Chapter 177: Forcefully Delivered; It’d Be a Waste Not to Absorb It

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Forcefully Delivered; It’d Be a Waste Not to Absorb It

Yun Sheng shoved Xing Che’s face to the side. He was clearly taken aback.

While he was stunned, Yun Sheng struggled with all her might to break free from his grip.

"Let me go!"

Xing Che did not let go.

He tilted his head, his gaze falling to the hand still pressed against his face before meeting her furious, desperate eyes.

He suddenly dipped his head and pressed a gentle kiss into the palm of the hand still resting on his cheek.

Now it was Yun Sheng’s turn to freeze.

Her eyes went wide, her expression a mask of utter disbelief as she stared at Xing Che.

’How can this guy be so completely unreasonable?’

’He’s impossible. Absolutely impossible!’

Yun Sheng’s chest rose and fell sharply, but she quickly forced herself to calm down.

’Confronting him head-on is pointless right now.’

She wanted to break free of the dream and wake up, but she couldn’t. If she kept fighting Xing Che, there was no telling what he might actually do.

Like last time, when their spiritual power had mingled too deeply... She would lose control and be overwhelmed too, and that would be a real disaster.

At that thought, Yun Sheng took a deep breath and stopped struggling.

She raised her head and looked at Xing Che seriously.

"You... were you serious about what you said before?"

Xing Che raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by her sudden question.

"Of course I was serious," he replied as if it were a matter of course.

Yun Sheng nodded and continued, "So this is how you pursue someone?"

Xing Che faltered for a moment.

Seeing his reaction, Yun Sheng felt her confidence grow a little.

"Have you ever heard the saying that a melon picked by force isn’t sweet? Clinging to me like this will only make me resent you. And once I resent you, I’ll want to hide from you, run from you, and stay as far away from you as I can."

She paused.

"How could you possibly win someone over like this?"

Xing Che’s expression froze. The amber-gold light in his eyes flickered as if he were seriously mulling over her words.

Even the hand on the small of her back loosened its grip slightly.

Seeing this, Yun Sheng breathed an inward sigh of relief.

’Dreams always end. I just need to buy some time.’

So she absolutely couldn’t provoke Xing Che and make him do something that crossed a line.

As for whether he’d actually listen to her...

That wasn’t important.

"So, you’re saying..." Xing Che’s voice was hesitant. "What I’m doing... is wrong?"

Yun Sheng nodded, her face sincere. "Very wrong."

Xing Che’s brows furrowed even more tightly.

He glanced down at his hand, still resting on the small of Yun Sheng’s back, then back up at her face, which was so earnest it couldn’t possibly be an act.

After a moment, he let out a soft "tsk."

"I suppose... you have a point. So what do you think I should do?"

Yun Sheng was stumped by Xing Che’s question.

She was just spouting whatever came to mind to buy time; who would have thought he’d actually be asking for genuine advice?

She opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Xing Che just watched her, waiting for her answer.

His gaze was so earnest, it was clear he wasn’t joking.

Thoughts raced through Yun Sheng’s mind.

’What do I do?’

’I can’t actually teach him how to woo me, can I?’

’But if I don’t answer, will he think I’m just stringing him along?’

’He’s so perceptive; he might realize I’m just trying to stall.’

"Hm?" Xing Che prompted. "Why did you stop talking?"

Yun Sheng could only bite the bullet. "When you’re pursuing someone... you have to take things slow. You have to respect their wishes, start by being friends, spend time together to get to know each other, you have to..."

She trailed off. Looking at Xing Che’s earnest expression, she suddenly felt like she was just stating the obvious.

But Xing Che was listening very seriously.

"’Start by being friends?’ he repeated thoughtfully. ’Spend time together to get to know each other?’"

He nodded as if making a mental note.

"So are we friends now?"

"No," Yun Sheng shook her head decisively. "We just met. It’s not that easy to become friends."

"Then what are we now?" Xing Che pressed.

Yun Sheng thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Strangers."

"Strangers..." Xing Che repeated the answer in a low voice, his brow slightly furrowed. "That’s too slow."

Yun Sheng was taken aback.

Xing Che continued, "In some places, guides are rare. A single guide is matched by the Light Brain System to multiple Sentinels. They don’t know each other at the start—they’re just matched directly—and they still end up perfectly happy together."

As he spoke, his scorching gaze landed on Yun Sheng’s face.

"So, intertwining our spiritual power directly is still more my style."

The words had barely left his lips when the spiritual power, which had only just settled, surged toward Yun Sheng once more!

It coiled around her wrists, nuzzling her palms and sliding up her sleeves, more brazen and intimate than before.

Yun Sheng struggled instinctively, but her wrist was instantly seized, and she was yanked forward, stumbling a step.

"You—"

Before the word was out, Xing Che gripped her wrist and pulled her even closer.

Her entire body was practically plastered against his.

Meanwhile, his spiritual power continued to snake up her sleeves, brushing against her slender waist and spine, growing bolder as if determined to caress every inch of her body.

Yun Sheng’s breathing grew ragged. She clenched her jaw, desperately trying to shove Xing Che away.

But the moment her hands pressed against his chest, his other hand caught them.

"Don’t move," his voice was low and a bit hoarse. "You can’t push me away."

Yun Sheng glared at him, wanting to curse, but the entanglement of their spiritual power was too intense.

A familiar, paralyzing tingle spread from the depths of her spiritual landscape, coursing through her nerves and into every limb.

Her knees buckled, and her body began to sag.

Xing Che’s arm snaked around her waist at just the right moment, securing her in his embrace.

"See," he looked down at her, the amber-gold light in his eyes swirling faster and faster. "Your spiritual power has started to respond to me too."

Only then did Yun Sheng realize that at some point, her own spiritual power had begun to disobey her, coiling around his.

She tried to retract her spiritual power, but it was completely beyond her control—drawn to his, entwining with it, responding to it.

Her face burned, her breaths coming in short, chaotic gasps.

Xing Che looked at her state and chuckled lightly. "That’s more like it. Don’t resist. It feels good, doesn’t it?"

Yun Sheng gritted her teeth, still glaring at him.

Her eyes were a mixture of shame and fury, but because of their entangled spiritual power, the corners of her eyes were tinged with red, robbing her glare of any real threat.

Watching her, Xing Che’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and a darkness swirled in the depths of his eyes.

’So, he thought he had me right where he wanted me, did he?’ Yun Sheng fumed.

’Fine.’

’He was this desperate to feed me his power, was he?’

’Well, it would be a crying shame not to take it!’

The next second, her spiritual power abruptly turned the tables!

No longer was it a soft, passive response. Instead, it became an active, aggressive force, instantly invading Xing Che’s spiritual landscape!

The speed was astonishing.

So fast that Xing Che didn’t even have time to react.

His pupils contracted violently, and a muffled grunt escaped from deep in his throat.

The sound was low, laced with an uncontrollable tremor.

Xing Che stared at Yun Sheng in astonishment, the shock in his eyes yet to fade before being replaced by a much more complex emotion.

Yun Sheng tilted her head back to meet his gaze, the corners of her mouth curving into a triumphant smirk.

"Didn’t you want to intertwine our spiritual power?" Her voice was still breathy, but it held a sly edge. "Then get a good feel for it."