Chapter 33

Taking the two foreign imperial heirs around the planet where Huaqi University was located during the first holiday of the new semester had been something Chu Yunmiao had agreed to from the start. So when Ms. Lucy sent her an invitation online, she didn’t hesitate for long before agreeing and setting a time and place with her.

Yu Changning’s private lessons were still ongoing. One night, Chu Yunmiao found time to explain the matter to her, tactfully saying that she wouldn’t be able to continue training over the holiday.

“I’m fine with you taking a couple of days off,” Yu Changning said, lowering her head slightly. Her stiff tone clearly carried displeasure. “But why do you have to go out with those two people?”

Chu Yunmiao said with a sense of duty, “I’m just helping them get familiar with the surroundings.”

Yu Changning said, “There are so many people at school; do they really need you to go?”

Chu Yunmiao was a little surprised when she heard that.

She explained, “You should know they’re the imperial heirs from Mingxing, right?

“Mother already asked me before to take care of them a little more. They’ve only been here for just over a month, and they haven’t met that many people yet. With someone they know accompanying them, they’ll be able to adapt to life here faster.”

“Pretentious,” Yu Changning snorted coldly. “They’re adults already. What’s there not to adapt to?”

Chu Yunmiao felt that Yu Changning’s attitude was extremely unreasonable. She tried asking, “Are you angry?”

Yu Changning looked at her and, rarely this honestly, said, “I don’t want you to have too much contact with them.”

“Why?” Chu Yunmiao rested her chin in her hand. “You know my identity too. Isn’t it normal for me to entertain these foreign guests?”

Yu Changning narrowed her eyes, seriously trying to find a flaw in Chu Yunmiao’s expression. “You should know why the Emperor arranged for those two to come over as exchange students, shouldn’t you?”

Chu Yunmiao let out an “ah,” her answer somewhat vague.

“Probably... but I think Mother is being a little too hasty. I’d only just finished my twentieth birthday banquet; she didn’t need to arrange such things for me so quickly...”

The rest of the words she couldn’t bring herself to say. She probably didn’t know how to define the matter accurately.

Yu Changning reached out and rubbed the crown of her head. “You still don’t understand the Emperor very well.”

Chu Yunmiao stuck out her tongue.

Yu Changning continued, “I’m not angry. Just don’t go out with them, okay?”

Chu Yunmiao looked troubled. “But I promised them a long time ago... and Lucy’s been planning the itinerary for days already. Everything’s been arranged. If I back out at the last minute...”

“Find someone else to replace you,” Yu Changning said directly. “In your class, doesn’t Lin Mo get along pretty well with Xibin, and Stephanie too? Have them go in your place.”

Chu Yunmiao was very honest. “Actually, I already made plans to go with those two. Xibin and Lucy both know, so they can’t replace me.”

Yu Changning: “......”

So angry.

Chu Yunmiao watched her expression and said cautiously, “We’ll be back very soon. I’ll definitely come to the training ground whenever I have time. Didn’t you say before that training has to be balanced with rest?”

“That’s not the issue with training,” Yu Changning said through pressed lips.

After a moment, she sighed. “If you want to go, then go. With Lin Mo and Stephanie there, I can at least feel a little more at ease.”

Chu Yunmiao didn’t really understand, but since Yu Changning had already agreed, she didn’t say anything more.

Yu Changning then warned her, “Don’t be alone with either of them. Don’t go to unfamiliar places. Be careful when you’re outside. If you meet strangers...”

Chu Yunmiao hurriedly cut her off, looking at her with some displeasure. “Do I also need to remember not to pick up random things off the road and eat them? And to look for shelter when it rains?” She puffed out her cheeks. “Yu Changning, I’m already an adult. I’ve had my twentieth birthday banquet. I’m not a little kid who still needs their parents nagging at them every time they go out.”

There was indulgence and helplessness in Yu Changning’s eyes. “You’re harder to manage than little kids.”

“You shouldn’t be treating me like a little kid in the first place.” The Imperial Crown Princess patted her pants and stood up. “I’m only five years younger than you. I’m an adult who can think independently.”

Afraid that she might stir up Chu Yunmiao’s rebellious streak and make things backfire, Yu Changning could only suppress the urge to keep warning her.

She nodded and looked at Chu Yunmiao. “Understood. Yunmiao is already a sensible big girl. Then... I won’t say any more. Be careful on the way, and contact me first if anything happens.”

“Okay.” Only then was Chu Yunmiao satisfied.

She waved goodbye to Yu Changning and left the training ground happily.

The next day, the five people whose holiday itinerary had long since been planned met at the school gate and took the most common public transit on the planet to leave Huaqi University. Only after they truly got out did Chu Yunmiao feel fortunate that she had had the foresight to bring Lin Mo and Stephanie along. With those two outgoing people acting as tour guides, the five of them quickly covered the area around the school.

After helping Xibin and Lucy get familiar with the surroundings, it was still early, and they couldn’t possibly just head back. Lin Mo suggested going to an arena theme park to relax.

“The one that just opened recently?” Stephanie’s eyes lit up. “I heard about it; it sounds especially fun.”

Lin Mo nodded. “Yeah! It only opened not long ago, and it’s packed every day. Luckily, I had someone help me get five tickets in advance; they’re really hard to come by.”

Since she had already gone to this much trouble, the others naturally couldn’t refuse. On the way to the amusement park, Chu Yunmiao deliberately found a chance to thank her.

“Thank me for what?” Lin Mo was completely lost.

Chu Yunmiao was sincere. “Entertaining their siblings was my idea, but you put in the most effort along the way. Of course I should thank you.”

“Oh, that’s nothing.” Lin Mo was praised and grinned so hard her teeth showed. “Anything involving the Crown Princess is my business. Your subordinate swears loyalty to you with her life.”

Chu Yunmiao had basically become immune to Lin Mo’s habit of clowning around anytime and anywhere. Hearing this, she waved her off and didn’t play along.

The group soon reached the theme park. The newly opened amusement park really was lively, and the atmosphere was excellent, to the point that even Lucy, a Beta from the command department, looked a little excited. Lin Mo took the lead as guide and brought the four of them to the shooting area to start playing. Chu Yunmiao fired a couple of test shots to check the feel of it; only when she lowered her head to reload did she notice Lucy standing there blankly without moving.

She glanced at the gun parts on the table and asked, “You don’t like this?”

“Cough, I’m not very familiar with it,” Lucy said a little embarrassedly. “I’ve never seen this kind of firearm.”

Chu Yunmiao understood. “The command department doesn’t study this, right?”

She stepped forward and helped Lucy assemble her gun, explaining as she worked, “BP3606; it’s a relatively niche type of firearm, more common in remote star systems. It has moderate destructive power, but strong recoil, so you have to be careful when firing.”

As she finished speaking, the gun was assembled. She handed it to Lucy. “Try it?”

Lucy thanked her happily and turned to give it a go.

But whether it was because she wasn’t familiar with this type of gun or because her shooting really wasn’t good, she fired three shots in a row and still couldn’t hit the bullseye.

Embarrassed, she put the gun down and looked at Chu Yunmiao. “I’m making a fool of myself... I don’t seem suited for shooting sports.”

Chu Yunmiao was very gentle. “It’s fine. All results require a lot of practice. As a command department student, your performance is already pretty good.”

Lucy shook her head. “You’re so good at comforting people... Actually, I really don’t have much talent in this area.”

As she said that, she lowered her head slightly, a natural sadness showing through her.

Chu Yunmiao couldn’t stand that expression. After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Do you want me to teach you a bit?”

Lucy lifted her head at once. “Can I?”

Chu Yunmiao put down her own things, walked over to Lucy’s shooting lane, and began guiding her.

“This model of gun is rare, so if you’re not shooting well, it may just be because you haven’t gotten used to it.” As she spoke, she raised Lucy’s arm. “When you aim, lock onto the bullseye. But when you shoot, it’s best to press down a little to offset the gun’s recoil; like this...”

She steadied Lucy’s hand and fired. With a crack, a new bullet hole appeared in the three-ring area.

Lucy was overjoyed. “I hit it!”

Chu Yunmiao curved her lips along with her, though she was actually not satisfied, and guided her to fire two more shots.

Lucy was already completely relaxed, almost following Chu Yunmiao’s instructions entirely, and the last two shots actually struck the bullseye dead on.

Once she realized it, the Beta princess was almost jumping with joy. After setting the gun down, she hugged Chu Yunmiao all at once. “Oh my god, that was so cool! You hit every shot!”

Chu Yunmiao froze and instinctively raised her arms. “Uh...”

Only then did Lucy realize she had gone too far and quickly withdrew her hands, standing properly again. “Sorry, I got too excited...”

“It’s fine.” Chu Yunmiao smiled. “You really did quite well.”

Lucy objected, “It wasn’t my credit; it was because the Crown Princess taught so well.”

Chu Yunmiao could only nod and smile politely. “Thank you.”

She turned back to her own shooting lane. “You found the feeling just now, right? Practice on your own for a bit first.”

Lucy nodded. “Mm, okay.”

Chu Yunmiao returned to her lane. Seeing Lucy pick up the gun again, she finally let out a breath of relief.

When she was hugged just now, she had really been very tense; on one hand, she hadn’t expected Lucy to suddenly make such intimate physical contact with her, and on the other hand—

She turned and glanced around behind her, but finding nothing unusual, she turned back again.

Chu Yunmiao always felt that the instant Lucy had hugged her, a gaze had landed on her.

She didn’t know whether that feeling was just her imagination, but she couldn’t find the “culprit” right now, so she could only let it go for the moment.

But soon enough, she learned that the feeling of being watched hadn’t come out of nowhere.

Finally having a holiday and coming to this arena amusement park, Lin Mo and Stephanie weren’t going to turn back until they’d had their fill.

Before they had even left the shooting range, the two of them had already planned their next stop.

It was the theme park’s signature attraction—Immersive Adventure.

But when the five of them got there, they discovered that because there were too many visitors during this period, the Immersive Adventure venue, which originally had many modes open, was only running the two-player team mode. That meant players could only enter in pairs. But Chu Yunmiao’s group had five people in total—Xibin and Lucy as siblings, Lin Mo and Stephanie, and herself. If they really wanted to play, then one person would definitely have to be left behind.

Stephanie was a nice person, and seeing this, she hesitated. “How about we forget it? Let’s find one that allows a five-person team instead?”

Xibin took the initiative and said, “No need. Don’t spoil everyone’s mood. How about this; I won’t go.”

He looked at Chu Yunmiao. “Your Highness, you take Lucy in with you. Please help me take care of her.”

Lucy disagreed. “I’m the only Beta here; no matter how you look at it, I’m the one who doesn’t suit going in and dragging you all down. Brother, you should team up with the Crown Princess and go.”

While the others were discussing it and still hadn’t reached a conclusion, a voice suddenly cut in from the side.

“Short on people? Add me in.”

The voice was very familiar. When everyone looked over, they indeed saw Yu Changning dressed in casual clothes.

Stephanie’s mouth fell open, and she asked the question everyone was wondering. “Instructor, why are you here?”

Yu Changning covered her mouth and coughed lightly. “I heard this place was interesting, so I came to take a look.”

“Oh, I see.” Stephanie nodded.

Then she remembered the important matter. “Right, we’re just short on people. This project can only be played in two-person teams. Do you want to join? If you do, we’ll have six people, and we can split into three teams.”

Yu Changning glanced at Chu Yunmiao and nodded. “Mm.”

Stephanie was extremely perceptive. She immediately turned to tell the two foreign imperial heirs, “Alright, now we have enough people. You siblings don’t need to be separated anymore. Xibin, this way you can take care of your sister yourself; how nice.” She stepped over to Lin Mo’s side on her own. “Lin Mo and I will team up, you siblings team up, and Instructor Yu... can only team up with the class monitor.”

She looked at everyone. “Any objections?”

Lin Mo looked at Chu Yunmiao, seeming like she wanted to be with her, but Stephanie saw through her intention and showed her no mercy, covering her mouth with one hand while stepping hard on her foot.

Lin Mo was baffled, completely unable to tell what Stephanie was doing, but the pain made it impossible for her to speak.

At this point, no one had any objections to the arrangement. They happily reached a consensus and went to buy tickets together.

Yu Changning lingered at the back, trailing behind Chu Yunmiao and the other four.

Chu Yunmiao kept darting her eyes around, deliberately avoiding looking at Yu Changning.

Yu Changning took the initiative to speak to her. “Having fun?”

Chu Yunmiao thought about it. “Uh... pretty much.”

“Pretty much?” Yu Changning snorted coldly. “I think you seemed to be having a lot of fun teaching other people how to shoot.”

Chu Yunmiao immediately caught on. “You... the one peeping at me at the shooting range just now was you?”

Yu Changning showed no awareness of being caught. “I wasn’t peeping. I was observing a student’s shooting level.”

Chu Yunmiao glared at her, but because they were in public now, she didn’t continue arguing with her.

The six of them split into three groups and quickly entered the game area under the staff’s guidance. Immersive Adventure, true to its name, was a virtual adventure created by AI. The six of them put on the game equipment and were soon transported to the adventure field.

As the Imperial Crown Princess, Chu Yunmiao had grown up with all kinds of novel toys and was no stranger to this sort of virtual product. Her family doted on her, and almost anything fun or new would be brought to her first. There was also one of these devices in her sleeping quarters, but that one only had a single-player mode. Large-scale equipment like this, which even allowed players to fight against one another, had only appeared in the past two years and was considered one of the amusement park’s signature attractions.

After entering the virtual field, she casually picked up the mission sheet and then briefly summarized the game content.

“An old-fashioned plot; we have to go to the castle, defeat the dragon, and rescue the princess. There will be many items along the way to the castle, and players can find and use them. Item snatching is allowed, fighting between players is allowed, and if your health drops to zero, you’re eliminated.”

Yu Changning nodded. “It really is old-fashioned. Adventure-themed games all seem to have pretty much the same setup.”

As she spoke, she jumped upward and knocked a box hanging from a tree down to the ground. “This must be a game item, right?”

Chu Yunmiao came closer. “You’re that lucky?” She looked at the instructions. “The manual says items are very rare, which is why players have to compete for them.”

Yu Changning raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” She picked up the little box. “It was just sitting on a treetop where you could see it by looking up.”

Chu Yunmiao said, “Open it and take a look.”

The two of them opened the box, only to find a very childishly designed water gun lying inside. It had no futuristic elements at all; it was just ordinary plastic. Half a tank of water sloshed inside the “magazine” at the back.

Yu Changning pouted, obviously very disappointed. Chu Yunmiao rarely got to see her lose face like this and couldn’t help laughing. She picked up the water gun that its owner had clearly dismissed and teased, “No wonder it was so easy to find; looks like it’s not some powerful item. Tsk, tsk, your luck doesn’t seem all that great either.”

As soon as she said that, a thought flashed through her mind, and she pressed the trigger toward Yu Changning.

With Yu Changning’s reaction speed, she could have dodged the attack. But because the person “firing” was Chu Yunmiao, she had no intention of avoiding it.

So the next second, under Chu Yunmiao’s astonished gaze, Yu Changning, her face splashed with water droplets, actually began to shrink in size. She fell to the ground and turned into a dwarf rabbit with black eyeliner.

Once she recovered, Chu Yunmiao laughed so hard she shook all over, completely abandoning any sense of image.

“Hahahahaha, Yu, Yu Changning, y-you turned into a rabbit, hahahahaha—”

Little Yu Rabbit opened its mouth but couldn’t make a sound. It turned around twice in place, found that it couldn’t undo this strange state, then angrily turned away, presenting only a white rear to Chu Yunmiao.

Chu Yunmiao finally stopped laughing, and seeing that expression, she nearly lost it again.

Her hands itched, and she poked the fur on Little Yu Rabbit’s behind. “You okay?”

Yu Changning was startled and bounced more than half a meter into the air. Then, under the gaze of the one who had started it all, she bared her teeth with absolutely no dignity.

Chu Yunmiao gathered her into her arms.

“You, you have to be careful; you can’t run around,” she said in a low voice. “The forest is very dangerous right now. A big bad wolf could jump out and carry the little white rabbit back to its den as emergency rations at any time. You’re like this now, so you have to stay by my side, understand?”

The dwarf rabbit was only as big as Chu Yunmiao’s palm; tiny and especially cute. Even if Yu Changning had the highest ability, she couldn’t exert any strength at the moment. She knew there was no way she could refuse Chu Yunmiao right now, so she could only twitch her ears and reluctantly hop onto Chu Yunmiao’s hand.

“Good girl.”

Ignoring the little rabbit’s wishes, Chu Yunmiao directly began stroking its fur. If Yu Changning didn’t seem so uncomfortable, she would have praised how tiny, soft, and cute it was out loud.

But right now, it was obvious the little rabbit was very angry.

Chu Yunmiao comforted her, “It seems we’ve underestimated this game. The ‘items’ mentioned in the manual are very important. The key to winning this adventure isn’t individual combat power, but the items in the game.” She lifted the water gun and held it in front of Yu Changning. “This one you found is very important. If we run into danger later, we can just turn people into little animals and get out of danger.”

Yu Changning didn’t know what she was thinking about. Her rabbit eyes narrowed, and she said nothing.

Chu Yunmiao packed up her things. “No matter what, let’s head toward the castle. According to the map the game gave us, even if we go in a straight line all the way there, it’ll still take an hour to reach it. Maybe by then you’ll have turned back already.”

This time Yu Changning nodded, which counted as agreeing to her suggestion.

So Chu Yunmiao walked ahead with the water gun in one hand and the little white rabbit tucked in her arms with the other, happily exploring forward. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was here for a spring outing, and would never guess she was heading into a mission to rescue a princess. In truth, ever since she had seen Yu Changning turn into a little dwarf rabbit, Chu Yunmiao’s mind had been off the game entirely—

When else could she play the game? Turning Yu Changning into all sorts of little animals for her to do as she pleased with was the truly precious and lovely memory.

So her steps were light, and with extremely relaxed thoughts, she walked along while secretly taking advantage of the situation, rubbing and kneading the silky white fur all over Yu Changning’s body back and forth.

The pitiful Crown Princess was immersed in the joy of bullying Yu Changning and didn’t notice at all that the rabbit in her arms had gone from its original pale red eyes to a deeper shade, eventually becoming a dark crimson so intense no one could look straight at it.

The adventure game was not peaceful. After strolling for only a few minutes, Chu Yunmiao heard sounds of fighting ahead. Holding Yu Changning, she went forward and unexpectedly saw two players besieging a black bear.

Oddly enough, both players were wearing strange accessories—

One had a hat with deer antlers on it and was using the antlers to block the bear’s attacks. The other wore a pair of wolf claws and was attacking the bear from the side.

By the time she arrived, the battle was already nearing its end. Clearly, the two players had been completely suppressed by the bear and had no room to catch their breath. The bear took a little time to deal with the deer-hat player, then turned around and slapped the player with the wolf claws flying away.

The two players’ health hit zero and vanished from the game in an instant, while the deer hat and wolf claws remained on the ground.

“Wow, dropped gear,” Chu Yunmiao whispered to Little Yu Rabbit in her arms.

The bear had just finished a fight and was resting prone, so there was no need to worry about it hearing her.

Little Yu Rabbit raised one front paw, signaling for her to quickly take advantage of the bear’s rest and pick up the two items.

But Chu Yunmiao wasn’t satisfied with that. “Let’s find a way to take that bear down too. That bear took on two players and still held its ground; it should be a big BOSS. It’ll definitely drop even better gear.”

Little Yu Rabbit disagreed and jumped anxiously twice.

Although it still couldn’t speak now, Chu Yunmiao could roughly guess what it meant—

She had turned into a useless little rabbit, and Chu Yunmiao was now alone. Going up against that bear, which had just dealt with two players in one breath, might be very dangerous.

After all, the bear in the game was not the same as the one in the real world. If this were the real world, Chu Yunmiao certainly wouldn’t be afraid. But in the game, that bear was definitely no ordinary beast.

Chu Yunmiao grabbed a handful of Little Yu Rabbit’s ears. “Tsk, little white rabbit, you don’t believe your master can hunt a bear for you? You’re really looking down on your master. Just wait.”

She placed Yu Changning on a relatively safe tree branch, then started to carry out her plan.

Using the forest vegetation as cover, she quickly and silently approached the bear. At that moment, Chu Yunmiao was still holding the water gun. Once she entered its firing range, she carefully aimed at the bear and shot out a stream of water.

Clearly, the water stream landed on the bear, but there was no change at all.

Chu Yunmiao looked at the little bit of water left in the gun and felt a little pained.

Still, she didn’t regret it; after all, this was absolutely a necessary attempt.

Once she confirmed that the item was useless against the bear, she brought out her second plan.

She sprang out of the bushes and quickly grabbed the wolf claws lying on the ground. The game item automatically equipped itself onto her hands the moment it touched her fingertips, so she didn’t need to spend time putting it on. The bear noticed the disturbance and lunged over. Chu Yunmiao met it head-on.

Her personal ability wasn’t something that amateur players like the previous pair could compare to. Earlier, even with the wolf-claw player outputting damage under the deer-hat player’s aggro, they had been very limited. But once Chu Yunmiao took over, she was actually able to hurt the bear while kiting it at a fairly safe distance, ensuring she didn’t get injured. The bear really was harder to deal with than the ferocious beasts in the real world; once enraged, it could even roar and inflict mental attacks on players. Chu Yunmiao looked at the remaining health bars for herself and the bear and felt she probably had a good chance of defeating it before going down.

But what she hadn’t expected was that when the bear’s health was nearly gone, it actually abandoned its attack and slapped both paws into the ground. Chu Yunmiao was still confused when, with a boom in her ears, she realized four earthen walls two meters high had risen from the ground around her, trapping her and the bear together—

This bear, seeing that it couldn’t catch its enemy, simply used earth walls to lock itself and its enemy inside together. It really did have a bit of cleverness.

The trick worked. Encircled like this, Chu Yunmiao had nowhere to run. She could choose to climb over the wall, but the distance was too close; she’d be swatted by the bear while still on the wall. Her health was also not looking good. If she got stuck on the wall and took one paw strike, she’d be able to exit the game early.

Just as she was about to go all in and fight it out, using her last sliver of health to clash head-on with the bear, a figure leaped down from above the wall. Neither she nor the bear had expected this turn of events; in the next second, the bear’s last drop of health was depleted, and the enormous creature crashed to the ground.

Chu Yunmiao came back to herself and looked up at Yu Changning, who stood upright and imposing, a little stammering. “Y-you turned back?!”

Yu Changning gave a nasal “Mm.”

“That, that’s great!” Chu Yunmiao said with a smile.

Because the bear had died, the earth walls slowly disappeared, and she dropped back onto the ground. “Good thing this game doesn’t have pain, and once you disengage, your health can still recover. Wait for me a moment; once I’ve rested back to above half health, we’ll keep going.”

Yu Changning came in front of her and unceremoniously pinched a bit of soft flesh on her cheek. “Do you not have anything else to say to me?”

“Something else?” Chu Yunmiao played dumb. “I do. Ah Ning, it’s lucky you showed up in time, or I might have perished together with that monster.”

The name “Ah Ning” made Yu Changning’s hand pause, but then she returned to being the cold, impersonal Instructor Yu.

Instructor Yu was not easy to fool. “Looks like I need to remind you.”

Only then did Chu Yunmiao feel a chill.

She lowered her voice, trying to use weakness to awaken Yu Changning’s conscience. “Ah Ning, don’t be angry. B-but the little white rabbit you turned into was really adorable; how could I resist?” She blinked her innocent big eyes. “No one can resist touching a little white rabbit. You can understand me, right?”

Yu Changning froze.

The next moment, her face slowly turned red as she clearly remembered the experience of turning into a little white rabbit just now.

Being transformed into a little white rabbit and held in Chu Yunmiao’s arms and stroked was an indescribable feeling. She wasn’t a real little rabbit, but the sensation of Chu Yunmiao’s fingertips brushing her skin was somehow strangely real.

She took a deep breath. “I’m not talking about that.”

Now Chu Yunmiao was also confused. “Huh? You’re not here to settle that with me?”

She asked, “Then what is it?”

Yu Changning sighed. “Why did you secretly run over here to challenge BOSS? If I hadn’t transformed back when the ten-minute limit ended just now, you might already have been eliminated.”

Chu Yunmiao pouted. “I, I didn’t expect that BOSS to still pull out that move before dying. If it hadn’t cheated, I would’ve won already; you saw that, didn’t you?”

Yu Changning didn’t let her wriggle out of it. “Looks like your judgment still needs more training.”

Chu Yunmiao was unconvinced. “How can everything possibly go according to plan? Sometimes, even when you know there’s danger, you still have to face it head-on!” Just as Yu Changning was about to rebut her, she suddenly heard Chu Yunmiao add, “I was protecting my little white rabbit, of course I couldn’t back down.”

The stern lecture Yu Changning had on the tip of her tongue got stuck there.

She awkwardly turned her face away. “You’re not allowed to do that again in the future.”

Chu Yunmiao sighed and muttered quietly, “Ah Ning, you’re still cuter when you’re a little rabbit.”

Yu Changning looked over, and Chu Yunmiao immediately admitted defeat. “Cough, I mean, got it. Next time I’ll definitely listen to instructions properly and absolutely won’t run around.”

Only then was Yu Changning satisfied, nodding once with an “Mm.”

The two of them rested for a moment. Yu Changning picked up a bear-ear hair accessory from where the bear had fallen, but she could no longer find the deer antlers.

“Stolen by someone?” Chu Yunmiao’s eyes widened.

“Impossible.” Yu Changning denied her guess. “I was keeping watch the whole time. If anyone had come, I would’ve noticed.”

Chu Yunmiao of course believed in her scouting ability. “Looks like game items on the ground get reclaimed by the system after a certain amount of time. If I’d known, I should’ve picked them up first. Sigh.”

“It’s fine.” Yu Changning rubbed her head. “It’s only one item. I’ll keep looking with you.” She glanced at the bear ears in her hand and placed them on Chu Yunmiao’s head. “This is a good item; keep it on.”

Light brown bear ears appeared in Chu Yunmiao’s hair, fitting surprisingly well and adding another layer of cuteness.

But Chu Yunmiao immediately wanted to take them off. “No need, I already have the wolf claws. You should use this first.”

Yu Changning stopped her. “Keep them on. I don’t need them. If we run into danger later, you’ll have one more tool for self-defense.”

Chu Yunmiao wrinkled her nose.

She felt that Yu Changning was always overprotective of her. That did make her feel cherished, but sometimes it also made her uncomfortable—

She didn’t want to always be the one being protected. Sometimes, she also wanted to take care of Yu Changning. Although Yu Changning really was stronger than her, that didn’t mean she had to live under Yu Changning’s shelter forever.

Taking advantage of the fact that Yu Changning was walking ahead to clear the way, Chu Yunmiao suddenly had a bold idea.

She picked up the water gun and fired another stream at Yu Changning, who was completely unguarded.

The water stream hit Yu Changning, and her body shrank. The next second, a bewildered white dwarf rabbit with pretty eyeliner tumbled into the bushes.

A smile hanging on her lips, Chu Yunmiao gathered the little rabbit back into her arms.

She didn’t explain, and deliberately didn’t look at Little Yu Rabbit’s expression. She simply lowered her head and gently kissed the rabbit’s forehead. “Good girl. Master will take you adventuring. Little rabbit just needs to stay obediently in Master’s arms; Master will protect the little rabbit.”

After that kiss, the shock and astonishment in Yu Changning’s eyes all transformed into an unreadable emotion. She very cooperatively stayed in Chu Yunmiao’s arms, even adjusting her posture so the other could hold her more easily.