After playing mahjong with the three girls all day, night fell. The butler, Qian Liu, came properly to the four of them and said,
"Master, the meal is ready; you may eat now."
Zhao Ling nodded slightly, glanced at the three girls, and said, "Let's go eat."
"Mm..." The three girls nodded in unison, then stood and followed Zhao Ling toward the main hall.
After the four were seated, Zhao Ling served the three girls in turn, placing their bowls in front of them. The girls didn't hesitate but took the bowls from his hands.
Liu Erlong had just eaten a couple of bites when she tentatively spoke.
"Brother Ling, I want to go home tomorrow. Last time I left home, I didn't even tell my father. I stayed at your mansion for four or five days. If my father comes back and finds me not at home again, he'll probably complain about me being away so often."
"Mm, that's fine. If you want to go home, just go. Don't stay cooped up here playing cards every day. Going out to have a walk is good too."
Zhao Ling nodded and kindly picked a chicken leg with his chopsticks for Liu Erlong, smiling warmly.
"Thank you, Brother Ling."
At this moment, Liu Erlong sounded gentle, very different from her fierce dinosaur persona in the original story.
"Husband, Bo Saixi sister and I want some too. You're not going to just give Erlong sister the chicken legs, are you? No way, no way. You wouldn't be so unfair, right?"
Ah Yin pouted her little mouth, feigning dissatisfaction with a teasing tone.
"Okay, okay, how could your husband be unfair?"
Zhao Ling quickly picked a big chicken leg each for Bo Saixi and Ah Yin. These chicken legs had been fried in butter and salted, making them not only fragrant but very delicious.
The three girls happily munched on their chicken legs, and Zhao Ling himself also picked up a chicken leg and began eating heartily.
After dinner, the four enjoyed watching the star-filled sky in the garden.
It must be said, the night sky on Douluo Continent was very beautiful, completely free of the air pollution caused by heavy industrial development on Blue Star.
As the night deepened, Ah Yin, Bo Saixi, and Liu Erlong each went to their rooms to rest.
Zhao Ling obediently followed Ah Yin, wanting to go to her room.
But Ah Yin shot him a glare, annoyed, "Want to bother me again? You dummy, why don't you go to Bo Saixi sister's or Erlong sister's room instead?"
Zhao Ling awkwardly scratched his head, "Well, that might not be good. I haven't formally established relationships with either of them yet. Besides, Erlong is going home tomorrow. If I mess with her tonight, how will she go home tomorrow? And as for that Bo Saixi girl, we only just got a little closer today. How could I suddenly go stay overnight in her room? You see what I mean?"
Ah Yin pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine, then. I'll let you stay in my room tonight. But I must make one thing clear: starting tomorrow night, you must treat us all fairly. You can't just bother me alone."
"I don't care what tricks you use, but starting tomorrow night, you have to get Bo Saixi sister and Erlong sister down for me. If you can't do that, don't even think about entering my room again."
Uh... Zhao Ling's face immediately soured. Was this for real? This girl was basically giving him a final order.
If he couldn't get Bo Saixi and Liu Erlong starting tomorrow night, he wouldn't be allowed in her room? This was like forcing a duck onto the chopping block.
Liu Erlong was somewhat manageable since they'd known each other for a while, but as for Bo Saixi, Zhao Ling felt he really had no confidence.
"What, you don't agree? If you don't agree, you can forget about entering my room tonight."
Ah Yin glared at Zhao Ling in displeasure, remembering how these days Zhao Ling had been pestering her so much that she had cried to heaven and earth but received no help.
The key was that Sister Dong'er was far away in Spirit City and couldn't help ease her pressure.
If she didn't quickly get her husband to bother Bo Saixi sister and Erlong sister, she felt like she'd go crazy.
Most importantly, today her husband suddenly grew over a foot taller and became even more muscular than before. She suspected it was the system mentioned in the diary upgrading her husband's initial Barbaric War Body.
As for her husband's claim that it was because Bo Saixi sister kissed him for almost half an hour, causing his sudden growth and strength—only a fool would believe that.
But if it really was his Barbaric War Body upgrading from the initial to the intermediate level, then his physique wouldn't just be tripled anymore—it would be at least quadrupled or even more.
Thinking back on the triple physique that had already caused her so much trouble, she couldn't imagine how insanely crazy her husband would become after upgrading to the intermediate Barbaric War Body.
So she still believed that finding more sisters to fight alongside her was more important. The more sisters they had, united in heart, the better they could suppress her husband's arrogance.
Zhao Ling, of course, had no idea how complicated Ah Yin's thoughts were or that she had guessed his Barbaric War Body had been upgraded.
He could only nod and agree to her demands first.
"Okay, whatever my lady says goes. Starting tomorrow, I will definitely try to get Bo Saixi and Erlong down."
Hearing his solemn promise, she finally allowed Zhao Ling into her room.
However, Zhao Ling didn't immediately pounce on her as usual upon entering Ah Yin's room but instead took out a flower called Xiangsi Duanchanghong (Yearning Heartbroken Red) from his storage space.
Seeing the beautiful Yearning Heartbroken Red, Ah Yin's eyes lit up immediately, her bright blue eyes filled with affection.
"Husband, what kind of flower is this? It looks so pretty. I think I really like it."
Ah Yin reached out to take the Yearning Heartbroken Red, its beautiful appearance instantly winning her favor.
However, Zhao Ling didn't know if Ah Yin had any affinity with the Yearning Heartbroken Red because, in the original first part, the flower's destined owner was Xiao Wu.
Now that Ah Yin liked the flower, it was uncertain whether she could successfully gain its recognition. So Zhao Ling told her the legend about the Yearning Heartbroken Red from the original story.
Ah Yin's eyes lit up at once. "So this flower has such a tragic and beautiful story? Then I want to try. Husband, you said I just have to think about the person I love most and then drip my blood on it, right?"
Zhao Ling nodded slightly. "Yes, that's correct. But if your heart isn't sincere or if you have distracting thoughts, the Yearning Heartbroken Red won't recognize you."
"No worries. I don't believe my feelings for you won't be recognized by this flower."
With that, Ah Yin cut her finger with a knife and let the blood drip onto the delicate petals of the Yearning Heartbroken Red, and both she and Zhao Ling held their breath.
The reason Zhao Ling took out the Yearning Heartbroken Red was, of course, to hope Ah Yin could successfully claim it. Unfortunately, things often don't go as hoped...