You’re not taking responsibility for me?

Jiang Huaiyu’s cheeks burned, not from shyness, but from shame.

She was a Golden Core ninth layer cultivator, once a proud daughter of heaven.

Yet without realizing it, she had grown dependent on a Foundation Establishment Junior Brother.

She had even started to hope for something.

And all he cared about was being responsible for her daughter.

He never once thought about being responsible for her.

“Are you… trying to drive me away?” she asked, her voice colder than usual.

Lu Chen quickly denied it.

“No, Senior Sister, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“You keep saying we can’t get too close, that we need distance.”

“Doesn’t that mean you want me to move out?”

“I really didn’t mean it like that!” Lu Chen was flustered.

“I just think we should…”

“Should what?”

“Should keep our distance.”

Jiang Huaiyu fell silent.

She looked at him, and a surge of inexplicable anger rose in her heart.

Keep distance?

She had been so good to him these past days.

She cooked him never-repeated delicacies, cleaned his cave dwelling, waited for him to emerge from seclusion, and celebrated with him!

And then Lin Tian and Zhuang Jingbai visit once, and he wants to drive her away?

What, was she that unattractive?

Did Lu Chen despise her that much?

She, Jiang Huaiyu, recognized as a celestial maiden in the Xuantian Sect, once admired by countless male cultivators, had voluntarily moved into a man’s cave dwelling, washed his clothes, and cooked for him.

And he wanted to keep his distance?

Today, she was going to do the exact opposite!

“Senior Sister?”

Seeing her silence, Lu Chen thought she had agreed.

He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Jiang Huaiyu suddenly stepped forward.

Lu Chen instinctively stepped back.

Jiang Huaiyu stepped forward again.

Lu Chen retreated again.

“Senior Sister, you…”

Jiang Huaiyu said nothing.

She just stared at him, walking forward step by step.

Lu Chen backed against the wall.

There was nowhere left to go.

Jiang Huaiyu stopped in front of him and looked up at him.

They were very close.

So close that Lu Chen could see the curve of her eyelashes and smell the faint scent of orchid on her.

“Senior Sister, this is…”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to keep distance?” Jiang Huaiyu looked at him, a hint of provocation in her eyes.

“Well, I won’t.”

As she spoke, she pressed half a step closer.

Lu Chen was pressed flat against the wall, stiff as a board.

He could feel her breathing.

He could feel her…

“Senior Sister…” His voice cracked.

Seeing his panic, the shame and anger in Jiang Huaiyu’s heart dissipated by half, replaced by an indescribable satisfaction.

Let him keep his distance.

Let him be responsible for her daughter but not her.

Let him ignore her charm.

“What?” She tilted her head slightly, a smile curving at the corner of her mouth.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted distance?”

“Is this close enough?”

Lu Chen was speechless.

Facing this familiar scene, his mind went blank.

Then only one thought remained: ‘This woman is crazy!’

“Enough, enough!”

“Senior Sister, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Don’t misunderstand!”

“Hmph, good that you know!”

Seeing Lu Chen submit, Jiang Huaiyu didn’t dare push him too far.

She released him.

“Senior Sister, I still have things to handle.”

“I’ll go out for a while.”

“Mm, come back early.”

With Jiang Huaiyu’s permission, Lu Chen fled from his own cave dwelling without stopping.

“Sigh.”

Seeing Lu Chen avoid her like the plague, Jiang Huaiyu sighed inwardly.

She had taken things for granted.

Without discussing it with Lu Chen, she had thought she could take care of him, serve him, let him slowly grow accustomed, so that when the time came, nothing needed to be said and things would happen naturally.

But she hadn’t expected Lu Chen to be so sensitive.

He sensed something wrong and laid his cards on the table, then tried to persuade her in return.

But Lu Chen didn’t know that she no longer wanted to be with Wang Feng.

She was the biggest victim in the whole affair.

But what had Wang Feng done?

He abandoned his wife and child like a scumbag, divorced at the drop of a hat.

So why should she still cling to him?

Her family had considerable influence in the Xuantian Sect.

Why should she suffer such humiliation?

Having gone through that, she felt particularly unsettled.

She believed that no one would be good to her and her daughter except Lu Chen.

Because there was no stronger bond than this.

So from the very beginning, her motives weren’t pure.

She had set her sights on Lu Chen.

Of course, at first she didn’t have deep feelings for Lu Chen.

She just wanted to find someone who would truly love her daughter and give her a happy childhood.

That was her responsibility.

But after getting to know him, she found that Lu Chen was a perfect man.

She… really liked him!

So, since naturally integrating into his life didn’t work, she would have to…

On the other side, Lu Chen, frightened out of his own cave, had nowhere to go for the moment.

He went to find his Junior Brother, Zhang Fan.

Zhang Fan was just then walking with his son in his arms.

Yu Ning walked beside him, holding a bunch of freshly picked wildflowers, occasionally teasing the child.

“Senior Brother?”

“Why are you here?”

Lu Chen walked up quickly and forced a smile.

“Just out for a walk.”

“Ran into you.”

Yu Ning looked at him.

Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then shifted away as if nothing had happened.

“Perfect timing!” Zhang Fan cheerfully shoved the child in his arms toward Lu Chen.

“Here, hold your nephew.”

“This kid’s gotten heavier lately.”

“My arms are sore.”

“Come on, you’re almost at Golden Core and you can’t carry him?”

Even as he said it, Lu Chen subconsciously reached out and took the child.

The baby was soft and tender, smelling of milk and Yu Ning’s scent.

He stared at Lu Chen with round eyes.

Even held by a stranger, he didn’t cry.

Instead, he grinned, showing two tiny baby teeth.

“His name is Zhang Bao.”

“We call him Bao’er.”

“Bao’er…” Lu Chen looked down at the child in his arms.

A strange feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

“Senior Brother looks like a natural holding him,” Zhang Fan said with a laugh.

“When you have your own kid, you’ll definitely carry him just as well.”

Lu Chen twitched the corners of his mouth but didn’t respond.

Yu Ning stood by, her gaze falling on Lu Chen’s profile as he held the child.

Sunlight struck from the side, outlining his sharp features.

Yu Ning’s heart stirred.

Without thinking, she looked at Lu Chen’s nose.

She found it was exactly the same as Bao’er’s.

Yu Ning froze.

She stared at Lu Chen’s nose, then at Bao’er’s nose, over and over again.

Exactly the same.

Not just similar.

Almost identical.

Yu Ning’s heart skipped a beat.

She thought back to recent events.

The mysterious man who had left countless bloodlines in the Righteous Alliance.

Wang Feng’s child was his.

And since her husband Zhang Fan had issues, she had taken a desperate risk…

Yu Ning took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions inside her.

“Senior Brother,” she said, her voice softer than usual.

Lu Chen looked up at her.

“Bao’er is still young.”

“Let me hold him.”

Lu Chen nodded and carefully handed the child over.

In the moment of transfer, Yu Ning’s fingers brushed across his nose.

Very light, very quick, as if unintentional.

But in that instant, she confirmed it.

The curve, the touch.

It was exactly the same as Bao’er’s.

“Bao’er is such a good boy,” she said softly, her tone gentle as if nothing had happened.