After several inquiries by Lady Ye, she had already discovered that Gu Yecheng possessed an innate soul ring. She was deeply envious because, having spent many years with the Flower God, she understood what that truly meant.
It meant that Gu Yecheng currently possessed at least a top-tier royal-level martial soul. Moreover, he had innate level 20 spiritual power. Once he obtained another soul ring, he would immediately qualify as a Great Soul Master.
Such talent was far beyond what the Ye family could compare to. Perhaps Lingling wasn't at a loss by being with him—in fact, she had gained a great advantage. Thus, she tacitly accepted their relationship.
Lady Ye also cared deeply about this future son-in-law. After all, there is a difference between treating outsiders and family. Her temper had noticeably softened.
Furthermore, Lady Ye worked hard to mend their relationship, even reducing Gu Yecheng's mother's workload by half.
Originally, she had intended for Gu Yecheng's mother to stop working altogether, but his mother insisted on continuing. After all, she was used to hardship.
After staying at the villa for about a week, Gu Yecheng received an acceptance letter from Tiandou Royal Academy. The reason was simple—he had a noble recommendation.
After bidding farewell to his mother, Gu Yecheng and Ye Lingling would go together to the Tiandou Royal Academy.
Before leaving, Lady Ye specifically instructed Gu Yecheng on three things, asking him to promise and complete them as soon as possible.
The first was that the fact he had innate level 20 spiritual power must not be revealed—not even to Lingling. Otherwise, trouble from the Martial Soul Hall would follow, and safety must always come first.
The second was to promptly register a soul master title at the Martial Soul Subhall. This way, Gu Yecheng would receive an income without needing to work. After all, a man shouldn't always rely on Lingling to support him financially.
The third was to quickly obtain his second soul ring. As a real man, he couldn't always let Lingling protect him. In the future, he needed to protect her instead.
…
"Yecheng! What did Mother say to you?" Ye Lingling asked curiously.
Gu Yecheng waved his hand. "Nothing much. Aunt Ye just told me to go register a soul master title at the Martial Soul Subhall soon. That way, I can get a monthly stipend of one gold coin."
"You know, I'm so broke right now, completely penniless. After saving for so long, I spent almost all my savings on buying you clothes and skincare products for Mom."
Ye Lingling smiled. "Hehe, I knew you were the best. Don't worry, I'll support you for now. Later, I'll go with you to the Martial Soul Subhall to register."
"Okay!" Gu Yecheng nodded.
"By the way, Yecheng, what's your spiritual power level? I asked Mother, but she wouldn't tell me, so I have to sneakily ask you. Don't lie to me, or else—" Ye Lingling raised her fist playfully.
Uh…
Gu Yecheng was stunned. He never thought Lingling had a violent streak.
"Come on, tell me!"
Ye Lingling glared with an angry expression, her soft pink fist about to fall.
"Alright, you win."
Gu Yecheng cautiously guessed, "Level ten…?"
Ye Lingling's fist thumped on Gu Yecheng's chest. "You're lying! If you were level ten, why would Mother treat you so well? And you haven't left the villa these past few days—where did your first soul ring come from?"
Gu Yecheng tried again, "Level fifteen…?"
Her fist pressed harder. "Why are you so dishonest? You lied again! How come I never knew before?"
Gu Yecheng frowned, confused why she was so sure he was lying.
He weakly said, "Level eighteen…?"
Ye Lingling suddenly turned away without answering. Then she said, "Alright, you've passed Mother's test. You're pretty tight-lipped."
"Oh! So that's how it is!"
Gu Yecheng finally relaxed inside. So Lingling had known all along he had innate level 20 spiritual power. It must have been her mother who told her. Since her mother cared so much, Lingling was sure he was lying.
Apparently, Aunt Ye had sent Lingling to test him, worried he might leak this secret that even the Martial Soul Hall feared.
How silly of him to cause unnecessary trouble. Besides, he didn't like the Martial Soul Hall and certainly had no intention of pledging loyalty to them. Still, Aunt Ye was quite the trickster.
After finishing his thoughts, Gu Yecheng said, "Lingling! Are we eating out later or at home? If we eat out, I don't have any money, so I'll have to trouble you."
"Eat what? You only think about food. You go register yourself. I don't want to go with you."
Ye Lingling turned her back to him. From her voice, he could tell… she was crying, and seemed very sad, yet she didn't turn around, silently walking forward.
She had done so much for Gu Yecheng. How could he even lie to her?
"Hey! What's wrong? Why are you crying for no reason? Did I upset you? I thought I did well by passing your mother's test. Hey! At least tell me what I did wrong!"
Gu Yecheng was baffled by girls' feelings. What was she thinking? What had he done wrong? It didn't make sense.
"You jerk. You passed my mother's test, but you failed mine. You lied to me. I don't want to talk to you anymore. T—T."
Looking at the sad Ye Lingling, Gu Yecheng didn't know what to do. It was his first time dealing with a girl. Since she said she didn't want to talk, she probably disliked him for now. Better not to hang around and risk making her more upset.
So, Gu Yecheng prepared to leave, planning to wait until she calmed down before talking to her again. After all, he had lied to her. He wanted her to be happy every day, but things didn't always go as planned.
Ye Lingling silently walked ahead for a while, thinking, "Why hasn't he come after me to explain? Even if it's just to comfort me a little."
"Where did he go?"
She wiped the glistening tear from the corner of her eye and looked back, only to find Gu Yecheng gone. It had been less than a minute, yet he had disappeared faster than a rabbit.
Ye Lingling stomped her foot. "Dummy! Big dummy! You really made me mad."
Women truly are a mysterious species—they all have a special skill… saying the opposite of what they mean.
"No" means "yes." "You're bad" means "you're pretty good." "You're a good person" implies "you're excellent, but I don't like you."
"Go away," means "don't leave me," and "I don't want to talk to you," really means "try leaving and see what happens."
(End of chapter)
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