Chapter 4641 — Are You Disappointed?

"Then what are you?" Ning Xuefei asked, slanting a teasing glance at her.

"I just saw how the two of you kept fretting over our little junior brother, so I thought I'd say a few things about him to satisfy your cravings!" Shangguan Lan'er rolled her eyes and tilted her head back.

"Fretting? Don't lump me together with Jingjing, all right? I only ask about him now and then." Ning Xuefei instantly flushed bright red. Han Jingyi was Wei Zhao's confidante, so it was perfectly natural for her to pine after him—but Xuefei herself merely felt favorably disposed toward him, nowhere near that level.

"Oh... I thought you were just like Jingjing. So you're not, after all. Then why do you ask about him every few days, Feifei?" Shangguan Lan'er drawled, her tone thick with mischief.

"I do not ask every few days! Lan'er, stop making things up!" Ning Xuefei retorted, red-faced. Then she noticed that Wei Zhao's gaze on her had turned a little odd, and a wave of panic seized her. She hastily changed the subject: "Never mind me, Lan'er—think about your own problems first, hehe!"

"My own problems? What problems could I possibly have?" Shangguan Lan'er spread her hands dismissively.

"You're so slow on the uptake, Lan'er. Before, Wei Zhao didn't know about Jingjing, so you could be with him every day. But now that he's found his confidante from the mortal realm, aren't you terribly disappointed?" Ning Xuefei shot back, her voice thick with teasing.

"Why would I be disappointed?" Shangguan Lan'er looked at Ning Xuefei in confusion, then at Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi. She was utterly bewildered.

"Still don't get it? Because now you can't be with Wei Zhao anymore, since he has Jingjing!" Ning Xuefei pursed her lips and gestured toward Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi, who, though no longer in each other's arms, were still pressed close together, thick as lacquer.

"Who says I can't! Little junior brother doesn't only have Jingjing. He has Sister Xiaotao too, and he has confidantes on Central Island as well—more than one, in fact..." Shangguan Lan'er could rattle off every last detail. After all, Wei Zhao had never hidden anything from her; he had told her all about Tianchan and Xueli on Central Island.

"What? On Central Island too, and more than one?" Ning Xuefei glanced at Wei Zhao in astonishment, her eyes turning rather strange. This was the first she had heard of it.

"What's so surprising about that! You think everyone's like your West Island with its feminism? On our North Island, male cultivators are the ones in charge—three wives and four concubines is perfectly normal..." Shangguan Lan'er's face suddenly reddened. Catching herself, she said, "Ah, why am I even telling you this! Don't get the wrong idea, all of you. I was just explaining, that's all—I wasn't trying to be 'that way' with little junior brother..."

"Hahaha, Lan'er, you're practically confessing on your own—you're too adorable!" Ning Xuefei burst out laughing, her mischievous gaze darting back and forth between Shangguan Lan'er, Han Jingyi, and Wei Zhao.

Her mother often said she was thick-skinned and slow, not at all as delicate as other girls. But compared with her two best friends, Shangguan Lan'er and Han Jingyi, she considered herself quite normal.

Wei Zhao had no idea what to say to all this; he could only stand to one side with an awkward, apologetic smile. Shangguan Lan'er, meanwhile, instinctively looked toward Han Jingyi. Seeing her smiling along, lips pressed together, not the least bit displeased, Lan'er felt inexplicably relieved. She muttered to herself that this feeling was truly strange.

After everyone had laughed and joked for a while, the atmosphere shifted from its initial surprise into something warm and cozy. The three girls were close friends, needless to say, and Wei Zhao was deeply acquainted with all of them; even with Ning Xuefei, he had shared an unforgettable experience on the Far North Island. So there was naturally no distance between him and the three women.

"These past two years on West Island, Jingjing, what have you been up to?" This topic was unavoidable. Han Jingyi could learn about Wei Zhao through Shangguan Lan'er, but he knew nothing of her doings. Yet even in the dark, he could roughly guess: this girl was surely researching something—perhaps she had built another automatic pill-refining furnace?

"Hehe, I won't tell you yet. Brother Wei Zhao, come with Jingjing and see for yourself!" Han Jingyi stuck out her tongue cutely, deliberately building suspense.

"Oh? Don't tell me you've come up with some treasure?" Wei Zhao was taken aback, his interest instantly piqued. He urged Han Jingyi to lead the way at once, and Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er naturally tagged along. The whole group set off eagerly for Ning Xuefei's private research chamber—even dinner was forgotten.

The moment he stepped inside, Wei Zhao's eyes lit up. This was no mere room—it was a great hall! It looked as though at least five or six rooms had been knocked through to make one space. Such a vast hall could easily host an indoor hundred-meter dash; it was, as expected, the research chamber of West Island's princess.

Looking around, he saw strange objects everywhere—bizarre shapes and all sorts of oddities. Wei Zhao considered himself fairly worldly, but at this moment he felt like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden: the whole room was crammed with things, and yet he could not recognize a single one. He could not help clicking his tongue. "Have you two built yourselves a museum of future technology?"

That was no exaggeration. Han Jingyi had always loved researching all manner of things, and it happened that Ning Xuefei was a kindred spirit—otherwise she would never have such a huge research chamber. Once the two women joined forces, there was no stopping them. Almost everything that passed through their hands ended up altered beyond recognition, which was how the scene before them had come to be.

The great room was filled with the fruits of their research, spanning an astonishing range—from cultivation to every aspect of daily life, nothing was left out. Though ninety-nine percent of it was worthless junk, the remaining achievements were potentially world-changing inventions if brought into the open.

Han Jingyi was a genius beyond dispute, and Ning Xuefei, as the princess of West Island, was herself extraordinarily gifted and could draw on any resource West Island had to offer at any time. Raised that way since childhood, she was naturally no worse than Han Jingyi.

One had the typical scientific mindset of the mortal realm; the other came from the ancient heritage of Cloud Terrace Island. One brimmed with endless ingenious ideas; the other possessed a vast, profound store of learning. When the two came together, it was a true matching of pearl and jade, each bringing out the best in the other—a research duo made by heaven!

Wei Zhao was dazzled by the roomful of strange inventions, while Shangguan Lan'er and little Curly Bear, as if they had discovered a new continent, hopped about shouting with excitement! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to cast your