Chapter 105: Moonstone

Chapter 105: Moonstone

Ling Qingjue's heat was a real pain. During that time, Meng Shu had to go home once, which made him so mad he nearly trashed the house.

After a week of such turmoil, Ling Qingjue's heat finally came to an end.

At night, Meng Shu felt his forehead and found his temperature back to normal. He said softly, smiling, "Looks like it's over."

Cat, who was about to turn and kiss Meng Shu's hand, froze. He felt extremely regretful: he should have deliberately set his body temperature a little higher, so he could coax Meng Shu into staying two more nights.

First time pulling a stunt like this, so he wasn't great at it.

Not ready to give up, he let his tail out, but no sooner had it started reaching for Meng Shu than Meng Shu grabbed it.

"No," Meng Shu said sternly, looking down at him. "I can't stay long. I need to go back tonight. Once you get started, you never stop."

Going back again.

Ling Qingjue's mood soured. His newly appeared tail vanished in an instant. "How long will you be gone this time?"

"I'll be back tomorrow," Meng Shu quickly reassured him, afraid of making him angry. "I'll be right back, I promise. I won't make you wait long. You get a good sleep, and when you wake up, I'll be back."

"..."

He pursed his lips and said nothing.

Clearly pissed off.

Meng Shu's fingers slowly traced the back of his hand, suggestive. "When I get back, I'll hunt down the Deep Sea Dragon for you."

"...You don't have to hunt it," Ling Qingjue said. He sat on the edge of the bed, reached up, and stroked Meng Shu's back from bottom to top, then looked up. "The Spring Gathering is coming up. You can ask me to dance there, and it'll also give you ten favorability points."

The Spring Gathering is annual, and dancing with a partner gives ten points.

If the target character is willing to play along, you can hit one hundred favorability just from the ball.

Only problem is it only comes once a year.

Meng Shu then remembered the Spring Gathering was coming up, probably in the next day or two. He softly placed a hand on Ling Qingjue's shoulder and coaxed. "Then when I get back and ask you to dance, I'll be at eighty favorability."

"...I wasn't planning to dance with you. Unless you're really sincere, I won't say yes," Ling Qingjue turned his head away, not meeting his eyes.

Meng Shu asked, "What do you call sincere?"

"...Just don't show up in your slippers to invite me," Ling Qingjue was already sick of seeing him so sloppy around the house all day.

Dressing so lightly, who's he trying to seduce?

Meng Shu looked down at his flip-flops. Yeah, definitely not appropriate.

He slid his hand down to Ling Qingjue's back, pulled him into a hug, and bent down slightly. "I understand."

Ling Qingjue didn't resist; he meekly accepted the hug.

"Can I go now?" Meng Shu asked tentatively.

He didn't dare just up and leave. It was easy to go, but after he got back, Ling Qingjue would teach him what "a man's heart is a bottomless ocean" really meant.

He'd only dare go if Ling Qingjue personally nodded his permission.

Since Ling Qingjue hadn't given the go-ahead, he had to keep coaxing.

"Here, take this." A clear, sky-blue gem appeared in Ling Qingjue's palm. "You said last time you were afraid of losing it. Since you're going home, just take it with you."

This was the gem Ling Qingjue's mother left him.

It was also Ling Qingjue's Moonstone.

"This stone can go through the Magic Passage. Once you get it home, keep it safe and don't lose it," Ling Qingjue, thinking he was careless, added a few more warnings. "There's only one. If you lose it, I'll be mad."

He reached out, cupped Meng Shu's cheeks with both hands, holding his face, and said slowly and clearly, "You hear me?"

The gem in Meng Shu's hand felt like it weighed a ton. He swallowed hard and didn't dare accept it.

"I..."

Ling Qingjue raised an eyebrow. "You what?"

Meng Shu sighed inwardly. If he returned it now, Ling Qingjue would definitely be angry. He forced a cheerful grin. "Thanks, I'll take good care of it."

He'd find a chance to give it back later.

Only then did Ling Qingjue let him off, but he didn't forget to add a disclaimer. "It's just a normal gem. It doesn't mean anything. Don't read into it."

Meng Shu smiled. "I'll treasure everything you give me."

Probably embarrassed about giving the gem, Ling Qingjue awkwardly let go, covered his face with one hand, and cleared his throat. "You can go back now."

Meng Shu took a deep breath, clutching the gem tightly in his hand.

"Cat, see you tomorrow."

"Mm. See you tomorrow."

A magic circle appeared, and Meng Shu vanished.

A hint of loneliness appeared in Ling Qingjue's expression.

...

Back in the real world.

Meng Shu slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he did was check his palm.

The gem really had come with him to his original world.

Items don't travel between the two worlds. This gem, because of its special significance, was additionally blessed by the laws, allowing it to travel between the two worlds.

He smiled weakly, running his fingers over the gem's smooth surface.

Such a beautiful gem.

So this was Ling Qingjue's Moonstone? He gave it to him so easily, wasn't he afraid that Meng Shu was a liar?

Lake was cooking with an apron on. As soon as he saw Meng Shu back, he trotted over happily. "Brother Mengshu, you're back?"

He was still holding a spatula.

Meng Shu was stunned, and a wave of dizziness hit him. He smiled tiredly. "Mm. Are you cooking dinner?"

"Yeah, I noticed you've been having trouble moving around lately, so I learned how to cook online. It might be a bit bad, though." Lake has a sweet look, but his behavior doesn't match his appearance at all.

He brandished the spatula with a look of deep resentment. "When I poured the vegetables into the pan, the oil splattered! It hurt like hell!"

Meng Shu was amused by him. He spoke very slowly; otherwise, he couldn't make himself understood. "You can use the lid to block it."

After falling ill, his condition worsened, and now even speaking is difficult.

Before, at least his ability to recover in the other world was normal, but now it seems even that has been affected.

Even a hickey can't heal.

At this thought, the Moonstone in his hand felt heavier, so heavy that Meng Shu almost dropped it.

"What's this?" Lake saw the gem in his palm and bent down. "No magic—it should be a product of this world, right?"

"Yeah," Meng Shu said. "It seems to be a gem originally from our world."

"Did you bring it back from that world?"

"Yes."

Lake reached out and touched it. "It has the blessing of the Law. This is a Moonstone."

"I know." Meng Shu sighed. "Lake, it seems Ling Qingjue has really fallen for me... I'm a bit uncertain."