“Come on, wife, try the ‘egg custard’ I specially made for you,” Ling Yuer gently wrapped an arm around Meng Xiaoyu’s shoulder, holding a spoonful of egg custard near Meng Xiaoyu’s mouth.
Her gaze was soft yet determined, as if she wouldn’t relent until Meng Xiaoyu took a bite.
“Hehe, Yuer, I can do it myself,” Meng Xiaoyu said, reaching for the spoon in Ling Yuer’s hand.
However, Ling Yuer dodged, her beautiful eyes looking pitifully at Meng Xiaoyu, and she said in a very aggrieved tone, “Wife, you don’t love me anymore.” Her expression, combined with her cute little face, filled Meng Xiaoyu with guilt.
“Don’t… don’t look at me like that, I’ll eat it,” Meng Xiaoyu said, opening her mouth to eat the spoonful of egg custard.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu eat the custard, Ling Yuer eagerly asked, “Is it good?” When Meng Xiaoyu nodded, Ling Yuer’s face lit up with a bright smile.
She even threw a provocative glance at Nangong Yunhan, who was standing nearby with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
That look clearly said, “See, Xiaoyu still cares about me, don’t think you can have her all to yourself.”
From the day she woke up and later saw Meng Xiaoyu and Nangong Yunhan embracing deeply, Ling Yuer should have given up.
But she was unwilling to let go of someone she had finally fallen in love with, only to have them taken away before anything even started.
She was unwilling to watch Nangong Yunhan flaunt her relationship with Meng Xiaoyu in front of her, leaving her heartbroken on the sidelines.
So, driven by this unwillingness, Ling Yuer decided to fight for her place, especially after Meng Xiaoyu tore off her disguise.
Ling Yuer concocted a ridiculous reason: “My true face can only be seen by my future lover first, and since you, Meng Xiaoyu, were the first to see it besides my parents and master, I’m destined to be yours.
If you don’t accept me, I’ll just end it all.” That’s what Ling Yuer told Meng Xiaoyu.
After hearing Ling Yuer’s reasoning, Meng Xiaoyu was left speechless, her forehead lined with black lines, unable to help but think, “Girl, are you also from another world? Otherwise, how do you know about Mu Wanqing’s trick on Duan Yu, even though it didn’t work in the end?” But despite her inner complaints, when Meng Xiaoyu saw Ling Yuer’s tear-filled eyes and pitiful expression, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
As a result, she was pressed down by the vinegar jar named Nangong Yunhan for several days.
Although she was usually the one being pressed, those days were particularly intense due to Nangong Yunhan’s jealousy, leaving Meng Xiaoyu begging for mercy repeatedly.
Fortunately, thanks to the snake’s influence, Meng Xiaoyu’s power had been growing rapidly, improving her physique significantly.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to withstand Nangong Yunhan’s nightly antics.
Meng Xiaoyu even began to suspect that Nangong Yunhan’s efforts to help her increase her power might have ulterior motives.
“Xiaoyu, you’ve been ‘too tired’ lately.
I specially made this ginseng black chicken soup for you to replenish your energy.
Try it and see how it tastes,” Nangong Yunhan said, holding a small bowl of chicken soup in one hand and pulling Meng Xiaoyu from Ling Yuer’s embrace with the other, wrapping an arm around her waist.
She spoke with a smile, emphasizing the words ‘too tired,’ hinting to Ling Yuer just how fulfilling Meng Xiaoyu’s recent days had been.
Anyone with a brain could understand the implication in Nangong Yunhan’s words.
Meng Xiaoyu spent her days in the Bamboo Courtyard, with everything taken care of for her.
Apart from meditating for an hour or two each day due to drinking a small cup of snake blood, she had nothing else to do, and meditation wasn’t tiring.
So the only thing that could tire Meng Xiaoyu was what happened in bed.
Nangong Yunhan, being cunning, would change things up every night to annoy Ling Yuer, making Meng Xiaoyu cry out loudly enough for everyone in the Bamboo Courtyard to hear.
Ling Yuer, with her keen hearing, could hear it all clearly.
Ling Yuer, who was neither stupid nor dull, naturally understood the subtext in Nangong Yunhan’s words.
However, she didn’t show any anger, just smiled lightly, a fleeting sadness passing through her eyes too quickly for anyone to notice, except for Nangong Yunhan, who was watching her closely.
Seeing the flash of sadness in Ling Yuer’s eyes, Nangong Yunhan decided not to provoke her further, focusing instead on feeding Meng Xiaoyu the soup.
In truth, Nangong Yunhan didn’t particularly dislike Ling Yuer.
On the contrary, after spending some time together, she found Ling Yuer to be a decent person, suitable for friendship, except when it came to competing for Xiaoyu.
But that alone was enough to make Nangong Yunhan dislike Ling Yuer.
So even if she thought Ling Yuer was okay at times, she wouldn’t befriend her.
After all, Meng Xiaoyu was the most important to her, so she could only see Ling Yuer as a rival.
However, Nangong Yunhan didn’t realize that although she felt displeased seeing Ling Yuer and Meng Xiaoyu being close, and would immediately pull Meng Xiaoyu into her arms to show off, she no longer felt the initial sadness of losing Meng Xiaoyu or the urge to eliminate Ling Yuer.
So, although Nangong Yunhan still appeared to dislike Ling Yuer, she had slowly started to accept her, even if she hadn’t realized it yet.
Or maybe she had, but was pretending not to.
In other words, she was being tsundere.
Regardless of whether Nangong Yunhan realized it or not, Ling Yuer had noticed.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shamelessly stuck to Meng Xiaoyu.
Although she didn’t care much about Nangong Yunhan’s acceptance, Nangong Yunhan was, after all, Meng Xiaoyu’s lover.
If Nangong Yunhan firmly opposed, Meng Xiaoyu would likely give up on her due to Nangong Yunhan’s insistence, especially since Ling Yuer couldn’t be sure if Meng Xiaoyu liked her too.
