Chapter 2176: Chapter 2124: Awkward

“What do you mean, woman? We’re siblings here,” Shang Hongyu corrected.

Zu An replied impatiently, “Aren’t we pretending to be husband and wife?”

“That’s in front of outsiders. There are no outsiders here, so we know what our real relationship is.” Shang Hongyu grinned.

“You’re making some sense, but...”

“There are no buts. Come here and hug me.”

“Huh? That’s not too good, is it?”

“Why not? This will happen often in the Dragon Palace in the future. Did you already forget so soon?”

“But we’re in bed right now.”

“So what if we’re in bed? It’s fine as long as we both have a clear conscience. Why are you stalling so much? Don’t tell me that...” Shang Hongyu suddenly moved in front of Zu An and sized him up with widen eyes. “Don’t tell me that you have any strange thoughts?”

With how close she was, Zu An could even clearly sense her breathing. He couldn't find a single flaw on her tender and glorious face. She clearly had a face that represented the peace and prosperity of the people, and yet there was always that faint hint of flirtatiousness and allure in her expression.

Zu An’s expression became a bit unnatural. “Who's the one with weird thoughts? You’re not allowed to make bogus accusations against me in the future though.”

“Have you ever suffered a loss with a woman before? What are you acting so careful for?” Shang Hongyu found his slightly nervous behavior a bit amusing.

As he breathed in her beautiful fragrance, Zu An harrumphed and said, “I’ll hug you if you want, but you better not regret it.”

He felt as if he had to teach this woman a lesson, or else she'd continue to be really pleased with herself. Immediately after, his hand moved around her waist and he took her into his arms. The two of them were now sticking close to each other.

Is this woman made of water? Why is her body so soft?

But her waist is pretty firm. I practically couldn't even hold her in place when she reflexively struggled a bit.

Sure enough, Shang Hongyu was now a bit alarmed. She instinctively pressed her hand against Zu An’s chest, trying her best to create a slight bit of space between the two of them. She cried, “We're just practicing, so you’re not allowed to use any dirty tricks!”

She hadn’t felt much when they were still apart, but now that they were pressed up against each other, that sense of touch was especially strong. He was like a blistering sun that was so hot, her entire body felt as if it was going to melt. It was to the point that even her voice was shaking a little bit.

Zu An chuckled and said, “Of course.”

Immediately after, he loosened his hold on her waist a bit. Shang Hongyu then shot backward as if she had been zapped by lightning, making some distance from him. She moved the messy hair around her temples behind her ear to hide her alarm, then did her best to pretend to be calm as she said, “Your performance just now was okay, but there are still some details that need to be fixed. As things are, the palace maids will still be able to tell that something is wrong.”

“Oh? How should I fix it?” Zu An asked with amusement.

“I’ll teach you...” Shang Hongyu suddenly thought of something and immediately went on alert. “You aren’t allowed to move, though!”

“Fine, I won’t move, and will let you move instead.” A strange smile appeared on Zu An’s face.

“Alright, I’ll show you...” Shang Hongyu finally reacted and looked at him with a reddened face. “You were actually such a bad guy!”

“Wasn’t that what you said? I was just playing along.” Zu An cried out in injustice.

“You bad guy, I’m definitely going to tell on you to my little sister.” Shang Hongyu shot him a look. But then, her eyes quickly moved around. Whether or not it was out of anger or something else was impossible to tell.

However, these two were individuals at the top of the world. Jokes were jokes. In the end, neither one of them misunderstood what was most important. One seriously taught, while the other seriously learned. Even though they did joke around from time to time, both of them tacitly upheld a certain boundary. In the end, both sides were really tired, so they involuntarily entered the land of dreams.

The next morning, sunlight spread through the windows. Shang Hongyu suddenly woke up. She didn’t open her eyes, but silently sensed her body’s condition instead. Then, she sighed slightly in relief. It seemed Zu An truly hadn’t taken advantage of the fact that she was sleeping to do something to her.

She silently opened her eyes, but she was suddenly stunned. Her pretty face also turned red. It turned out she was curled up like a kitten in his arms. The two were pressed tightly against each other. That wasn’t the most important part, though; there was a hand around her stomach, while the other hand was around her neck, holding her chest! She hadn’t expected her chest to so perfectly fit in a man’s hand. She could even feel the heat coming from the center of that palm!

She was a mature woman, so she didn’t scream like a little girl. Instead, she began to calmly analyze just what was happening. She couldn't act up right now, because on top of his hand was her own, and she was even tightly holding his fingers. She could even guess what had happened in the middle of the night without even asking. She was definitely the one who had taken the initiative to guide his hand over.

Liuyu had always made fun of her for her sleeping habits. She hadn’t really agreed back then, but now, she finally understood.

What am I supposed to do now?! Just how will he see me from now on?

He must think that I normally act earnest, but then always flirt and play around, and that I’m actually a perverted woman!

I’m finished, I’m done for! My reputation is completely over!

She bit her lip and quietly raised his hand to slowly move it away. As long as she could do so before he woke up, then they could get past this awkwardness.

But that was easier said than done. Her entire body was cuddled in his arms and she was being held tightly. She could only move a single hand slightly, and she didn’t even dare to move too much. After all, the man behind her had unfathomable cultivation. It would be really awkward if she ended up waking him.

She tugged a bit, but a bit of carelessness made it so that she coulddn’t get a firm hold of his finger and dropped it again. Fortunately, her body was extremely soft and made enough cushioning that she didn’t wake him up. She couldn't help but feel a bit proud of herself. But soon after, she rubbed her sore wrist with a pained expression. Her hand was all sore already, and yet all of her efforts were in vain. Still, she had no choice but to continue. She carefully moved again.

Just when she was about to succeed, the guy behind her suddenly groaned. His body moved a bit to change to a more comfortable posture, and then his other hand moved in front of her chest again, leaving her stunned. She couldn't help but turn around to give him a look, but she didn’t see anything strange in his face. She could sense his calm and moderate breathing, so it seemed he was still dreaming. She sighed with relief.

Helpless to do anything else, she began to carefully move away his left hand. The process was really hard, and she couldn't move too much each time. If she moved too much, she would end up waking him up. She could only move him as slowly as an ant, little by little. Whenever she moved a bit, she had to lower his hand again to rest. Only when she sensed that there was no sign of him waking up did she continue.

After tossing and turning for a while, she could feel a layer of fine sweat covering her body. Suddenly, her face turned entirely red. She grabbed his hand and didn’t dare to continue moving. They were tightly pressed up against each other. The room entered a strange silence.

A while later, Shang Hongyu finally couldn't help but say, “You’re already awake, aren’t you?”

There was no reply.

She took a deep breath. She bit her lip to calm herself down, hissing. “You’re prodding against me!”

She wasn’t a little girl who didn’t know anything, but rather the queen of the Ocean races. How could she possibly misunderstand it as him hiding some sword?

Zu An gradually woke up. He naturally stretched out his body and asked, “Hm? You’re already awake? The weather doesn’t seem bad today.”

Shang Hongyu snickered. “Keep acting, why don’t you? Your body reaction already sold you out.”

Zu An was a bit awkward, saying, “You can’t blame me for that. This is just a normal reaction when men wake up in the morning.”

“You’re still going to keep making things up?” Shang Hongyu glared at him.

Zu An could only say, “I had no choice! It’s your fault for jerking back and forth in my arms. If I didn’t have any reaction toward a woman this beautiful, wouldn’t that be the greatest disrespect to you?”

Shang Hongyu was speechless. She laughed out of irritation and retorted, “What, in the end, prodding me like this is actually a sign of respect for me?”

“Of course.” There was no embarrassment in Zu An’s expression.

Shang Hongyu was speechless. She did her best to control her shoulders from shaking as she asked, “When did you wake up?”

“Just now, I woke up when you spoke.”

“Hah.”

“Uh, actually a bit before that.”

“Hah.”

“A bit before that.”

“How much longer before exactly?” Shang Hongyu felt as if she was about to go completely berserk.

“Uh... When you first started to move my hand.” Zu An’s voice grew softer, as if he even felt that he was in the wrong himself.

“You were awake from the very start?!” Shang Hongyu felt as if she was about to faint from anger. “Then why didn’t you say anything? Were you just watching me make a fool of myself?”

When she recalled how sneaky she'd been trying to be, she was so embarrassed her toes almost dug through the bottom of the bed.

You have successfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +300 +300 +300...

Zu An chuckled in embarrassment and said, “I saw how careful you were being, so I was worried that you would be embarrassed if I said something. That was why I just continued to pretend to be asleep.”

“Then am I not supposed to feel embarrassed now?” Shang Hongyu was starting to go mad.

Zu An mumbled, “Actually, we wouldn’t need to be so awkward if you hadn’t said anything.”

Shang Hongyu laughed out of anger. “You kept prodding against me, and you’re telling me I should have pretended that I didn’t feel anything?”

Both of them were a bit embarrassed now.

Shang Hongyu suddenly thought of something. She looked at him dangerously, saying, “I was clearly about to succeed earlier, but you stretched and put your other hand... Was that on purpose?”

“That was just a coincidence.” Zu An’s expression stiffened.

“It really was a coincidence?” Shang Hongyu moved her head closer until their faces were almost touching.

“It really was a coincidence.” Zu An had to admit that she had a stunning face. He couldn't even see any pores or flaws from so close.

“Did it feel good?” Shang Hongyu quickly asked.

“It di...” Zu An reacted midway through his sentence and quickly said, “I just woke up and was a bit absentminded. I really didn’t notice any feeling.”

When she saw how he was acting, Shang Hongyu finally couldn't take it anymore and laughed. “Alright, alright, let’s forget about this matter. We’re now husband and wife anyway, so it’s hard to avoid hugging and touching.”

Zu An sighed in relief. He couldn't help but respect her open-mindedness.

“However...” As she changed the topic, Shang Hongyu had an ambiguous smile on her face, her eyes seemingly covered in a misty veil as she asked, “How long do you intend to keep prodding me?”

Zu An’s face was completely red. Now, he really was embarrassed. He quickly let her go and moved over to the wall, saying, “I was too nervous from your questioning, so I didn’t react yet. Please don’t blame me.”

Shang Hongyu harrumphed. “So even you know how to become nervous, huh? There are still things left in this world that can make you nervous?”

Zu An was speechless.

Fortunately, Shang Hongyu wasn’t truly upset. She got up and sorted out her clothes. She looked at the sea outside, and a longing expression appeared on her face. “My entire body feels all sticky and uncomfortable because of you. You have to compensate me.”

“How?” Zu An asked, stunned. He reflexively gave her stomach area a look.

“Keep me company in the sea below for a bath of course. Help me set up a barrier and block off my aura.” As soon as Shang Hongyu said that, she noticed the look in his eyes. After a moment of absentmindedness, she finally reacted. Her beautiful face turned entirely red. “It’s sweat! Moving those pig trotters of yours away exhausted a lot of energy! What are you thinking about?!”

You have successfully trolled Shang Hongyu for +99 +99 +99...

“But I didn’t even say anything!” Zu An felt really wronged.

“The look in your eyes is indecent!”

“...”

In the end, Zu An agreed to keep her company in the sea, which finally quelled her anger.

The two of them secretly arrived at a corner of the deck where no one was watching. Zu An’s divine sense surrounded everything, and he was sure that no one was paying attention to the area they were in. Then, he took Shang Hongyu with him and jumped down. He had the Blue Mallard water-controlling ability, so they didn’t even make a sound or splash when they entered the water.

Shang Hongyu was a bit surprised. But when she thought about his cultivation, she felt that it made sense.

Soon after, Zu An put up a barrier around them in the ocean, saying, “Alright, you can play around however you want. I’ll bring you with me to catch up to that ship again later.”

“Who wants you to take me? We of the Mermaid race are famous swimmers. It won't even be hard to catch up to that ship,” Shang Hongyu said as her clothes withdrew and she turned into a beautiful red mermaid. Her soft waist gently moved, leaving behind rings of enchanting ripples in the water.

Shang Hongyu’s mood was clearly not bad. She swam around while humming along, and a lovely melody echoed through the waters from her throat.

Zu An couldn't help but ask, “I heard a legend about the sea, that when large ships passed through deep waters, there would sometimes be a beautiful song that drew them over. Then, the ships would be destroyed and the people would perish. Those legends aren't talking about you guys, are they?”

“Those are sirens!” Shang Hongyu came out from the water and stared at him impatiently before saying, “Of course, there are times when we mermaids sing on reefs, which might also draw over some ships and seamen, but we always jump into the sea as soon as we sense that. We wouldn’t actually meet those people face to face, let alone harm them.”

Zu An nodded and said, “No wonder.”

“Are you not coming down for a bath?” Shang Hongyu waved her hand toward him. Her beautiful, snow-white arm had water droplets hanging from it. In the sunlight’s radiance, rainbow brilliance emanated from the droplets, making her look as if she was in a dreamland.

Zu An refused with a smile, saying, “I won't, so please enjoy the swim.”

They had already been playing with fire in the morning. In the future, they still had to pay attention to the distance between them.

“Tsk, you haven’t bathed in so many days. What a dirty and stinky human,” Shang Hongyu said angrily.

Zu An chuckled and said, “Once you reach my cultivation rank, you’ll understand. Your entire body will be completely clean. Forget about a few days, it’s not a big deal even if you don’t bathe for a year or two.”

“If you really don’t bathe for a year or two, even if you’re completely clean, you can forget about touching me or sharing a bed with me.” Shang Hongyu had a disgusted expression. She jumped into the sea again.

Zu An was speechless.

This woman really just can’t go without teasing me.

...

Shang Hongyu swam in the ocean for a long time, and her mood improved a lot. She quickly moved what had happened this morning to the back of her mind and started to talk with Zu An about how they were going to deal with that fake Dragon King.

When he heard what she had to say, Zu An was a bit surprised, saying, “Your plan is quite ingenious.”

“But of course. I am a genuine talent and not just a big-breasted bimbo.” Shang Hongyu was quite proud of herself. She was the Ocean races's queen after all, so her knowledge and wits were both exceptional.

Zu An couldn't help but give her chest a look.

The feeling from this morning was indeed... big.

As if she noticed the look in his eyes, Shang Hongyu immersed herself under the water and stared at him with her large eyes.

Zu An chuckled and said, “Even so, if he brings other powerful cultivators with him, it might become tricky.”