Chapter 15: There Must Be Something Going On Between You Two!

Inside the private second-floor dining room, a wide round table was laden with delicious-looking dishes of every color and aroma. 

The girls sat around it, happily enjoying their dinner.

Gradually, however, several of them noticed that Xia Liu seemed distracted. 

She kept lifting her chopsticks to her mouth only to realize she had grabbed nothing but air, yet she did not seem to notice. 

Instead, her gaze kept drifting toward Su Zhan. 

The moment Su Zhan looked back, Xia Liu would immediately turn away.

Su Zhan, on the other hand, maintained her usual calm expression, but she ate quickly, as if she did not want to stay in the same room with someone for long.

Earlier, when the girls had just left the hot springs, they had seen Xia Liu standing silently outside Su Zhan’s door, looking like she was debating whether or not to go inside.

When they asked if she needed something from Su Zhan, Xia Liu had handed them two greasy paper bags with a stiff face and said they were sugar-coated hawthorns for them to share. 

Then she had left.

At the time they had assumed Senior Sister Xia was simply too embarrassed to give the childish treat to Senior Sister Su herself. 

Now, thinking back on how she had lingered outside the door, it looked more like a Dao companion who had angered her partner and was trying every way possible to make up, only to be shut out.

In short… there was definitely something going on between those two!

“Cough cough, Senior Sister Su, this shrimp dish tastes really good. It’s even better than what the sect’s dining hall serves. Won’t you try some?”

After exchanging glances, one of the girls cleared her throat and spoke up.

The shrimp dish was placed right beside Xia Liu. 

From Su Zhan’s seat it was out of reach, so if she wanted any, Xia Liu would have to help.

“No need. You junior sisters enjoy it.”

Su Zhan glanced at the girl, then quickly looked away and shook her head lightly. 

She seemed unwilling to even glance in Xia Liu’s direction.

The girls exchanged disappointed looks. Their suspicion that the two were on bad terms grew even stronger.

Of course, this was only how the situation appeared to the girls.

Su Zhan was not unwilling to look—she did not dare.

The girls seated around the table had clearly just come from the bathing area and had not yet returned to their rooms to change. 

Most of them were wrapped only in bathrobes, and a few had not even tied the belts properly. 

Any slightly larger movement would reveal a hint of spring scenery.

Their simply draped long hair still carried faint wisps of steam, and their bodies gave off a faint, intoxicating fragrance. 

They ate barefoot, playfully nudging one another, their voices soft and languid from the enjoyment of the bath.

Some of these girls had grown up in the sect and were used to sharing rooms with several others, so they had long since developed this carefree, unrestrained nature.

But Su Zhan had never seen anything like this before. 

The sight was even more alluring than when the girls had been splashing around in the little pond earlier.

Since the second floor belonged only to their group and Xia Liu had not told them to mind their manners, Su Zhan felt too embarrassed to ask the more casual girls to tie their robes properly.

So she could only keep her eyes straight ahead and focus on finishing her meal quickly so she could return to her own room.

“Senior Sister Xia, where did you buy those sugar-coated hawthorns you gave us earlier? They’re really delicious.”

Seeing that Su Zhan was not responding, the girl decided to try her luck with Xia Liu instead.

But Xia Liu was still clearly distracted. Only after the girl called her name several times did she finally react.

“Ah… the hawthorns? Senior Sister Su bought them. I don’t know the exact location.” Xia Liu answered.

The girl scratched her head. This did not quite match their earlier guess.

If the hawthorns had been bought by Su Zhan, that meant Xia Liu was the one who had been angered and Su Zhan was the one trying to make up. 

After receiving the hawthorns, Xia Liu had probably already forgiven her but was too embarrassed to knock on the door, which was why she had lingered outside.

That made sense. 

Senior Sister Su was cold by nature and had probably said something that accidentally offended Senior Sister Xia. 

And with Senior Sister Su’s personality, she would not know how to coax someone properly.

The girls exchanged another glance, all reaching the same conclusion. This had to be the truth.

Since they had eaten their senior sister’s hawthorns, they had to help the two seniors make up!

“I thought the two senior sisters had gone together to buy them. So Senior Sister Su bought these for us. Did Senior Sister Xia prepare a surprise for us while we were in the bath?”

Another girl asked with a playful smile, trying to steer the conversation into lighter territory while subtly fishing for information. 

She wanted to find out exactly what had happened between the two seniors.

“You little brats are getting greedy. You already got to soak in the hot springs and you still want a surprise? Or do you want to test pills for me instead?”

Xia Liu frowned, recovering some of her usual demeanor.

“Then if Senior Sister Xia wasn’t preparing a surprise and didn’t join us in the bath, were you doing something bad?”

The girl pressed.

“What bad thing? I never do anything bad!”

Xia Liu glared, then immediately realized her reaction had been too defensive and tried to cover it up.

“It’s all because you little brats were so noisy. You pestered me the whole way on the cloud boat. I finally had some free time, so of course I wanted to rest.”

Her explanation only made her sound more like she was trying to save face, which lacked any real persuasiveness.

“But earlier Senior Sister Xia wasn’t resting in her own room. You were standing outside Senior Sister Su’s door looking lost in thought.”

A girl who had not been paying close attention asked in confusion.

Xia Liu opened her mouth but found herself at a complete loss for how to explain. 

What could she say? That she had lifted her senior sister’s clothes and was now wallowing in self-loathing?

These little brats loved spreading gossip. 

If they found out, by the time they returned to the sect they would have exaggerated the story beyond recognition!

“I was the one who called Junior Sister Xia over and asked her to share the hawthorns with you all. If she seemed distracted, it was probably because she was wondering when you junior sisters would finish bathing and come out.”

Su Zhan saw the conversation veering in the wrong direction and spoke up softly to help explain.

“Don’t tease your Senior Sister Xia. She has been staying up late refining pills these past few days and has been low on energy. She was resting in her room earlier.”

“Oh~ So that’s how it is.”

The girl who had asked first nodded, but she smiled without saying anything more. 

Her sly eyes darted back and forth between Su Zhan and Xia Liu.

Senior Sister Xia already looked exhausted, and spiritual power cultivation prevented dark circles anyway, so there was no way to tell if she had actually been up all night. 

Yet how did Senior Sister Su know so clearly?

Besides, Senior Sister Su had been nowhere to be found these past few days. 

She must have been hiding with someone. 

Putting it all together, while Senior Sister Xia had been staying up late refining pills, Senior Sister Su had been keeping her company the whole time.

But Senior Sister Xia hated having people in her room and never allowed anyone inside.

Even when refining pills, there should have been time to rest. 

If she still had not rested properly, then it must have been because of Senior Sister Su.

The more the girl thought about it, the more her thoughts wandered into improper territory. 

A faint blush rose on her cheeks as she pictured certain unspeakable scenes.