Douluo: I have too many clones

Chapter 788 Shrimp-Headed Woman

Looking at her childish appearance, Nan Fusheng finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Actually, I don't really have any trouble that I have to solve. I just found it amusing to see you so eager to repay a favor."

Upon hearing this, Lan Fuzi's eyes instantly turned sharp, like a small animal whose thoughts had been seen through, both ashamed and angry: "You! How dare you play me?"

"No, no, not at all." Nan Fusheng quickly waved his hand, but his tone was somewhat teasing. "I just think it's rare to see someone as attached to favors as you. Since you're so unwilling to owe me anything, how about we find another way?"

"For example... would you accompany me to the teahouse next door for a cup of tea, as a way of repaying half a favor?"

Lan Fuzi looked at him suspiciously: "Drinking tea? Does that count?"

“Why not?” Nan Fusheng raised an eyebrow. “Having a cup of tea with friends and catching up is much better than you thinking about picking fights all the time, right? Besides, maybe while we’re having tea, I’ll think of something I actually need your help with?”

Lan Fuzi stared at him for a long time, as if judging whether he was telling the truth or not. In the end, she breathed a sigh of relief and softened her tone: "If you want to drink tea, then drink tea. But if you dare to mess with me again, I guarantee I'll show you how hard my fists are."

After saying that, she took the lead and walked towards the teahouse not far away. Her back still carried a bit of stubbornness, but she had lost some of the fierceness she had shown before.

……

The aroma of tea rises gently from the teahouse, mingling with the dappled sunlight filtering through the windows to create a warm, gentle glow.

Lan Fuzi held the celadon teacup, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the rim. After a moment of silence, she finally looked up at Nan Fusheng across from her, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible probing: "Hey, do you... really like Miss Gu Yuena?"

As she spoke, her eyes gleamed with a complex light, a mixture of curiosity and a hidden emotion that even she herself did not fully understand.

Nan Fusheng rolled his eyes at her and said, "Your question is unnecessary. Aren't all the people who came to participate in this martial arts contest for a husband here for Princess Silver Dragon? Like you, for example."

"How could I possibly be like those guys!"

Lan Fuzi immediately retorted, her tone suddenly rising several notches, as if her bottom line had been touched, "My feelings for Miss Gu Yuena are true... true love! Completely different from those beasts who only know how to covet beauty."

When she said the word "true love," her voice paused unconsciously, her cheeks flushed slightly, but she still gritted her teeth and said the two words clearly, as if this would prove her feelings.

Nan Fusheng raised an eyebrow and shook his head in annoyance: "Hey, your words are too broad. Why are the other contestants called beasts in your eyes?"

"Furthermore, can you honestly guarantee that you didn't come to this conference because you were attracted by Gu Yuena's appearance?"

"This...this is different!"

Lan Fuzi was taken aback by the question, her cheeks flushing even more, but she still stubbornly said, "I was attracted by Miss Gu Yuena's temperament. To be honest, the moment I saw the promotional poster, my heart was captured by her."

She lowered her eyes slightly, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of the teacup, her tone gradually softening, tinged with a hint of infatuation: "I never imagined that such a captivating existence could exist in this world."

"After seeing Miss Gu Yuena in person at the martial arts contest for marriage, the feeling became even stronger. Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't understand."

"When I saw Miss Gu Yuena, I felt my blood boil. It was a special feeling that was hard to describe. I think this is probably what people call love at first sight."

As she spoke, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, revealing a slightly silly smile. Her usually sharp eyes softened, as if Gu Yuena's figure was right in front of her.

Looking at her like this, Nan Fusheng's expression gradually became strange. He cleared his throat and asked casually, "Besides feeling your blood rushing to your head, do you have any other sensations?"

"For example, thoughts like wanting to kneel down in front of Gu Yuena, or being trampled under her feet?"

"Hey! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Lan Fuzi looked up abruptly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she stammered, "I... how could I possibly have such a perverted thought!"

She instinctively avoided Nan Fusheng's gaze, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her fingertips turning white from the force.

Nan Fusheng did not let her go. His eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze sharp as an eagle's, as if he could penetrate all her disguises and reach the depths of her soul.

He lowered his voice and slowly pressed, "Are you sure? Can you honestly say that you've never had even the slightest thought like that?"

"This this……"

Lan Fuzi felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze; those eyes, which seemed to see right through her, made her feel completely exposed.

Her momentum instantly weakened, her once straight back hunched slightly, her eyes darted around in a panic, she dared not meet Nan Fusheng's gaze, and her lips trembled, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

After a long while, she seemed to finally succumb to the invisible pressure. Her shoulders slumped slightly, and her voice, barely audible, carried a hint of shyness and reluctance as she softly replied, "Okay, okay... there is indeed just a little bit... really only a little bit."

After saying that, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, and suddenly lowered her head, burying her face behind the teacup, leaving only her reddened ears exposed to the air.

Looking at Lan Fuzi's flushed cheeks and evasive eyes, Nan Fusheng's lips curled into a mischievous smile. He then adopted a serious expression and exaggeratedly criticized her:
"You, Lan Fuzi, I never expected that someone as open and honest as you would harbor such outrageous thoughts! I really have to despise you, you shrimp-headed woman."

"Who, who is the shrimp-headed woman?!"

Although Lan Fuzi didn't understand the meaning of those three words at all, she instinctively sensed the mockery and disrespect in them. She immediately widened her eyes and retorted, her tone full of indignation, "Stop talking nonsense and labeling people randomly!"

Nan Fusheng scoffed and said, "It's your own 'XP' to like another girl, and I can't control you. But your behavior of using love as a cover when you're clearly lusting after someone else's body makes me look down on you."

"I didn't! My feelings for Miss Gu Yuena are genuine..."

Lan Fuzi was eager to explain, but her voice involuntarily weakened. The embarrassment of having her thoughts exposed had not yet faded, and now she was even more flustered.

However, Nan Fusheng didn't give her a chance to fully explain herself. He abruptly changed the subject, staring sharply at her and posing a pointed question:

"Since you say you truly like her, then I'd like to ask you: if the Silver Dragon Princess really chose you and made you kneel before her and lick her toes, would you do it?"

"Of course I won't... I won't..."

Lan Fuzi blurted out the words instinctively, but then abruptly stopped. As a woman herself, she held the pride of a deep-sea overlord, and even if she harbored feelings of admiration for Gu Yuena, she would never do anything so humiliating. However, in that moment of hesitation, an image uncontrollably surfaced in her mind—the Silver Dragon Princess, dressed in pristine white, her figure upright as a pine tree, while she herself knelt before her, gazing up into those clear, moonlit eyes…

A strange flutter stirred within me, as if it were not humiliation, but rather an indescribable sense of closeness.

"No, Lan Fuzi, wake up!"

She tried her best to suppress the strange tremor in her heart, "You inherit the bloodline of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, you are the overlord who roams the ocean, how can you have such lowly thoughts!"

The more she resisted, the clearer the thought became. She was horrified to discover that she couldn't muster any resistance in front of the silver dragon princess; it was as if she would subconsciously obey whatever the princess asked of her.

This realization made Lan Fuzi freeze, a look of disbelief and panic flashing in her eyes.

Nan Fusheng took in her rapidly changing expression and understood what was going on, but he deliberately put on a stern face and asked, "What's wrong? Can't answer? Where did your confidence go?"

"I, I..." Lan Fuzi was so embarrassed by his question that she felt like she wanted to disappear, completely forgetting that she was the one who asked the question in the first place.

Standing on his moral high ground, Nan Fusheng pointed fingers at her and berated her, "What do you mean, 'you'? What about true love? In the end, you're just lusting after other people's bodies, you little slut."

The words "shrimp-headed woman" reached her ears again. Although Lan Fuzi still didn't understand their meaning, she could clearly feel the mockery in them. She became increasingly embarrassed, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her fingertips almost twisted the sleeves of her clothes into wrinkles.

"So... I really am such a despicable person?" the girl murmured to herself, her eyes gradually welling up with tears, filled with indescribable shame.

What he had just firmly believed to be "love at first sight" suddenly seemed to become a superficial covetousness after Nan Fusheng's analysis. His admiration for Gu Yuena was instantly tinged with a somber hue.

"What a naive fellow."

Seeing Lan Fuzi's expression, as if she wanted to find a place to hide, Nan Fusheng sighed inwardly.

Although he knew from the beginning that Lan Fuzi was straightforward and even a bit naive, he really didn't expect that this girl would be so innocent.

A few deliberate prompting questions plunged her into self-doubt, making her forget even the most basic rebuttal.

"Um, I hope I won't make you withdrawn." Nan Fusheng looked at Lan Fuzi's lowered head and her shoulders trembling slightly with shame, and couldn't help but feel a little worried.

I'm not worried about Lan Fuzi, but about myself.

Although Lan Fuzi is now withdrawn because of what he said, the other party is not stupid. Once she realizes what's happened, she will definitely settle the score with him.

At this moment, Lan Fuzi suddenly raised her head, her eyes slightly red, her voice trembling with emotion: "I...I really didn't mean to. I just...I just couldn't control myself when I thought of Miss Gu Yuena..."

Seeing her like this, Nan Fusheng finally dropped his mocking expression and softened his tone a bit: "Alright, I was just joking with you, why take it so seriously?"

Lan Fuzi suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He clearly hadn't expected him to suddenly change his attitude. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything. The shame in his eyes hadn't faded, and now there was a bit of bewilderment.

Nan Fusheng picked up the teacup on the table, took a slow sip, and continued, "Liking someone is neither right nor wrong, let alone shameful. As for those messy thoughts, they are just a bit too active in one's mind, nothing serious."

He paused, looking at Lan Fuzi's still tense profile, and added, "But you are too easily swayed by what others say. You'll suffer a great loss if you do that."

It's just licking ice cream. Gu Yuena forced him to eat it several times. It's nothing.

Lan Fuzi listened blankly, and the turmoil in her heart gradually subsided, and her feelings of shame also gradually dissipated.

Then, looking at Nan Fusheng's nonchalant demeanor, she suddenly realized that she had been tricked by this guy.

"You..." She glared angrily at Nan Fusheng, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin, and finally only managed a weak rebuke, "You've gone too far!"

Nan Fusheng chuckled and said, "Who told you to be so easy to fool?"

Lan Fuzi felt even more embarrassed by his laughter, but also strangely relieved. The heavy self-doubt she had felt earlier seemed to dissipate a lot with the laughter.

She turned her head away and looked out the window, but her mouth remained stubborn: "Who, who is easy to fool... I just didn't realize it for a moment."

"Ding ding~"

Just then, Nan Fusheng's gaze suddenly turned to the entrance of the teahouse, where the wind chimes swayed gently, making a crisp sound.

He smiled slightly and slowly stood up: "Alright, it's getting late, I should go back now."

"Yes, it's getting late."

Lan Fuzi nodded subconsciously, her gaze still fixed on the view outside the window. But then she suddenly realized what was happening, stood up abruptly, and pushed Nan Fusheng back into his seat, her tone filled with urgent dissatisfaction: "Hey, you're not trying to sneak away, are you? You haven't answered my question from the beginning!"

"What's the problem?" Nan Fusheng looked at her blankly.

"Stop playing dumb." Lan Fuzi put her hands on her hips and frowned in displeasure. "It's the question I asked you at the beginning—do you really like the Silver Dragon Princess?"

"Yes, I like her very much."

Lan Fuzi pressed further, "How much do you like it?"

"Like you as much as you love your wife."

"So that's how it is... Hmm?"

Lan Fuzi subconsciously responded, but before she could finish speaking, her expression suddenly froze, as if she had been frozen in place. Her eyes instantly filled with confusion and wariness. "Let me ask you this first, your statement 'like loving one's wife' was probably just a metaphor, wasn't it?"

(End of this chapter)