Chapter 371: Chapter 371: Have You Ever... Liked Me, Even Just a Little Bit?

To her surprise, not only did Xing Che refuse to let go, but he pushed his luck even further. Burying his head into the crook of Yun Sheng’s neck, he acted shamelessly in a muffled voice, "I’m not fully healed yet."

He deliberately furrowed his brows, feigning a weak and miserable look. "My spiritual landscape still aches faintly. My temples throb with pain, as if they’re being pierced by thin needles. I haven’t completely stabilized."

Yun Sheng immediately frowned at his words. Afraid he might actually suffer from lingering side effects, she ignored the stifling discomfort of being held so tightly. She immediately channeled her gentle spiritual power, softly sweeping over his entire spiritual landscape and carefully inspecting it inch by inch.

The dangerous, massive fissures from before had been firmly sealed with no signs of expanding. The dense web of tiny old scars had also been completely pulled together and smoothed out, and his chaotic, rioting spiritual power had settled down entirely.

The deep channeling from earlier had been incredibly thorough. His condition had long since stabilized completely.

Yun Sheng instantly realized that this guy was just playing the pity card and acting shamelessly. He simply wanted to hold her and refused to let go. Annoyed yet helpless, she lightly poked his stable spiritual landscape with her spiritual power and spoke with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "Xing Che, you liar."

Xing Che’s body stiffened slightly. Being exposed on the spot didn’t make him the least bit embarrassed; instead, he hugged her even tighter. He nuzzled his cheek against her neck, clinging to her affectionately and refusing to let go, looking exactly like someone who had made up his mind to latch onto her forever.

The mist-shrouded dreamscape was exceptionally quiet. Only the gentle sound of their intertwined breathing echoed in the air.

Still buried in her neck, Xing Che kept his voice incredibly low, carrying an unconcealable trace of grievance and loneliness. "I just don’t want to let go." He paused, his tone tinged with a helpless self-deprecation. Every word carried a humble, greedy yearning. "It’s only in a dream that I can cling to you like this. In reality, there is Si Jin, and there is Bai Ye. Most of your attention is on them, and you never even spare me a glance.

"If my spiritual power hadn’t completely rioted during the day, if I hadn’t reached my limit and taken the initiative to ask you for help, you probably wouldn’t have gone out of your way to keep me company and help me channel."

Those words were blunt and bitter, popping the bubble of the delicate distance between them.

Trapped in his embrace, with all her strength confined by his arms, Yun Sheng was instantly left speechless. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t utter a single syllable. She could only remain silent.

Everything he said was true.

In reality, she was always more deeply involved with Si Jin and Bai Ye. She had little interaction with Xing Che, and since he had disappeared as soon as they returned to the Capital Star, she had never seriously thought about their relationship.

Silence stretched between them. The prolonged quiet made the bitterness in Xing Che’s heart grow increasingly heavy.

He slowly lifted his head and stared at her unblinkingly. All the playful petulance had vanished from his eyes, leaving only extreme earnestness and an anxious, hopeful longing. He softly pressed, "Yun Sheng, have you ever... even just a little bit, liked me?"

Those words fell lightly upon her ears but smashed heavily into her heart. Her entire body trembled as a tight, numb sensation gripped the tip of her heart, and a chaotic surge of emotions instantly welled up inside her.

Gazing into the genuine anticipation in his eyes, seeing his humble yet stubborn demeanor, she completely panicked. She opened her mouth to speak but had no idea how to answer. If she said she liked him, she knew in her heart that her feelings for him were entirely different from the romantic pull she felt toward Bai Ye and Si Jin. But if she said she didn’t like him, the soft spot she had for him was equally undeniable.

A prolonged silence was already the cruelest answer.

Xing Che waited quietly for a long time, but ultimately received no response. The light in his eyes dimmed little by little, finally turning into a faint, lonely, and bitter smile. "It seems you haven’t."

The mist-shrouded dreamscape was overly quiet. He lowered his gaze to look at the person so close to him. Waves of grievance and loneliness surged in his eyes, yet he showed no intention of letting her go.

Yun Sheng felt even more at a loss for words. She didn’t even dare to look up at him.

After stewing in the silence for a while, Xing Che took a light breath. He shed his previous humble anxiety, replacing it with a touch of stubborn resolve. "It’s fine. It’s fine if you don’t right now."

He gently rested his forehead against hers. His movements were tender yet persistent. His moist eyes locked firmly onto her, brimming with an obsession meant only for her. "I’m not in a hurry, and I won’t force you. But I won’t give up, either. I can wait, slowly and patiently. I’ll wait until you see your own heart clearly, until you’re willing to look at me. No matter how long it takes, I have time to spare."

Yun Sheng’s heart trembled softly. A heavy, tender blockage formed in her chest, leaving her with an indescribable feeling. She didn’t know how to respond to his passionate and stubborn confession. She couldn’t bear to deny it, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit to it, either.

In the end, all she could do was remain silent—a wordless acquiescence.

Seeing that she didn’t push him away, a faint glimmer lit up Xing Che’s eyes once more. He tucked away all his loneliness and quietly held her in his arms.

Yun Sheng calmed herself and continued to channel her gentle spiritual power. She meticulously helped him smooth over the remaining fine fissures, performing the final deep channeling. Wisps of her spiritual power tenderly intertwined with his, soothing every hidden danger within his spiritual landscape and completely stabilizing his condition.

She didn’t know how long this lasted. After a full day of tense running around, coupled with this high-intensity spiritual mingling, her energy was completely drained. Her head grew heavy, and her eyelids drooped. Her spiritual power slowly became loose and erratic.

As her last trace of consciousness blurred completely, she allowed herself to sink into this gentle dreamscape, thoroughly passing out.

When she opened her eyes again, the bright morning light was already shining through the window. Filtering through the sheer floor-to-ceiling curtains, it bathed the room in a cozy warmth.

Yun Sheng sluggishly regained her senses, staring blankly for a few seconds before fully pulling herself out of the emotional lingering of last night’s dream. Her body still felt slightly sore and weak—the residual exhaustion of depleting her spiritual power.

She got up, washed up quickly, and freshened up. After changing into a clean set of loungewear, she gently pushed the door open and walked out. The villa was extraordinarily quiet in the morning. The light in the hallway was soft, and the air was crisp and clean.

The exact moment she stepped out of her room, the door next to hers clicked open, and Xing Che stepped out from inside.

He had shed the weakness and exhaustion of yesterday. He looked exceptionally refreshed, his features sharp and bright. Not a trace remained of the drained, haggard appearance he had when his spiritual power was on the verge of collapsing yesterday.

The two of them looked up in unison, their gazes crashing into each other unexpectedly. The moment their eyes met, the air in the hallway fell inexplicably silent.

All the clingy petulance, the aggrieved confessions, the stubborn promises to wait, and the incredibly intimate spiritual entanglements from the dreamscape vividly surfaced in their minds, scene by scene.

Looking at Yun Sheng in front of him, Xing Che’s eyes lacked the paranoia and loneliness from the dream. All that remained was a gentle tenderness. A faint smile played at the corner of his lips as he took the initiative to speak. "Morning, Shengsheng. Thank you for doing another deep channeling for me last night. I feel completely recovered now."

Yun Sheng’s heart skipped a beat, and her fingertips curled instinctively. She was just about to respond, but before she could utter half a syllable, a door not far to her side was suddenly pushed open from the inside.

Si Jin walked out slowly.

He had evidently heard Xing Che’s words of gratitude just now. His footsteps paused slightly as he looked toward Yun Sheng, his deep gaze hiding indiscernible emotions.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.