Chương 212: Su Yuqing Suffers Another Setback

"it is good."

Facing Ye Zixuan's eyes, which were full of inquiry and expectation, Ji Ying nodded slightly, which was considered as agreeing to the request.

She knew that after the farcical scene that had just unfolded, it was time to get the chaotic atmosphere back on track.

Whether it's to appease these two "problem children" who are overly energetic because of him, or to demonstrate and explain his newly acquired power for the actual intelligence exchange to come, it's an unavoidable and necessary step.

Then, her gaze naturally turned to the two figures in the center of the room, "Su Yuqing" and "Luo Bingli," who remained kneeling with expressionless faces, and she said, "Then, let's use 'them' to demonstrate for you."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room, which had just eased somewhat due to the two's "truce," instantly became somewhat delicate again.

Ye Zixuan naturally had no objections; she was already very interested in being able to observe this mysterious power up close.

However, Su Yuqing, who was pouting and sulking with her arms crossed, suddenly stiffened her expression, while Luo Bingli, who had been quietly holding the Shadowless Clone and immersed in her own world, also involuntarily tensed up.

They looked up at Ji Ying almost simultaneously, their eyes filled with a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and strong resistance. Their lips moved slightly, as if they were about to say something to express their dissatisfaction.

However, before they could raise any objections, Ye Zixuan had already nimbly jumped off the bed and walked barefoot to the center of the room, somewhat impatiently.

Her gaze lingered between the shadow clones of Su Yuqing and Luo Bingli for a moment, before finally settling on "Su Yuqing," who was closer to her, with an undisguised hint of amusement.

"What—what do you want to do?!"

The real Su Yuqing immediately became alert, arching her back like a kitten guarding its food, her beautiful eyes filled with vigilance, fearing that Ye Zixuan might do something strange to her clone.

Ye Zixuan ignored her question and simply extended her slender fingers, beginning her long-awaited "investigation" with an extremely professional demeanor.

"Ugh————" She first stretched out her slender, fair fingers, with a hint of curiosity, and carefully poked the shadow clone's delicate cheek, feeling its warmth and elasticity, which was indistinguishable from the real thing.

Then, she gently squeezed it again, and the delicate touch from her fingertips made her gasp in disbelief, her eyes sparkling.

"It has a tangible feel—and the temperature is no different from that of a normal person—" Then, she moved even closer, almost touching the clone's face, her eyes gleaming with a curious light as she carefully observed the shadow clone's hair, skin texture, and even the slightly trembling eyelashes.

"Even the details of the pores are perfectly replicated—it's incredible," she murmured softly, her tone full of admiration.

"The mirror images created by Mirror Lord can probably only reach this level of realism in terms of detail."

This professional evaluation temporarily suppressed Su Yuqing's dissatisfaction, who was about to erupt.

She curled her lip, thinking to herself, "Hmph, since they are just seriously studying Xiaoying's abilities, then I, this young lady, will just be magnanimous and bear with it for now."

However, she soon regretted her naive idea.

After confirming the external features, Ye Zixuan began to explore more boldly and deeply, as if to confirm whether the body structure was also completely consistent.

Her hand slid down the shadow clone's neck, lingered for a moment at the collarbone, then followed the curves of the body downwards, casually tracing the clone's slender waist, and then inadvertently running her fingertips over its flat stomach, muttering to herself: "The elasticity of the muscles is so realistic—the body proportions are exactly the same—it's a perfect replica."

"Hey! Ye Zixuan!" Watching helplessly as the other person retaliated against her in such a thuggish manner, Su Yuqing finally snapped, bursting out in a fit of shame and indignation, "What the hell are you doing to my clone?! Stop it right now!"

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zixuan slowly raised her head, a pure and innocent expression on her face, as if she were truly just conducting research on this clone, completely baffled by Su Yuqing's anger: "I'm just analyzing Xiaoying's abilities. This is just a clone created from virtual energy, not the real you. Why are you so agitated?"

She paused, her slightly amused gaze returning to the exquisite face that was identical to Su Yuqing's. A faint smile curved her lips as she softly added, "But to be honest, you're much more well-behaved and likable when you're expressionless and quiet like this than when you're all blustering."

As she spoke, her fingers provocatively brushed against the clone's cheek.

"you--!"

This sarcastic remark, brimming with the essence of "tea ceremony," and the intimate gesture of stroking her clone's cheek, made Su Yuqing's face flush red with anger. She almost jumped up on the spot, wishing she could pounce on this hateful woman and fight her for three hundred rounds.

"Then why did you specifically choose my clone?!" she immediately demanded, her voice filled with resentment.

"You're just retaliating for what I did earlier, aren't you? Let go of my hand right now!"

"I'm just a little closer to your clone," Ye Zixuan replied casually, her reasoning impeccable.

"It's a more efficient choice."

Before she could finish speaking, under Su Yuqing's astonished gaze, her actions not only did not stop, but went even further.

Ye Zixuan's hand, which had been resting on the clone's cheek, deftly and quickly pulled open the collar of the clone's pajamas before the clone could react, and peeked inside.

Then, feigning surprise and drawing out her words, she said, "Oh~ so you like blue?"

"You—you—!"

This heavy blow completely ignited Su Yuqing's sense of shame.

She instinctively crossed her arms in front of her, tightly covering her neckline. Her originally fair cheeks instantly turned bright red, like ripe apples, and even the roots of her ears were tinged with a lovely pink.

Although only her shadow clone was seen, the shame of being spied on was transmitted very realistically to her real body, making her wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into immediately.

She pointed at Ye Zixuan for a long time before shouting in embarrassment and indignation, "Who, who said I liked it?! I just bought it randomly! And—don't look! Take your hand away from me right now!"

Seeing Su Yuqing's adorable, almost broken state, Ye Zixuan's face revealed a faint smile full of victor's smugness.

She slowly withdrew her hand, even leisurely straightening Su Yuqing's collar, her demeanor so elegant as if she weren't the one who had just committed such a lewd act.

On the other side, seeing that she had lost again in this "battle", Su Yuqing turned to Ji Ying in a fit of anger, trying to seek help one last time.

"Xiaoying, look at her! She actually did this to my clone! Quick! Create her shadow too, I want to see what color she's wearing!"

Faced with Su Yuqing's counterattack, Ye Zixuan simply shrugged, a calm smile on her face, even with a hint of encouragement: "Sure, it's okay."

"Anyway, I'm wearing the one Xiaoli bought for me just now, and she knows it's pure white. If you want to see it, that's fine too."

She paused, a sly glint in her eyes, her gaze lingering on Su Yuqing's chest, before she once again struck that signature, unbearably irritating pose, her tone carrying just the right amount of "concern": The premise is that you won't feel overly bothered by seeing things you don't have and would envy.

"Ugh—!"

Here we go again! It's this one again!

This incredibly precise "second strike" struck Su Yuqing's sore spot once again, and her counterattack plan failed before it even began.

Ye Zixuan's frankness rendered her "voyeuristic" revenge meaningless, and her subsequent provocative words and actions made her feel an indescribable sense of frustration, making her tremble with anger.

"Xiaoying—!"

Having suffered a complete defeat, both physically and psychologically, she let out a mournful cry of despair. Filled with grievance and tears, she abruptly turned and threw herself into Ji Ying's arms, burying her face in his soft embrace. She sobbed pitifully, "Look at her! Look at her! She's deliberately getting revenge on me again, using that kind of thing to bully me!"

Ji Ying was jolted backward by her sudden movement, a helpless smile on her face. She reached out and gently patted Su Yuqing's trembling back, as if comforting a wronged kitten that was being pampered.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. It's your own fault for doing that to Zixuan. Just bear it."

"Hmm—" These words silenced Su Yuqing instantly, leaving her speechless. She couldn't refute them because she had indeed felt that—unexpectedly wonderful sensation—on Ye Zixuan's body just now, and she even had a slight lingering feeling in her heart. Meanwhile, the other party had only glanced at her clone.

Thinking about this, she suddenly felt that her counterattack seemed to lack confidence and justification.

Seeing that she couldn't gain any advantage in this matter, she could only sullenly lift her head from Ji Ying's embrace and make a new request: "Then—you must take my shadow back right now, and don't let her touch it again!"

"No, that won't work."

Before Jiying could speak, Ye Zixuan immediately voiced her objection, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Xiaoying promised to explain her abilities to me. If she takes back such a vivid demonstration, how am I supposed to analyze it?"

"Then—you can't use mine! Absolutely not!" Su Yuqing insisted on her objection, raising her head and glaring angrily at the other woman, "Ye Zixuan, why don't you use your own clone?!"

"Creating another clone of me will consume Xiaoying's already precious virtual energy. We shouldn't waste her hard-earned replenishment of power on something so meaningless, should we?"

Ye Zixuan's answer was impeccable, full of thoughtful consideration for Ji Ying.

Of course, whether these are all the thoughts she has in mind, or whether she harbors any ulterior motives, is something only she knows.

Su Yuqing knew the importance of virtual energy and couldn't refute it for a moment, so she could only pout in grievance.

A brief silence fell over the room. Seeing that Su Yuqing and Ye Zixuan's clones were unusable, the three of them, as if they had planned it together, all turned their gazes to the serene "Luo Bingli" in the center of the room.

Immediately, they all shifted their gaze from the clone to the real Luo Bingli, who was holding the Jiying clone and seemed completely detached from the situation.

Feeling three burning gazes focused on her at the same time, Luo Bingli, who had been silently watching and enjoying her "world of two," suddenly stiffened and subconsciously hugged the clone in her arms even tighter.

She almost immediately understood the meaning in everyone's eyes—since neither of their clones could be used, then the next "sacrifice" to be pushed out would undoubtedly be her.

No way! Absolutely not!

She abruptly raised her head, her delicate and pretty face instantly flushing crimson. She shook her head repeatedly, her voice filled with obvious panic and resistance: "No, no! Using my clone—absolutely not! That—" How embarrassing!

Seeing that none of the three agreed, Ji Ying could only sigh helplessly and step in to defuse the situation.

"Alright, alright, since you all disagree, let's use my clone to demonstrate. It just so happens that my abilities cannot be fully displayed by clones other than myself."

"!"

Seeing that Ji Ying offered to demonstrate using her clone, Ye Zixuan forcibly suppressed the overwhelming joy in her heart, while maintaining a serious expression on the surface, silently making a victory sign in her heart.

To be able to legitimately touch and get close to Xiaoying's clone—that was her original, true purpose in making this request!

Just as Ji Ying was about to recall his other clones, Ye Zixuan was secretly delighted, and Su Yuqing also felt that the plan was acceptable— Luo Bingli, who had been silent all along, suddenly became anxious.

When she realized that Jiying's decision meant she had to let go of "Xiaoying," the child who had given her so much comfort and warmth, an unprecedented panic and reluctance instantly overwhelmed her reason.

The next moment, under Ye Zixuan's astonished gaze, although her fair cheeks were flushed with a beautiful blush of shame, Luo Bingli still mustered her courage and, in an almost tragic tone, trembled as she shouted, "No, I—I want to keep holding her!"

"You guys—just use my clone as a demonstration!"

Su Yuqing and Ye Zixuan were both stunned, their faces showing disbelief. Even Ji Ying, who was about to retract his clone, froze.

None of them expected that Luo Bingli, who had just been extremely shy, would make such a great "sacrifice" in order to continue holding Xiaoying's clone.

You should know that having your clone used as a "demonstration prop" and being touched inappropriately by another person under the guise of research is no less shameful than what Su Yuqing just experienced.

"Pfft—"' After a brief silence, Su Yuqing was the first to react.

She herself had no objection to this, but now, watching her friend's adorable, reckless demeanor with great interest, a mischievous smile reappeared on her face.

She stepped forward, reached out a finger, and gently poked Luo Bingli's blushing cheek, saying in a teasing tone, "Oh dear, Xiao Li really likes Xiao Ying very, very much, doesn't she? She's even going so far as to use her own clone as a demonstration, and she just won't let go of her clone, will she?"

"Ugh————" Luo Bingli was so embarrassed by her teasing that she wanted to disappear. She didn't respond at all, but buried her face deeper into the arms of the Shadow Clone and pretended to be asleep without moving.

On the other side, after a brief moment of surprise, Ye Zixuan could only purse her lips in resentment, forcibly suppressing the disappointment in her heart, and sighing inwardly at the pity.

She meticulously planned and proceeded step by step, thinking that victory was within her grasp. However, at the last moment, she was unexpectedly robbed of the victory by Luo Bingli, who had been silently observing all along.

She knew that after the other party had made such a great "sacrifice", she could no longer insist on using Xiaoying's clone for the demonstration, nor could she rightfully touch that clone.

At the same time, she also developed a deeper curiosity and a sense of identification with Luo Bingli, a girl who seemed aloof but was actually passionate.

Upon closer inspection, I realized I had underestimated her.

Ye Zixuan silently raised Luo Bingli's "threat level" to another level in her mind.

Ji Ying gazed at the somewhat eerie yet strangely harmonious scene before him— Su Yuqing teased Luo Bingli with great interest, while Luo Bingli pretended to be dead while hugging her clone. Ye Zixuan watched them thoughtfully from the side, feeling a throbbing pain in her temples again.

Her expression was somewhat strange at that moment, and her face was slightly flushed.

This is because, on the one hand, the atmosphere, which had just become serious, suddenly turned into this strange state due to some unexpected events; and on the other hand, it's because of Luo Bingli's actions at this moment— The other person's entire body was pressed against her clone without any exposure.

The soft and delicate touch, as well as the other person's suddenly rapid heartbeat, were all clearly transmitted to her main body through sensory sharing, making it difficult for her to remain completely calm.

Moreover, Ji Ying now feels that after learning that his clone and his original body can share the same senses, not only Yu Qing, but even Zi Xuan may do something unpredictable.

Therefore, in order to avoid being discovered by them, she could only forcefully resist that feeling, trying to make her voice sound calmer, and then asked, "Xiao Li, is it really okay to do this? Let me use your clone to demonstrate."

Luo Bingli did not answer, nor did she dare to look up into Ji Ying's eyes. She simply nodded slightly, which was her way of giving Ji Ying an affirmative answer.

However, it was this nodding gesture that caused her fair and soft cheek to gently rub against the neck of the Shadow Clone.

The distinct tactile sensation from the friction of that delicate skin sent a slight shiver down Ji Ying's spine.

Why did it have to turn out like this?!

She could no longer hold back and let out a desperate cry in her heart.