Yan Qing propped up against the door, as if worried that Pharmacist might burst in out of anger, or as if he needed the door to barely stand steady.

Just a moment ago, he clearly had the upper hand, rendering Pharmacist speechless, but now he felt a bit uncomfortable and stood still for a long time.

It wasn’t until the girl in his arms moved slightly, her hair gently brushing against his chest, that Yan Qing snapped back to reality. He leaned against the door to listen for any sounds outside, but the door had excellent soundproofing, and nothing could be heard except the knocking.

"I’ll take you back to your room now. Just follow my lead, don’t look up," Yan Qing instructed.

The girl softly murmured in agreement, and Yan Qing was pleased with her obedience. If Shang Xinlei insisted on moving around and wanted to see his room, Yan Qing wouldn’t know how to stop her, especially since the Nexar Game Console was right there on the desk. Although she probably wouldn’t know what the console was or its purpose and would likely overlook it, minimizing exposure risk is always better.

However, such an obedient Shang Xinlei was somewhat unfamiliar... Yan Qing gently stroked the back of Shang Xinlei’s head, thinking maybe she was afraid of exposing her face. After all, she was a dignified young lady of the Shang Family.

Yan Qing opened the door and peered into the hall through the crack. Luckily, the hall was circular, eliminating any blind spots. He quickly carried Shang Xinlei across to her room, grasping her hand to place it on the door handle. The rooms at the Thief’s House were soul-bound, or rather, all real estate recognized by the Messenger system had similar security systems. No key was needed; only the owner could open it.

Once Shang Xinlei opened the door, Yan Qing swiftly slipped inside with her and closed the door, all in one swift motion. Shang Xinlei didn’t cause any trouble throughout, only trembling slightly, which Yan Qing found amusing. What a timid little scardy-cat.

He patted Shang Xinlei on the shoulder. "Alright, you’re back in your room now. See, my foresight proved useful, right? Even in the Thief’s House, you can’t let your guard down. Like this time, we ran into Black Wolf. If it weren’t for me..."

Yan Qing’s voice got softer as he watched Shang Xinlei lift her head from his embrace. Her face, capable of switching between playful and furious, was flushed red as though from heat, slightly biting her lower lip, her coquettishness flowing over her brows, and her eyes blinking at him with emotions he couldn’t decipher, mingling with her embarrassment and annoyance.

To conveniently carry her, Yan Qing instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist. Perhaps due to the Messenger, even with all she ate, her waist remained slim, yet very resilient, resembling a water snake ready to spring at any moment. Shang Xinlei also wrapped her arms around Yan Qing, this posture naturally pressing herself tightly against him, like a cat perched on his body.

He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now Yan Qing became aware of the soft pressure against his chest, compressing and releasing in sync with their breaths. The sweet face of a young girl before him, his hands clasped around her soft waist, feeling her proud form with his body, and even his nose was filled with the scent of... apologies, he only smelled the aroma of stuffed green peppers, making his mouth water.

Shang Xinlei said nothing, and neither did Yan Qing. He tried to mobilize Messenger’s control over his body, enhancing all his senses as much as possible. Although he didn’t understand why things turned out this way, holding Shang Xinlei felt comfortable, and Yan Qing decided to enjoy it fully.

"Close your eyes," Shang Xinlei suddenly said.

"Huh?" Yan Qing widened his eyes.

"Close your eyes now!" Shang Xinlei urged angrily, but in the next second her voice softened, her face ablaze with embarrassment, "Hurry and close them."

What? What’s going on? There wasn’t any special plot trigger, was there? How did it turn out like this all of a sudden? Or am I really some unparalleled GALGAME god? But I’m currently living in the Thief’s House without even owning a house...

Yan Qing was bewildered by Shang Xinlei, his mind a chaotic mess of thoughts, but he still obediently closed his eyes, nervously pressing his lips together, trying to recall relevant knowledge, only to realize his education seemed to lack a very crucial part...

Pop.

Yan Qing covered his forehead, which had been flicked hard, and stared wide-eyed at Shang Xinlei, who was retracting her finger, smiling mischievously at him, her mouth full of barely contained glee: "You look really surprised. What were you fantasizing about? If you tell me, I might just grant your wish~"

She flitted away from Yan Qing’s arms like a butterfly. On the room’s table was a plate of stuffed green peppers. She picked one up with chopsticks and ate it. "Good thing I prepared an extra plate; otherwise, there’d be none to eat today." After finishing, she licked the sauce off her fingers, "Though it’s not quite spicy enough."

No wonder Yan Qing kept smelling stuffed green peppers; it turned out there were some in the room.

He looked at Shang Xinlei with eyes full of resentment, muttering, "Just because I tricked you once last time, do you have to hold a grudge..."

"You were the one who taught me a lesson first!" Shang Xinlei crossed her arms over her chest, leaning her hip against the table with a humph: "It’s just this time we happened to run into Black Wolf, and you got all smug. Who would tie themselves up like a ghost like you do?"

"But if I hadn’t acted quickly, Black Wolf would’ve already seen your face!" Yan Qing retorted, "Luckily, you were facing away from her. If she arrived a bit later while we were eating, I wouldn’t have had time even with quick action."