"Ah!!"
A piercing scream echoed from the bathroom.
Immediately afterward, a barrage of toiletries came flying straight at Lin Chuan's head.
However, Lin Chuan dodged them one by one. Having just cleared his mind of distractions, his expression remained completely normal and his eyes clear, even after witnessing such a blood-pumping sight.
"I'm sorry, Miss Su. I didn't know you were inside."
Lin Chuan took a few steps back, turned around, and apologized in a sincere tone.
Right now, however, Su Qingxue felt like she could kill someone; she wasn't listening to a word Lin Chuan was saying. Taking advantage of the fact that his back was turned, she grabbed a bottle of body wash and hurled it forcefully at the back of his head.
Yet, in her shame and fury, she failed to watch her footing, accidentally stepped on a piece of soap, and fell backward.
Directly behind her was the sink. If she hit her head on it headfirst, it wouldn't just be a simple bump.
Losing her balance, Su Qingxue let out an involuntary gasp.
Lin Chuan looked back, hesitated for half a second, and in the next moment appeared by Su Qingxue's side, wrapping an arm around her slender willow waist to save her from falling.
The contact was smooth and tender. Su Qingxue's waist felt boneless, and her skin possessed an astonishing elasticity. Lin Chuan felt as though he were holding a piece of suet jade—smooth, tender, cool, and quite pleasant to the touch.
"You! Let go of me!"
Su Qingxue's pretty face looked as though it were about to freeze over, yet beneath her fair skin, a blush quietly crept up, making her look all the more alluring and exquisite.
If looks could kill, Lin Chuan would have already been sliced a thousand times.
Lin Chuan, however, had no intention of being executed. With a firm and clear gaze, he said, "Miss Su, if I let you go, you're going to fall."
Su Qingxue covered her chest with both hands, but because her curves were simply too ample, her hands couldn't cover everything at all. Embarrassed and flustered, she gritted her teeth and snapped, "Get the hell out of here right now!"
"Oh. Then Miss Su, you should be more careful when taking a bath."
Lin Chuan offered this earnest reminder, gently set her back down on the floor, and turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.
Taking advantage of the moment Lin Chuan turned around, Su Qingxue hurled the bottle of body wash she hadn't managed to throw earlier right at him.
Yet Lin Chuan seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Without even looking back, he caught the flying bottle of body wash, placed it right back where it belonged, and only then departed.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to reinstall the glass door he had previously taken down.
A cultivator ought to see things through to the end; Lin Chuan always kept his masters' teachings in mind.
After Lin Chuan left, Su Qingxue nearly ground her pearly white teeth to dust.
In all her years growing up, aside from when she was a toddler, she had never been seen completely naked by a man. More importantly, not only had Lin Chuan looked, but he had also embraced her!
And not just embraced her, but while she was completely unclothed!
"Lin Chuan! You jerk!"
Trembling, Su Qingxue pulled herself up from the floor, stared blankly in the direction Lin Chuan had left for a moment, and then—with her face frozen in ice—wrapped herself in a bath towel and returned to her room.
Meanwhile, having caused such a massive farce, Lin Chuan was wandering around looking for a bathroom. Having just undergone marrow-cleansing, his body was sticky and extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, after roaming around, he finally found one. As it turned out, there was a bathroom right inside his own room. He took a shower, then washed the dirty clothes he had taken off thoroughly several times over.
Holding the damp garments in his hands, he gave a slight tremor with his palm, and within moments, a large volume of steam began rising from the clothes.
A few minutes later, Lin Chuan shook out his completely dry Daoist robe and put it back on. He had only brought this single Daoist robe down the mountain, so he had no choice but to use true qi to dry it.
No sooner had he finished dressing than a knock sounded at the door.
"Mr. Lin, the master asked me to invite you down for dinner."
"Got it. Sorry to trouble you."
Lin Chuan acknowledged the call, then looked down at the wooden hairpin in his hand, hesitated briefly, and ultimately abandoned the idea of tying his hair into a bun.
After all, his stomach had long since started protesting.
Placing the wooden hairpin on the table by the bed, Lin Chuan took two steps in one and pulled open the door. An elderly man dressed like a butler was waiting respectfully outside.
Having just undergone marrow-cleansing, Lin Chuan's ethereal aura had reached its peak, prompting the old man to spare him a few extra glances.
"Mr. Lin truly is a man of exceptional talent and ethereal temperament. In all my years, I've never seen anyone quite like you, Mr. Lin."
Lin Chuan smiled faintly and accepted the compliment with ease.
After all, handsomeness was a unique trait; no matter how much one tried to conceal it, it was of no use.
"My name is A-Fu, and I am the butler of the Su family. Mr. Lin can just call me A-Fu."
Lin Chuan cupped his hands and replied, "Elderly sir is an elder, how could I address you by your given name? Let me call you Elder Fu."
At these words, a smile instantly bloomed on A-Fu's face, and the gaze he directed at Lin Chuan was as warm as if he were looking at his own junior.
"Mr. Lin, let's head down first. We shouldn't keep the master and young miss waiting too long."
Lin Chuan nodded and followed A-Fu downstairs.
In this villa, the living room and the dining room were not separated. Passing through the living room and traversing a small corridor brought them straight to the dining room.
Inside, a round table was laden with an array of dazzling delicacies, including many things Lin Chuan had never even laid eyes on.
The moment Lin Chuan arrived, Su Zhen stood up with a beaming smile to welcome him.
"Come, come, Xiaochuan, sit by me. Let the two of us have a good chat."
With that, he stepped forward, took Lin Chuan by the hand, and seated him right next to himself.
Scarcely had Lin Chuan sat down when he felt a chilling gaze land upon him.
He raised his head and discovered Su Qingxue glaring at him with frosty eyes, a stare that made his hair stand on end.
Su Qingxue was currently wearing a nightgown—modest and elegant in style, yet somehow carrying a faint, elusive hint of allure when worn by her.
Ignoring Su Qingxue's murderous glare, Lin Chuan stared longingly at the delicious food on the table. However, since neither the host Su Zhen nor Su Qingxue had picked up their chopsticks yet, he couldn't make a move either.
Unaware of his daughter's unusual behavior, Su Zhen rambled on, "Qingxue has a younger sister who studies at Lvdaxue and probably won't be back today, so it'll just be the three of us for dinner. Treat this family meal however you like, Xiaochuan. Just say whatever you'd like to eat; if it's not enough, I'll have the kitchen make more."
Lin Chuan swallowed hard, desperately wanting to ask if they could eat now. His stomach was practically rumbling like a summer cicada.
When he finally saw Su Zhen pick up his chopsticks, Lin Chuan's heart soared with joy, only for Su Zhen to set them right back down again.
Lin Chuan felt like crying without tears and had no choice but to keep enduring.
"That's right, that's right. Today is a joyous occasion. Xiaochuan, why don't you have a little drink with Uncle Su?"
As he spoke, he reached for a bottle of red wine on the table. The label was covered in foreign words Lin Chuan couldn't read, though even if he could read them, his vision was getting blurry anyway.
He was dizzy with hunger, especially with the delicious food right in front of him constantly torturing his senses; his saliva kept secreting, threatening to break through the dam.
Throwing caution to the wind, Lin Chuan nodded. Whatever they were drinking, just let him eat first!
Su Zhen poured a full glass for Lin Chuan, then turned to look at Su Qingxue. Noticing that his daughter was staring coldly at Lin Chuan without a word, his brow furrowed slightly.
Still, he didn't say anything, simply waving his hand and saying, "Let's eat, let's eat. Don't stand on ceremony, Xiaochuan, just treat this place like your own home."
Hearing those words, Lin Chuan felt as though he were on the brink of death and had just heard heavenly music. Without a second thought, he picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a heap of food, and shoved it into his mouth.
Then he began shoveling rice down like a madman.
His appearance made it seem as though he wanted to swallow the bowl itself. Seeing this, the frost on Su Qingxue's pretty face deepened.
Su Zhen, on the other hand, looked at Lin Chuan with an amiable expression and asked, "Xiaochuan, I won't force the marriage between you and Qingxue, but could you do Uncle Su a favor?"
Lin Chuan shoveled another mouthful of food, his cheeks bulging as he said, "Go ahead, Uncle Su. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely help."
Su Qingxue's beautiful eyes blinked unblinkingly at Lin Chuan. She simply couldn't understand how someone could shovel food, speak, and still articulate their words so clearly.
Su Zhen sighed. "The favor I'm asking you to do is related to Qingxue's recent ordeal."
Hearing this, Lin Chuan instantly perked up. This might just be connected to Su Qingxue's fateful tribulation.
"Although our Su family isn't the absolute top-tier wealthy elite in Lvteng City, we still have a face and a reputation, and we hold our ground across various industries."
"Zhongshang Entertainment, which Qingxue's mother and I founded together back in the day, is now in Qingxue's hands. Under her management, the company has grown larger and larger. Coupled with Qingxue's own exceptional qualities, it has inevitably attracted some people with ill intentions."
"The Cheng family is chief among them. Among the four major families of Lvteng City—Li, Zhao, Sun, and Cheng—the Cheng family ranks last, but their family strength is still far more formidable than our Su family's."
Su Zhen picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and continued, "Cheng Xiao, the Fourth Young Master Cheng of the Cheng family, took a fancy to Qingxue. When his relentless pestering failed, he resorted to underhanded tricks."
"I presume this recent danger Qingxue faced was the handy work of Cheng Xiao!"
The moment Su Zhen mentioned Cheng Xiao, the expressions of both father and daughter turned extremely grim.
Lin Chuan was overjoyed. "That's fantastic!"
Su Qingxue: "?"
Su Zhen: "......."
Meeting the gazes of the father and daughter, Lin Chuan finally realized his choice of words was somewhat off. He waved his hand and said, "What I meant is that I can help Miss Su get through this tribulation."
Su Zhen nodded in sudden enlightenment. "Splendid. That is precisely what I had in mind. I'd like to ask you to protect Qingxue for half a year."
"I refuse! I don't need his protection!"
Su Qingxue decisively interrupted Su Zhen.
"You must agree!"
Su Zhen glared at her, but this time Su Qingxue didn't back down, glaring right back at him.
Seeing that hard tactics wouldn't work, Su Zhen's expression darkened. He let out a disappointed wave of his hand and even wiped at the corner of his non-existent tears.
"My daughter is all grown up; she doesn't need her father's protection anymore. Shuzhen, I suppose it won't be long before I join you."
Su Qingxue sighed as well. She was soft-hearted and impervious to force, but she dreaded Su Zhen pulling this routine.
"All right, Dad, I'll agree, okay?"
Su Zhen instantly slammed his hand on the table. "Then it's settled!"
At that moment, a triumphant smile flashed across Su Zhen's face as he said to Lin Chuan, "Xiaochuan, I'm entrusting Qingxue's safety entirely to you. You must protect her well."
Lin Chuan's expression instantly turned solemn. With Su Qingxue's fateful tribulation and the advancement of his cultivation technique both at stake, he would naturally give it his all.
"Don't worry, Uncle Su. I will definitely protect Miss Su well."
Su Zhen nodded. "In that case, Xiaochuan, tomorrow you and Qingxue go register your marriage and take your wedding photos."