Recently, Lu Jingming had been working on a plan that required consuming a large amount of Reality Authority. Moreover, his Reality Authority income had been decreasing, and he still hadn't found an effective way to increase it. In this situation, he was reluctant to spend Reality Authority frivolously.
Whenever he thought about boosting his Reality Authority income, he would think of Herta.
He wondered how Herta's research was progressing—had the Cosmic Juggernaut Inverted Horizons project successfully anchored the coordinates of a parallel world yet?
"If you have things to do, go ahead, there's no need to force yourself to stay with me. I can get back to work, too," Keqing noticed that Lu Jingming seemed distracted. She gently dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief and spoke softly.
"How could I? To me, the most important thing today is you." Lu Jingming snapped back to attention, gazing straight into Keqing's beautiful amethyst-like eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting into a tender smile.
Everything else could be set aside—today, his time belonged to Keqing alone.
"Is that so? Suit yourself." Keqing's eyes flickered, not daring to meet Lu Jingming's passionate gaze.
She wasn't used to such direct displays of affection from Lu Jingming. To her, the way they usually bantered felt more familiar and comfortable.
But right now, a subtle warmth spread inside her, leaving her a bit at a loss. She could only feign composure.
Unlike Keqing's reserved demeanor, Lu Jingming was the more proactive one.
Since the two set out together, he had never let go of Keqing's soft little hand.
Just like that, he led Keqing all around Haiyuan City for an entire day, thoroughly enjoying the city that belonged to them.
Entertainment on Douluo Continent was rather dull—soul battle arenas, or the desire-soaked casinos and brothels, all monotonous and uninspired.
But Haiyuan City was different. Here, there were all kinds of novel amusements, the aroma of delicious food wafted from street stalls, joyful music filled the air, and bookshelves overflowed with novels.
For the people of Douluo Continent, each of these things was full of freshness, as if a door to a new world had been opened.
When Lu Jingming and Keqing wandered into a bookstore, his eyes were immediately drawn to some books on the shelves.
The titles and style looked oddly familiar. After thinking a bit, he remembered that Castorice was passionate about writing novels and was quite prolific, churning out one after another.
But Castorice had an odd habit—perhaps due to her unique life experiences—she didn't like endings; she never wrote conclusions to her novels.
This meant that, although she had written many stories, not a single one was finished, leaving all her readers endlessly waiting for closure.
Lu Jingming looked up; on the bookstore's featured shelf, over half of the novels were Castorice's works.
Looking at those beautifully designed covers, he couldn't help but silently mourn three seconds for her loyal readers.
Given Castorice's writing habits, those readers would probably never see a conclusion in their lifetime. She seemed to only enjoy starting new stories, with no interest in finishing the old ones.
Happy times always fly by. In the blink of an eye, dusk settled in.
The soul-powered street lamps of Haiyuan City lit up right on cue, casting a warm, gentle glow over the city.
Before he knew it, Lu Jingming had walked Keqing home.
Perhaps after spending the whole day together, he got a little carried away. He naturally held Keqing's hand and was about to follow her right into her bedroom.
A sharp sound rang out—Keqing reacted instantly, pressing one hand against the doorframe to block his way.
"What do you think you're doing?"
A girl's bedroom was a supremely private space—how could she let a guy in so casually?
"Uh, didn't I say I'd spend the whole day with you? Nighttime counts as part of today too!" Lu Jingming looked serious, trying to sound perfectly reasonable.
"Heh, dream on!" Keqing's mouth twitched, a faint arc of purple lightning even flashing at the corner of her eye. Her lips smiled, but the expression was far from friendly.
Lu Jingming was still unwilling to give up and tried to plead his case again.
He thought, even if he did nothing special tonight, just sitting together in her bedroom would be a big step forward in their relationship.
But Keqing gave him no chance.
She gently scooped up the little fox nearby, left him with a crisp "Good night, get some rest," and decisively shut the door in his face.
Lu Jingming looked helplessly at the sky, but he wasn't discouraged. Today was already a great start—he'd held hands with her all day, and Keqing hadn't resisted, right?
Sooner or later, he would win over this purple cat.
Afterward, he stroked his chin, thinking about whom to visit tonight. Robin, March 7, and Jinhsi were tough to approach—probably as unreachable as Keqing. Firefly, Castorice, and Ji Yingying's rooms were easier to enter, but staying the night would be just as difficult.
After some thought, the only person who might let him stay was Zhang Lexuan.
Why not just go back to his own room?
Come on, being able to fall asleep cuddling a soft, fragrant beauty—even if just sleeping—was far better than being alone.
Without hesitation, Lu Jingming soon found himself at Zhang Lexuan's door, knocking.
Before long, the door slowly opened, and Zhang Lexuan's graceful figure appeared.
She wore a pure white nightgown, her long, inky-black hair casually draped over her shoulders, still damp from her bath, exuding a lazy yet seductive aura—clearly she had just finished bathing.
"Xiao Ming, weren't you with Keqing? What brings you here?" Zhang Lexuan's lips curled in a half-smile, her eyes full of playful teasing.
After all, it was no secret that Lu Jingming had spent the whole day with Keqing—everyone just tacitly didn't disturb their private time.
"Sister Lexuan, you're just asking what you already know! I'm exhausted after a whole day out—gonna take a shower first." Lu Jingming didn't mind her teasing in the slightest, and walked right in like he owned the place.
He was so familiar with Zhang Lexuan's room, it was like his own home.
He easily fetched her bath towel, then grabbed a set of men's pajamas from her wardrobe.
As expected, there were even spare men's clothes here, as if she'd always been prepared for his arrival.
Zhang Lexuan watched his natural movements without a hint of embarrassment.