Chapter 53: I Was Clearly Here First...

“Huh? What’s that noise upstairs?”
“No idea, sounds like it’s coming from Miss Dancing Butterfly’s room.”
“I think I just saw that rascal Jiang Lin heading upstairs.”
“Oh! Could it be that Jiang Lin is finally making a move?”
“Impossible. With Jiang Lin’s courage? Even if his master offered herself to him, he wouldn’t dare touch her. Does he have that kind of nerve?”
“Ah, Brother Diao, you don’t know the old saying: even a sow can climb trees. My wife climbs trees every night like it’s nothing. Why can’t Brother Jiang lose control after a few drinks?”
“Haha, that’s actually possible.”
“But, Jiji Bo, why does your wife climb trees?”
“Apparently, she’s working out. Wants to become a strong, beautiful pig.”
“Oh, I see.” Room Copy Skirt suddenly looked enlightened. “No wonder my minotaur neighbor goes out to climb trees every night. Turns out he wants to be a bodybuilder bull…”
“…”
The room fell silent for a moment. Everyone looked in unison at Jiji Bo… Even a farmer-cultivator friend started sprinkling herbicide on his head…

Meanwhile, Aunt Lin, who was keeping an eye on the guests for Jiang Lin downstairs, also looked up at the commotion, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
“Didn’t even use a soundproofing array? As expected, young men and women are like dry wood and raging fire, but this is a bit too loud, isn’t it?”
Aunt Lin shook her head, suddenly remembering something more pressing.
“What about Ginger Girl? If Jiang Lin really marries Dancing Butterfly, won’t Ginger Girl hack him to pieces? This is… exciting, to say the least. I must tell Ginger Girl all about this someday~~~”

“Miss Chen! Let me explain! It’s not what you think! Dancing Butterfly and I are both innocent!”
Jiang Lin, who’d just been punched into the wall, clutched his chest and struggled to his feet. Who said “a little fist pounding your chest” was all weak and cutesy? One more punch and Jiang Lin figured he’d be forced to use a resurrection token to escape.
What’s more, he couldn’t even fight back. After all, she thought he’d stolen her girlfriend—if he actually hit her, wouldn’t that just prove his guilt?
But who would have guessed they both liked lilies…

“Innocent? Ha! Who are you trying to fool, you beast! Today I, Chen Jia, will punch this lecher to death!”

As she spoke, Chen Jia’s long dress fluttered, and she sent a shattering punch flying without hesitation. But at the critical moment, Dancing Butterfly spread her arms and shielded Jiang Lin.
The force of the punch whipped Dancing Butterfly’s hair as Chen Jia’s delicate fist halted just at her brow.
The two girls stared at each other in silence, eye to eye.

“Dancing Butterfly, move aside. That man’s a flower thief—he specializes in tricking girls. He even treated that she-monkey demoness to bananas!”
Looking at the girl before her, Chen Jia’s heart was a tangle of emotions.
Dancing Butterfly was her childhood friend, one of the few in the Sun and Moon Sect who knew she was a woman.
When Chen Jia heard Jiang Lin was coming to Spring Breeze House to step onto the path to adulthood, she’d rushed over and slipped into Dancing Butterfly’s room, hoping to find out whose “path” Jiang Lin would step on tonight and catch him red-handed.
But she never expected… he’d show up in Dancing Butterfly’s room.
How could this be? Dancing Butterfly might be a girl of Spring Breeze House, but she sold art, not her body, and was a fourth-realm Bone Tempering cultivator herself. Why would the two of them be alone together?
Dancing Butterfly could never be that kind of girl!
So there could only be one explanation: Jiang Lin, that beast, was up to his old tricks!
Weren’t the two girls from the Secret Maze enough for him? Now this? Did he think he was the protagonist in some cultivator’s harem novel?
Today, she’d break his legs so he couldn’t leave the house. At worst, she’d take care of him for life!
But…
Just because Dancing Butterfly wasn’t that kind of girl…
What if she really liked him? What if Jiang Lin, that beast, actually liked her, too?
Chen Jia glanced at Dancing Butterfly’s straight-backed figure, then looked down at herself… It really was possible…
But how could it be like this?
Whether it was meeting Jiang Lin, talking to him, eating roasted meat together… she was the one who came first…
Suddenly, Chen Jia felt powerless. Her not-so-clever mind, spinning too fast, made her trigeminal nerve ache, and her fighting spirit began to fade.
Jiang Lin noticed the light fading from her beautiful eyes, growing darker and darker, and was reminded of a certain anime heroine…
[Oh hell! Is this little one about to go yandere?]

In contrast, Dancing Butterfly, standing before Jiang Lin, wasn’t overthinking it.
Actually, when Chen Jia burst in, the girl was so mortified she wanted to die, especially after hearing Chen Jia had overheard Jiang Lin reciting love poetry to her. That was even more embarrassing.
Still, beneath the embarrassment was a small happiness.
Dancing Butterfly knew Chen Jia was only this angry for her sake. After all, Young Master Jiang’s reputation as a flower thief was well-known, and who wouldn’t suspect something if a man and woman were alone together?
As for whether Chen Jia was jealous because she liked Young Master Jiang herself?
Impossible. Chen Jia’s mind was all about fists; how could she fall for a man? Plus, she’d always said that if she ever married, her husband’s martial cultivation would have to surpass hers.
Young Master Jiang was a sword cultivator—no way that would happen…

“Little Jia, you’ve misunderstood. There’s really nothing going on between Young Master Jiang and me.”
Dancing Butterfly, cheeks blushing, took Chen Jia’s small hand. Admittedly, she did want to be that close to Young Master Jiang, but not yet.
She liked him, yes, but to give herself to him so easily would be far too frivolous.

“Eh? Really? There’s really nothing between you?”
Like a computer rebooting, Chen Jia lifted her fair head, the darkness in her eyes slowly replaced by light and hope, looking both adorable and pitiful, like a little ragdoll cat pawing at your hand and meowing softly.
Although Jiang Lin knew this ragdoll cat was perfectly capable of kicking him to death in a single blow…

“Really… Don’t worry about me. I just… just bought a poem from Young Master Jiang, that’s all.” Like soothing a little daughter, Dancing Butterfly hugged Chen Jia, gently stroking the fur of this puffed-up kitten.
Only, the hug made Chen Jia, buried in Dancing Butterfly’s arms, feel a deep sense of inferiority…

“If Miss Chen doesn’t believe me, look, here’s the spirit stone Miss Dancing Butterfly just handed over. It even smells like her!”
Jiang Lin wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood up.
Though both girls wanted to punch him for that comment, the atmosphere was good enough that they let it slide.

“So that’s…”
Just as Jiang Lin was about to explain further, a chime sounded in his mind as the system activated…