The starry sky spread above the city like a glass of deep blue sweet wine, shimmering with an icy glow like falling snow.

An airplane, carrying travelers, glowed with neon rings as it streaked across the heavens, leaving behind a faint trail. No one knew where it came from or where it was going.

Luo Qingchuan held Chen Yanyu’s soft, jade-like hand, flying with her through the misty clouds.

The girl’s slender fingers were delicate and boneless, warm and cool to the touch, lightly trembling in Luo Qingchuan’s palm.

“Where… are we going?”

Strands of silver hair brushed against her snowy neck. Luo Qingchuan noticed even her tiny ears were flushed red. Her golden eyes flickered shyly, not daring to look at him.

Her sacred dragon horns had faded away. A smear of blood stained her forehead, adding a sharp contrast to her delicate, stunning features.

It was Luo Qingchuan’s blood.

“To my place,” Luo Qingchuan said.

Chen Yanyu’s pale knitted sweater lightly rose and fell as surprise rippled through her eyes. She bit her lip. “Your… your place?!”

“Yeah.”

Luo Qingchuan realized his phrasing might’ve been a bit off and added with a smile, “Don’t worry. My family’s all somewhere else. There’s no one there. It’s my hideout.”

But Chen Yanyu bit her lip even redder and stared at him wide-eyed. “No one? A hideout? Are you… are you trying to make me spend the night?!”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

Luo Qingchuan said bluntly, “We’ve got to stay somewhere tonight, right?”

Even her carved-from-ice neck turned pink.

She lowered her head and looked down at the lights of the human world, whispering, “In the dramas I watch, when the male and female lead ‘spend the night’ together, they…”

“They what?”

“They hold each other…”

Luo Qingchuan looked at her blushing face and couldn’t help asking, “Where do they hold each other?”

“….” Chen Yanyu looked like she was about to cry. “On… on the bed…”

Luo Qingchuan could guess what she was thinking. This girl was unbelievably pure.

And strangely… it made him want to tease her.

Luo Qingchuan grinned. “And then?”

“Wuwu… I don’t know, I don’t know!” Chen Yanyu shook her little face and wished she could crawl into a hole. She looked at him pitifully. “Can I not spend the night at your place…?”

“Nope.”

Luo Qingchuan smiled and said firmly, “Everywhere else is too dangerous. You have to come with me tonight.”

“Big…”

“Hm?”

“Big meanie…”

Chen Yanyu squeezed Luo Qingchuan’s hand in retaliation.

Luo Qingchuan’s face turned pale. “Hey, easy, easy, Chen guniang, I’m still injured, you know.”

“Then why are you bullying me?” Chen Yanyu’s voice was full of grievance.

With tears welling in her eyes, her heart pounding, and her face burning, the emotions swirling in her chest were a mix of fear, embarrassment… and a bit of curiosity and anticipation.

In just a single day, Chen Yanyu had already lost count of how many times this boy had made her cry.

Under the moonlight and in the night breeze, the two of them flew hand in hand through the clouds. Chen Yanyu’s ethereal, fairy-like figure became even more exquisite and dreamlike.

Her snow-white hair framed a bashful, girlish demeanor. In Luo Qingchuan’s eyes, she had become a breathtaking beauty in yet another form.

His heart softened in ways he hadn’t imagined. He whispered gently, “Don’t worry. We’re just hiding out for the night.”

“R-Really?” Chen Yanyu asked softly.

“Quexie and the police are already involved. I’ve got to go to school tomorrow for a qualification test. I don’t want to get pulled in for questioning and end up under surveillance or something.”

Luo Qingchuan continued, “So we need to lay low.”

“But… you saved someone and got seriously hurt. And now you have to hide?” Chen Yanyu looked dazed. “They don’t thank you—they want to arrest you?”

“No choice. I’m a demonic cultivator. In everyone’s eyes, that makes me unstable. People love slapping on labels and judgments.”

“Why?”

“Because really getting to know someone is exhausting,” Luo Qingchuan said slowly, each word heavy. “It takes so much time, and you might still get betrayed. So people are afraid. They keep their distance.”

Chen Yanyu’s lips quivered. She remembered how she had misunderstood Luo Qingchuan at first too. “Doesn’t that make you sad?”

“There are some things you just have to learn to accept,” Luo Qingchuan smiled faintly. “Like how you were forced to live in the Dragon Palace for over ten years.”

He really shouldn’t have brought that up—because the moment he did, Chen Yanyu looked like she was about to cry again.

“I didn’t have a choice… But you’re such a good person…” Her voice trembled.

But Luo Qingchuan didn’t seem to feel wronged at all. He laughed freely.

Chen Yanyu stared at him, her young heart thudding wildly.

Eventually, they slowly descended in front of a private villa on the outskirts of the city.

Bathed in the overflowing night, the building looked like a black cat sleeping in a dark alley.

Luo Qingchuan finally let go of Chen Yanyu’s hand.

Black shadows coiled around his fingers, wiping away the dried blood. Then he used his fingerprint to open the door.

Chen Yanyu stood stiffly beside him, unsure of what to do. Her mood suddenly became nervous.

Because… because she knew—right now, in the middle of the night—she was being taken home by Luo Qingchuan…

He pushed the door open, and a warm orange light came on.

Turning back, Luo Qingchuan saw her figure silhouetted in the glow. Chen Yanyu stood hesitantly, clutching the hem of her skirt, nervous and unsure.

It reminded him of how she looked outside the bar—just as cautious and fragile.

A surge of tenderness rose in Luo Qingchuan’s heart.

So—

Standing under the orange light, he gently reached out his hand toward her again.

“Come on.”

Chen Yanyu blinked. She lowered her head and took his warm, big hand.

Without a word, she stepped into the bright, cozy room.

The warmth seemed to travel from her palm, up her delicate white arm, and slowly sink into her heart.

She looked up at Luo Qingchuan’s back. Her golden eyes sparkled brighter than ever, like they were reflecting the sun. She smiled adorably.

Luo Qingchuan turned on all the lights.

Then he led Chen Yanyu to a glass door and pushed it open.

Chen Yanyu’s smile froze. Like a startled rabbit, she tensed up. “Why are you bringing me here?”

“To take a bath,” Luo Qingchuan replied naturally.

He looked over her delicate, slender frame. Her thin knitted sweater was damp, clinging like a blooming red rose, making her look even more pitiful.

“Chen guniang, take off your clothes. I’ll help you wash.”

Chen Yanyu instantly let go of his hand and backed into a corner like she’d been shocked. Her little face panicked. “No no no! I can do it! I can do it myself!”

Luo Qingchuan pressed his lips together, then burst into laughter.

“Luo Qingchuan, don’t treat me like an idiot!” Chen Yanyu said, nearly in tears. “I haven’t been to the human world much, but I understand things too!”

Luo Qingchuan cleared his throat. “I meant I’d help you wash your jacket… in the washing machine. There’s a bathroom upstairs too. I’ll use that one—we’ll be in separate places.”

Chen Yanyu’s long lashes fluttered. She lowered her head and asked softly,

“Did you… did you say it that way on purpose… just to make me misunderstand…”
…