Chapter 109. No Seats, Just Squeeze In

Chapter 109. No Seats, Just Squeeze In

Lin Nuo found himself in a tight spot again; all he wanted was a quiet corner to read, yet here he was stuck with these two girls.

One on the left, one on the right—did they think he came over for a cozy cuddle?

Lin Nuo continued flipping through his book nonchalantly, but with Su Kexin around, he had to be cautious. Not a single hint of his real plans could leak out; the “Meteor Fire” operation was an epic battle plan—she couldn’t know those two words.

What he had to do next was just go with the flow; there was no need to plot against Su Kexin. Sitting back and waiting for the “Meteor Fire” meteorite to crash down would suffice—if Su Kexin met her end by some natural disaster, it was totally feasible.

Today, Su Kexin was still engrossed in cultivation books, truly the protagonist, wholeheartedly focused on her training with only those types of books.

As for Qin Shili, she was reading some profound literary works. Being a wealthy young lady, her self-cultivation was, of course, commendable.

However, neither of them was really concentrating on their books; their primary attention was glued to Lin Nuo.

As a sensitive big villain, the dual gazes made Lin Nuo feel uneasy, as if he were under scrutiny.

Calm as a still lake, he was merely reading a book about celestial bodies, not some scandalous literature like “Jin Ping Mei,” so what was there to hide?

Qin Shili slightly positioned herself, turning her chair to lean closer to Lin Nuo. Seeing this, Su Kexin instantly copied her, edging nearer until all three of their chairs were practically touching.

Lin Nuo frowned; he wasn’t deaf. He could hear the squeaks of their chairs moving, and as they got closer, the fragrant scents emanating from them intensified.

“Can you explain what you’re doing?”

“Reading,” Qin Shili curtly replied.

“I-I’m reading too,” Su Kexin responded in a somewhat soft tone.

“Is it just me, or is it rather cramped here?”

“There aren’t any available seats, so we have to do this.”

“Yes, yes, just squeezing in.”

In the quiet Zhi Shu Ge, there was a picturesque scene: two beautiful young ladies and one handsome young man crammed together at a desk, all focused on their writing.

Were there no seats? Lin Nuo glanced and saw a row of empty chairs not far away, along with a lonely cat.

He frowned again, feeling helpless; he just wanted to read, yet these two girls seemed relentless.

“Senior Brother, what are you reading?”

Su Kexin took the opportunity to lean in and peek at Lin Nuo’s “Celestial Stars,” but Lin Nuo instinctively closed the book.

He couldn’t let her see the content.

However, by closing the book, Su Kexin could still glimpse the title.

“Celestial Stars,” a name that clearly indicated it was about astronomy.

“Senior Brother, you’re quite well-read,” Su Kexin couldn’t help but marvel, thinking she was still far behind him and must take him as a model to broaden her own knowledge.

But Lin Nuo actually felt that the term ‘well-read’ suited him well. As a reborn person, he had amassed a plethora of useless knowledge during his days as a villain—knowledge about weapons, mysterious artifacts, medicine, and celestial studies—he knew far more than this foolish protagonist.

In this world, villains thrived on knowledge while protagonists relied on explosive power; where’s the justice in that?

“What does this sentence mean?”

Qin Shili moved her book in front of Lin Nuo, pointing at a phrase, then slightly tossed her silver-white hair, releasing a faint fragrance.

It was as though a high and aloof senior sister was asking him a question.

Lin Nuo glanced at the phrase she was pointing at; it was merely a straightforward statement.

“Don’t you know?”

“I don’t know.”

Qin Shili fixed her beautiful gaze on him without blinking.

Lin Nuo calmly replied, “I don’t know either.”

“Senior Brother, can you help me with this part?”

Su Kexin immediately shoved her book over, pointing at a specific spot on the page.

“I don’t know,” Lin Nuo dismissed again. There was no way he was going to explain how to cultivate to her! Hadn’t he already done enough to misguidedly lead her in the past?

What a disaster.

The three chairs were pushed together, and without realizing it, both girls’ shoulders were resting against Lin Nuo’s.

Where there’s three, there’s bound to be an idiot—Lin Nuo had become that idiot yet again.

At that moment, Elder Zhou from the book pavilion walked by and saw the three squished together studying. He couldn’t help but chuckle, reminiscing about his own youthful days.

“Ah, youth is wonderful.”

Elder Zhou suddenly sighed softly, and Lin Nuo shot him a glance.

I don’t know if youth is good or not, but I do know being old isn’t.

“Sorry to interrupt, you three.”

Elder Zhou approached Lin Nuo’s desk and said,

“I just saw Han Fairy when I returned to the pavilion. She seems to be looking for you. Now that I found you, I wanted to let you know to go to her subsidiary hall.”

“Okay.”

Lin Nuo closed his book and stood up.

“Then I’ll be heading back.”

“I’ll go back too.”

“I’ll go back as well!”

In that moment, Lin Nuo felt like the head of a household, while Qin Shili and Su Kexin on either side resembled dutiful wives. As soon as he stood, they quickly stood and followed him.

No need for much conversation; with a single movement, they both had to accompany him.

This kind of charisma made Elder Zhou genuinely admire this young man.

With the vigor of youth, he was quite the charmer.

“Ah, I think of A-Zhen.”

Elder Zhou sighed deeply.

…

The three of them returned to Han Fairy’s subsidiary hall, where they just so happened to bump into her along the way.

Seeing the trio, Han Fairy raised an eyebrow; the rumors about the three of them spending all their time together had been circulating at the Xuanyun Sect. While relationships were allowed, trios could lead to conflicts.

“I was just looking for you three; where have you been?”

“Just coming back from the book pavilion,” Lin Nuo replied.

“What about Shili and Kexin?”

Qin Shili said, “From the book pavilion.”

Su Kexin chimed in, “I also just came back from the book pavilion.”

“How coincidental that you all returned from the book pavilion.”

Qin Shili remarked, “I sat next to him, naturally would return with him.”

Su Kexin added, “I was beside Senior Brother; the moment he got up, I immediately came back. I was faster than Second Martial Sister.”

Qin Shili shot Su Kexin a disdainful glance. “Is that so?”

Su Kexin pouted her lips. “Yes.”

In just a few short exchanges, a flicker of anger ignited between the two, and the air thickened with tension.

“Can you both cool it?”

Lin Nuo interrupted their spat and turned to Han Fairy,

“Is there something you need?”

“There’s a task to carry out, but I’ll consult you all first.”

Han Fairy said, making the atmosphere suddenly grow heavy.

Meanwhile, Lin Nuo was mentally calculating the time, instinctively guessing what it was about.