Lin Tian swallowed and calmed his nerves a bit before speaking, "Don’t say that recklessly. I don’t mind my own reputation, but Shishi is a woman. We can’t just throw words around like that."

"I’m not talking nonsense. I can tell Shishi is interested in you. I think you two would make a great couple."

"Then what about you?"

"Me? I’ve become like this now, I’d only hold you back..."

Lin Tian lifted her face, focusing his gaze on her eyes, and said, "Don’t you trust me?"

"I do!" Liou Qingcheng replied with unusual certainty.

"Then why are you saying such silly things?"

"I just..." Liou Qingcheng’s voice gradually weakened until even she couldn’t hear it. Her eyes slowly avoided meeting Lin Tian’s.

Lin Tian raised his big hand and playfully slapped her butt, saying, "If you have such thoughts again, it won’t just be a spanking next time!"

This slap made Liou Qingcheng’s heart race. Her face turned red with embarrassment as she lowered her head. To be honest... she kind of wanted Lin Tian to spank her a couple more times. But being a girl, how could she say that out loud?

Both of them cherished the time they had now, so this annoying topic just faded away.

Liou Qingcheng asked where Lin Tian had been recently. After thinking for a moment, he selectively told her about his trip to Luoyan Dock.

He naturally omitted the dangerous parts, just saying he went to buy some medicine.

They chatted for quite a while, and then Lin Tian asked, "How are you feeling now?"

"Hey... I almost forgot until you mentioned it. I feel really good, not sleepy at all... Could it be, could it be..."

Lin Tian’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

He patted Liou Qingcheng’s head and laughed, "You’ve been chatting with me for over ten minutes and you still feel great, so your illness must be almost cured."

In an instant, Lin Tian’s heart was freed from anxiety, replaced by an indescribable sense of satisfaction and happiness.

"Re... really? I’m not dreaming, am I? Lin Tian, spank me again to see if it’s real..."

Lin Tian burst into laughter because of her, then raised his hand and gave her another firm slap on her bouncy bottom.

Slap!

That slap was delivered with some strength, making Liou Qingcheng grimace in pain, happily shouting, "Ahh~ Ouch, ouch, ouch. It’s real! It’s real! I’m not dreaming!"

Lin Tian looked at the lively girl in front of him with a smile, no, lively woman.

"Lin Tian, what exactly did you give me?" Liou Qingcheng playfully blinked, as if in a flash, she was radiant again.

"Of course, it was a Spirit Pill," Lin Tian said with a smile. "I remember you mentioned that Shishi and I would make a good couple, didn’t you?"

"I, I..." Liou Qingcheng hesitated for a moment, then stubbornly said, "That was earlier. Now I think you two aren’t a match at all! You and I are the perfect pair!"

"Hahaha..."

"What’s so funny? Don’t you think what I’m saying is right?" Liou Qingcheng’s hand slowly reached Lin Tian’s waist and pinched the soft flesh there hard.

Feeling this familiar technique, Lin Tian pretended to be in pain, grinning and repeatedly saying, "Yes, yes, everything you say is right."

"Haha..." Liou Qingcheng laughed out loud, her little nose making a playful snort, "That’s more like it."

After they played around for a while, Lin Tian held her in his arms again, lovingly stroking her head, saying, "Let me help you change clothes now, and then we’ll go out and meet everyone. Your mom must be waiting outside."

"I can just go out directly to see my mom, why do I need a rogue like you to help me change?" Liou Qingcheng asked in confusion.

"Um..."

"Hmm? You seem to have an odd expression, spit it out!"

"It’s not just Mom outside. Shishi, Ruyan, and even Mr. Xu are here too," Lin Tian explained in a small voice.

"Oh~" Liou Qingcheng drew out her tone, speaking with a half-smile, "Why are they here? I heard from my mom earlier that this is your new villa." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Earlier, Liou Qingcheng was busy matching Lin Tian with suitable women. Now that she’s better, her jealousy sparked up.

It’s just a woman’s nature.

"It’s a long story, I’ll explain it to you tonight. Let’s head out first; everyone is really worried about you," Lin Tian said with a smile.

"Hmph, I’ll let you off the hook for now then."

...

This villa is just a temporary place for Lin Tian to stay, so there weren’t many clothes.

The wardrobe only had a row of pajamas. Lin Tian searched for a while and finally found a floral-patterned pink pajama. It was quite cute. Although it was a pajama, it was still better than what she was wearing now.

"Qingcheng, what do you think of this outfit?" Lin Tian asked with a smile, holding up the pajama.

Liou Qingcheng stood in front of the mirror without speaking, her eyes fixated on her own reflection.

On her right cheek, there was an unfinished rose engraving.

The wound had long scabbed over, and the scar had fallen off, but there were still knife marks on her face, petal by petal.

Those scars were noticeable without even trying to find them; they were just there, visible whenever you looked at her face!

To be honest, the scar from the Rose Carving was not bad. The unfinished rose wasn’t exactly unsightly. But in Liou Qingcheng’s eyes, it had ruined her naturally beautiful features!

Just when Liou Qingcheng was lost in thought, Lin Tian gently patted her back from behind and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"I... I still don’t want to go out. Call my mom in..."

Lin Tian was momentarily stunned, then suddenly understood; she was self-conscious about her appearance.

In Lin Tian’s eyes, Liou Qingcheng was always a confident and proud girl, someone who stood out in any crowd, an absolute focus!

But now, it seemed she was feeling inferior, timid in front of Bai Shishi, Mei Ruyan, and Xu Ning’an.

She never expected there would be a day she’d feel insecure about her looks!

"I know what you’re thinking, don’t worry, I have a solution." Lin Tian softly reassured her.

"A solution? Right, I can wear makeup! Lin Tian, is there a makeup kit at home?" Liou Qingcheng asked anxiously, fearing he’d say ’no.’

Lin Tian shrugged and said, "We don’t have a makeup kit, but we do have a scar removal spray – or rather, we should call it White Lotus Muscle Powder now."