...
Xuanhao changed his position, leaning against the headboard, and casually picked up an apple and tossed it around.
"That's different."
Xuanhao took a bite of apple and mumbled, "They're all gathered together right now, discussing tomorrow's tactics.
They're busy with important business.
If I were to run out now and sit on the sofa like a pervert, staring at them... that would be a disaster."
Ah Yin was taken aback, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes:
"Something happened? What could have happened?"
"Isn't that simple?"
Xuan Hao rolled his eyes, swallowed the apple in his mouth, and explained:
"If I stare at them like that, with their divergent thinking, they'll definitely think... that I suddenly had some strange idea in the middle of the night."
"So, if there are five or six girls outside right now, and they all notice this signal and rush over excitedly... who the hell am I supposed to be shy with?"
Xuan Hao shrugged. "It's true that I'm a bit of a beast, and I sometimes go along with them and play some embarrassing little games.
But in these kinds of things, I still value privacy and mutual respect!"
"Even if it's just a small game to satisfy my gaming cravings, I always stick to the one-on-one principle and absolutely refuse to engage in any chaotic 'big pot' situation!
That would be too tasteless."
"So you do the math on this."
Xuan Hao sighed, "When all these ladies gather here, who am I supposed to pick?
No matter whose name I end up calling, the ones who aren't chosen will definitely be unhappy.
We have a competition tomorrow, wouldn't I be deliberately making trouble and ruining their mood?"
After hearing this bizarre logic, Ah Yin almost couldn't help but roll her eyes.
She snapped at him irritably, "Now you know it's troublesome?
Who told you to mess with so many people in the first place?"
"Bullshit! Stop slandering me!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Hao sat up straight. "How can you expect me to provoke them on my own initiative?!"
"You've seen what's going on outside all these years! Did I actively flirt with them? I don't have that kind of time!"
Xuan Hao pointed to himself, feeling increasingly wronged as he spoke:
"For the past few years, wherever I go, I've always held Na'er in my arms and pampered her while eating and sleeping.
I've always thought that this was a very clear signal that I was rejecting other women from getting close!"
"Who knows what's going on in those girls' brains?
They actually mistakenly believe that I'm just a siscon and that I really treat Na'er as a pure, innocent little sister?!"
"What kind of decent little sister would stay up late at night playing those kinds of suggestive games with her brother in bed?
These people are really shameless!"
Seeing Xuan Hao's nonchalant attitude, A Yin looked at him strangely:
"From what you're saying... not only have you not done anything wrong, but you're actually a virtuous and abstinent gentleman?"
"That's not really true."
Xuan Hao lay back down and waved his hand frankly, "I never try to portray myself as a saint.
They have impure thoughts and insist on putting themselves on me.
I'm a normal, hot-blooded man, not some virtuous man who can remain unmoved by temptation. Why would I refuse meat offered to me?"
"What I'm trying to say is that the birds surrounding me right now are a shared responsibility arising from our interaction! It's definitely not my fault alone!"
"As a man, I can take some of the blame for this.
But if anyone wants to pin the whole blame for this womanizing radish on me, that's absolutely impossible!"
Ah Yin was amused by his sophistry and illogical arguments.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, then stared intently at Xuan Hao: "Fine, since you describe your relationship with them as so natural, what about me?"
Ah Yin's tone carried a hint of questioning and confusion:
"Why don't you ever talk about letting things take their course with me? Why don't you even give me a chance to catch my breath?"
"Ever since I regained consciousness in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye, you have been relentlessly pressuring me. You have used all sorts of threats and inducements, even using my son's life as a bargaining chip… No matter what means you use, you are determined to make me agree."
"Why?"
Xuan Hao paused slightly as he ate the apple.
He looked at Ah Yin's face, which was filled with doubt and a hint of stubbornness, and remained silent for a moment.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted from the previous relaxed banter to a quiet and subtle one.
"Because you are different."
Xuan Hao casually tossed the leftover fruit pits into the trash can, pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands, and his tone became unusually serious.
"I've been thinking about you for so many years.
From the time you were just a blade of grass, I've been nourishing you with my life force and soul power every day.
Although you've only been truly conscious for a few years, I've invested so much time and energy in this matter. I really miss you."
Ayin was even more puzzled: "But... you already have so many girls around you who are devoted to you. Qian Renxue, Ning Rongrong, and Na'er who is so obedient to you.
With them, why are you still so fixated on me, a married woman?"
"Um..."
Xuan Hao touched his chin, his eyes becoming somewhat deep.
"You might not believe it, but the real reason behind it... is actually quite selfish and rather dark."
"Rongrong and the others are indeed very close to me now.
They dote on me and we've done all sorts of crazy things in private."
"But the problem is, they haven't really grown up yet. People's hearts can change in this world."
"Who can predict the future?
Maybe one day, their family's interests will have a fundamental conflict with mine; or maybe they'll suddenly have a brain fart, feel they've been wronged, and turn against me, get angry, and abandon me?"
"I'm the kind of person who's easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force, and I value my reputation the most."
"If that day really comes, I will absolutely never lower myself to beg them to stay."
"Human hearts are too complicated. Especially women's minds, they're like riddles. I really don't want to, and I'm too lazy to, gamble the rest of my life on something so uncertain."
Xuan Hao suddenly changed the subject, his gaze fixed intently on A Yin's eyes:
"But you are different."
"You've already died once, experienced the despair of losing everything. And…"
"You don't even have a body now, only this wisp of spirit attached to my blood and qi. To put it bluntly, you're in a half-dead state right now."
"You have no family ties to weigh, and you have no way out. With just a little manipulation, I can keep you firmly in my grasp."
Xuan Hao leaned slightly forward, his voice low and filled with a desire for control:
"You can't leave me. I can exert absolute control over you directly through your body. Even if you have a thousand reasons not to, even if you hate me to the core…"
"At the very least, you must stay obediently by my side."
After listening to Xuan Hao's extremely selfish, even somewhat perverse, analysis, Ah Yin looked at the handsome young man in front of her and felt a chill run down her spine.
Her expression was strange, even somewhat incredulous:
"You... how come your thoughts are like those of a child who is extremely insecure and only knows how to use force to snatch toys?"
"So what?"
Xuan Hao lay back down, put his hands behind his head, and hummed nonchalantly.
"Who in this world isn't a child struggling to satisfy their own desires?"
"I'm just too lazy to bother with all that fancy, hypocritical packaging.
I also admit that the absolute control I'm looking for might seem childish and extreme to you self-proclaimed mature adults."
Xuan Hao stared at the ceiling, his eyes clear, without the slightest confusion or self-blame.
"But so what?"
"I never deceive myself. My goal is always clear—whatever I set my sights on, I will hold firmly in my own hands, no matter what means I use or what others think."
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