Chapter 73: A Sensual Night (Part 1)

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Just as Zhang Wen was sleeping soundly on the couch, a rhythmic knocking abruptly woke him from his dream.

“Huh?” Dazed, Zhang Wen opened his eyes and noticed the light had somehow been turned off, leaving the room pitch-black.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The soft knocking sounded again, just as methodically as before.

Zhang Wen sensed no surging battle energy or intense killing intent from the person outside. Therefore, he wasn’t worried that the visitor might be an assassin from the Phoenix group.

In Zhang Wen’s mind, the only person likely to knock on his door at this hour would be Katerina, the head instructor of the Psychic Arts Division. He assumed she had listened to Irina’s report and couldn’t swallow her anger, coming in the dead of night to confront him.

“Ah well… unlucky,” Zhang Wen sighed helplessly, struggling to his feet to open the door. However, the moment he opened it, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Jalitte? Why are you here?”

To Zhang Wen’s astonishment, it wasn’t Katerina at the door but Jalitte, wearing a pink nightgown.

“Umm… I couldn’t sleep…” Jalitte lowered her head, blushing furiously while fidgeting with her fingers.

“Couldn’t sleep? Miss, are you a three-year-old? Do I need to sing a lullaby for you?” Zhang Wen looked at Jalitte, both amused and exasperated.

“Of course not!” Jalitte quickly raised her head, flustered as she defended herself, “I… I just had something on my mind, so I couldn’t fall asleep.”

“Alright, alright… Did you remember another ghost story again?”

“Teacher Zhang, don’t treat me like a child!” Jalitte, embarrassed and upset, waved her arms forcefully, “It’s just that I couldn’t get tonight’s incident off my mind, and I was afraid you’d stay angry with me, so I…”

In her flustered state, Jalitte accidentally blurted out her thoughts. As soon as she realized it, she hurriedly covered her mouth. Yet, under the light in the hallway, Zhang Wen could still see Jalitte’s beautiful face flushed red, even her neck tinged with embarrassment.

“Oh, I see,” Zhang Wen finally understood, then gave a helpless, bitter smile, “Jalitte, even if you wanted to apologize, tomorrow morning would have been soon enough.”

“No… no way! I was afraid your anger would grow worse by tomorrow morning. Besides… I have to go with the Psychic Arts Division to familiarize myself with the competition venue tomorrow, and I won’t be able to act alone.” Jalitte pouted cutely, murmuring unhappily in a barely audible voice.

Frankly speaking, only Zhang Wen, who had trained in the Spring Water Technique, could hear her. Otherwise, anyone else would probably have to put their ear right next to her mouth to catch what she was saying.

“Alright, alright! I accept your apology. Now go back and rest. You yourself said you have to go familiarize yourself with the venue tomorrow. Don’t stay up too late, or you might underperform!” Zhang Wen sighed helplessly, waving his hand gently at Jalitte, trying to send the girl back to her room.

“Mm… okay,” Jalitte bent her lips downward in a pout, hesitantly asking, “Then… Teacher Zhang, you forgive me, right? Promise me you won’t be angry anymore!”

Facing Jalitte’s innocent beauty, Zhang Wen might usually say a few kind words to coax the angelic-looking girl back to bed. But this time, he dared not give in easily.

“No anger? That probably won’t work,” Zhang Wen half-jokingly, half-seriously shook his head.

“Why?” Jalitte anxiously retorted.

“Because we’re on the planet Phira, not Casares. If we were on Casares, no matter how mischievous you got, I wouldn’t be angry. I know you won’t get into trouble, and I trust others to know their limits. But on Phira… you can’t imagine how worried I was today. Honestly, if I hadn’t confirmed that the people who took you were students from Themis Academy, I would have killed them all.”

“I… I know I was wrong,” Jalitte lowered her head deeply, her eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing Jalitte looking pitiful, almost on the verge of tears, Zhang Wen naturally felt bad about scolding her further.

“Alright! Since you know you were wrong, why are you still lingering here? Go do what you need to do!” Zhang Wen nodded and yawned, clearly indicating that Jalitte should return to her room to rest.

“Okay…” Hearing the forgiveness in Zhang Wen’s voice, Jalitte’s face instantly brightened. Then, blushing, she nodded at Zhang Wen, but instead of heading back to her room, she boldly walked into Zhang Wen’s room.

“Hey?! Jalitte, this is my room! Yours is over there!” Zhang Wen, puzzled, pointed to her room as he hurriedly followed her to the couch.

“That… that… must I be in my own room? Amelis is still sleeping in my room. If she sees… that… can’t I stay here?” As soon as Zhang Wen finished speaking, Jalitte’s face turned even redder. She shyly lowered her head and said a bunch of things that left Zhang Wen completely confused.

“What? You’re… scared of being seen by Amelis?” After sorting through his thoughts, Zhang Wen finally reached a conclusion that he found quite amusing. Jalitte didn’t want to go back because she was worried Amelis might find out she had come out late at night to apologize.

“Not allowed? Then… Teacher Zhang, can’t you make an exception?” Jalitte, embarrassed by Zhang Wen’s smile, became even shyer. Her eyes looked at him almost pleadingly as she spoke.

Although Jalitte’s request sounded incredibly childish, what could Zhang Wen say when faced with a girl’s pleading gaze?

“Alright, alright. Do as you like! Since you don’t want to go back so much, just stay here.”

“Okay!” Jalitte nodded vigorously, visibly relieved.

Then, Zhang Wen turned around to prepare the bedding for Jalitte. But when he turned back around to tell her she could go to bed, he was startled by what he saw.

In the short time Zhang Wen had been tidying the bed, Jalitte had inexplicably taken off her pajama pants! She had also lowered her body and was lying on the couch, her perky, sexy bottom raised high. The cute blue-patterned underwear peeked out from under her nightgown, exposed along with her slender, well-proportioned legs to Zhang Wen’s eyes.

Zhang Wen didn’t mind having a cute girl willingly offer him a “service.” However, while appreciating Jalitte’s delicate legs and perky bottom, Zhang Wen felt it necessary to clarify what was going on.

“Jalitte, what are you doing?” Zhang Wen asked seriously.

“Huh? Isn’t this what Teacher… Teacher Zhang asked for?” Jalitte’s face was completely flushed as she spoke.

“What request?” Zhang Wen asked again, amused.

“O-of course it’s… spanking! Amelis said… after Teacher Zhang gets angry, he must… must… spank us to forgive us…”

“Cough! Cough cough!” Before Jalitte could finish, Zhang Wen couldn’t help but cough to hide his laughter. “Jalitte, I really wonder how you became the student council president of Almeythia Academy. How could you believe such a flimsy lie?”

“Eh… Eh?! C-could it be… that’s not true?”

“Of course not! It’s entirely a rumor made up by Amelis! I’ll definitely punish her for this!”

“H-how could this be?!” Jalitte was so embarrassed she almost cried.

Zhang Wen’s words meant that, without his knowledge, she had taken off her pajama pants, come to his couch, and raised her bottom in the air…

Thinking about it, Jalitte felt her face burning hot, as if steam were rising from her head. She wished there was a basin of icy water nearby so she could hide her head in it.

However, Jalitte didn’t know that her extremely shy demeanor was so adorable. It was so cute that Zhang Wen couldn’t help but feel mischievous again.

“Jalitte, I said I’d forgive you without any other punishment, so why aren’t you satisfied? Don’t tell me you actually want me to give your little bottom a good spanking?” Zhang Wen pretended to be puzzled as he teased.

“T-this… this… I…” Jalitte was so embarrassed that her whole body felt hot, but she didn’t know how to explain herself, stammering in frustration.

“Haha! No objection! So you really do want me to spank your little bottom, huh?” Zhang Wen pretended to suddenly understand, taking a couple of steps closer to Jalitte.

“No! I’m not! I… I’m not!” Jalitte quickly jumped up, shaking her head frantically at Zhang Wen.

Just imagining Zhang Wen spanking her bottom was enough to make Jalitte’s face flush so hard she couldn’t look up. If Zhang Wen’s hand actually landed on her bottom, Jalitte was afraid she might die of embarrassment.

“Oh! So it’s not like that then…” Zhang Wen feigned disappointment again.

“Eh? I… I didn’t mean that either…” Jalitte became anxious at Zhang Wen’s disappointed expression. The already shy girl stammered out an explanation, “That… if… if it’s Teacher Zhang who wants to spank me… I… I would definitely agree.”

Jalitte quickly shouted the last few words before burying her entire head into the couch. She simply didn’t have the courage to lift her head and face Zhang Wen’s gaze again.

“Alright, alright. No spanking needed; I forgive you. Now go back and rest. You have work tomorrow,” Zhang Wen finally patted Jalitte’s shoulder affectionately after teasing her to the limit, smiling as he comforted the shy, embarrassed girl.

“Ah… okay!” At the touch of Zhang Wen’s hand, Jalitte flinched like she’d been electrocuted. Gathering all her courage, she lifted her head for one last look at Zhang Wen. Meeting his reassuring gaze, Jalitte finally felt at ease and darted back to her room like she was fleeing.

“Hehe… quite interesting,” Zhang Wen watched Jalitte escape from his room with a smile, shaking his head. Instead of closing the door, he lazily knocked on the bathroom door.

“Alright, Xiao Xi! You’ve listened enough; come out now!”

“Huh? How did you know I was here?” The red-haired girl pushed the door open and walked out, surprised.

“Little girl, one must know how to be low-key,” Zhang Wen lightly tapped Xiao Xi’s head, saying, “You think just because you’re from the speed division, sneaking in means no one can notice? I saw you the moment you came in.”

“Really? The lights were off both inside and outside when I came in, and you were busy staring at that flat-chested girl’s underwear and thighs!” Xiao Xi muttered doubtfully.

“You…” Zhang Wen, now portrayed as a pervert by Xiao Xi, glared at the red-haired girl but didn’t deny it, feeling a bit guilty.

To be honest, although Zhang Wen wasn’t as lewd as Xiao Xi made him out to be, ogling the girl’s underwear, he did admire Jalitte’s legs for a while. Jalitte wasn’t tall, but she unexpectedly had a pair of long, artistic legs.

“Hmph! I knew it!” Xiao Xi proudly lifted her face, the little tuft of hair on her head swaying smugly with her movement.

“Alright, alright, maybe you’re right,” Zhang Wen helplessly shrugged his shoulders, adopting a posture of not wanting to argue, then changed the subject, “So, what reason did you have for coming into my room?”

“Well… of course because you woke me up!” Xiao Xi hesitated for a moment, then turned her eyes, speaking confidently, “That flat-chested girl was jumping and shouting because you were teasing her; how could I possibly sleep?”

“Xiao Xi, wasn’t it not long ago that someone taught you this phrase? Before lying, you should learn to draft first! My room is at the far south of the hotel, while yours is at the far north, separated by dozens of rooms! Even if Jalitte were as loud as possible, how could it possibly disturb you?”

“I… I have good hearing! Isn’t that enough?” Xiao Xi, flustered for a moment, quickly became stubborn again.

“Fine, fine! You have good hearing! I admit it. Now that no one is disturbing you, go back to sleep quickly,” Zhang Wen yawned and began shooing Xiao Xi out the door.

“Hey! Hey! Wait a second! Bastard! Why is your attitude towards me completely different from how it was with Jalitte?” As Zhang Wen gently pushed her out the door, Xiao Xi angrily shouted.

“Oh? Isn’t it obvious? Jiaret came here to apologize, so of course I’d treat her politely. But you clearly came here looking for trouble—should I have offered my face for you to spit on?”

“Who came here looking for trouble? Come on, just listen to what I have to say, okay?” Xiaoxi didn’t know why, but she always ended up arguing with Zhang Wen or Jiaret for no apparent reason.

The red-haired girl, after all, was technically Zhang Wen’s student, so Zhang couldn’t just kick her out directly. “Fine, then, what else do you want to say?” After a moment’s thought, Zhang Wen stopped at the doorway and asked.

“I…,” Xiaoxi opened her mouth but couldn’t get the words out.

“That’s all you have to say? Just ‘I’? Well then, I’ve heard it…” Zhang Wen sighed and reached out again, ready to push Xiaoxi outside.

“Wa… wait! Wait a second! I haven’t finished yet!”

“Then say it quickly! It’s getting late!” Zhang Wen gestured toward the clock to emphasize his point.

“I…” Xiaoxi opened her mouth again, hesitating once more. This time, Zhang waited a few seconds longer. But aside from Xiaoxi’s flushed face, nothing else came out.

“Alright, I get it. You’re just here to mock me. Xiaoxi, it really is getting late. You can sleep in tomorrow, but I still need to take someone to get familiar with the venue!” Zhang Wen said earnestly.

“I… I… I came to apologize…” Xiaoxi stammered, her voice trailing off. “Damn it, I just can’t say it! Ah!” She tried hard to look at Zhang Wen, her face turning bright red with effort, but in the end, she still couldn’t get the words out.

In her frustration, Xiaoxi kicked the hotel room door hard, forgetting that she hadn’t activated her battle energy. As a result, her delicate toes slammed painfully against the solid wooden door. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes as she clutched her right foot and collapsed onto the floor, sitting down hard.

“Ah… Xiaoxi, if you can’t say it, there’s no need to kick the door,” Zhang Wen sighed helplessly as he scooped Xiaoxi up into his arms.

“Eh?” The moment Zhang Wen embraced her, the red-haired girl’s face turned nearly the same shade as her hair, her body stiff with shock. Even as Zhang Wen gently placed her on the sofa, Xiaoxi remained frozen in the same position she had been in when sitting on the floor.

“There, there, relax,” Zhang Wen chuckled helplessly as he coaxed the rigid girl into lying down. Then he began to remove her slipper to check her injured toe.

“What are you doing?” As soon as Zhang Wen touched her slipper, Xiaoxi sprang upright like a spring-loaded toy. Her face was burning red, and her eyes were filled with nervousness as she stared at him.

“What else? I need to check your toe, of course!”

“Check my toe? You… you want to check my toe?”

“What, do you want to do it yourself? I have no objection,” Zhang Wen shrugged.

“I… Fine! I give up! Just do it then!” Xiaoxi looked at her throbbing right foot, hesitated for a long while, and finally gave in.

Most people who’ve stubbed their toes probably know the feeling—after such pain, it’s hard to face the injury directly.

Resigned, Xiaoxi closed her eyes again, lay back down on the sofa, and lifted her injured right foot.

“Hey, kid! Don’t act like you’ve suffered some huge injustice! If you weren’t my student, I wouldn’t even bother checking your toe!” Zhang Wen frowned, grumbling as he placed Xiaoxi’s injured foot on his lap and removed her slipper.

Before him lay the girl’s pale, delicate foot. Probably from the pain, her other four toes were curled tightly, while only the big toe stood straight up.

“How is it? How is it?” Feeling the slipper come off, Xiaoxi immediately began asking anxiously.

“Hmm…” A mischievous thought bloomed in Zhang Wen’s mind. He deliberately dragged out the sound, delaying his reply.

“How is it? Did it break? It can’t really be broken, right?” The more Zhang Wen delayed, the more Xiaoxi assumed her injury was serious. Afraid to look, she could only keep asking nervously.

“It’s broken…”

“Waaah! Xiaoxi is crippled! Xiaoxi can’t get married anymore! No one will want me!” At the sound of the first two words from Zhang Wen, the red-haired girl burst into tears.

“…That’s impossible.” Zhang Wen couldn’t help but laugh as he finished the sentence. He hadn’t expected that such a common joke, one even a three-year-old on Earth wouldn’t fall for, would work so well on Xiaoxi.

“Huh? What did you say?” Xiaoxi lifted her tear-streaked eyes, sniffling as she looked at Zhang Wen.

“I said, your toe isn’t broken! No need to worry! It’s just a bruise, nothing serious.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you? You can check it yourself!”

“Ah! It’s true! That’s great!” Gathering all her courage, Xiaoxi finally peeked at her right foot. Then, instantly overjoyed, she hugged her right foot tightly to her chest.

“Still, don’t get too excited. After all, you did kick the door pretty hard. Take it easy for the next couple of days, see a doctor, and get some medicinal wine to apply regularly,” Zhang Wen said with a helpless smile as he pulled out the “Iron Mask” medicinal wine he had specially brought from Kasarrest and gently held the red-haired girl’s slender foot.

“Why bother seeing a doctor when you’ve already got it? Just give me this bottle! So stingy!” Xiaoxi, her face flushed, shouted at Zhang Wen.

“Kid, learn to be satisfied! I didn’t bring this bottle just for your toe. Amelis and the others still have competitions coming up. I need to keep it in case of emergencies.”

“Fine! You always have an excuse.”

“That’s because the truth is on my side.”

“Hmph!” Having clearly lost the verbal spar, Xiaoxi could only turn her head away, trying hard not to look at Zhang Wen anymore.

But soon enough, Xiaoxi sneaked a glance at him again, worried. To her surprise, he didn’t have the leering expression she had imagined while holding her foot. Instead, he looked quite serious. Zhang Wen was carefully tending to Xiaoxi’s injury without any inappropriate thoughts. If there was any emotion in his expression besides concentration and care, it was just a hint of concern.

The strange sensation of coolness mixed with a slight burning feeling from her foot, along with Zhang Wen’s gentle rubbing of her toes, sent Xiaoxi’s heart racing, her face growing even redder. Her quickened heartbeat made her feel flustered and restless.