into those tai chi moves.
...
When Jing Ye finally came back to himself from that deeply immersive experience, he could still feel the phantom pressure around his waist—
Even back when he'd been doing all sorts of experiments with Herta, his legs had never shaken like this. He truly hadn't expected Ruan Mei to have gone that deep into the study of tai chi.
Compared to Herta, who was ultimately just a sheltered young lady with the stamina of a mob enemy, Ruan Mei might look just as slender and upright, but there was real power packed into those smooth long legs.
Whenever Ruan Mei cycled through "White Crane Spreads Its Wings," "Parting the Wild Horse's Mane," and "Grasp the Sparrow's Tail," Jing Ye would be shocked all over again that a body that looked so boneless and flexible could generate such explosive force.
Their "discussion" of tai chi movements went on for several days. During that time, Herta kept calling. Of course, Jing Ye made sure not to miss a single one, always letting Ruan Mei pick up.
Even though Herta was her good friend, Ruan Mei still allowed herself to be pushed into cooperating with Jing Ye's mean little hobby—making strange, misleading noises over the phone to confuse Herta.
At the same time, while comforting Ruan Mei, Jing Ye never neglected his "real work"—his experiments with Herta.
He slipped in and out of those experiments with Herta, always finding gaps in his schedule to "practice tai chi" with Ruan Mei, all in the name of strengthening the body.
Sometimes, they would even get this sort of scene: Herta, just finished with an experiment, and Ruan Mei, just done with tai chi, running into each other.
The two great beauties would both be standing there, their long legs trembling, one hand gripping their hemlines tightly to keep the other from noticing anything.
For Jing Ye, this was pure bliss.
Two geniuses who might bicker but secretly admired each other: one had sacrificed everything to keep the other from being defiled, while the other had taken the initiative to throw herself at him, completely betraying her friend's "kind intentions."
He humiliated Herta right in front of Ruan Mei, then, over the phone with Herta, continued "practicing tai chi" with Ruan Mei. And the two of them still had to keep pretending to be good sisters behind each other's backs.
All while clutching their skirts tight so they wouldn't be found out.
Could there be anything more satisfying to watch?
Taking turns "fighting" Herta and Ruan Mei—even with his stamina of steel, Jing Ye had to admit he needed to use at least one percent of his power seriously.
Herta, being a complete lightweight, never put him under any pressure. It was Ruan Mei's long, cheongsam-wrapped legs that were the real threat.
As he savored the memory of being trapped in a leg lock by Ruan Mei's long cheongsam-clad legs, the Villain Simulator advanced:
[You humiliated Herta in front of Ruan Mei and broke your promise to Herta by doing all kinds of things to Ruan Mei behind her back. You even had Ruan Mei deliberately call Herta so you could mess with her mid-call, nearly exposing Ruan Mei multiple times.]
[Condition for "Equivalent Exchange" triggered. Severity of your villainous behavior: 66%.]
[You choose to shatter "Light-Fingered" in exchange for powerful magic. "Light-Fingered" is now 66% destroyed.]
[Most of the wisdom you stole from Herta is returned to her. You feel many flashes of insight disappear from your mind. You seem duller than usual, though you can't pinpoint what's missing.]
[Fortunately, the magic power you obtained through the shattering is unaffected.]
[With your preparations complete, the Herta family's pursuit arrives right on schedule.]
[With your stronger magic, you easily wipe out the assassins sent after you, then rush to Herta's side to help her withstand the first wave.]
[You and Herta survive.]
[Herta, unable to believe her family truly meant to kill her, demands to know what you did.]
[But you don't have time to answer. You immediately rush to Ruan Mei's side.]
[Although your new power is enough to defeat the enemies targeting you and rescue Herta, you still find yourself struggling against the third wave of enemies attacking Ruan Mei.]
[Herta, watching from the side, quickly learns your magic just by observing. In battle, she almost immediately shows signs of surpassing you.]
[As expected of a super genius—once the 66% of wisdom you stole is returned to her, she masters magic at a terrifying rate. It's obvious she'll be a powerhouse in the future.]
[Unfortunately, your battle drags on for too long, giving the Herta family enough time to send reinforcements. You are both killed in the ensuing assassination.]
[This time, your consciousness lingers even longer before death. You see more of the altar and the scene around it.]
[What you never expected was that under the cloaks of the many "Herta family members" surrounding the altar…]
[…every single one of them has Herta's face.]
-------
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