He Qiu felt that for now, it was better to confirm Senior Sister’s feelings once more, just to avoid any misunderstandings.
So he asked seriously, “Senior Sister, are you truly willing to marry me?”
As the words fell, An Lingran’s teacup trembled.
The silver-haired woman’s delicate body quivered slightly, and a faint blush crept onto her face.
Anyone with clear eyes could see that she really did like him—the kind of like that took marriage as a premise, not just fooling around.
But after a silent exchange of glances, An Lingran suppressed the impulse in her chest and asked softly, “Junior Brother, do you want to marry me?”
“…”
This time, it was He Qiu’s turn to fall silent.
After a long while, the young man shook his head and replied seriously, “Junior Brother is not yet mature. Talking about love so early is somewhat inappropriate. I am not qualified for that now.”
In truth, this excuse was also made up by He Qiu on the spot—half true, half false.
After being reborn into this world, He Qiu felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
He desperately wanted to learn and improve, not wanting to be a lowly pauper like in his previous life.
So when he learned that cultivation was possible in this world, he set his life’s goal.
Thus, when he said he was not yet mature, it was indeed true.
But what He Qiu didn’t say was that even if he really became an immortal cultivator, he still didn’t want to marry.
This had to do with his romantic experiences in his past life.
During his middle and high school days, He Qiu, who didn’t study well, was completely obsessed with dating.
He would often wallow in self-pity online, use his parents’ allowance to dress fashionably, and change girlfriends at school constantly.
He was a legendary campus figure for three years, earning the nickname “Little Poseidon of No. 36 Middle School.”
Then, puppy love ruined his studies.
After graduation, He Qiu was directly sent to a vocational school, and after that, he was immediately funneled into a factory.
In an instant, he went from a campus heartthrob to a penniless loser at the bottom of society.
In the end, his girlfriend also broke up with him.
Everyone had matured, and their views on love had become realistic.
No one wanted to waste time with a good-looking but poor loser.
On the day of the breakup, He Qiu listened to sad songs all night long, his heart aching so much that he couldn’t pull himself out of it for a long time.
He swore that he would never get involved with romance again in this life.
Women only slowed down his speed of entering the factory—it was his own fault.
Later, before He Qiu could have his loser’s turnaround, he was directly reborn into another world.
Then, he gained the resistance buff “Stay Away from Women,” making him even less interested in women.
First, he didn’t need emotional support; second, he had no physical desires either.
With these two buffs stacked, wasn’t he invincible?
Emotionless and desireless, he could cultivate diligently and ascend sooner or later!
This was He Qiu’s new life plan.
In this life, he would prove with his persistence and hard work to those who had looked down on him that he was not a fool who only knew how to stupidly fall in love.
In summary, An Lingran saying she wanted He Qiu to marry her undoubtedly interrupted He Qiu’s life plan.
She wanted once again to use emotions to shake his determination to cultivate and ruin his bright future!
Women only affected the speed at which he drew his sword.
“Hmm, I’ve thought it over carefully. I still feel this matter is really inappropriate. Junior Brother cannot reciprocate Senior Sister’s feelings.”
He Qiu gave a triple rejection, hoping to make An Lingran give up on him.
However, An Lingran was not discouraged at all.
Instead, as if she had expected it, she tilted her head and smiled slightly.
“It’s fine. Senior Sister understands what Junior Brother means. I said that if Junior Brother is unwilling, I won’t use the marriage contract to force you. You can rest assured.”
“Mm, Senior Sister is truly understanding and considerate.”
He Qiu looked into An Lingran’s gentle eyes and suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
He could see that Senior Sister’s feelings had not changed at all; in fact, they seemed even more resolute than before.
After all, what did she see in him?
He was the greenest of greenhorns as a junior brother.
What virtues did he have to be qualified to marry the dignified Primordial Saintess?
This didn’t make scientific sense.
But despite his confusion, since He Qiu had already rejected An Lingran and she had promised not to force him with the contract, he could temporarily relax—as long as it didn’t interfere with his cultivation.
“Junior Brother, shall we put the matter of the marriage contract aside for now?”
As she spoke, An Lingran reached out and picked up the marriage contract from the table.
She stroked it carefully in her palm, then tucked it back into her sleeve as if it were a precious treasure.
After a pause, she added, “If someday Junior Brother changes his mind and wants to marry Senior Sister, this contract will still be valid at any time.”
A charming smile curled at the corners of her lips, and her eyes reflected fondness and anticipation, as if she could already see the scene of her junior brother coming to propose in the near future.
This look and emotion made He Qiu shudder.
He even felt a little unconfident because of Senior Sister’s resolve.
To He Qiu, An Lingran’s marriage contract was an endless abyss.
He was still too weak now—even mountain bandits could chase him down.
He had no idea about the truth behind the contract, let alone why Senior Sister liked him.
With such uncertainty, how could He Qiu dare to agree?
What if, one day, An Lingran was too good to him, he couldn’t bear the loneliness, developed feelings, and his cultivation path collapsed?
Then, if An Lingran stopped liking him, felt tired of the relationship, and dumped him, wouldn’t He Qiu have wasted several years of his youth?
An empty basket for nothing—nothing at all.
She was a Saintess, gifted beyond measure, able to become an immortal with minimal effort, living for a thousand years.
But He Qiu was merely a mortal cultivator, and his spirit vein was a waste.
His youthful years were precious—he couldn’t afford to play games with An Lingran.
“Sigh.”
He Qiu let out a sigh, filled with emotion.
If he hadn’t learned from his unfortunate previous life, he would probably be lying in Senior Sister’s arms by now, a useless fish in a warm nest, only good for living off her without dreams.
“If a young man doesn’t work hard, he will regret it in old age~”
“Mm, let’s not talk about marriage anymore. Want to go cultivate with Senior Sister?”
An Lingran saw He Qiu’s unspoken difficulty and decisively changed the subject to something that would interest him.
She had also noticed that this junior brother was clearly more obsessed with cultivation than with romance, eager to start cultivating immortality.
Junior Brother was not only gifted but also righteous, with lofty ideals and ambitions.
This was evident from the other day when he couldn’t wait to go down the mountain to intercept and kill demon cultivators to earn merits.
An Lingran believed that a righteous cultivator of He Qiu’s caliber would not be easily bound by a marriage contract or emotions.
Their level of ideological awareness was far above worldly desires.
From this perspective, An Lingran couldn’t use too conventional methods of winning him over, or it would backfire.
But that didn’t mean she was helpless.
She started with a good identity: the senior senior sister of the Xueyin lineage, the famous Primordial Saintess of the Longyin Sect, and also He Qiu’s sword technique instructor.
Wasn’t this a divinely appointed identity for winning him over?
As long as she gave her all and supported him on his cultivation journey, when he eventually achieved success, great deeds, and fulfilled his grand ideals, who would he be most grateful to?
Obviously, it would be the beautiful senior sister who accompanied him all along—An Lingran!
As the saying goes, behind every successful man is a gentle wife.
In that case, An Lingran believed that if she seized the opportunity, she had a very good chance of capturing her junior brother’s heart, though the timeline would be long.
But that couldn’t be helped.
After all, junior brother had deep cultivation; ordinary methods of throwing oneself at him wouldn’t work.
And An Lingran wasn’t good at giving herself away cheaply; she herself felt that would devalue her, let alone junior brother’s opinion.
Back then, He Qiu had used his personal charm to captivate An Lingran’s heart in half a month.
In return, couldn’t An Lingran use her gentleness and support, working hard for three months, half a year, three years…
Even if junior brother’s ideological realm transcended the mundane, wouldn’t he eventually develop feelings over time?
Another saying goes: a man chasing a woman is like climbing a mountain; a woman chasing a man is like piercing a veil.
An Lingran refused to believe she couldn’t win her junior brother.
Although she had been repeatedly rejected by He Qiu in recent days, her pride as a Saintess was not broken.
Once she regrouped, An Lingran regained her former confidence.
This time, she would occupy his heart and firmly seize the initiative.
“Junior Brother, let’s go! Come do dual cultivation with Senior Sister!”
At that moment, An Lingran’s resolve was firm and her confidence full.
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