About an hour later, Liu Yilin opened her eyes and excitedly recounted her recent experience to Ning Beichen, leaving him astonished.
"Beichen, did I make a mistake?"
After speaking, Liu Yilin saw Ning Beichen's stunned expression and felt a pang of nervousness.
"No, no, no, you're not mistaken, Yilin. You are truly a cultivation genius."
Ning Beichen was so surprised that he didn't know what else to say.
"Really?"
Hearing Ning Beichen's exaggerated praise, Liu Yilin felt a little embarrassed.
"Yes, really."
Ning Beichen nodded seriously. Whether Liu Yilin could become a master if she persevered was uncertain, but her strength would definitely not be inferior to Ye Ya'er or his senior sister.
"Beichen, thank you. I feel like my body has changed..."
Just as Liu Yilin was about to describe her changes in detail to Ning Beichen, she suddenly smelled an odor. Looking down, she blushed furiously.
Her skin was covered in black grime, a huge blow to any girl, especially when exposed to a man.
The foul smell made her too ashamed to speak, and she immediately grabbed a bolster to cover herself and rushed to the bathroom, leaving Ning Beichen chuckling.
This was the effect of the Qingzhu Pill combined with cultivation, expelling toxins and impurities from the body. It was like this for the first time, but it wouldn't happen again. For example, Ning Beichen himself couldn't expel anything even if he wanted to.
Liu Yilin spent a full hour in the bathroom before emerging. When she saw Ning Beichen, her expression was like that of an ostrich.
No one wants to be seen in their most disheveled state, especially girls. Her body reeked, and it was in front of Ning Beichen, making her mortified.
"Laugh if you want to."
Liu Yilin resigned herself to it, thinking, "Let it be whatever it will be."
"Hahahaha..."
Ning Beichen couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"You... you're still laughing!"
Liu Yilin stomped on Ning Beichen's foot and said angrily.
Girls were still girls, saying one thing and meaning another. She had just said, "Let it be whatever it will be," and now she was changing her tune.
However, she wasn't wearing shoes, so stepping on Ning Beichen barefoot didn't hurt at all. Instead, it gave Ning Beichen a strange sensation. Suddenly, as if possessed, he pulled her in, and Liu Yilin let out a yelp as she fell into his arms.
Face to face, their eyes met, and both of them froze for a moment.
Ning Beichen looked at Liu Yilin's delicate face, inches away. The warm breath that exhaled between them made his nose tingle.
Liu Yilin blushed and, shyly, closed her eyes, her heart pounding.
But Ning Beichen, being trained and not inexperienced with women, quickly regained his composure. He hastily let go of Liu Yilin and pretended nothing had happened.
As the saying goes, it wasn't that Liu Yilin wasn't beautiful, nor was it that Ning Beichen wasn't moved. It was because he knew Liu Yilin was different from other women and not someone to be trifled with.
However, Ning Beichen was not the type of person who would give up a vast forest for her. Moreover, after the one-year term was up, he would leave and return to his original life. Why bother provoking Liu Yilin, this ice mountain?
Ning Beichen's half-hearted attempt left Liu Yilin with a sense of disappointment. However, as a shy girl, she couldn't take the initiative.
"Ahem, well... you don't need to worry. Everyone experiences this during their first cultivation. It's your body expelling toxins and impurities. After cultivating a few more times, this won't happen again."
Ning Beichen, seeing the awkward atmosphere, tried to find a topic to talk about.
Liu Yilin nodded shyly, still not daring to meet Ning Beichen's eyes.
"Well... you should get some rest early."
Ning Beichen didn't dare to linger. After saying that, he returned to his own room.
Liu Yilin looked at his retreating back somewhat helplessly.
She recalled that at the beginning, she and her best friend were always worried that this guy had ulterior motives and wanted to seize her wealth, wishing they could throw him into the river.
But after so much interaction, Ning Beichen not only had no schemes but also no intention of coveting her wealth. Instead, he had saved her life multiple times and even helped the company overcome many difficulties.
Putting aside the matter of saving her life, without him, the company would have been gone after several major crises.
The first time, important data was stolen, and he helped retrieve it.
The second time, there was a funding issue, and even the bank refused to lend her money. Ning Beichen helped resolve it, otherwise, Tianmei Technology Group would have gone bankrupt.
The third time was even more significant. Without Ning Beichen, those three important instruments and the mine would never have come into her possession.
All these incidents were related to Ning Beichen. If he truly wanted to covet her wealth, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.
If it wasn't for money, then it must be for sex.
But what happened tonight left Liu Yilin confused. She was willing, yet this guy hadn't made any advances toward her.
For a moment, even Liu Yilin didn't know what Ning Beichen was thinking.
Now, Liu Yilin was no longer as clueless about Ning Beichen as she was before.
Although Ning Beichen had never mentioned his wealth, judging by how easily he could obtain large sums of money, he was likely not short of it.
If he were interested in her chips, Ning Beichen not only didn't ask for them but instead went all out to help her.
If he were interested in her, then despite numerous opportunities, Ning Beichen had always treated her with respect.
Moreover, Liu Yilin knew that Ning Beichen was not someone who lacked female companionship. Not to mention the beautiful movie star Ye Ya'er, the beautiful countess from Las Vegas.
And his senior sister, whose beauty was not inferior to hers, not to mention the princess he was rumored to be close to recently, and others.
Any one of these women would not be inferior to her, Liu Yilin.
Yet, such an excellent man had come to be her bodyguard and was now teaching her martial arts. What exactly did he want?
Liu Yilin lay in bed, unable to sleep all night.
The next day, while busy at the company, she was about to call Ning Beichen to have lunch together when she found he wasn't there. After asking the secretary, she learned that her sister had come to the company earlier to find Ning Beichen and said she was going to lunch with him.
"My sister is out with Ning Beichen?"
Liu Yilin was surprised because she knew her sister had always had a bad impression of Ning Beichen. Why would she come to find him for lunch?
However, Liu Yilin didn't think much of it, just musing that perhaps her sister wanted to thank Ning Beichen because he had saved her.