The Little Thoughts of the Saint

“Indeed, a beautiful girl’s socks worn all day are truly the most wonderful thing.”

After Su Xiaoyou’s intense “scent purification” ritual the previous night, Yang Yuan now felt every inch of his body—inside and out—was saturated with her sweet, exclusive fragrance.

Walking toward the Hero Center, he found comfort in this mundane routine. After all the bizarre events of recent days, the life of an ordinary office worker brought him a rare sense of peace.

Unfortunately, that peace didn’t last long.

As Yang Yuan turned the corner onto the street, a familiar figure caught his eye.

In a nearby park, Li Yu’an was leaning against a railing, seemingly catching her breath.

She wore gray athletic wear that accentuated her toned, powerful figure. A light sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead.

Seeing a familiar face, Yang Yuan approached and greeted her.

“Morning, Senior Sister Saintess.”

Li Yu’an turned, her expression perfectly timed to show just the right amount of “surprise.”

“Yang Yuan? Morning.”

She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, breathing slightly fast—perfectly playing the role of someone who had just finished a morning run.

“Didn’t expect to run into you on the way to work. Isn’t your place pretty far from here?”

“It is. I usually go for a morning jog. Today I ran a bit farther and just walked over here.”

Her explanation sounded flawless.

In reality, Li Yu’an had never been a morning exerciser. She had been waiting here for nearly an hour.

She had woken up while it was still dark, prepared lunch, and arrived near the area using the address she’d marked the previous night.

Calculating Yang Yuan’s likely departure time, she had spent the morning jogging in loops around the neighborhood, constantly watching the entrance of his apartment building.

To make the “chance encounter” more convincing, she had actually run hard enough to sweat.

“I see. You’re really disciplined,” Yang Yuan said, genuinely impressed.

“Want to head to the center together?”

“Sure.”

They chatted as they walked. Yang Yuan asked about her ankle injury, and Li Yu’an casually said it had fully healed with no lingering effects.

What she didn’t say was that, to avoid disrupting her morning plan, she had used [Jade-Holding Holy Light] on herself last night to fully heal the sprain.

Of course, the resulting side effect had led to a long, satisfying session of private relief in the bathroom.

“I’ll head back to the lab now.”

After entering the Hero Center, Li Yu’an stopped and turned to face Yang Yuan. As if suddenly remembering something, she put on a slightly troubled expression.

“Oh, right.”

“I accidentally made too much food this morning. I can’t eat it all by myself—want to help me finish it at lunch? Otherwise it’ll go to waste.”

She held up an elegant two-tiered bento box, showing it to him.

This way, she displayed her domestic charm while framing it as a humble request—making it hard for him to refuse.

“Thanks, then. Saves me lunch money.”

Yang Yuan agreed without hesitation. Free lunch? Who would say no?

“Come to my counseling room at noon. It’s quieter there.”

“Alright. See you at noon.”

After watching Yang Yuan walk into the Hero Center, Li Yu’an slowly turned and headed toward her lab.

She could no longer contain her joy. Her steps were lighter than usual.

A passing researcher whispered to her colleague, “Is the Saintess… in an unusually good mood today? I’ve never seen her make that kind of expression before.”

“Really? I thought she was like an AI with zero facial expressions?”

Li Yu’an ignored the whispers. Her mind was already filled with anticipation for the quiet lunch with Yang Yuan.

****

Meanwhile, Yang Yuan arrived at the counseling room to find the day unusually light.

Few heroes had come by—most were busy with missions. No one had time for tea and therapy. Soon, it was almost lunchtime.

Yang Yuan happily embraced the downtime. He leaned back on the sofa, pulled out his phone, and opened his chat with Su Xiaoyou.

“Yang Yuan: What are you doing?”

“Su Xiaoyou: Working. Why? Miss the smell of my socks?”

“Yang Yuan: Nah, I can just smell other women.”

“Su Xiaoyou: Try smelling another woman and see what happens! I’ll purify you a hundred times tonight! [Kitchen Knife.jpg]”

Just as he was about to tease her further, a tapping sound came from the window beside him.

“What’s that?” Yang Yuan looked up, puzzled.

They were on a high floor—how could there be noise outside? A bird?

He walked to the window. But what he saw made his eyes widen in shock. For a second, he thought he was hallucinating.

Outside the window, Bai Zhu—still in her green hanfu—was dangling from the building’s outer wall. When she saw Yang Yuan, she shouted with full force.

“Quick, pull me up!”

Yang Yuan’s brain froze for a few seconds, but his body reacted instinctively. He opened the window, grabbed her arm, and yanked her inside.

He peered out—only to be met with a dizzying height that made his legs weak.

“How did you get up here from the ground?”

Bai Zhu, however, looked completely unperturbed.

“What’s so hard about that? Just part of daily training. Can my path truly be blocked by a mere wall?”

“So… did the front door offend you? Why not just walk in normally?”

“The front door…”

Bai Zhu repeated softly, as if the concept was foreign. Then, dropping her chuunibyou act, she admitted shyly, “I… I didn’t know how to make an appointment. But visiting someone should require one, right?”

“So I had no choice. I had to open my own path—only then is my visit truly sincere.”

Yang Yuan listened, utterly speechless. Where should he even begin?

“Listen, Little Hero Bai,” he decided to set things straight.

“If you ever want to see me, just come in through the front door. No appointment. No wall-climbing. Got it?”

“Really?” Bai Zhu’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Does this mean… you’ve granted me a special privilege—only for me?!”

“You could see it that way. Though technically, anyone can.”

Yang Yuan gave up correcting her. After resolving this issue, he finally had a chance to look her over—and noticed smudges of gray and black on her face.

“You’ve got dirt on your face.”

As he said this, Yang Yuan reached out and gently wiped a streak of grime from her cheek with his thumb.

Knock knock.

The door to the counseling room was politely tapped.

“Come in,” Yang Yuan said instinctively, pulling his hand back.

The door opened.

Li Yu’an stepped in, carrying the elegant bento box, her face glowing with gentle warmth and eager anticipation.

“Yang Yuan, I brought your lu—”

Her voice died in her throat.

Her smile froze.

She saw another person in the room.

Li Yu’an clearly saw Yang Yuan’s hand—just a second ago—had been touching the girl’s cheek.

The gesture looked exactly like a lover’s intimate caress.

All her careful planning, all the joy she had carried through the morning, shattered in an instant.

“So…”

Li Yu’an completely ignored Bai Zhu, her gaze fixed calmly on Yang Yuan.

“I guess… I came at a bad time?”