Oye, señorito, que esta menda te saluda

Bai Yuxiao still had something to say, but Qin Xiaoyou slammed the door shut without any mercy. Bai Yuxiao stood at the door for a moment, hesitated, and then turned and walked into Bai Qianqian's room.

Chapter 59, Affection Awakens

"Useless! You can't even handle this simple task!" Bai Qianqian's almond-shaped eyes widened as she angrily rebuked the man in black kneeling before her.

"Returning Envoy, Bai Yuxiao's strength has truly exceeded our expectations." The man in black's voice trembled slightly. It was unclear whether it was because he was afraid of the punishment that would follow his failed mission, or because he was still shaken by the memory of Bai Yuxiao's skills.

"An excuse!" Bai Qianqian refused to believe the man in black. "Since the sect leader said it was foolproof, then it truly is foolproof. You yourselves failed and you still have the nerve to make excuses. We don't keep useless trash in our sect. You yourself..."

"Qianqian, are you asleep?" Bai Yuxiao's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door, interrupting Bai Qianqian's words.

Bai Qianqian was surprised, not understanding why Bai Yuxiao had suddenly come to find her. However, despite her surprise, she immediately put on a sweet smile and said in a low voice, "I'll spare your dog's life this time. Now get out of here." She then tidied her hair and went to open the door.

"Cousin, did you come to see me for something?" Bai Qianqian opened the door a crack and asked Bai Yuxiao with a smile.

Bai Yuxiao replied with a faint smile, "What, Qianqian won't even invite me into the room for a seat?"

"Haven't you had enough of sitting in Miss Qin's room? Why are you here?" Bai Qianqian pouted, looking displeased.

Bai Yuxiao glanced at her amusedly. "Since Qianqian is so unwelcoming to me, then I'll be leaving." With that, he turned and left. Bai Qianqian was left dumbfounded, not understanding what Bai Yuxiao was up to.

Had he noticed something? With this question in mind, Bai Qianqian tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to sleep. But she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep that night, because when she went downstairs for dinner the next day, Qin Xiaoyou had dark circles under her eyes and was yawning, clearly showing signs of sleep deprivation. Only Bai Yuxiao looked energetic.

The three women ate breakfast with different thoughts in their minds. Bai Qianqian had already suspected that Bai Yuxiao had figured something out, and what was strangest this morning was that no matter how attentive she was to Bai Yuxiao, Qin Xiaoyou showed no reaction whatsoever, completely ignoring her. This was highly unusual. Could it be that Qin Xiaoyou already knew her identity and purpose, and therefore no longer cared? Bai Qianqian was restless throughout the meal, only managing a couple of sips of porridge before making an excuse that she wasn't feeling well and went upstairs.

After watching Bai Qianqian leave, Bai Yuxiao finally spoke to Qin Xiaoyou, "Xiaoyou, are you alright?"

"Huh? What?" Qin Xiaoyou seemed to be lost in thought.

Bai Yuxiao was quite surprised to see that Qin Xiaoyou didn't show any displeasure today. At first, she thought that Qin Xiaoyou had figured something out about yesterday's events, but it turned out that she was just sitting there lost in thought early in the morning and hadn't noticed her and Bai Qianqian. Bai Yuxiao smiled helplessly: "What are you thinking about? You've practically poked Baozi into crumbs."

Qin Xiaoyou glanced down, then guiltily pushed the plate in front of her towards Bai Qianqian, quickly picking up a small dish of side dishes and placing it in front of herself, pretending the steamed bun incident had nothing to do with her. Only after doing all this did Qin Xiaoyou belatedly realize that someone was missing from the table. Biting her chopsticks, she asked Bai Yuxiao with a puzzled expression, "Where's your cousin?"

“Qianqian said she wasn’t feeling well and went upstairs,” Bai Yuxiao replied.

"Oh." Qin Xiaoyou nodded to indicate that she understood, and then stopped talking and quietly began to eat her meal.

For the next few days, the atmosphere among the three remained strangely tense. The source of this strangeness was Qin Xiaoyou. For some reason, ever since Bai Yuxiao was injured saving her, Qin Xiaoyou no longer found Bai Qianqian disagreeable. And no matter how intimate Bai Qianqian and Bai Yuxiao acted in front of her, she showed absolutely no reaction. Not only was she not angry, but she would occasionally watch them with a detached, almost theatrical, expression. The two were putting on a great show, but the audience was completely uncooperative. Even the most skilled actor would begin to doubt their own abilities in such a situation.

Bai Qianqian, seeing Qin Xiaoyou's unusual reaction, kept reflecting on whether her acting wasn't convincing enough, and thus put on an even more enthusiastic performance. However, things in this world are never good in excess or deficiency. Qin Xiaoyou, having observed the two for several days, felt increasingly uneasy. Previously, she had been blinded by anger, but now, with a calmer perspective, she could see things more clearly. Bai Yuxiao's various acts of kindness towards Bai Qianqian were obviously deliberate. Having known Bai Yuxiao for so long, she knew he always had an icy demeanor towards strangers; his forced warmth now looked undeniably ridiculous and awkward.

Now that she understood Bai Yuxiao's actions were intentional, Qin Xiaoyou's gloom and frustration of the past few days vanished. As for why Bai Yuxiao did this, Qin Xiaoyou didn't presume to think it was Bai Yuxiao trying to make her jealous; she felt Bai Yuxiao wouldn't do something so childish at a time like this. So, on another night when Bai Qianqian returned to her room feeling down and had no mood to be affectionate with Bai Yuxiao, Qin Xiaoyou sneaked into Bai Yuxiao's room like a thief.

Young Master Bai had just taken a bath, wearing only his undergarments, his hair still dripping wet. He was taken aback when Qin Xiaoyou suddenly appeared in his room. Qin Xiaoyou, however, generously looked him up and down before exclaiming, "Nice physique!"

Bai Yuxiao chuckled, casually grabbed a dry towel to wipe her hair, and asked, "What? You can tell I have a good figure even through my clothes?"

Qin Xiaoyou smiled mischievously: "Or you can take it off and show it to me?"

Bai Yuxiao was surprised. Was this girl teasing him? A mischievous thought crossed his mind, and he said, "Didn't you get enough of looking at me at the Spring Breeze Pavilion?"

When Bai Yuxiao brought up the matter, Qin Xiaoyou blushed, remembering how she had embarrassingly mistaken him for a gigolo and all the idiotic things she had done afterward. She quickly changed the subject and said with a serious expression, "I came to see you tonight because I have something to discuss."

"What is it?" Bai Yuxiao, having dried her hair, began to put on her clothes.

"This," Qin Xiaoyou thought for a moment, then stepped forward and whispered in Bai Yuxiao's ear, "Is there something wrong with your cousin?"

The hot breath tickled Bai Yuxiao's ears, causing him to awkwardly shift his body slightly. Turning back, he saw Qin Xiaoyou looking at him with displeasure, clearly thinking he was disgusted by her. He quickly pulled her in front of him and explained, "It tickles."

Qin Xiaoyou didn't speak, but the slight upturn of her lips showed that she was in a good mood. Bai Yuxiao's slightly coquettish use of the word "itch" hit her sweet spot. Seeing that she wasn't angry anymore, Bai Yuxiao began to talk about Bai Qianqian.

It turns out that Bai Yuxiao does have a female cousin, but a male cousin. Bai Yuxiao's aunt always wanted a daughter, but unexpectedly gave birth to a son. After being heartbroken for a while, seeing how beautiful her son was, she found some little girls' clothes for him to wear and raised him as a daughter. Although the male cousin protested countless times, he couldn't resist his mother's tearful offensive and reluctantly agreed to wear girls' clothes at home.

"However, it's reasonable to say that everyone who serves them in their family knows that their cousin is a man. But when Bai Qianqian appeared under the identity of her cousin, she even said that she was mischievous and liked to wear men's clothing when she was traveling around the martial arts world, just to make me believe her," Bai Yuxiao added.

"That is indeed very suspicious. Do you think it's possible that Bai Qianqian's people have recently infiltrated your cousin's house, but that person doesn't know the real situation and only sees your cousin dressed as a woman at home and as a man when he goes out, so he thinks he likes to dress as a man, which is why Bai Qianqian said that?" Qin Xiaoyou asked.

Bai Yuxiao gave her an approving look. "That's what I was guessing too."

"So you decided to play along and see what her true intentions were?"

"Mm." Bai Yuxiao nodded.

"So you deliberately acted very intimate with her?" Qin Xiaoyou pressed on.

"You're half right." Bai Yuxiao's answer piqued Qin Xiaoyou's curiosity. "What's the other half of the reason?"

"I just want to see what I mean to someone?"

"Huh?" Qin Xiaoyou was stunned for a moment. After processing the words in her mind, she realized what Bai Yuxiao was talking about. Qin Xiaoyou felt a little annoyed, a little sweet, and a little confused. She was annoyed that Bai Yuxiao was so awful, deliberately making her jealous and embarrassed. Her ostrich-like mentality made Qin Xiaoyou unwilling to continue dwelling on this issue, so she changed the subject and asked, "Why did you save me that day? And, and you even got injured saving me. It was really dangerous, you know?"

Bai Yuxiao looked at her with deep affection in his eyes, "Because that person is you!"

Chapter 60, Jade Mountain Villa

"Because it was you!" Hearing this, Qin Xiaoyou blushed furiously, her heart pounding like a drum. Then, like a coward, she ran away. Back in her room, lying on the bed, rubbing her still-burning face, Qin Xiaoyou thought: Was he just confessing? At this moment, Qin Xiaoyou's heart was completely filled with Bai Yuxiao's affectionate face; any speculation about him approaching her for the "Blood Evil Manual" had long been forgotten. Now, with her heart overflowing with pink bubbles, Qin Xiaoyou thought that even if Bai Yuxiao directly asked her for the "Blood Evil Manual," she would probably immediately and eagerly hand it over.

After understanding Bai Qianqian's true identity, Qin Xiaoyou's inexplicable dislike for her disappeared, but she still couldn't stand the sight of Bai Qianqian. Although she repeatedly told herself to be polite and not let Bai Qianqian realize that they already knew her false identity, every time Bai Qianqian called Bai Yuxiao "cousin" with a sweet smile, she had a strong urge to slap her away. Yes, that's right, Qin Xiaoyou had reverted to her jealous state. She hadn't been jealous a

……