"How could that be the same? I only show my true self to the man I love. It's an expression of love, not flirtation!"

Jiang Shishuang's face turned crimson as she retorted, glaring with indignation and shame!

Beside her, the other girls, including Liu Tianyun, blushed slightly and nodded secretly.

They were usually quite conservative and serious, always treating men with a cold demeanor, once thinking they might have androphobia.

But Ye Huan was different. In front of Ye Huan, especially when being affectionate with him, they not only didn't feel disgusted but couldn't maintain their composure, always wanting to show off their charm, becoming bolder and more open each time.

"Tsk, even if you're not overtly flirty, you're secretly flirty! So cold on the surface, but so wild inside, you're a closet flirt!" Shen Taoyuan, riding the wave of banter, teased Jiang Shishuang with a grin, making a face at her.

Jiang Shishuang was extremely annoyed, gritting her teeth and pretending to be ready to fight Shen Taoyuan.

Ye Huan was embarrassed and quickly stopped her, "Alright, neither of you say another word. This is my fault. It's my mistake for not telling you all in advance about Shen Taoyuan disguising as me."

"Yes, it's all your fault! If it weren't for you, how could I suffer so much 'injustice'?"

"Yes, it's all your fault! If it weren't for you, I would never 'bully' this annoying brat!"

Instantly, Shen Taoyuan and Jiang Shishuang turned their blame towards Ye Huan, "criticizing" him!

Jiang Shishuang was utterly mortified. She had sensed something off about "Ye Huan" last night, at one point suspecting him of being a doppelganger. But when she subsequently noticed that "Ye Huan" bore no malice towards her, his gaze lacking any lecherous intent, especially when he resisted her "violent acts," she instinctively thought she was overthinking.

This was because, ever since she met him, including with men from the red sequence, every man looked at her with a gaze too overbearing, filled with lust and the desire to conquer!

Such gazes made her extremely repulsed!

Ye Huan was different. From the time she met him, he had never shown any lust towards her and always rejected her advances!

If "Ye Huan" was any man in disguise, his gaze wouldn't be as clear and pure as Ye Huan's.

When she recalled this, she dismissed her doubts, assuming Ye Huan's unusual behavior was due to being exhausted after returning from his errands.

Later, when they were cuddling, she realized "Ye Huan's" resistance wasn't fake, which made her think her previous suspicions were ridiculous since only someone as dense as Ye Huan would be oblivious to his blessings.

Who would have thought, the reason "Ye Huan's" gaze was so clear and his genuine resistance last night was because "Ye Huan" was actually a woman in disguise!

Moreover, unknowingly, she had expressed her true feelings about Shen Taoyuan to Shen Taoyuan!

What a huge mix-up, how embarrassing!

Jiang Shishuang was mortified, clenching the hem of her clothes tightly, glancing resentfully at Ye Huan.

"But hey, it's alright. You two are both girls. Kissing is just kissing, hugging is just hugging, you won't lose anything. Maybe it might even strengthen your friendship!" Ye Huan joked, winking playfully.

"Who's best friends with her!"

The two girls crossed their arms simultaneously, clearly displeased with Ye Huan's comment!

Ye Huan wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling exasperated. These two bickering together was truly unmatched. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

After sighing inwardly, he realized he couldn't let Jiang Shishuang and Shen Taoyuan stay together for now, or else their verbal duel might escalate into a hair-pulling fight!

Besides, he wanted to ask Shen Taoyuan's father, Shen Dahai, about Rakshasa, so he pulled Shen Taoyuan aside, "Come over here, I have something to discuss with you."

...

"Can you give me your dad's phone number?" Ye Huan said straightforwardly as they reached the courtyard.

Hearing this, Shen Taoyuan was initially stunned, then became anxious, gritting her teeth: "Ye Huan, what are you trying to do, burn the bridge after crossing it? I just did you a big favor, and now you want my dad to take me back home?! If you think I teased Jiang Shishuang too much, I can take back what I said. Why are you doing this?"

She was so anxious, she was stomping her feet!

Her father had given her a strict order not to return home unless she was really together with Ye Huan.

So if Ye Huan wanted to throw her out of Tingxiang Pavilion for Jiang Shishuang and have Shen Dahai pick her up, Shen Dahai would only give her a harsh lesson and wouldn't pick her up!

If that happened, she and Xiaoyuan would end up homeless!

Ye Huan rolled his eyes: "Stop overthinking. As long as you don't start fighting and disrupt the harmony, how you 'argue' is up to you guys. I'm not like some community aunt who meddles in everything. I need your dad's number because I have something to discuss with him!"

"Did I really overthink it?"

"That's right!"

"Then... then why do you suddenly need to talk to my dad?"

At this point, Shen Taoyuan seemed a bit embarrassed, her eyes darting around, "Ye Huan, you wouldn't... you wouldn't be talking to my dad about us, would you?"

She paused, her face turning crimson, "No way, I can't give you his number. You haven't officially pursued me; the process isn't over yet. You can't skip to that part, it's too much..."

Before she could finish, Ye Huan knocked her on the head, making her gasp in pain, "What are you doing!"

"Stop overthinking things. I'm asking him about 'Rakshasa'." Ye Huan replied, a bit annoyed.

Rakshasa?

Shen Taoyuan raised her eyebrows, realizing she had indeed overthought it?

She felt a strange sense of disappointment, but still handed her phone over: "Just use this to call; it's more convenient."

Ye Huan took the phone, found Shen Dahai's number in the contacts, and dialed it.

When the call connected, Shen Dahai's voice came through meaningfully: "Taoyuan, calling your dad so early in the morning, do you have some good news to tell your dad? Don't tell me you've already won over Ye Huan after just coming down the mountain..."

"No, it's Ye Huan. Ye Huan wants to talk to you!" Shen Taoyuan quickly shouted in embarrassment from the side, interrupting Shen Dahai!

"Ye Huan? Huh? What's he calling me for? Taoyuan, tell me honestly, did you get into trouble over there with Ye Huan! Really, how many times have I told you to be gentle and ladylike? You just don't listen! As a girl, constantly getting into trouble, how is Ye Huan supposed to like you..." Shen Dahai scolded relentlessly.

"I didn't do anything, I've been behaving!" Shen Taoyuan felt wronged and embarrassed, stomping her foot, interrupting Shen Dahai, and then angrily pouting as she handed the phone to Ye Huan.

Ye Huan felt a bit helpless: "Uncle Shen, you're overthinking it. She hasn't caused any trouble here. I actually have something else I want to discuss with you."

"Xiao Ye, don't cover for her. I know my daughter's temperament too well. If she's not causing trouble now, she'll definitely cause some in the future."

"Sigh, Xiao Ye, I'm too far away to manage Taoyuan. I'll have to rely on you to be more tolerant of her. She's been a handful since childhood, like an uncontrollable wild horse. But I believe, you can slowly tame her step by step. Eventually, you'll gain a gentle, virtuous, and lovely wife... ahem, ahem, but let's save that talk for later."

"In any case, Taoyuan has been quite naive and has many bad habits, but as her father, I know her well. Her heart is pure and kind. If you give her time, she'll surely change all those bad habits!"

"And also..."