Chapter 82
After Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng left, Lin Tian gave a dry cough and asked,
“Miss Xuan Yuan, do you still have some business with me?”
Xuan Yuan Qingya, however, had nothing else of real importance. Still, the chance to spend more time alone with Lin Tian was something she welcomed.
With that in mind, she directly sat down on Lin Tian’s bed, a faint smile curling her lips.
“What’s this? Does Mr. Lin find me unwelcome?”
The corner of Lin Tian’s mouth twitched. This is your family’s guest room—what’s it got to do with me “welcoming” you or not…
He simply didn’t want to get too entangled with these female leads.
Shaking his head, Lin Tian forced a polite smile.
“No, it’s just… we’re not very familiar with each other. A man and a woman alone in one room—it feels a little inappropriate.”
Xuan Yuan Qingya’s lips curved slightly, her long lashes fluttering as she lifted a slender hand, fingers tipped with perfectly polished nails brushing back the loose strands of hair beside her ear.
Her voice was unhurried, calm yet alluring.
“Isn’t it true that all relationships begin with strangers becoming familiar? From the looks of it, Mr. Lin doesn’t seem very eager to get familiar with me.”
Xuan Yuan Qingya’s entire presence radiated the archetype of a proud, elegant queen—the kind of hauteur that seeped from every inch of her: her skin, her jewelry, her clothes, her bearing.
And because of that, when she suddenly spoke in this light, almost playful tone—so unlike her usual cold and imperious self—Lin Tian was momentarily stunned.
……
He really hadn’t expected this!
Xuan Yuan Qingya, with her proud and aloof nature—no, this woman who carried her arrogance down to the very bones—would actually say something like that!
Lin Tian gave a small cough and forced a dry laugh.
“How could that be… Miss Xuan Yuan is not only beautiful, but also the daughter of the Xuan Yuan family. Of course, I’d be glad to get to know you better. But I’m well aware of my own humble status, and truth be told, we don’t really have much in common to talk about…”
This wasn’t Lin Tian being self-deprecating—it was simply the truth.
In his own world, someone like Xuan Yuan Qingya was practically on the level of a British royal princess…
A woman of that caliber was not someone an ordinary man could “handle.”
What, just because everyone has one nose and two eyes, that means anyone can sit down and talk like equals?
With Xuan Yuan Qingya’s background, she had grown up immersed in only the finest resources—top-tier education, the world’s best exposure to art, culture, and politics.
Having been molded in that kind of environment, Xuan Yuan Qingya’s insight, manners, and vision were completely different from those of an ordinary girl.
Not that she was inherently more “noble”—all people were indeed equal.
But her very level meant that anyone lacking the same depth of background would have nothing meaningful to talk about with her…
In this world, Lin Tian was nothing more than a small-time villain, at best a graduate of a 985 university…
What on earth could he possibly have to talk about with someone like her?
But that wasn’t even the main reason for his words. His real concern was that he didn’t want to get entangled with Xuan Yuan Qingya at all…
He still hadn’t sorted things out with Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng, and Bai Bing’er had inexplicably fallen into some strange episode.
If Xuan Yuan Qingya also got involved, Lin Tian felt he might as well step out right now and have a life-and-death duel with Jiang Yifeng.
After all, these four women were the heroines Jiang Yifeng paid the closest attention to. How could Lin Tian possibly afford to get mixed up with them in some messy way?
So, though he said one thing aloud, in his heart, he was thinking something very different.
【If I weren’t out of my mind, why on earth would I want to get close to you…? The Xuan Yuan family only just officially stood against Jiang Yifeng. Right now, I bet that guy’s eyes aren’t even blinking as he keeps them glued on this place…】
【At a time like this, getting chummy with the Xuan Yuan family’s eldest daughter… wouldn’t that just be like lighting a lamp in an outhouse—asking for death?】
【But damn it, what the hell is wrong with these heroines anyway? Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng were already enough trouble, then Bai Bing’er popped up spouting all sorts of nonsense. And now Xuanyuan Qingya looks like she’s showing signs of “acting up” too… You’re the heroines, can’t you at least stick to your character settings??】
Lin Tian’s inner complaints fell cleanly into Xuan Yuan Qingya’s ears.
Her eyes immediately narrowed.
From childhood until now, no one had ever dared say she was “acting up”…
Looking at Lin Tian’s trademark polite smile, Xuan Yuan Qingya felt her teeth itch with irritation.
This man dared to say she was “acting up”? And on top of that, he didn’t even want to get close to her?
When had Xuan Yuan Qingya’s charm fallen so low?
The corners of Xuan Yuan Qingya’s lips curved into a sly smile. She leaned back slightly, her near-perfect figure displayed without reservation.
She was wearing a deep violet evening gown, one shoulder left bare, her collarbone clearly visible.
Her silky black hair cascaded lightly over the bed, jade-green earrings swayed faintly at her ears, and with her subtle makeup, a noble purity was touched with crystalline allure—an inexplicable sense of seduction radiated from her presence.
This woman had only made a single movement, yet Lin Tian almost lost his composure on the spot…
He quickly shifted his gaze away, coughed lightly, and said,
“Cough… um, when does the banquet start? I’m starting to feel a little hungry…”
He was just grasping at straws—after all, he’d eaten plenty at lunch. That had been twelve full dishes, and afterwards they’d even brought out staple foods. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from eating too much, and up until now, he didn’t feel the slightest bit hungry.
Xuan Yuan Qingya gave a faint smile and replied,
“The banquet will take a while longer. Mother had the kitchen prepare quite a lot of dishes…”
“Oh, that’s great. I bet it’ll be delicious.”
As soon as Lin Tian said that, he wished he could slap himself across the face…
Damn, could he get any more awkward than this?
【Damn it, three enchantresses just left, and now here comes the biggest one yet… Seriously though, does Xuan Yuan Qingya have no idea how tempting she is right now? No, this won’t do—I need to find some excuse to leave… If you want to stay in my room, then stay by yourself!】
Lin Tian wailed silently in his heart, then quickly composed his expression.
When he turned back to face Xuan Yuan Qingya, his eyes were clear and calm, as if seeing nothing more than a mere skeleton painted in flesh.
Lin Tian was just about to speak when suddenly, Xuan Yuan Qingya opened her mouth with a tone he had never heard from anyone before.
“From now on, I’ll just call you Lin Tian… Calling you Mr. Lin feels far too distant. Is that alright?”
If her usual tone was that of a proud empress—dignified, aloof, and untouchable—then now, though she was still every bit the noble lady, her voice inexplicably carried a hint of seduction. It was like a big sister next door, casually sitting on the sofa in black stockings…
In short, Lin Tian instantly felt a fire blaze to life in his chest!
“Vixen!”
He cursed inwardly, hurriedly suppressing the restless thoughts in his mind, silently reciting the Heart-Clearing Mantra to calm himself.
At the same time, his expression cooled as he replied lightly,
“Miss Xuan Yuan may call me however she wishes…”
After all, she could address him however she pleased—he couldn’t exactly cover her mouth to stop her.
Xuan Yuan Qingya noticed his expression, and the faint sound of the mantra resounding in his heart reached her ears. Immediately, a mischievous sense of amusement welled up within her.
“You shouldn’t call me Miss Xuan Yuan either. It sounds like we’re strangers… Why don’t you just call me by my name? Xuan Yuan Qingya—or simply Qingya will do.”
Lin Tian thought to himself: Aren’t we strangers?
He shook his head firmly, straightened his posture, and said with a serious expression—
“That wouldn’t be proper, Miss Xuan Yuan. I’d prefer to keep addressing you this way… Besides, may I ask something? Aren’t we, in fact, just strangers? Forgive my bluntness, but why would someone like Miss Xuan Yuan show such interest in a nobody like me?”
Lin Tian hadn’t wanted to be so impolite, but after what had happened with Shang Chan, Zhao Mengmeng, and Bai Bing’er, he had learned his lesson the hard way.
Shang Chan had insisted he call her by her name, and from that point onward, she stuck to him like glue…
Zhao Mengmeng was the same, acting as though if he didn’t call her by her name, she would vanish into thin air the next morning. At first, Lin Tian stubbornly clung to “Second Miss,” but after spending more time together, the habit of calling her by her name slipped in without him realizing.
As for Bai Bing’er, she never asked him to use her name, but she had clung to him so tightly that when Lin Tian failed to reject her outright at the beginning, things eventually spiraled into that infamous scene where he was caught in the room with her by Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng…
Three women in a row had put him in these ridiculous predicaments.
So when it came to Xuan Yuan Qingya, he absolutely refused to keep playing the passive role.
Deep down, Lin Tian could sense something was terribly wrong!
These heroines were supposed to be entangled with Jiang Yifeng, not with him.
Why were they all gathering around him instead?
In his heart, Lin Tian suspected it had everything to do with the so-called Villain’s Halo.
The longer Lin Tian lived, the stronger this so-called Villain’s Halo seemed to grow—and perhaps that was why these heroines kept inexplicably gravitating toward him.
But what baffled him was why there should even be such a bizarre link between the halo and the heroines in the first place.
What he feared most now was that Shang Chan, Zhao Mengmeng, and Bai Bing’er weren’t the end of it, but only the beginning…
If every other heroine started coming to him one by one, Lin Tian figured he wouldn’t last even two days!
With his very life on the line, politeness no longer mattered.
That was why he came right out and asked Xuan Yuan Qingya that blunt question.
His tone carried more than a trace of sharpness—there was a pressing weight behind it, an unmistakable edge of accusation.
From his expression and the pressure in his voice, he looked nothing like the “nobody” he claimed to be…
His question left Xuan Yuan Qingya momentarily stunned.
Partly because it was difficult to answer.
But mostly because, when she saw that faint coldness in Lin Tian’s eyes, felt the oppressive aura rolling off him, and heard the blunt, even impolite way he spoke to her…
Her heart actually skipped a beat.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she found herself liking this side of him— Being questioned, being pressed… almost as if she enjoyed it when Lin Tian was a little fierce with her.