It was so embarrassing!

Ruan Tang, Ruan Tang, why can't you be more reserved? Ruan Tang bit her lower lip, pinching the flesh on her abdomen hard.

But she knew she couldn't blame Xu Lai. Although she had been drunk yesterday, she clearly remembered everything when she woke up. She was the one who had changed her clothes... After Xu Lai had covered her with the blanket, he didn't even come into the room all night.

Ruan Tang's fondness for Xu Lai grew involuntarily.

Look at him. He's truly the man I like, such a gentleman.

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ—

The phone's vibration startled Ruan Tang. She still didn't know that Xu Lai and her daughter weren't in the room. Worried she would be caught pretending to be asleep, she quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed her phone.

The caller ID showed Xu Yaoyao. After answering, she lowered her voice and said, "What's up?"

"Why are you whispering? Are you having an affair?" Xu Yaoyao teased.

"..."

"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," Ruan Tang said with a dark expression.

"Wait." Xu Yaoyao immediately backed down. "I'm moving today. Your family of three should come over for dinner tonight."

Ruan Tang and Luo Chu had long known that their good friend was moving to a villa at the foot of Mount Haitang. Ruan Tang slapped her forehead in annoyance. She had been so overwhelmed with things recently that she had completely forgotten.

After offering her congratulations, she added, "We're on vacation in Sakura Country."

"???"

Xu Yaoyao's tone was full of disbelief. "For real? Bei Ming and I, a newly married couple, are still cooped up at home, and you and Xu Lai are already on your honeymoon?"

"It's not a honeymoon, just a trip," Ruan Tang corrected.

"Hmm." Xu Yaoyao's tone turned suggestive. "So, does that mean last night you two... hehehe."

"NO!!!" Ruan Tang felt like she was about to collapse. It was like chatting with a pervert.

Suddenly, Xu Yaoyao's brow furrowed. Sensing that things weren't so simple, she asked, "Little Tang, what's really going on?"

"You sound so serious..."

"Of course I am." Xu Yaoyao said sternly, "You and Xu Lai have been together for so long. How has there been no progress at all? Could it be—"

Ruan Tang's ears perked up. "Could it be what?"

"Could it be that your man doesn't like women, but men?!" Xu Yaoyao speculated. "It must be! With your figure and face, even I, a woman, can't resist. How could he, a man, manage it?"

After a pause, Xu Yaoyao lamented, "Back in college, I hated not being a man. Otherwise, I definitely would have XXXXX..."

The rest of her words were too vulgar to repeat. Listening made Ruan Tang's face flush, and she couldn't help but sputter, "You really are a pervert! I treat you as my best friend, and you actually want to sleep with me?"

"I don't just want to sleep with you, I want to sleep with Luo Chu, too."

"..." Ruan Tang was speechless.

Xu Yaoyao continued, "If I were a man, you and Luo Chu would definitely be in my harem!"

Ruan Tang returned a friendly yet polite smile. "Hehe, in your dreams."

The two chatted for a little while longer. Liu Beiming's voice sounded from the other end of the line, and then Xu Yaoyao hung up. "Talk to you later. We're going out to the mall."

"Okay, talk to you later."

Tossing her phone aside, Ruan Tang threw off the blanket and walked over to the full-length mirror. She stared, mesmerized, at the reflection of the 'Magical Girl'—a figure dressed in a cute style that nonetheless exuded a boundless allure.

I really am beautiful.

It was one thing for Xu Lai to be a gentleman last night, but why wouldn't he even hold her while they slept?

Ruan Tang fell into deep thought as Xu Yaoyao's words echoed in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. The Human Race shares a common affliction: intense curiosity. This is true when it concerns others, so when it related to herself and one of the people closest to her, Ruan Tang naturally grew restless.

She changed her clothes, planning to have a good talk with Xu Lai. However, when she got to the living room, she saw a note and realized her boyfriend, daughter, and Beibei had gone sightseeing...

"Damn it, they didn't even invite me!" Ruan Tang pouted, completely forgetting that she had been the one pretending to be asleep.

Xu Lai had left food for her in a thermal container. She quickly ate her fill, then shouldered her bag and headed out the door.

「」

"Daddy, there are so many people," Yiyi said with surprise, holding Xu Lai's hand.

The hotel was situated halfway up the mountain. From the moment they left, she could see the roadsides teeming with people from Sakura Country taking pictures. This was because the video posted last night by the sketching couple from the lake had gone viral. At first, no one believed it. They came, full of skepticism, to find the truth, and what they found... was the entire mountain blanketed in cherry blossoms!

As word of mouth spread, even more people came to admire the view. The occupancy rate of the hotel where Xu Lai's family was staying was rising rapidly. Of course, so were the room rates.

"Too many people? Then let's head deeper into the mountain where it's quieter," Xu Lai said.

This Sakura Hill had no name and only one main road leading to the hotel. Towards the summit, there were only smaller scenic paths.

Led by Xu Yiyi, the man, the girl, and the demon weaved through the cherry blossom trees. They walked for a long time without finding their way out of the woods, making the little girl anxious.

"Why haven't we reached the end yet?" Yiyi pouted, visibly upset.

Beibei looked at Xu Lai with a puzzled expression. "It seems like... a Barrier?"

"It's not 'seems like'." Xu Lai waved his hand. The trees before them remained trees, but the path was now entirely different.

A mountain path paved with blue stone bricks appeared in their vision. Following the path upwards, something happened that made the little girl gasp in amazement: the sprawling bluestone path didn't end on the ground. It ended about two thousand meters up in the air!

In the air hung a curtain of light. This was clearly a portal, concealing a small Barrier.

They didn't rashly enter the curtain of light. Xu Yiyi cautiously held Xu Lai's hand, her eyes scanning the ground of the spacious bluestone path. Suddenly, she pointed at a spot with delight, "Daddy, is that our hotel?"

"Yes," Xu Lai nodded.

Xu Yiyi then glanced back at the curtain of light and whispered slyly, "Daddy, do you think there might be treasure inside? Let's go on an adventure."

"We can't, Yiyi," Beibei said, panicked. A spatial Barrier wasn't something just anyone could possess. Setting aside whether cultivators lived inside, if there were, they would have to be great powers of unpredictable strength—they absolutely could not be provoked. And if no one lived there... the place would be even more dangerous. Who knew what terrifying things might be hidden inside?

"Take the forbidden area of Mount Zijin, for example. On the surface, it seemed to have been conquered by the Orochi and Demon King Yuan Man of Sea City, but has the danger lessened by even a fraction? Or consider that unique forbidden area in Sea City. Yuan Man's father was at the peak of the Demon King Realm, but when he went to investigate, he dissolved into a pool of blood without even letting out a scream."

"Exactly, Yiyi. If we want to explore, we need the owner's permission. Otherwise, we can't just go in uninvited," Xu Lai said, patting his daughter's head.

"Oh." Xu Yiyi nodded, as if she understood.

SWOOSH—

The curtain of light behind them rippled. Xu Lai was slightly surprised. The owner of this place was extending an invitation.

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