Feng Wuya awoke to find the sun already high in the sky.
Upon waking, he realized this was not his own bedchamber.
His gaze fell upon a woman sitting by a table not far away.
She was dressed in a loose black robe, her face concealed by a black veil and a hat.
This attire made her appear like an old woman of fifty or sixty.
However, upon closer inspection, one could discern her slender waist, and the voluminous robe could not entirely hide her graceful figure.
"Xinghe?" Feng Wuya sat up in bed, rubbing his head. "Why am I... in your bedchamber?"
Long Xinghe looked at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
The words Chu Qianli had spoken before leaving last night still echoed clearly in her mind:
"Tomorrow, see how he reacts when he wakes up. One, if he leaves in shame, it means he truly has no feelings for you."
"Two, if he is merely confused and not angry, it signifies that he already considers you family."
"However, 'family' can be interpreted in many ways; perhaps as a sister, perhaps as a lover... you must gauge it yourself."
These were Chu Qianli's words to her.
The current Feng Wuya's reaction clearly fell into the second category.
Family? These words were somewhat heartwarming.
"You were drunk last night and went to find A'Li. She found you troublesome and sent you over to me," Long Xinghe said with a smile.
Feng Wuya rubbed his temples. He couldn't recall much from last night, but he remembered Chu Qianli's question: "Have you fallen for Long Xinghe?"
How could he possibly like Long Xinghe?
A woman like Long Xinghe was too independent, too mature, too steady and composed, too... too perceptive of people's hearts.
He would not like her.
Definitely not.
Feng Wuya got out of bed, his gaze falling on Long Xinghe's hands. "What are you doing again?"
Looking at her eyes, he saw they were bloodshot!
"You didn't sleep all night?"
"You slept in my bed, where else could I sleep? Beside you? Afraid I'd ruin your reputation?" Long Xinghe didn't even lift her gaze.
The work in her hands didn't pause for even a moment.
Feng Wuya blushed and quickly changed the subject. "What are you doing?"
"Specialized... ah, you call these things Thunderclap Bombs. These are the casings. Once A'Li's gunpowder raw materials arrive, they can be assembled immediately."
Feng Wuya didn't fully understand, but he grasped the general idea.
"Making so many Thunderclap Bombs? What does that girl intend to do?"
"How would I know?" Long Xinghe shrugged. "Whatever she asks me to do, I do."
But Feng Wuya didn't believe she knew nothing. It was just that, like A'Li, she didn't want to tell him.
Everyone treated him like a fragile child, protecting him, believing he should live in a simple world.
But he also wanted to do something within his capabilities.
Yet, no one allowed it.
"Why give me this?"
He extended his palm, and on his finger was a ring. "Jiang Tao said you personally crafted it, a spatial ring?"
When Long Xinghe turned her head, she inadvertently saw his long, smooth, jade-like fingers.
Those fingers were truly beautiful.
However, he was wearing the ring on his ring finger...
Long Xinghe's heart fluttered. For some inexplicable reason, she felt a touch of emotion.
This fellow must not know what it signifies to wear a ring on the ring finger.
It was said that there was a vein on the ring finger that led directly to the heart.
Wearing a ring here meant the heart's desire...
Before Long Xinghe could finish her thoughts, Feng Wuya's deep voice sounded from above her head, "Why give me a poison-testing ring? Are there spies around me?"