"We've known each other since we were very young."
Jing Yuan had already prepared his explanation for Lu Li's questions.
"We first met when we were five. My father invited Uncle Gu's family to our manor to play, and that's when I met Gu Xiao."
Jing Yuan first spoke of their acquaintance, then told Lu Li about some of his experiences with Gu Xiao.
Listening to Jing Yuan's narration, Lu Li thought back carefully, and indeed, every time matched the times she went out to play with Gu Xiao.
Could it be that the reason she didn't know Jing Yuan was because Xiao Xiao always went to find Jing Yuan, and Jing Yuan had never been to Xiao Xiao's house?
"Xiao Xiao often used to tell me about you, saying you were a particularly quiet and well-behaved child," Jing Yuan then continued, mentioning he had known of Lu Li's existence before, "but sometimes too well-behaved, making it easy to be bullied."
Speaking of which, the first time Gu Xiao met Lu Li, she was being bullied by several children.
At that time, Gu Xiao was still the 'child king,' and she quickly beat up those mischievous kids and sent them running.
It was also after that incident that she and Lu Li became good friends.
"Ah? Really?"
Lu Li had thought that not only did she not know of Jing Yuan's existence, but Gu Xiao wouldn't talk about her with Jing Yuan either.
In the end, was she the only one kept in the dark?
In a spot Jing Yuan didn't notice, Lu Li pouted unhappily.
"You probably didn't know about me, did you? Xiao Xiao said that back then, your possessiveness was particularly strong, and you didn't want her to have other friends."
Just as Lu Li was about to start sulking, Jing Yuan's voice timely interrupted her.
"Ah? Me?"
Hearing Jing Yuan's words, Lu Li was first stunned, then remembering something, her face immediately flushed red.
It seemed there really was such a thing.
All along, Lu Li had maintained the image of a good girl.
If Jing Hanshuang's public image was that of an ice goddess, making her seem unapproachable.
Then Lu Li was the quintessential gentle goddess, fulfilling all imaginations of a 'white moonlight' figure.
But this personality wasn't always popular, for example, during elementary school.
In second and third grade, children are at an age where they are disliked by both cats and dogs.
Lu Li, as a well-behaved child, naturally became a perfect comparison.
Being mentioned too often by teachers naturally led to annoyance and even rebellious psychology.
Unable to act out in front of teachers, they naturally targeted Lu Li, who was always praised.
Children at that age had no concept of beauty, so they wouldn't cherish Lu Li just because she was pretty.
And teachers in elementary school didn't protect top students as much as in junior or senior high.
Coupled with the fact that Lu Li's homeroom teacher at the time was an oddball, utterly foolish.
If he hits you, he's wrong, but if you hit back, you're also wrong.
This famous saying was hers, and she often used "it takes two to tango" as a catchphrase.
Because of this, the already mischievous children became even more arrogant.
Lu Li was often bullied during that period.
Until one time, Gu Xiao, who was on her way home, stumbled upon it.
Watching several extremely arrogant mischievous kids dragging Lu Li away, Gu Xiao immediately threw her backpack to her younger brother who was following her, and then followed them.
There's someone more arrogant than me in this area?
After properly educating the mischievous children, Gu Xiao brought Lu Li back to her family's fast-food restaurant.
Upon learning that Lu Li was often bullied at school and didn't dare to tell her parents when she got home, Gu Xiao immediately made a decision for her.
The matter ended with Su Ning going to the school, grabbing Lu Li's homeroom teacher, giving her two big slaps, and asking her if they were loud enough.
Later, Lu Li transferred to Gu Xiao's class, and the two became friends.
In a blink of an eye, it had been almost ten years.
As for Lu Li's strong possessiveness, it was because Lu Li, who had been constantly bullied, had no friends.
Coupled with Gu Xiao's divine intervention that solved her problems, she became very clingy to Gu Xiao later on.
When she saw Gu Xiao making new friends, she would sulk by herself.
This situation only disappeared around the time junior high was about to end.
Now, hearing Jing Yuan mention this, Lu Li's pretty face flushed red, and she also felt that her past self was somewhat unreasonable.
But... [That rotten Xiao Xiao actually told others about such things. When I get back, I must give her a good lesson.]
Her face was extremely shy, but in her heart, she was already thinking about what methods to use to 'deal with' Gu Xiao when she returned.
Beside Lu Li, Jing Yuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He abruptly turned his head to look around. Is someone trying to ambush me?
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Jing Yuan suddenly becoming alert, Lu Li turned and asked.
At the same time, she carefully observed her surroundings. The natural affinity of gemini gave her stronger detection abilities.
However, after a round of sensing, there were no suspicious people around.
"Nothing, I was just too sensitive."
After finishing his scan, Jing Yuan, who also found nothing, said.
On the other side, Gu Xiao, who was heading to Gale Cliff, was also observing her surroundings.
Since there was no problem with Jing Yuan's side, could it be that her female body was being targeted?
To better scout for people around, Gu Xiao even used the clear wind to lift herself up.
However, after searching around, Gu Xiao also didn't find any suspicious people.
[Since there's no threat around, then someone must be plotting against me.]
"Could it be Older Sister trying to trick me again?"
Gu Xiao crossed one arm over her chest and rubbed her chin with the other, the more she thought, the more likely it seemed.
"It seems I'll have to be wary of her when I get back."
Although Older Sister always ended in failure, vigilance was still necessary, lest she truly fall into a trap one day.
However, this matter would have to wait until she returned; for now, the priority was to improve her cultivation.
Falling from the air, Gu Xiao continued towards Gale Cliff.
Returning to Jing Yuan and Lu Li, the two finally arrived at the Forest of Life.
The entire forest was rich with vitality, lush with vegetation, dew drops hung on the leaves, and butterflies danced among the trees.
A bush not far away rustled, and a sika deer emerged from behind it.
It glanced at Jing Yuan and his companion, then lowered its head to graze.
As soon as he entered, Jing Yuan felt an extremely rich vital energy.
Lu Li, beside him, was even more enveloped in a comfortable sensation, as if she had just received a full-body massage.
As the two continued deeper into the forest, more and more animals appeared in their sight.
"Boom!"
A loud noise came, and the two looked in the direction of the sound.
Not far away was a cliff over a hundred zhang tall, with a rushing waterfall pouring down from the top of the cliff into the pool below.