When Qiu Wuji emerged from the room in her hotel bathrobe, the wooden tub had already been removed, and Chu Ge, also in a bathrobe, was leaning against the bed playing on her phone.
Actually, she had heard Chu Ge call for someone to remove the tub, confirming he was finished, before leisurely coming out.
Chu Ge could guess what was going on, but remained silent.
Qiu Wuji also remained silent, quietly going to the other bed, leaning against the headboard, and turning on the TV.
Even though nothing had happened, both their hearts were racing.
They both realized that the so-called getting wet and taking a bath, as long as they handled it separately, were not problems at all. On the contrary, it was only after everything had settled down that they truly began to face the reality of sleeping in the same room.
The fresh scent of someone just out of the bath.
The embrace they had shared while fighting side by side.
His warmth, her softness.
The two beds, so close together, less than a meter apart, they could see each other's feet out of the corner of their eyes, both nervously entwined.
Even the normally unremarkable hotel bathrobes looked incredibly suggestive now.
This is what it's like to book a room!
Qiu Wuji had been surfing the internet for so long that he was familiar with the term, let alone Chu Ge.
The TV was playing a boring movie rerun, and their phones were filled with the silly daily chatter of their friends in a group chat. Both of them stared blankly at the screens, completely oblivious to what was being said on TV or in the chat.
"Thump, thump," Chu Ge could hear his own heart pounding, even the TV couldn't drown it out.
His mouth was dry, his tongue parched.
Qiu Wuji took a deep breath and suddenly spoke: "Today's enemy..." Those few words shattered the silence of the night.
Chu Ge collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted, and heard his own wooden reply: "Ah... what happened to that person?"
Qiu Wuji felt his voice was also wooden and weary: "Your Golden Bell Shield is already at a minor level of mastery. In our world, it can easily dominate the Qi Refining stage, and even many attacks from the Foundation Establishment stage are ineffective against you... This person was able to injure you, even if it was just a minor injury, it's still not to be underestimated."
"Hmm," Chu Ge said, "Is my Golden Bell Shield a bit weak?"
"He's strong," Qiu Wuji said, "This person escaped... I only temporarily used water conduction and a very simple lightning-attracting technique to injure him, so the injury probably isn't serious... I probably won't stay long this time, I should be going back tomorrow. Be careful here alone."
Chu Ge said, "You can't see people underwater. We can only see the outline of a body clad in water, how could he see our faces?"
Qiu Wuji shook his head: "Hard to say, this person clearly has a special water-based ability, maybe he's fused with the water? After all, I couldn't even detect him there beforehand... so he used..." It's not that hard to understand that water knows how we look. "
"I think it's normal. He must have noticed that there was a treasure there, but he couldn't move the rock, so it hurt from squatting there for a long time. He couldn't move the rock with the help of water, which means that his control over the water power was only so good."
"...You are right to think so. But do you know that even I used my maximum strength to push the rock? So it is not shameful that he cannot push it." Qiu Wuji sighed: "The world is big and there are many capable people. After meeting this person, I even began to feel that my strength is not enough. You must not underestimate the enemy."
Chu Ge directly took out the clam bead and threw it over: "Can you use it to break through? Or..."
He paused, then asked with some anticipation: "Or stay for a few more days?"
Qiu Wuji smiled slightly: "My body is special, it's hard to say... It's probably not possible to calculate it according to the system you set - even you yourself. The so-called Qi training and foundation building is just a rough estimate. If I can break through, I have an idea, and it's roughly the same."
Chu Ge nodded, understanding this. I've never seen a Qi Refining cultivator's soul power traverse between two realms before. This is inherently abnormal and can't be generalized. They used to talk about Qiu Wuji's traversal, and now I've done it myself to some extent.
We're the same.
Hehe.
Qiu Wuji was annoyed by his expression. She threw the pearl back and turned off the TV. "It's late, aren't you going to rest or die of overwork?"
"Uh..."
Qiu Wuji said angrily, "You still have to write tomorrow! If you don't update, I'll expose you! You're not sick at all, you're just out flirting with your female assistant!"
Chu Ge: "...Okay, okay, I'll sleep, I'll sleep."
Qiu Wuji shuffled around in her slippers, looking for the light switch. "What's going on in this room? Why is the light still on even though it's off?"
Chu Ge watched her frantically searching for the switch and suddenly said, "Isn't it better to have it on? If it's dark, aren't you afraid I'll sneak around..."
Qiu Wuji turned around abruptly. "You dare?"
Chu Ge sighed. "Qiu Qiu, it's not that I dare, it's that I'm afraid I would. Have mercy on me, just leave it on. Darkness is even more torturous."
Qiu Wuji glared at him for a long time, and Chu Ge looked helpless.
She finally stopped looking for the switch, angrily stomping back down, pulling the thin blanket over herself, and turning her back to him: "Sleep! What's that pervert thinking all day, you lecherous scoundrel!" Chu Ge didn't dare look at her back, staring at the ceiling, trying to enter a meditative state.
He was indeed exhausted today, still injured. Continuing would only lead to fantasies; did he really dare climb into her bed?
He'd be kicked to death if he didn't.
Since it was impossible, why bother?
She's right, rest is the real priority. He hasn't even gotten tomorrow's update yet…
Hey, actually, I feel like things are getting closer between us. Today I hugged her so tightly, and she didn't say a word… But normally I just don't dare, and I know she'll hit me… What's missing?
Is it that she won't admit she's my girlfriend?
But I've confessed several times already, and she's been noncommittal. What more do I need?
"My head hurts... Could I get a teacher...?" The pearl beside his pillow shimmered with a soft light. The hotel room's corridor light, still on, cast a dim glow. Chu Ge's consciousness gradually blurred, and he unknowingly fell asleep.
Almost at the same time he drifted off, Qiu Wuji turned and lay on her side, her slender hand supporting her head, quietly watching Chu Ge as he slept.
Her eyes held a mixture of tenderness, shyness, and a subtle allure she herself was unaware of.
"After all, I'm sleeping in the same room as a man... I could have just gone back, but I don't know why I deliberately stayed another night."
"What more do you want after all this?"
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Chu Ge woke up.
Instead of the expected two of them opening their eyes together, Qiu Wuji had vanished without a trace.
Chu Ge's heart skipped a beat. He quickly sat up, his eyes darting around, and soon spotted a note under the pearl on the bedside table: "I'm going back, saving on train tickets home."
Chu Ge: "..." What kind of new money-saving method is this?
He continued reading: "A whole set of clothes is hidden under the covers on my bed. Remember to pack them and take them home. Don't touch them or do anything strange. Be careful not to drop your phone in your pocket. Oh, and it's dead, remember to charge it when you get back. Also, I kept a few pretty seashells, they're in my pocket too. If you lose them, I'll beat you up."
That's it.
Chu Ge's expression twitched.
That's it?
What kind of performance art is this?
He held the note, turning it over and over for a long time, before finally seeing a line of small print on the back: "You can fight alongside me... I'm very happy."
Chu Ge stared at this line for a long, long time, then unconsciously grinned.
Such a tsundere.
I'm happy too! Chu Ge, in a good mood, washed up, humming a little tune as he lifted Qiu Wuji's blankets. He tidied his messy clothes and packed them into plastic bags in the still-warm and fragrant bed.
Who would use these things for something strange? I'm after the real person now!
Chu Ge checked out, grabbed a breakfast bag, and, still humming his tune, caught the first bus in the morning sunlight, returning to Nanjiang.
This trip to the seaside was truly enjoyable.
What? Provoked an enemy? What are those?