Chapter 202 - 126: The Saintess Is No Longer Saintly

Chapter 202: Chapter 126: The Saintess Is No Longer Saintly

When he finished speaking, he turned back to look at the pink, tender, and very needy Pikachu in his arms. Her emotional eyes, like stars in the night sky, reflected Su Ran’s face. She blinked gently, her eyelashes damp as a final tear trickled from the corner of her eye. Su Ran reached out and gently wiped her tear away with his thumb. "Alright, stop crying. You were right about what you said earlier. I’ve been inconsiderate of your feelings, and I’ll be more careful."

Her tightly clenched hands finally, slowly relaxed, falling onto her lower abdomen. With a slight sob in her voice, she said, "I’ll remember that. If you bully me again, I won’t be your friend anymore."

The evening breeze from the deep forest swept through the ancient village and blew against the old wooden window. There were no lights on in the room, but two people were talking back and forth. For the most part, the girl was talking, and the boy was responding with, "Mm-hmm," "Okay," "Oh..."

The bedcovers gradually grew warm. The Pikachu in his arms wasn’t crying anymore; she was smiling. Such is a young girl, perhaps.

The little Pikachu hugging the big Su Ran—it was a very cartoonish and amusing sight.

"...Su Ran, there’s really nothing between me and Ah Hu, okay?"

"You’ve already explained it countless times. I was just joking with you. Did you take it seriously?"

"I only explained it because I was afraid you’d misunderstand. And... and..."

"Say it."

"I would never sleep in the same bed with any other boy. But I’m sleeping in the same bed with you right now."

"Wait, why are you bringing this up?"

"I just wanted to say... wanted to say... that I can’t be your girlfriend."

"...Xie Yiren, what are you even saying? You’re not making any sense. I don’t get it."

"Ugh, it just means I’m not getting married, and I won’t have a boyfriend. But I’ll only sleep with you. But you’re not allowed to... you know... with me."

Su Ran, not knowing the reason, thought Xie Yiren was just incredibly progressive in her thinking.

"...You’re hugging me so tight, pressing right against my chest. Isn’t it a bit much for you to be saying all this? Scoot over a little."

"Nooo~"

She wriggled closer, clinging to Su Ran like a koala.

They had agreed that Su Ran would sleep in her arms to find the comfort of a mother, but in the end, she was the one sleeping in his arms, finding the comfort of a father.

The night passed without another word. The next day, his bladder was about to explode. It was torture.

When Su Ran woke up, Xie Yiren was long gone from the bed, but her lingering scent remained.

Lying in bed with his head on the pillow, he thought about what Xie Yiren had said yesterday. ’It’s so strange. What on earth was she talking about?’

He didn’t dwell on it. He got up, pushed open the window, and sunlight streamed in. He looked out and immediately saw several Miao Clan women jumping rope in the courtyard. Xie Yiren was among them. Seeing that Su Ran was awake, Xie Yiren gave him a brilliant smile. "Did you sleep well, Mr. Su?"

"Very well!"

"Hehehe~"

Xie Yiren gave a teasing smile. Of course she knew. Holding him all night without giving him any release—the poor guy must have been miserable.

...

That morning, after breakfast, Xie Yiren and a few villagers went up the mountain to forage for wild mushrooms. Su Ran had wanted to go, but Ah Weng said they had important business to discuss, so he stayed behind. The two of them walked to an old bridge. Gazing at the plow oxen in the morning sun, the old man spoke. "Yiren slept in your room last night, didn’t she?" He then turned to look at Su Ran. "I got up during the night and saw her door was ajar. She wasn’t in her room, but I heard her voice coming from the room across the hall."

Su Ran froze, speechless for a moment. This was her guardian, after all. He paused, then said with utmost sincerity, "Yes! She slept in my room last night. I asked her to come. But don’t worry, Yiren and I are completely inn—" He paused again. ’If I say we’re "innocent,"’ he thought, ’he’ll probably spit in my face. Even if nothing happened, sleeping together isn’t exactly "innocent" anymore.’ So he changed his wording: "Nothing has happened between Yiren and me so far."

The old man gazed at the morning sun and said, "I believe you."

"You believe me?" Su Ran was a little confused. ’It’s true that nothing happened, but for her guardian to believe me just like that... what does that mean?’

"It seems you still don’t know Yiren’s true identity..."

...

Back at the stilt house, Xie Yiren came bouncing home with a large haul of wild mushrooms. Seeing Ah Weng drying tobacco leaves, she ran up to show him her harvest, earning his high praise. She looked around but didn’t see any sign of Su Ran. "Where’s Su Ran?" she asked curiously.

"He left."

"Left?" Xie Yiren ran into the room and saw that his luggage and everything was gone. She panicked. Running back out, her eyes started to turn red again. "Why did he leave? When did he go?"

Ah Weng calmly continued to dry his tobacco. "He left after you went up the mountain. Said our place was boring and just took off."

"Su Ran would never do that! I’m going to go drag him back."

Xie Yiren sprinted furiously toward the village entrance, crying as she ran. She reached Ah Hu’s house, then stopped and doubled back. In the courtyard, she saw Ah Hu and Su Ran drinking morning wine, their faces beaming with joy.

Xie Yiren turned her head and glared angrily at Ah Weng, who was back in his own courtyard. "You lied to me."

Ah Weng sighed, turned, and went back into the house. He tore up the document detailing the inherited ’Saintess System’.

Xie Yiren wiped her tears and walked into the courtyard, staring at Su Ran with a stern face.

Su Ran held up his wine cup and looked at Xie Yiren’s on-the-verge-of-tears expression. "What’s wrong with you now? I really didn’t bully you this time, okay? Don’t blame me."

"I thought you left, that you didn’t want us..." She bit her lip. "...that you weren’t going to build the road for us anymore."

Seeing her moved expression, Su Ran’s heart trembled. He desperately wanted to reach out and wipe away her tears, but if he did, these villagers would surely turn on him instantly. Because this Xie Yiren was their faith—the kind that was sacred and inviolable.

So he just smiled and patted the luggage beside him. "Time waits for no one. I’ve already contacted experts to come take a look at the road construction. That’s why I packed my bags, so we could leave together once you came down from the mountain. Ah Hu saw I was about to go and insisted on dragging me here for a drink. Don’t worry, I’m definitely building this road!"

After saying that, he stood up, glanced at the simple yet stubbornly feudal villagers, and whispered, "The Saintess... I’m taking her too!"