The Ancient Gods' Whisper

Recently, Gu Jianlin didn't really want to stay at home anymore. The main reason was that ever since the two of them, as siblings, came clean to each other, it always felt like they were sneaking around behind their parents' backs.

Every moment was thrilling and forbidden, an intense excitement.

The main issue was that Youzhu kept teasing him, and her pajamas were far too revealing.

This kind of torment was unbearable for someone like him, who prided himself on being a gentleman.

"This Lock of Nonexistence is quite handy."

Su Youzhu lay on his bed, hugging a pillow and supporting her chin with her hand, grumbling, "As long as the Barrier is in place, no matter what we do at night, Mom and Dad won't hear a thing."

The girl was dressed in a black nightgown, her long, slender snowy legs provocatively visible. Her skin was as smooth as porcelain and gleamed under the light, while her delicate, fair feet swayed casually.

Gu Jianlin silently recited to himself not to look, toweling off his damp hair as he sat down in front of her.

"The Lock of Nonexistence is for preventing emergencies,"

he said seriously. "It's not meant for... for things like that."

The bedroom was already shrouded by the ethereal Chains, erasing their presence.

Su Youzhu slanted her eyes at him, her gaze sly. "I didn't specify what kind of things. Where's your mind wandering off to?"

Gu Jianlin fell silent. This girl may look cold and aloof, but she was full of tricks.

In a space for a hundred thoughts, at least two hundred of them were her schemes to mess with him.

The best way to deal with her was cold indifference.

Just then, he suddenly noticed that she was staring at his collar.

Gu Jianlin only realized then that his pajama buttons were undone and hurriedly fixed them.

"It's not like I haven't seen it all before."

Su Youzhu pouted. "Everything you wear, haven't I been the one to buy it?"

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a moment. "Hmm? I always thought..."

He had assumed that their mom had bought them.

But now it dawned on him.

Su Youzhu snorted and said bitterly, "What did you think? The clothes Mom gives you are actually the ones I picked out. Haven't you realized that the clothes you've been getting from her all these years always fit your taste? I even keep a memo. I know exactly what you like to wear in each season."

She waved her phone, her gaze growing more plaintive. "You're such a clueless and troublesome person. You catch a cold every season change, so when I return from the Ancient God Realm, I have to rush to buy you autumn and winter clothes. You won't wear turtlenecks, saying they're stifling, and you complain that coats are too heavy. Every year, I have to spend so long picking them out."

"Your favorite colors are so boring—always black, white, or gray. But the cut of the clothes can't look bad, and uncomfortable fabrics irritate your skin. Plus, you keep growing taller every year, so the clothes I buy only fit for six months."

She grumbled, "Sometimes, I feel like I'm raising a son."

Gu Jianlin stayed silent for a moment before unexpectedly laughing.

"What are you laughing at?"

Su Youzhu glared at him.

"Nothing."

Gu Jianlin shook his head. "Do you find it tiring?"

"Not at all. Raising you isn't so bad. At least you can fight for me."

Su Youzhu replied calmly, "Too bad if someone else takes you away."

Despite his single-minded intentions, Gu Jianlin tried to clarify, "I'm really just regular teammates with Senior Sister Tang. Our interests align—not whatever you're imagining."

Su Youzhu replied simply, "I know."

Gu Jianlin paused in surprise.

"But if she's not around, there will be someone else,"

Su Youzhu rested her chin on her hands. "So, I might as well strike first."

Gu Jianlin detected a mischievous gleam in her beautiful eyes, a playfulness that immediately set him on guard.

"By the way, that kiss was my body's first one."

Su Youzhu leaned in closer, asking seriously, "How does it feel?"

Gu Jianlin turned his head away silently, ignoring the last part of her question altogether. "That was also my first kiss."

As soon as he finished, he heard the girl let out a cold chuckle.

A sudden sense of unease welled up in his chest once more.

Sure enough, Su Youzhu remarked expressionlessly, "Your first kiss is long gone."

Gu Jianlin's mind buzzed. "When?"

Su Youzhu looked smug at first, but then a hint of indignation flickered across her face. "The night you killed the Joker, of course! Hmph. You didn't even ask which of my incarnations had kissed you—I was looking forward to seeing your jealous face."

Gu Jianlin instinctively covered his lips, feeling both defeated and powerless. "What else did you do that night?"

"You already guessed, didn't you? I stayed by your side, watching you sleep. And I took your first kiss while I was at it."

Su Youzhu suddenly gazed deeply at the side of his face and asked softly, "So, even back then, was I already that important to you?"

Gu Jianlin had risked his life countless times for her.

In Peak City's high school cafeteria, in the Returning Burial Forest of Qilin Immortal Palace, aboard the Bren Hill's Octagonal Cage.

Though she worried and didn't want him acting so recklessly, her heart had been sweet nonetheless.

"No."

Gu Jianlin's face remained stoic, though he wavered internally.

Even if he cared, he wouldn't admit it.

That night when he killed the Joker, he had slept soundly and remembered nothing.

Damn it.

"I've taken care of you for so long; I deserve some sort of reward, don't I? What's wrong with a kiss?"

Su Youzhu pressed on, relentless. "Gu Jianlin, when are you going to start dating me?"

Gu Jianlin's heart wavered slightly as he stared at the girl who'd been by his side for so many years. Suddenly, he asked, "What's going on with your birth mother? Why haven't you ever told me anything about her?"

For a fleeting moment, the girl was silent.