Chapter 99: The Ancestor's Belated Rebellious Phase (26)
Lou Xingluo sat by the window on the second floor of the inn. The ink snake coiled in a bowl, showing only its small head.
“Did you really let her trick your brother?”
“I don’t have a brother.”
“That’s irrelevant.” The ink snake flicked its tail. “Aren’t you worried she might get into trouble?”
That was the Lou family, after all.
She actually caught the attention of the Lou family.
Lou Xingluo took a sip of tea. “She’s back.”
“???”
No sooner had Lou Xingluo spoken than Ling Qiong appeared at the stairs, hurrying over in quick steps.
Ling Qiong held a small bag, beaming with joy as she sat opposite him. “Your brother really is a good man.”
Lou Xingluo: “...”
Ink snake: “...”
Lou Xingluo, too lazy to repeat that it wasn’t his brother, poured her a cup of water. “Though Lou Lingyu has a fiery temper, he’s not stupid.”
“Mm, it’s fine. We’ll just do it once.” She naturally included him in her “we.”
Ling Qiong sipped her tea, her eyes curved in a bright smile as if she had just recalled something delightful.
After a moment, she set down the cup and began counting the spirit coins in the little bag.
Lou Xingluo: “...”
He didn’t even know why he was bothering with such a tedious task.
...
Ling Qiong and the others had to spend the night here, so they booked two rooms at the inn.
When Ling Qiong returned to her room, the familiar chime sounded.
[Limited-Time Event: A Dream of Spring Night]
[00:29:59]
Ling Qiong’s expression went blank.
Dad just got it, and it’s still warm!!
The chime’s sweet voice began coaxing, “Dear, the limited-time event has discounts and special cards. It’s easier than usual to get them~”
“...”
Yeah, right!
You just want to swindle Dad’s money!
Sometimes people know the path they shouldn’t take, yet they still walk down it.
Ling Qiong tearfully handed over the still-warm spirit coins.
Drawing cards was a dull and tedious process. Ling Qiong felt compelled to exercise her player’s right to give suggestions.
“Can you change the ten-draw? How many draws does it take to get a card with no points? Are you deliberately upsetting players?”
Even if it only required thinking and not tapping, the process was still annoying.
“Dear, okay.”
Twenty minutes later.
Ling Qiong looked at the card in hand. The card’s image showed a room in the inn, nothing particularly special.
The card’s name was the “Dream of Spring Night” that the chime had just mentioned.
A dream of spring night is worth a fortune...
Ling Qiong’s mood fluttered slightly but quickly steadied.
That’s impossible!
She’d only drawn a few cards.
Suddenly—
A thunderclap exploded outside the window, flooding the room with light.
Startled, Ling Qiong sat up in bed.
On her virtual screen, the card was marked with two-thirds of a red stamp.
Boom—
Another thunderclap.
The sound seemed to explode right overhead, as if it might strike her at any moment.
Knock, knock—
Ling Qiong turned her head toward the door. “Who is it?”
“Miss Yue, it’s me.”
“...”
Ling Qiong glanced at the “Dream of Spring Night” card, her eyebrows raising slightly. She closed the guide and went to open the door.
Lou Xingluo stood outside. The hallway was unlit, and he was immersed in shadows, his expression hard to discern.
He asked softly, “May I come in?”
Ling Qiong stepped aside, signaling he could enter.
As Lou Xingluo stepped in, a lightning bolt streaked outside, followed by a thunderclap that shattered the silence above.
Ling Qiong noticed his pace faltered briefly, then he resumed walking casually, moving a few steps inside.
She glanced out the window, then closed the door. “What do you want?”
Lou Xingluo’s voice was steady. “This is Vankong City. It’s better if we don’t separate.”
Ling Qiong: “This place should be safe enough.”
Lou Xingluo: “Better to be cautious.”
“Oh.”
Ling Qiong sat back on the bed. The two of them sat in the dark room, the atmosphere tinged with an eerie tension.
Lou Xingluo turned toward the window and closed the slightly open pane.
“You sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
Ling Qiong’s words startled him: “You’re not sleeping with me?”
Lou Xingluo almost cracked the windowpane in surprise.
What did she just say?
Boom—
Lightning split the sky.
He took a step back, his face turning paler. He suppressed his trembling hands, hiding them in his sleeves, inhaling and exhaling slowly.
Not wanting to face the window, he turned toward Ling Qiong.
As if nothing had happened, he continued, “I’m not tired. You sleep.”
Ling Qiong nodded and truly lay back down, closing her eyes to sleep.
...
Thunder continued outside. Lou Xingluo initially sat near the window.
As time passed, the quiet room made him restless, and he gradually moved until he was leaning against the bed.
...
There was still someone on the bed, offering him some comfort.
Lou Xingluo tried to ignore the thunder outside.
But the sound was overwhelming, like a dense barrage of fine needles piercing his body, stabbing through skin and bone.
Suddenly, the palm of his hanging hand warmed as someone grasped it.
He instinctively looked down.
The little girl had somehow sat up, kneeling on the bed and holding his hand.
“Lou Xingluo, I’m scared. Can you sleep with me?”
Her voice was soft and sweet, with a slight nasal tone, inexplicably tinged with a hint of grievance.
In that moment, Lou Xingluo felt like the thunder outside suddenly cleaved the darkness in front of him.
The warmth in his palm dispelled the chill around him.
After a long moment, Lou Xingluo heard his own voice. “Alright...”
He wanted to refuse.
But his body felt uncontrollable, as if no longer his own.
“You’re so kind.” I’m so kind! Moved the world and myself!
“...”
...
The thunder rumbled on outside.
Lou Xingluo lay in bed, fully clothed. Ling Qiong was covered by the quilt, lying flat with steady, long breaths.
His gaze settled on the mosquito net overhead, but sleep eluded him.
Perhaps it was because someone lay beside him, the thunder outside didn’t seem so frightening anymore.
He was afraid of thunder because once, when Lou Lingyu had played a prank, he was locked up all night.
That night thunder roared without stopping. He had been very young then, terribly frightened.
So even though he was fearless now, the shadow of childhood would always follow him.
Never to be erased.
Lou Xingluo turned his face to look at the person beside him, but Ling Qiong suddenly turned over, her arm draping over him, using him as a pillow.
Lou Xingluo: “...”
If before he couldn’t sleep because he wasn’t sleepy,
Now it was because he didn’t dare to sleep.
The little girl was restless in her sleep—sometimes hugging him, sometimes curling up like a silkworm wrapped in a cocoon under the quilt.
Then, feeling hot, she’d kick off the quilt and turn over to hug him again.
At first, Lou Xingluo tried to move her away, but after several attempts, he grew numb to it.
——End of “All Spent”——
Lou Xingluo: Finally got to hug my wife, hee hee hee.
Ling Qiong: Hah, if not for me, could you have hugged her? Not even in your dreams!
Lou Xingluo: ...
Little fairy: As long as you vote, anything is possible!