Ye Qiu looked at Xiao Wu's dark eye circles and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Then, with a trace of inexplicable guilt in his eyes, he said something that left Xiao Wu completely confused.
"Sorry about earlier."
"?"
Xiao Wu was stunned. She looked Ye Qiu up and down, and quickly realized what he meant. Her eyes filled with resentment, and she gritted her teeth furiously.
"Don't think just because you apologized, once I recover, I won't beat you so hard your teeth fall out! Just wait! I'm going to spank your butt until it's ruined!"
Xiao Wu glared at Ye Qiu with vicious determination, already imagining herself riding on his back, spanking him furiously.
Ye Qiu seemed to read her mind. He looked at her teasingly, leaned closer, and asked softly:
"You're not seriously thinking you can beat me, are you?"
"Why wouldn't I be able to beat you?!"
Xiao Wu puffed up defiantly, as if she wasn't the one who had just cried from getting beaten up.
Even with tear streaks on her delicate, charming face, her skin was still fair and glowing, faintly flushed, cheeks puffed up in anger as she glared at Ye Qiu. Paired with her comical black eye circles, she looked unexpectedly adorable.
"In that case, while you're still not fully recovered, I'll make sure to spank you every day until you can't get out of bed!"
Ye Qiu held a lollipop in his hand, savoring it slowly. A warm smile lingered on his face, and his tone was gentle.
But the words he said made Xiao Wu's expression suddenly turn panicked.
She snapped angrily, "You wouldn't dare?!"
As soon as she said that, Xiao Wu's body trembled slightly.
It was the aftermath of crying. She averted her gaze as she saw Ye Qiu's serious look.
She was a little short of confidence.
But when she saw Ye Qiu's smug, mocking expression again, she gritted her teeth hard.
She forced herself to say, "T-Then Sister Xiao Wu won't kick your butt anymore! But I'm still going to challenge you… I'm not calling you boss!"
"Alright! You're welcome to challenge me."
Ye Qiu smiled faintly. He still wasn't 100% confident against Tang San, but facing Xiao Wu, he wasn't worried at all.
His venom martial soul's versatility hadn't even been fully displayed yet.
After saying that, Ye Qiu didn't provoke her any further.
He wanted to ease the tension so that later, he could use her to test his venom's embodiment ability—he had never wrapped it around a person before!
Although he could test on others in the dorm, they were all prickly and unpleasant.
The mere thought of transforming into venom and wrapping around some ugly guy, only to be poked by something like that Ice Soul Silver Needle, made his skin crawl.
And besides—gross dudes? That's a hard no.
If given the choice, Ye Qiu would definitely rather wrap around a nice-smelling girl.
Slurp slurp~
Ye Qiu sucked on the lollipop in his mouth, thinking about how to get Xiao Wu to cooperate.
The pink candy went in and out of his mouth.
The air around them was filled with sweetness, mixed with the fresh scent of carrots.
Xiao Wu, nearby, sniffled lightly.
After two fights and crying for a while, she was starting to get hungry.
Staring at the thing in Ye Qiu's hand and smelling the carrot fragrance, she couldn't help but swallow.
Just as Ye Qiu was thinking about threatening her by revealing her soul beast identity…
He suddenly noticed that Xiao Wu was staring eagerly at the lollipop in his hand.
Seeing this, Ye Qiu's eyes lit up.
It looked like he didn't have to play that trump card just yet. Although threatening her would be crude and effective…
He was just a stranger she had only recently met. If he suddenly told her that a Title Douluo was nearby, this silly rabbit might not even believe him.
If she recklessly tried to escape and got caught by Tang Hao, and then sold him out… well, he'd probably be reincarnated again.
To protect his precious little life…
Playing it safe was better.
What Ye Qiu didn't know at the time—
His martial soul would soon give him a huge scare… or maybe a huge surprise.
Noticing Ye Qiu's gaze drifting toward her, Xiao Wu immediately looked away, but still couldn't stop herself from swallowing again.
Ye Qiu smiled lightly, pinched the stick of the lollipop, and waved it in front of her.
"You want a bite?"
"Sister Xiao Wu doesn't want your stuff!"
She said no with her mouth, but her eyes kept following the lollipop back and forth.
Ye Qiu chuckled, "If you want it, just say so. It's not like I won't let you eat it."
"Really?!"
Xiao Wu's face instantly brightened.
"Of course."
Ye Qiu nodded seriously, then changed the subject:
"As long as you help me with one small favor."
"What kind of favor?"
Xiao Wu looked at him curiously.
"It's nothing big! It's just… my martial soul can actually wrap around people's bodies. I want to try it on you."
Ye Qiu told the truth; there was no need to hide it.
"That black, slimy little tadpole?"
Xiao Wu's eyes flickered.
She was actually quite curious about Ye Qiu's martial soul. Without thinking too much, she nodded lightly.
"No problem."
"Great! Then I'll give you the lollipop—open your mouth!"
Ye Qiu laughed softly, not expecting her to agree so easily.
Xiao Wu's face blushed as she looked at Ye Qiu and slightly opened her lips, waiting for him to put it in.
Ye Qiu was just about to turn around and get a new one from his bag…
But suddenly changed his mind. His supply was limited—he needed to conserve resources.
With a teasing grin, he moved the lollipop he was already eating toward Xiao Wu's mouth.
Xiao Wu's pupils trembled slightly. She wanted to shut her mouth, but it was too late.
Ye Qiu was quick. He pushed the lollipop straight into her mouth, nearly hitting the back of her throat. To speed up the dissolving, he even stirred it a bit.
"Ah—cough cough!"
Xiao Wu let out a startled cry, then began coughing. Her throat was filled with sweetness, her mouth full of lingering fragrance.
But… this thing had already been in Ye Qiu's mouth!
Her loud reaction caught the attention of Tang San, Wang Sheng, and the others nearby, who all turned to look.
They saw Ye Qiu calmly sitting beside Xiao Wu, face expressionless.
After finishing her coughing fit, Xiao Wu pulled the lollipop from her mouth and held it in her hand, looking at Ye Qiu with embarrassment and annoyance.
"You—you gave me something you already ate?!"
Tang San heard her voice and finally understood what had happened. He frowned, hesitated…
Then remembered how Xiao Wu had just been ignoring him earlier.
The words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat—but he still felt a little unsettled inside.
"That was my last carrot-flavored one. If you don't want it, fine—give it back. I'll eat it myself."
As he spoke, Ye Qiu reached for the lollipop in her hand, about to put it back in his mouth.
"Ah! I—I've already licked it now!"
Xiao Wu shrieked, suddenly stood up, used one hand to cover Ye Qiu's mouth, and the other to snatch back the lollipop.
"Mmph—"
Ye Qiu struggled a bit and pushed her hand away.
"Pleh pleh!"
He wiped his mouth furiously and glared at Xiao Wu:
"Why would you use the hand you pressed on the ground to touch my mouth?! So dirty! All muddy!"
"You shoved something you already licked into my mouth first! Hmph—we're even now!"
Xiao Wu gave him a glare, then looked at the lollipop in her hand. She hesitated for a moment, then blushingly leaned forward…
And gave it a small, tentative lick.