"Lady of the Snake Lord... what's that?"
Xiao Li obviously wasn't used to this awkward title. She rubbed Beichen's red cheeks with both hands, "Brother Chenn, you look so cute when your face turns red."
Even Beichen's ears turned red, "Did... did my face turn red?"
"It did." Xiao Li said seriously while pinching Beichen's flushed ears.
Beichen, losing his usual cool demeanor, blushed shyly like a young boy, "I tend to blush easily when I'm nervous."
"I just love to see you blush, Brother Chenn~"
Xiao Li, lost in bliss, inadvertently glanced at me and Yu Longting, and her reaction was as if she had seen a ghost.
"Brother Chenn..." Xiao Li lowered her voice to whisper to Beichen, "I think I just saw Yu Longting and Chen Yuanyuan. The 'Lady of the Snake Lord' you just mentioned, is that Chen Yuanyuan?"
"She has the Spiritual Eye. Besides good vision, her hearing is really strong too," Beichen reminded Xiao Li.
Xiao Li's mouth visibly twitched, "So when I whisper to you, she can hear us even from that far away."
"It's almost like setting off firecrackers next to her ear," Beichen concluded objectively.
Me, who heard their conversation loud and clear, immediately facepalmed.
Beichen's analogy was on point. It really was like setting off firecrackers.
Yu Longting glanced at me, my hair tousled by the wind, "The youngsters these days are really getting brasher."
"Heh, a little," I chuckled awkwardly.
Not far away, Xiao Li, like a jubilant deer in the forest, bounded over to me.
She jumped up, hugged my neck with both arms, "Yuanyuan, I was so worried about you. Why didn't you come to see me when you got back?"
"Because..." I hadn't finished speaking.
Xiao Li suddenly bent down with a start and reached for my belly, "I didn't hurt the little one, did I?"
"No... With how careful you are, how could you possibly bump into her?" I instinctively stretched my hand to Xiao Li's lower back to stabilize her, preventing her from falling.
Suddenly, from the direction of Yu Longting, there seemed to be an invisible chill aimed my way.
Stealing a glance, I saw Yu Longting's eyes darkening as if he were brooding.
It made my heart tremble, worried he might be jealous of Xiao Li hugging me. But Xiao Li is my best friend, my best friend!!
However, oblivious Xiao Li held me even tighter, "As long as you're not hurt. When Zhang Shuying kidnapped you, it scared me to death."
"I'm fine now. Yu Longting made a trip and rescued me," I softly soothed her weeping back.
A strange wet sensation came from my shoulder, and a faint sobbing sound emanated from where she buried her head.
After crying for a while, Xiao Li spoke, annoyed, "You didn't come to see me right away. Is it because you... value love over friendship?"
"Umm..." I felt shamefully exposed.
Xiao Li pushed me away, her tear-filled eyes looking at me as if I were a heartbreaker, "I knew it. You were busy with him, being all lovey-dovey, and you forgot about everyone else."
"I was wrong, I was wrong. It won't happen again," I said, genuinely remorseful. From the moment I left Tian Na's place, my mind was fixated on what Zhang Shuying said about Yu Longting's distress.
So much so that I had ignored everyone else around me. Xiao Li had seen me being abducted by Zhang Shuying with her own eyes.
Perhaps the first thing I should have done upon returning to Spring Wind Town was to reassure her.
Seeing how guilt-ridden I was, Xiao Li broke into laughter through her tears, "I'm just teasing you. I'm relieved to see you're safe... I have some good news to tell you. Beichen and I are officially together now. He's... my boyfriend now."