I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"Why should I show you something like this?" The aloof girl instantly covered her chest with her hands, her face turning wary.

"Just asking this question, and you reacted with such a cute, genuine concern that I might be sneaking a peek?" The boy looked at her, exasperated.

"Taking a bath is a pointless waste of time, so I never do it. What's the problem?" Shen Xi said indifferently.

"Well, as expected of the incarnation of the goddess of wisdom, even Nana is useless?" The boy looked to the other side.

"Shen Xi doesn't need to use it, and Nana doesn't dare to use it either?" Nagasaki Asuna looked up.

"Cheng Fei, what are you looking at?" The aloof girl took a deep breath, slowly releasing a chilling aura that even the hot spring couldn't block.

"Teacher Shen, I have a suggestion. If we need to avoid talking to Xiao Yi in the future, how about we take a bath together? Let's call it the bathtub meeting for now." The boy shivered, subtly shifting his gaze away from Nagasaki Asuna, and punched her in the face.

"No." Shen Xi said without hesitation, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"You're refusing this too? There's nothing wrong with being wrapped in a bath towel like this, is there?" The boy shrugged.

"Don't think I can't see through Cheng Feiyu's true purpose. He just wants me and that vixen to keep you company at the same time so you can satisfy your absurd fantasy of having two women on your left and one on your right." Shen Xi's sharp gaze seemed to pierce through him.

The boy hesitated, then said, "Teacher Shen, you think too badly of me. I didn't mean for the three of us to bathe together every time. It's fine with me and you, or with Nana. You and Nana can bathe together too. In short, we can be flexible according to the needs. You don't have to accept it. I'm just telling you about this format in advance so you can be mentally prepared."

Shen Xi's eyes flickered, and she turned her face away without saying a word.

"So you don't object?" The boy peered into her field of vision.

"I won't object unless absolutely necessary." Shen Xi's face was tense, and she didn't look at him.

"Oh, in that case, please take good care of me in the future, Shen Xi?" Nagasaki Asuna said happily.

"It was necessary to say it. Stop talking nonsense, you vixen. Nobody will take a bath with you for no reason." The aloof girl's face was full of disgust.

Next, the three of them exchanged their views on Isena's problem, and Nagasaki Asuna left the hot spring pool.

"Well then, I hope you two have a good time. I'm going to soak over there now." The sweet girl dried herself off and put her yukata back on.

"Take care, Nana." The boy nodded to her.

Once Nagasaki Asuna's figure disappeared, Shen Xi kicked the boy in the water and sneered, "She's getting better and better at cooperating with you. It must be so satisfying to raise such a beautiful and intelligent vixen, right, you piece of trash!"

"It's true that Nana has become more sensible thanks to my hard work in educating her, but my favorite person will always be you, Shen Xi." The boy clasped his hands together.

"Shut up, you shameless aquatic mammal!" The girl launched an even more furious kick at him, even though her soft, pinkish body, enhanced by the hot spring, posed no threat whatsoever.

While the rest of the Corridor Research Department were enjoying a relaxing soak in the hot springs, Miriam wandered around the large house.

“I’ve searched everywhere, and the hot spring on the other side can be ruled out because of my junior and Shen Xi. Where did Miss Nagasaki go…” She walked listlessly, like a ghost.

"Hey, what's wrong with Miriam?" Nagasaki Asuna, dressed in a cherry blossom pink yukata, appeared from the entrance, tilting her head in confusion.

“Miss Nagasaki!” The blonde girl exclaimed excitedly. “Where have you been? Everyone is waiting for you.”

"Just going out for a short stroll? Everyone can go ahead and soak in the water, don't worry about me." Nagasaki Asuna said casually, with her hands behind her back.

“It’s already dark. It’s too dangerous for someone as cute as Miss Nagasaki to go out alone. If you really want to go, at least let me go with you.” Miriam puffed out her flat chest and looked serious.

"No need, let's go soak in the hot springs instead." The sweet girl smiled gently.

“Great!” Miriam’s eyes lit up, and she immediately perked up.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Cheng Fei looked up, his gaze passing through the branches extending above the hot spring pool and landing on the night sky. Maple Mountain is located in the suburbs far from the city of Jiangcheng, and the stars embedded in the sky can be clearly seen. If you look closely, you can feel that some of them are blinking and twinkling.

The sound of water droplets falling into the pool could be heard clearly from somewhere.

"Little cutie, are you happy?" the boy asked with a smile.

"What kind of crazy nonsense are you going to spout now?" Shen Xi, who was also looking at the stars, glanced at him with a look of disgust on her face.

"Soaking in a hot spring and watching the stars together in such a beautiful place is completely different from life in Academy City. Don't you think it's a precious shared memory?" The boy looked into those eyes that were as pure and dark as the night sky.

“Meaningless memories, only the pleasure-seeking Cheng Feiyu would care.” The girl turned her face away, habitually trying to brush her hair back, but since it was wrapped in a hair drying cap, she could only smooth a stray strand of hair that had fallen by her ear.

"Fine, I'll let it go. I'm actually really looking forward to this kind of romantic experience." The boy shook his head and sighed.

"Being a vixen is one thing, but this so-called romantic experience—some of them seem to have had it with that Lin guy in Hakone. I could guess with my own eyes what filthy things they did back then. It wasn't their first time, yet they still have the nerve to bring it up in front of me as a shared memory. What a bunch of trash trying to pass themselves off as something else." The girl sneered, then gritted her teeth, getting angrier as she spoke.

"You even know this?" Cheng Fei was stunned for a moment, hesitated, and finally lowered his head honestly. "I was wrong. I will find opportunities to create more real first memories with Her Highness in the future. Please don't hold grudges about the past."

"Sorry, but I've told you before that I'll remember the things you did that hurt me for the rest of my life. You'll always be the most eloquent Cheng Feiyu." The girl glared at him without any politeness.

"Yes, it's all my fault, Your Highness. It's definitely not because Your Highness was dishonest and stubborn, letting me pursue Lin Xuanqi." The boy continued to bow his head.

The girl paused, her eyes flickered, and she turned her face away, her stubborn lips tightly pressed together, refusing to answer.

Cheng Fei looked at her slightly furrowed brows and unhappy profile, and said casually, "So now that there's no one around, I can hug Your Highness?"

Shen Xi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, her beautiful but cold face expressionless, staring at the maple tree by the pond, and said in a muffled voice, "Barely allowed."

809. The girl is allowed to put it on.

The boy put his arm around the girl's small, smooth shoulders. Her snow-white skin, soaked in the hot spring water, took on a rosy hue, making her even more alluring.

The girl remained silent, her slender body snuggling closer to him in response, her head resting near his neck, adjusting herself into a comfortable position, and then staying still.

Under the starry night sky, wisps of mist slowly rose, and the two people standing close together could clearly feel the intense heat emanating from each other's skin, as if they were closer than usual.

"Shen Xi is just too cute." Cheng Fei looked down at that expressionless, cold little face.

Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly in the mist, her pure, ink-black eyes reflected the shimmering light, her delicate nose was smooth and white, and her stubbornly closed lips were more rosy than usual. Every detail was exquisite, like a finely crafted doll, exuding a fragile, translucent quality like glass. Upon closer inspection, there was an indescribable spirit, radiating the alertness of a small animal, as if she might melt away like ice crystals under the sunlight at any moment, disappearing without a trace into another dimension.

"Trash, you're staring at me with those disgusting eyes again. You look at me every week and it's not enough. Is it really that good-looking?" The girl glared at him, her face showing undisguised disgust.

"On the surface, he's cold and sarcastic, but actually, he has a round, oval face that's incredibly cute, like a chilled, seedless, and sweet watermelon in the summer. Every detail feels meticulously designed, which is how unfair it is to me." The boy said seriously and confidently.

"The hysteria has started again. Making these judgmental remarks about a high school girl, the disgusting and ugly desires in his heart are practically overflowing from between the lines. It's blatant crime. You should be glad, Cheng Fei, that only I can barely tolerate this endless mental abuse." The girl narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stared at the maple tree opposite her without moving, as if she was so disgusted that she didn't even want to look at him.

"That night you forced me to look at your face and keep praising you while you secretly enjoyed it, but today you've turned your back on me again. The Star Spirit Queen is truly capricious and fickle." The young man gazed at the delicate and beautiful cold face and sighed seriously.

"It's just a way to control this fickle Cheng Feiyu. If he dares to distort the facts and confuse the public again, it won't happen again next time." The girl was unhappy and glared at him fiercely.

"Yes, Her Majesty the Empress was merely using cunning; she certainly didn't enjoy it herself." The boy bowed his head honestly.

"If you dare utter another disobedient word, I'll take you to the bath by myself." The girl pretended to leave his embrace.

"My little darling, I was wrong." The boy quickly hugged her tightly and lowered his head in a second.

The girl took a deep breath, raised her head, and said with a cold expression, "If you want to see my face, then hurry up and look at it to your heart's content, and then hurry up and go online."

The boy met her impatient gaze, paused for a second, and then said helplessly, "Teacher Shen, we finally have a date like this, can you please play along and not rush things like it's a task?"

"Trash, now that we've finished talking about serious business, there's no point in sitting here anyway. I've already reluctantly allowed you to watch, what more do you want from me?" The girl kicked him, even more annoyed.

"Then please switch to your soft and sweet mode and snuggle in my arms while soaking in the hot spring. Your Majesty, thank you for your hard work." The young man reached out, intending to stroke her hair, but couldn't find his target because of the hair drying cap. He then touched her earlobe instead, finding the warm, soft, and delicate touch indescribably comfortable.

Shen Xi shivered as if she had caught a chill, quickly covered her ears, glared at him fiercely, and gritted her teeth, "Trash, who gave you permission to touch me like that?!"

"Ears too?" The boy was stunned.

"No permission, no way!" the girl raised her voice, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"That's too sensitive..." the boy couldn't help but mutter.

"What did you say?" the girl asked, narrowing her eyes.

"It's nothing. How dare I touch Her Majesty's ear without permission? It's utterly disrespectful. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness." The young man promptly lowered his head.

"Trash." The girl turned her face away, paused, and then reluctantly snuggled back into his arms, this time even closer than before.

The air fell silent for a moment as the sound of dripping water came from somewhere.

The girl's eyelids were lowered, and as time passed, her cold little face gradually softened under the influence of the moisture, like a small animal hiding in a cave and letting down its guard.

"Shen Xi." The young man continued to admire the slender, elegant figure reflected in the water. The snow-white jade-like skin was tinged with pink, and with the bath towel barely covering it, it was more alluring than ever before. However, the reflection made it seem like looking at flowers through a fog, creating a hazy, painful effect.

"What?" The girl seemed oblivious to his gaze, or perhaps she didn't care, as she relaxed and floated underwater with her legs turned inward.

"I'm thinking about something," the boy said, rubbing his chin seriously.

"I don't think this is a good question. Go ahead and ask." The girl said expressionlessly.

"Do you think there might be fungi after soaking in a hot spring for so long?" the boy pondered, revealing a profound expression as he contemplated an academic question.

The atmosphere in the courtyard quieted down for a moment.

Shen Xi looked up at him, her expression calm, but there was an indescribable pity in her pure, dark eyes. She let out a soft sigh and said in a tone devoid of any emotion, "Cheng Fei, let me explain one last time. I would never use my feet to do that kind of thing for you. I never did before, I don't do it now, and I never will. This is to correct your unhealthy habit, for the good of both of us. Even if it were okay to do it now, I would never indulge you, lest I ruin the habit that we've worked so hard to form. I will try my best to satisfy you when conditions allow, but not in this way, so give up."

The boy pursed his lips, swallowing his rebuttal that "if you don't do it, someone else will, so your insistence is meaningless." He felt that if he said it out loud, the girl would probably really order him never to do "that kind of thing" with anyone again.

He silently clutched his chest, gasping for breath as if he couldn't breathe properly.

"What's wrong with Cheng Feiyu again?" The girl frowned slightly as she looked at his actions, her face full of incomprehension, like a researcher in a laboratory seeing a white mouse in a temperature-controlled incubator exhibiting strange behavior.

"Shen Xi, sometimes words can hurt more than weapons." The boy looked at her with the weak and sorrowful look of someone on the verge of death.

"If you want to die, then hurry up and die so I can have someone drag you away to be cremated and then use your ashes to plant flowers." The girl turned her face away without any mercy.

"Little cutie, is there really not even a one in a billion chance that you'll agree?" The boy thought for a moment, then said with a sense of despair.

The girl's face was indifferent, her stubborn lips tightly closed, and she didn't even look at him.

A moment later, after the boy had completely given up, she said softly, "Of course."

"Huh?" The boy was startled.

“That would be assuming all fungi on Earth were extinct.” The girl glanced at him, her tone nonchalant.

The boy hesitated, then paused again, before finally embracing the slender girl and gazing at the stone lanterns by the pond. He smacked his lips, his voice now resolute and full of determination, "Understood. Starting tomorrow, we'll begin researching how to eradicate all fungi on Earth."

The girl opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything, and sighed while pinching her brow.

Some time has passed.

Suddenly, the boy reached under the girl's legs and pretended to lift her up in the water.

"Trash, what are you trying to do now?" Shen Xi held the bath towel to prevent it from coming undone and glared at him.

"Putting Her Highness the Princess on top, is that not acceptable?" The boy stopped what he was doing.

"Don't dream about it." The girl said without hesitation.

"Why? It's not like this usually. Now I can hug you however I want?" the boy asked, puzzled.

"How could I possibly go up to you in this state? I can guess what Cheng Feiyu is in right now, with his brain filled with filthy and vulgar fantasies about me. Heaven knows what he's planning to do by letting me go up there." The girl glanced down at the towel that only covered her thighs, her small face showing a wary expression, and she gripped the edge of the towel even tighter.

"Teacher Shen, that's an exaggeration. You're always rubbing against me like a little animal. If I wanted to do something to you, I would have done it already. Don't worry, I won't." The boy said helplessly.

"Shut up. At least we have pajamas to keep us apart normally, but now we're in a situation where we could bump into each other at any moment. It's already dangerous enough that you're holding me like this is the biggest concession I can make." The girl glared at him fiercely, becoming even more wary.

"Teacher Shen, don't you know how strong my self-control is? Your worries are completely unnecessary."

“I told you to shut up. Having strong self-control is one thing, but losing your mind when you're driven by animalistic instincts is another. Rather than resorting to violence and then offering a meaningless apology, having real self-control means eliminating that possibility from the very beginning.” The girl’s tone was stern.

The boy met her righteous and stern gaze, and felt a lump in his throat for a moment, "Shen Xi, you really are..."

"That's enough. If you really need to go back, I can barely satisfy you. Put away those thoughts that teeter on the edge of crime." The girl took a deep breath, nestled back into his arms, and returned to her calm state.

"Yes." The boy nodded dejectedly.

The air between them fell silent for a moment.

"Cheng Fei," Shen Xi said softly.

"Huh?" The boy looked at her thoughtful little face.

"I have a question for you. Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, anyway, I don't have any hope." The girl lowered her eyes, as if she were talking about something trivial.

"Please go on, Teacher Shen." The boy straightened his expression.

"What is the Three-Body Problem?" the girl asked him expressionlessly.

The boy hesitated for a moment, "Uh, didn't we say before that it was a novel, and Her Majesty the Empress has lost her memories?"

“I’ve checked, there’s no novel in this world called The Three-Body Problem, so the Trisolarans you talked about the other day are actually real. The same goes for the Xiling Empire you mentioned before. Am I right?” The girl narrowed her eyes and stared at him with a sharp gaze that seemed to see right through her.

Cheng Fei met her gaze, paused for a moment to realize his mistake, and then spent a second trying to understand her thought process.

"Her Majesty's imagination is sometimes truly remarkable," the boy remarked after a moment of silence.

"Isn't that right?" The girl frowned, then pinched her chin and pondered to herself. "Let's rule out the possibility that she made it up on the spot. Or maybe Cheng Feiyu believes that these novels exist in this world, so she accidentally let it slip. But why would she think that? Assuming that Cheng Feiyu really comes from another Earth in a twin dimension, and that Earth has these things, that could indeed explain it..."

As the boy looked at that beautiful little face deep in thought, he suddenly felt a chill in the hot spring.