Maybe because he'd never tasted anything this cursed in his entire life, Wei Qing stayed frozen after the first bite, unable to recover for a long while.
Jingliu, sitting beside him, saw his stillness and assumed he was simply chewing slowly, savoring the flavor.
So she picked up her own lump of mushroom rice cake and took a bite.
Her movements were elegant—but her chewing noticeably slowed. Those always-cool crimson eyes widened a fraction, as if she, too, was trying to process the war of flavors exploding in her mouth.
Clearly, even Jingliu—who wasn't picky at all—couldn't accept food this malicious.
Her brows knit almost imperceptibly, then quickly smoothed back into calm.
"…The taste is very unique," Jingliu said after a long pause, offering an extremely restrained evaluation.
Then she quietly put most of the remaining cake back onto the plate.
Wei Qing nearly burst out laughing, but his mental discipline barely saved him.
"You okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"…Sorry." Jingliu didn't answer the question—she apologized first.
She'd clearly realized she'd messed up.
She'd thought the oddly shaped pastry would be a fun experiment. She hadn't expected the flavor to be so… violently impactful.
Looking at her like this, the irritation Wei Qing felt from the taste instantly evaporated.
"It's fine. Trying new things always has risks." He smiled. "At least… now we know to avoid this shop in the future, right?"
Jingliu looked up. Her red eyes seemed to brighten slightly.
"…Mm."
"Let's go. We should drink something and rinse this out." Wei Qing stood first.
He needed something normal—something that could rescue his taste buds.
They found a beverage shop in the mall that looked decent. Wei Qing ordered two cups of the most ordinary clear tea.
Warm tea slid down his throat and finally drove away the lingering, unnameable horror in his mouth.
The atmosphere relaxed.
Wei Qing watched the crowd through the window. Jingliu sat across from him, quietly sipping her tea in small mouthfuls.
Then Wei Qing's jade communicator vibrated again.
He checked it.
It was from Dan Feng.
[Cold-Faced Water Dragon King]: So? How's the progress? Did you feel Jingliu's "aura of a strong one"?
[I'm Doing a PhD Straight Through]: Get lost.
Wei Qing's mouth twitched as he sent the reply.
A moment later:
[Cold-Faced Water Dragon King]: …Sorry. My fault. Looks like I'm inexperienced in this area too. Good luck?
Wei Qing looked like he hadn't said anything, but he'd actually said everything—and Dan Feng clearly understood.
He put the communicator away and sighed.
When he raised his head, he found Jingliu watching him.
"Dan Feng?" she asked.
"Yeah." Wei Qing answered vaguely. "He asked how our shopping was going."
No chance he was going to say your strategist just admitted his plan failed.
Jingliu was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm not very good at… these things. If anything I do makes you uncomfortable, you can tell me directly."
Her voice was calm, but Wei Qing heard something clumsy and sincere beneath it.
To Jingliu, "pursuing someone" probably counted as a technique to be studied and mastered—like swordsmanship—except her current skill level was… extremely raw.
Wei Qing smiled, relaxing his tone.
"I'm not uncomfortable. It's just… pretty novel." He glanced at her. "It's different from how you usually feel."
Jingliu tilted her head slightly, parsing the meaning. "Different?"
"Yeah." Wei Qing lifted his tea cup. "Usually you're the Luofu's Sword Champion—powerful, calm, intimidating. But today…"
He paused, choosing a safer word.
"…more everyday."
What he really wanted to say was more human, maybe even awkwardly cute—but he swallowed it.
Flirting required boundaries, especially when she might genuinely like him—and he hadn't untangled his own thoughts yet.
Then Jingliu suddenly dropped a verbal grenade.
"Thank you for washing my feet last night."
Wei Qing almost sprayed tea across the table. He choked hard and coughed repeatedly.
"Cough—cough—cough…"
So you were awake last night?!
And how are you saying this so calmly in public?!
Being reminded of that "legendary deed" to his face sent heat rocketing straight into his skull. His toes wanted to dig a three-bedroom apartment into the floor.
Jingliu watched his violent reaction, a faint trace of confusion passing through her eyes. She didn't seem to understand why he was so shaken.
She was only following Dan Feng's advice—express gratitude at the right time, show a gentle side—and besides… she truly had found it novel, and it had eased her exhaustion.
"It was very comfortable," Jingliu added, still speaking in the same flat, objective tone, like she was reporting a result. "Your technique is… special."
Wei Qing: "..."
It's over.
He could already see the label being welded onto his reputation: Wei Qing is a foot-fetish pervert.
"It was nothing," Wei Qing forced out through clenched teeth, trying to end the topic by sheer willpower. "You were drunk. Helping out was normal."
And then—right at the most embarrassing moment—the savior finally appeared.
Bai Heng came barreling through the crowd, dragging Dan Feng behind her, looking anxious.
"Jingliu! Wei Qing! So you're here!" Bai Heng smacked her forehead dramatically. "My memory's terrible—I just remembered: today the Sky-Ferry Commission has two big shots arriving at Luofu!"
"It's all that damn Phantylia's fault—I almost forgot."
"Phantylia?" Jingliu and Dan Feng both froze. Clearly, with how sudden everything had been today, they hadn't heard about it yet.
"If you're in a hurry, go handle your work first," Wei Qing immediately latched onto the escape route. "Official business comes first."
"Yeah—because I heard the two arriving are from the Genius Society." Bai Heng's voice carried urgency.
Members of the Genius Society visiting was a serious diplomatic matter for the Xianzhou Alliance—especially when it was two at once.
The Sky-Ferry Commission handled diplomacy and transit; as a pilot, Bai Heng really did have responsibility here.
"Genius Society?" Wei Qing frowned slightly.
"Yup!" Bai Heng nodded. "I heard it's Ruan Mei, the 81st… and Herta, the 83rd."
Ruan Mei? Herta?
Hearing those names made Wei Qing's heart jump.
A very bad premonition began to surface.
"I heard they might be here for you, Wei Qing. You'd better prepare yourself," Bai Heng said.
"After all, the Aeon's blessing back then was pretty famous across the universe. The General originally told me to bring you along, too."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
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