"You're crazy!" Shi Yu glanced at Xu Sanshi and cursed him speechlessly.
He's warned me this many times, but has it worked?
If you enjoy spending time with Jiang Nannan, then spend time with her. What kind of person would you be if you distanced yourself from her because of his warning?
This warning not only had no effect on Shi Yu, but it also made him want to get closer to Jiang Nannan, just to spite Xu Sanshi.
You tell me to stay away, but I'll deliberately get closer to her. Why should I listen to you?
Xu Sanshi was so angry he wanted to hit someone, but Zhang Lexuan's gaze extinguished his anger.
"You just wait!" Xu Sanshi glared fiercely at Shi Yu, remembering this grudge.
Shi Yu and Jiang Nannan sat together, chatting idly, often with smiles on their faces.
Xu Sanshi stood alone on one side, and Zhang Lexuan stood alone on the other, both guarding Bei Bei so that he could absorb the soul ring without worry.
Along the way, some soul beasts approached, drawn by the scent of blood, but they all fled in terror after Zhang Lexuan revealed her aura, not daring to linger.
As darkness fell, the Starry Sky Forest became even more dangerous, with howls of wolves and roars of tigers echoing through the air.
Shi Yu and the others also gathered together, closer to Zhang Lexuan, for safety.
Beibei finished absorbing the spirit ring and soon woke up, her joy barely concealed.
"How is it?" The first person to check on Beibei wasn't his best friend Xu Sanshi, but Zhang Lexuan.
Seeing Zhang Lexuan's concerned expression, Beibei felt a little awkward and intentionally distanced herself from her, simply replying with two words: "It's alright."
Zhang Lexuan knew that Beibei didn't want to have much contact with her, and her expression became slightly gloomy.
Jiang Nannan looked at Zhang Lexuan and Bei Bei with surprise; their relationship seemed a bit off.
Shi Yu wasn't surprised by their unusual relationship; she knew it perfectly well.
"It's a tragic fate, really," Shi Yu thought, still feeling sorry for Zhang Lexuan.
Although he had only spent less than a day with Zhang Lexuan, he still developed a rather favorable impression of this taciturn senior sister.
It's not the kind of attraction that comes from romantic love, but rather the kind of attraction that comes from how someone treats another person.
She gives off a cool yet gentle vibe, and coupled with her beautiful appearance, formidable strength, and talent, it's hard not to feel a sense of goodwill towards her; it's pure admiration.
It's truly a pity that such a wonderful woman chose someone who didn't love her at all because of a promise she made as a child.
Zhang Lexuan may not love Beibei, but she is too attached to a promise from the past, and she doesn't care if she is unhappy for the rest of her life because of it.
It's heartbreaking for others to see this; sometimes, making promises that are too weighty isn't a good thing.
"We need to find another place to rest. The stench of blood here is hard to get rid of and will continue to attract soul beasts, so it's not suitable as a place to rest for the night," Zhang Lexuan said.
The group got up and looked for a suitable place to rest, eventually finding a relatively safe spot to set up camp.
Two tents were set up. Zhang Lexuan and Jiang Nannan stayed in one tent, while Shi Yu stayed with Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.
This put Shi Yu in a rather difficult position. Living with them, she was genuinely afraid that they would cover her head with a blanket and then beat her up at night.
He's not strong enough right now, so there's nothing he can do about them. He can't bring himself to cry and complain to Zhang Lexuan; he still has some pride.
"I'll take the night watch," Shi Yu suggested. He had no choice but to spend the night outside, since he hadn't brought a tent or blankets.
Zhang Lexuan noticed Shi Yu's predicament and, after thinking for a moment, said, "If you can get Jiang Nannan's consent, you can sleep in the same tent as her."
"My cultivation level is high enough that I can maintain good mental focus while meditating outside, so I don't need to sleep in the tent."
Shi Yu was just a level 20 quasi-Great Soul Master, so staying up all night might not be a big deal for him.
However, they don't know when they will be able to obtain all the necessary spirit rings, and they may have to stay in the forest for the next few days.
He can't possibly go without sleep for days and nights; his body would definitely break down.
But if he sleeps with Beibei and Xu Sanshi, there will probably be more unpleasantness.
Xu Sanshi's jealousy and disgust towards Shi Yu might lead him to do something drastic.
It's indeed not suitable for Shi Yu and Xu Sanshi to live together.
Jiang Nannan blushed, lowered her head and remained silent, her hands clasped together in a conflicted manner.
"No, absolutely not! How can they live together?" Xu Sanshi objected vehemently.
Shi Yu also felt it was somewhat inappropriate. Although he and Jiang Nannan had a good relationship, it was still a bit awkward for them to sleep in the same tent.
However, after hearing what Xu Sanshi said, he was actually starting to consider doing it.
Anyway, he wouldn't really do anything to Jiang Nannan. They slept together without taking off their clothes, so what's the big deal?
They always stood together and were very close. Now they were just close at night, and lying down, which didn't seem like an unacceptable thing. It wasn't much different from being together during the day.
Shi Yu told herself this, and suddenly realized that it wasn't such a shameful thing after all.
"Sister Nan Nan, how about I make do with it? I promise I won't do anything beastly," Shi Yu tried to negotiate with Jiang Nan Nan.
"Mmm," Jiang Nannan replied in a barely audible voice, her face as red as an apple, before quickly slipping into the tent.
"Thank you, Sister Nan Nan," Shi Yu smiled slightly at Xu Sanshi again, and then followed him into the tent.
Xu Sanshi stopped him, his eyes wide like copper bells, as if he were about to unleash flames.
"You're not allowed to go in. If anyone's going in, it'll be me. You go and sleep with Beibei," Xu Sanshi said, stopping him.
"Xu Sanshi, if you dare to come in, I will absolutely not be polite to you!" Jiang Nannan's angry voice came from inside.
"Xu Sanshi, go back to your tent and sleep," Zhang Lexuan said in a deep voice.
"But…" Xu Sanshi was unwilling, but was too frightened to speak by Zhang Lexuan's cold gaze.
"Let's go, even if they sleep together, they won't really do anything," Beibei said, pulling Xu Sanshi into the tent.
"I let you share a tent with Jiang Nannan because your cultivation level is low and you need to rest properly."
"Don't do anything reckless. The academy punishes male students who dare to mess with female students very severely, and it will be even more severe here. I hope you don't lose your mind," Zhang Lexuan warned Shi Yu.
"Don't worry, Senior Sister. I'm not a saint, but I would never do something so despicable," Shi Yu assured her, then said goodnight to Zhang Lexuan before entering the tent.
Upon entering, they found Jiang Nannan already lying down asleep, her eyes closed and her body completely still.
Shi Yu could sense Jiang Nannan's nervousness and knew that she was pretending to be asleep because she was embarrassed.
Without disturbing her, he lay down on the other side, trying to stay as far away from Jiang Nannan as possible to avoid accidentally bumping into her and causing a misunderstanding.
"Sister Nan, are you asleep?" Shi Yu had been lying down for almost an hour, but still couldn't fall asleep.
This was his first time sleeping in a tent, and even more so, his first time sleeping in a tent in the dangerous Star Dou Great Forest.
Even though she knew that it was relatively safe outside with Zhang Lexuan protecting her, she still couldn't help feeling nervous.
This caused him to have some insomnia, and he tried to sleep for a long time but couldn't fall asleep.
Unable to bear the difficulty of falling asleep, he tried calling out softly. If Jiang Nannan was still awake, they could chat for a while, which might soothe his emotions and help him fall asleep.
Jiang Nannan couldn't fall asleep either. She was also very nervous, both because of the environment of the Star Dou Great Forest and because there was a man lying next to her.
Hearing Shi Yu's call, she became even more nervous, her heart pounded faster, and her mind raced with thoughts of why Shi Yu had asked that question.
"Not yet," Jiang Nannan finally agreed, albeit softly.
"I can't sleep, I want to talk," Shi Yu said softly when he saw that Jiang Nannan was still awake.
"What do you want to say?" Jiang Nannan asked, trying her best to remain calm.
"There's nothing particularly special I wanted to say, just some casual conversation," Shi Yu said.
With his hands behind his head, he stared blankly at the tent ceiling, where faint moonlight filtered through.
"Have you decided what type of spirit beast you want to acquire for your fourth spirit ring?" Shi Yu casually started a conversation.
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