If someone had told Yan Qin a week ago that tonight, one week later, he would be holding the Little Master of the Lin Family in his arms, he would definitely have thought it was a meaningless and disgusting foolish dream.

However, when all of this actually became a reality, the feeling in his heart was exceptionally strange. There was no disgust or even humiliation, only an inconceivable slight daze.

The youth in his arms was not heavy. With his eyes closed, he looked beautiful and harmless, such that no one could guess the fear he brought to people when he opened his eyes.

The corners of his eyes were slightly red, flushed from the alcohol. His calm expression made Yan Qin inexplicably feel that he looked a bit lethargic.

But how could the young master of the Lin Family have this kind of cold, calm exhaustion? This kind of expression shouldn't appear on him.

Lin Sui was communicating with the System in his mind: [He hugged me on his own initiative, you saw it.]

The System said indignantly: [You clearly hinted at him.]

Lin Sui said innocently: [Don't wrongly accuse me. When did I hint at anything? I just glanced at him a few times. What can I do if he misunderstood?]

The System: [...Confounding black and white.]

Although the System said this, it didn't take any action.

Lin Sui relaxed his body even more, faintly figuring out how to handle the System.

He was carried into the room by Yan Qin. The moment he touched the soft quilt, he opened his eyes, stepped onto the floor, and headed to the bathroom.

The perfectly warm water diluted the discomfort brought by the alcohol.

Many things popped into Lin Sui's mind. Some were from his first life, and some were from his second life.

They were past events buried deep in his memory that would inadvertently surface—some good, some bad, and some ordinary.

He remembered that Yan Qin used to frequently bring him a kind of Spirit Fruit. The fruit tasted similar to a peach but was somewhat different, and it was extremely delicious.

It grew in the Miasma Forest of Tianqian Valley. Eating it could prolong one's life. For those cultivators whose cultivation was lacking and whose lifespans were nearing their end, it could allow them to eke out a living for a while longer.

That place was not easy to enter even for Yan Qin, but he would bring back a lot for him every time, and would only tell him that it was a common fruit that could be seen everywhere.

Lin Sui knew that Yan Qin was afraid he would die.

He was a consumable Human Cauldron. During the process of Dual Cultivation, he could only receive very few benefits, but if they didn't engage in Dual Cultivation, he wouldn't get any benefits at all.

This destined his cultivation to grow slowly. He might never break through to the Golden Core stage, and would die after a few decades due to insufficient lifespan.

Lin Sui sometimes thought that dying like that wouldn't be too bad, but he would quickly become angry and frightened by such thoughts—not because he couldn't face death calmly, but because he couldn't face a version of himself whose fighting spirit had been worn away and whose resolve had been shaken.

In both lifetimes, he had walked on the path to make himself stronger, yet there were actually times when he wanted to waste away and wait for death.

Lost in his thoughts, Lin Sui gradually slipped down into the water.

The warm water swallowed his earlobes, cheeks, and tip of his nose, until the surface returned to a calm state.

The System panicked slightly: [What are you doing?]

Lin Sui closed his eyes, allowing himself to soak in the warm water.

Yan Qin stared at the bathroom door and checked the time on his watch. This had already exceeded the young master's usual bath time. As he thought of Lin Sui's drunken state, his heart tightened.

If Lin Sui really died in the bathroom in this manner, the people in this villa—especially him—would not be able to escape the wrath of the Lin Family.

Yan Qin told himself this in his heart, and then, feeling justified, quickly opened the bathroom door.

The surface of the water in the bathtub was calm and unruffled; Lin Sui was nowhere to be seen.

Yan Qin's heart clenched as he approached the bathtub.

Just as he was about to look inside, the sound of breaking water rang out. The youth suddenly appeared before him like a mermaid from the bottom of the sea.

His brows and eyes were wet with water, which trickled down his cheeks.

His ink-black hair clung tightly to his cheeks, revealing an enchanting beauty. Between the red and black, his pallor was even more dazzling.

"I..."

Just as Yan Qin was about to explain his reason for entering, his neck was hooked by an arm covered in water droplets. The next moment, water submerged his line of sight.

The sudden contact with the water made him subconsciously want to struggle, but the arms hugging him only tightened further.

Amidst the light refracted by the water ripples, a breath of air was passed to him, and then his lower lip felt a slight pain.

With the splashing sound of water, everything seemed to happen in a mere instant.

Dripping water marks stained large areas of Yan Qin's clothes. He panted rapidly, his heart still beating violently.

Like a drowning victim who had just been rescued, in that moment between life and death, he had accepted the gift of a powerful and mysterious mermaid, his mind confused and bewildered, even knowing full well that his fall into the water was also this water demon's masterpiece.

Reason and emotion melded into an indescribably murky mass, and the lingering tactile sensation seemed to have seized his soul.

He couldn't help but look at the instigator of all this. Lin Sui leaned against the edge of the bathtub, his eyes lowered, not looking at him.

He was as careless as ever, as if it were just a random whim—neither a prank nor a yearning. The passion was as brief as a fire burning out in the dark night, like an illusion.

However, Yan Qin quickly noticed something was wrong. Lin Sui's face was somewhat pale, and even his lip color seemed to have lightened due to pain.

It seemed he was starting to feel pain again.

"Do you need help?"

Yan Qin's voice was hoarse. He coughed unnaturally twice and looked at Lin Sui.

"Get out."

Lin Sui didn't open his eyes. The fingertips pressing against the inside of the bathtub exerted so much force that they turned white.

Yan Qin left with somewhat heavy steps. His body was freezing cold due to the large patches of water stains, but beneath the icy skin, an unstoppable heat welled up.

What on earth was Lin Sui trying to do?

He didn't understand.

Pressing a hand against his chest, he frowned and went to another bathroom to change clothes.

Lin Sui had stayed in the bathtub for too long; his fingers were wrinkled from the soaking.

The System had already been frightened out of its wits by Lin Sui's occasional and completely unpredictable actions. After giving him an electric shock, it couldn't even be bothered to say an extra word and fell silent.

Lin Sui dried the water droplets on his body and touched his lips.

Everything he did was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so urgent that it was difficult to control. The feeling of getting what he wanted was truly wonderful.

It was a pity that the time for him to act so willfully wouldn't last long. Lin Sui fell asleep with considerable regret.

Yan Qin kept his eyes open, looking at the youth's back on the bed not far away, his gaze obscure and unreadable.

As usual, Lin Sui did not go to school. It was as if his transferring schools that day was just for fun, and attending classes for two days was exactly the same.

At noon, Yan Qin went to Chu Feng's house because Chu Feng said the program still needed some optimization.

"Does the Lin Family have a computer? If we could use it, it would be much more convenient, and you wouldn't have to run back and forth."

Tao Ting couldn't help asking. She always felt that the Little Master was quite nice to Yan Qin—not because of Lin Sui's behavior that day, but because of Yan Qin's condition.

His current state was visibly much better than before, and not just physically. Tao Ting couldn't quite put her finger on it; it was just a feeling.

"It doesn't matter if it's a bit troublesome."

Yan Qin didn't take his eyes off the screen. He didn't trust Lin Sui, and it was impossible for him to reveal his abilities in that place.

After school in the afternoon, the Lin Family's car still didn't come.

He seemed to have been forgotten. Or rather, from the very beginning, he had just been a dispensable existence that Lin Sui used to pass the time.

This was originally what he had asked for.

Yan Qin touched the bracelet in his pocket and slowly returned to Lin Sui's house.

An unfamiliar car was parked at the entrance of the Lin Family's house. Yan Qin scrutinized it for a few moments, entered the passcode, and went inside.

In the living room, there was a young man with long silver hair wearing glasses. He sat next to Lin Sui. When he saw him, he showed brief surprise, then smiled.

"Ah Sui, you have a guest."

His attitude was natural and familiar; he even slung his arm around Lin Sui's shoulders.

Yan Qin met his gaze with pitch-black eyes, his expression calm and indifferent.

The author has something to say:

Brother Yan: Awakened, it's hunting time.