The Game with Fairies

The always aloof and indifferent enforcement elder Yan Xiaoru now had a face flushed bright red.

She stared at Li Muyang with extreme alarm, the blush spreading to her ears.

“You’re slandering me!”

Elder Yan angrily retorted, “Who likes you? Li Muyang, have you lost your mind?”

Li Muyang, however, ignored Elder Yan’s rage and continued to speak on his own.

“Actually, I had a vague feeling from the beginning, but I couldn’t be sure.”

“I read about a psychological phenomenon called the ‘misattribution of arousal’ in a book. It basically suggests that when people are in a crisis or facing death, their heartbeat speeds up. If a man and a woman are together in such a situation, they might mistake this accelerated heartbeat for love and start liking each other.” (TLN: suspension bridge effect.)

“I had a faint suspicion back in the Demon Sword City secret realm, but I didn’t dare to think too deeply about it.”

“After all, I was just a lowly outer disciple at that time, with a status in the Demon Refining Sect comparable to a dog.”

“Plus, the false love produced by the misattribution of arousal might fade over time.”

“So I’ve been avoiding it and observing.”

“The various events that have happened over the past six months, especially what happened in Tianjiao City, have confirmed it for me.”

Li Muyang spoke softly, looking sincerely into Yan Xiaoru’s eyes, “Yan Xiaoru, you like me.”

“Although you won’t admit it, and even though you’re avoiding it, you do indeed like me.”

“This isn’t a false love from the misattribution of arousal, but a feeling that has not only not disappeared after half a year but has become even more intense.”

“It’s only after confirming this that I dare to be honest with you now.”

Li Muyang said, “Now, in this tent, it’s just the two of us, with no one else around. What we say here won’t be heard by others.”

“In that case, why do you still need to hide and cover it up?”

“Where is the decisive killing intent of an enforcement elder? Why be so coy and evasive, like a childish kid?”

Li Muyang’s words left Yan Xiaoru staring in disbelief.

But she was no longer angry. Instead, she gradually calmed down.

“You say you’re sure I like you… Fine! Then tell me, how did you confirm that I like you? Where’s your evidence?”

“Is it because of the Qiankun Ring you received from me? Or because I promoted you to an inner disciple? Or because I brought you to Tianjiao City?”

Yan Xiaoru’s face was cold, her subtext clearly suggesting that none of these meant anything, and Li Muyang was deluding himself.

Faced with her stubborn defiance, Li Muyang’s lips curled into a helpless smile.

“Elder Yan, oh Elder Yan…”

Seeing that Yan Xiaoru still refused to admit it, Li Muyang sighed.

He said, “You forced this.”

After speaking, Li Muyang took a step back and, under Yan Xiaoru’s wary and uncertain gaze, bowed respectfully to her.

Just as Yan Xiaoru felt confused and lost, the bowing Li Muyang respectfully called out.

“Junior Li Muyang pays respects to Senior Netherworld.”

At that moment, Yan Xiaoru’s brain crashed.

She sat there stunned, wave after wave of shame flushing her cheeks, but she remained speechless.

Even her gaze became vacant and dull, as if her soul had drifted far away, her mind completely blank.

Seeing no reaction from Yan Xiaoru, Li Muyang thought for a moment and called out again.

“Senior Netherworld…”

However, this phrase from Li Muyang seemed to have the power of a magical incantation.

The previously dazed Yan Xiaoru sitting on the stool was instantly jolted awake.

“Ah… ahhhh! Stop talking, stop talking!”

Yan Xiaoru’s face turned crimson. She covered her face with her hands and buried her head in her knees, trembling uncontrollably, almost on the verge of tears.

“When did you find out?”

The woman cried out with a sobbing voice.

Watching her intense reaction, Li Muyang almost laughed out loud.

But considering that laughing at this moment might provoke Yan Xiaoru to fight him, he forcibly restrained his smile, trying hard to maintain a serious and earnest expression, thinking of all the most tragic things from this and past lives to stabilize his tone.

“Um… actually, I noticed from the very beginning.”

Li Muyang spoke earnestly, “But I never exposed it because I knew that once I did, Elder Yan, you might never come to see me again, and you might even banish me far away, never to return to the Hall of Enforcement.”

“And I wouldn’t be able to buy you the snacks you like to eat anymore.”

Li Muyang’s tone was sincere and calm, without a hint of jest.

This earnestness finally lessened Yan Xiaoru’s embarrassment.

She kept her face covered, her head buried, still not daring to look at Li Muyang.

But her voice was no longer trembling.”You… so you knew it was me from the beginning, that’s why you bought so many snacks that I like for me.”

“Because back in the Demon Sword City secret realm, I told you I liked snacks…”

Wuu…

Yan Xiaoru covered her face, feeling like she was about to die.

The feeling of extreme embarrassment spread throughout her body.

She felt her whole body burning up.

Wuu wuu wuuu… How could I be so stupid! He brought snacks over every night, how could I not see such an obvious sign?

What normal person would bring snacks for a mysterious senior who is imparting skills?

Wuu wuu wuuu…

At this moment, Yan Xiaoru wished she could travel back in time and slap her past self, who thought she was so clever.

She was too ashamed to face anyone.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

This time, she really couldn’t face anyone!

Yan Xiaoru’s ears turned red with shame as if she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Li Muyang’s killer move had pierced through all the psychological defenses the woman had been holding up, making it impossible for her to maintain the aloof demeanor of an elder.

Looking at her in this state, Li Muyang sighed, “So Elder Yan, now that it’s come to this, can we have an open and honest talk?”

After Li Muyang finished speaking, Yan Xiaoru, who had her head buried, suddenly looked up, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she glared at him.

“Don’t call me Elder Yan!”

Yan Xiaoru was both embarrassed and angry, her eyes filled with misty tears: “How dare you treat me like this? Do you still see me as an elder of the Demonic Sect?!”

As she spoke, tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Seeing this, Li Muyang was stunned.

“Uh… Elder Yan?”

He had not expected the Demonic Sect elder to actually cry in front of him.

Li Muyang instinctively took a step forward but then immediately stopped, unsure if he should do something at this moment or if it would upset Yan Xiaoru.

But the woman looked at him stubbornly, directly grabbing his hand and pulling it to her face, angrily saying, “I’m crying! Aren’t you going to wipe my tears?”

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

The woman looking up in anger, the man surprised and raising his hand, the pouring rain outside the tent…

This scene would forever be etched in Li Muyang’s memory.