Chương 163: Their Dependence and His Promise

As Ji Ying softly uttered the somewhat helpless "I promise you," Luo Bingli's bright black eyes instantly shone with a dazzling light.

A joyful smile spread across her face, and the next moment she lowered her head again, burying her cheeks deeper into Ji Ying's warm and soft embrace, her arms instinctively tightening around Ji Ying's slender waist.

The embrace was so powerful that it caused Ji Ying's already unsteady body to sway slightly backward, almost causing her to fall uncontrollably onto the soft bed.

Where neither Ji Ying nor Su Yuqing could see, Luo Bingli's cheeks were subtly flushed with a faint blush from this overly proactive and intimate embrace.

After her emotional outburst and Ji Ying's gentle and patient comforting, Luo Bingli has calmed down.

She had clearly realized just how bold and abrupt her action of clinging tightly to the other person had been.

But she really didn't want to let go.

She craved the warmth of that embrace, and the comfort and strength emanating from this person that made her feel incredibly safe and secure.

Earlier today, as she lay alone in that warm and spacious bathtub, she had uncontrollably thought about it.

—I wonder when I will have the chance to fall asleep peacefully in "Xiaoying's" soft and warm body again, just like last night?

She had thought it was an incredibly extravagant wish, and that she might never have that opportunity again.

But to my utter surprise, this wish, hidden deep in my heart, was so easily fulfilled again just one night later.

The moment she realized this fact, a small smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

Ji Ying could clearly feel the girl in his arms' heartfelt joy and dependence, as well as the slight trembling of her body due to excitement. The pity and reluctance in his heart for her plight also grew stronger at this moment.

She reached out and continued to stroke the girl's soft, short hair with extremely gentle force, as if comforting a frightened little animal that had finally found shelter.

The room fell silent again for a short while, with only the girls' soft breathing and the occasional chirping of insects outside the window.

After a while, Ji Ying felt Luo Bingli's breathing, which had been somewhat rapid due to excitement, gradually calm down, and her tense body gradually relaxed.

Clearly, this young girl, who had just experienced a huge emotional shock, finally let down her guard and fell asleep peacefully after completely venting her grief and receiving the most sincere comfort and promises.

Looking at the peaceful and serene sleeping face of the girl in his arms, Ji Ying felt even more pity for her.

She carefully adjusted her position, trying to gently lay the other person flat on the bed so that they could sleep more peacefully.

However, the moment she made a move, she immediately noticed that Luo Bingli's arms wrapped around her neck not only did not loosen at all, but instead—subconsciously tightened their grip even more.

Ji Ying paused slightly and looked down at the girl in his arms.

Luo Bingli's eyes remained tightly closed, her peaceful sleeping face still bearing traces of tears that had not completely disappeared, and a faint smile—she had truly fallen asleep peacefully.

Ji Ying sighed helplessly and tried to slowly remove her arm from his neck.

However, whenever she made a slightly larger movement, Luo Bingli's brows would unconsciously furrow slightly, and a look of unease would appear on her face, as if she would wake up from her dream at any moment.

"Sigh—" Ji Ying sighed helplessly in his heart, feeling somewhat troubled for a moment.

Just then, a gaze filled with resentment and dissatisfaction came from behind her, sending a chill down her spine.

Ji Ying's heart skipped a beat, and she turned around almost reflexively.

Su Yuqing was lying on her side on the bed, propping her chin up with one hand, her eyes slightly narrowed, staring at her with a slightly dissatisfied look.

A strange sense of guilt welled up inside him. Ji Ying opened his mouth to explain, but didn't know where to begin.

Looking at Ji Ying's obviously flustered and guilty appearance, and her best friend sleeping soundly in her arms, Su Yuqing pouted unhappily, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just let out a soft "humph".

Immediately, she turned her head to the side with some displeasure, quickly rolled over, and reached out to "snap" off the small nightlight on the bedside table that emitted a warm yellow light, plunging the room into darkness instantly.

Immediately afterwards, Ji Ying felt the bed beside her sink slightly, and Su Yuqing seemed to have turned her back to them and covered herself completely with the quilt.

"Ugh, so annoying—time to sleep!"

Su Yuqing's grumbling, tinged with a hint of sullen dissatisfaction, was exceptionally clear in the quiet room, her tone resembling that of a child throwing a tantrum because their beloved toy had been taken away.

Hearing Su Yuqing's clearly emotional complaint, Ji Ying's guilt and embarrassment intensified.

But she couldn't say anything more at the moment. She could only carefully and gently lay Luo Bingli, who was already fast asleep in her arms, on the bed, and then lay down next to her.

Because Luo Bingli was still tightly hugging her neck in her sleep, the two of them were lying together in a way that could be described as snuggling and embracing each other.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat subtle and awkward due to this unexpected turn of events.

Because of her current posture, Ji Ying couldn't turn her head to look at Su Yuqing, but she had a feeling that the other person had quietly turned around at some point and was staring at her, which made her feel a little cold.

She dared not move an inch, afraid that any slight movement she made would once again provoke the other party's displeasure.

Time slipped away slowly in the silent and awkward atmosphere.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Ji Ying thought Su Yuqing might have really fallen asleep and was about to breathe a sigh of relief—

"Xiaoying————" A shout, though low, was unusually clear and suddenly came from behind her.

"Yes! What are your orders?"

Almost the instant Su Yuqing finished speaking, Ji Ying responded immediately with a speed that was almost like a preemptive answer.

Seeing Ji Ying's adorably nervous reaction, Su Yuqing narrowed her eyes slightly in the darkness, and a smile curved her lips.

She reached out and gently stroked Ji Ying's smooth black hair, asking softly, "When you suddenly barged into my room earlier, did you hear—what we were talking about?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ying was slightly taken aback, and then immediately recalled that when Su Yuqing was "interrogating" him, she did indeed mention something like, "You interrupted my important nighttime private conversation with Xiao Li."

She shook her head quickly, saying with unwavering conviction, "Absolutely not, I swear, I didn't hear anything at the time, really!"

In fact, she really didn't hear anything.

After all, the moment she barged into Su Yuqing's room, the two girls who were whispering to each other stopped talking abruptly because of her sudden appearance.

Su Yuqing didn't seem surprised by Ji Ying's urgent denial. She paused slightly, a glint of something unfathomable flashing in her eyes.

Then, she continued softly, "So—would you like to know what we were talking about back then?"

Ji Ying's heart was immediately filled with confusion.

Judging from Yuqing's previous reaction, she clearly didn't want me to know the specifics of their conversation, but now—she brought up the topic again, and even seemed to want to tell me.

This contradictory attitude left her somewhat unsure of the other person's true thoughts.

She carefully considered her words before replying softly in the most cautious tone possible: "Um, Yuqing, if you're willing to tell me, of course—I'd be very happy to listen."

"But if you feel it's inconvenient to say, or don't want to say, that's okay too, I definitely won't ask."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuqing fell into a brief silence once again. In the darkness, Ji Ying could vaguely sense that the other person seemed to be seriously thinking about something.

After a while, she sighed and shook her head gently: "Never mind, let's talk about it later. Pretend I didn't ask anything."

Seeing this, Ji Ying immediately and cautiously hummed in agreement, and did not continue to dwell on the topic.

The room fell into a suffocating silence once again.

Just when Ji Ying thought the topic could finally come to an end, she suddenly felt Su Yuqing's soft and warm body pressing against her from behind in an irresistible way.

Immediately afterwards, a pair of slender arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a warm embrace filled with a faint fragrance.

Feeling this sudden intimate gesture, Ji Ying's heart skipped a beat, and her body unconsciously stiffened slightly.

She asked, somewhat puzzled, "Yuqing—you—?"

"No, I didn't mean to hug you, you annoying guy!" Su Yuqing gently pressed her cheek against Ji Ying's back, her voice muffled.

"But—to make enough space for you and Xiaoli, I threw my favorite pillow next to me. Now, I can't sleep soundly without hugging something!"

Hearing Su Yuqing's arrogant words, which were full of contradictions, Ji Ying's tense nerves suddenly relaxed.

She had no intention of teasing him or exposing his excuse; she simply let him hug her from behind.

A while later, just when Ji Ying thought Su Yuqing might have fallen asleep again, her hesitant yet unusually solemn voice came softly from behind her once more: "Xiao Ying—no, A Che."

"I agree with what Xiaoli said before."

Upon hearing this, Ji Ying paused slightly, then subconsciously asked, "You mean—"

"Don't think that just because I usually laugh and joke around and seem like I don't care about anything, I really don't understand anything or care about anything."

Su Yuqing's voice was much lower than before, less lively and cheerful than usual, and more serious and firm.

"Those predecessors—they were also people I respected and admired immensely."

"If it weren't for them secretly protecting this city, the ordinary people living here would never be able to enjoy such a peaceful life as they do now."

"I also want to avenge those missing predecessors."

"That bastard named Jingjue—I will absolutely, absolutely not let him get away with this!"

Immediately, Su Yuqing tightened her arms around Ji Ying's, her tone softening considerably, carrying a hint of expectation and pleading: "However—A-Che, I don't want to put you in a difficult position because of this, and I don't want to implicate you because of my willfulness."

"So, even just some simple, small tasks where I can lend a hand would be fine —"

"When it comes to dealing with that bastard Jing Jue, please don't exclude me, okay?"

Ji Ying could clearly hear the deep-seated anger towards Jing Jue hidden in her words, as well as—a profound trust and expectation in herself.

She did not answer immediately, and the room fell silent again for a long time.

Just as Su Yuqing was feeling uneasy because of this silence, and even began to wonder if she had made some unreasonable request— Ji Ying nodded gently, yet with utmost solemnity, responding to the other's heavy expectation with a single, simple syllable: "Mm."

The promise and weight contained in this answer instantly put Su Yuqing's anxious heart back on track.

Her tense body finally relaxed completely, and a relieved, radiant smile appeared on her face. She hugged Ji Ying even tighter and whispered, "Thank you—A-Che."

Ji Ying gave another soft "hmm" and didn't say anything more. She carefully adjusted her position to make Su Yuqing as comfortable as possible when holding her.

Su Yuqing, with a satisfied smile, leaned close to her and closed her eyes.

Soon, even and steady breathing came from behind Ji Ying. Clearly, the girl who had just been preoccupied with worries had finally fallen asleep peacefully.

The night grew deeper and deeper, and the room became completely quiet.

Only Jiying remained, tightly embraced by the two girls, maintaining a slightly comical and awkward posture, remaining silent in the darkness for a long time.

She turned her head slightly, looking at Luo Bingli's sleeping face, which appeared even more serene and beautiful in the hazy moonlight, and feeling Su Yuqing's warm, even breath on her back— There was not a single romantic thought in her mind.

She simply sighed heavily and silently, feeling the heavy burden on her shoulders seem to have grown even heavier.

—It's okay.

In her heart, with an almost vow-like tone, she silently said to herself: —I will definitely destroy that bastard Jingjue, along with all the dirty schemes behind him, completely and utterly.

I will never let him hurt any of you again.

>