"10, 12, 13, 14, 15… seems like that''s all. Oh, wait, here are more… 16, 17, 18…"


    Xie Qing mentally counted the number of meat pieces Zhang Mei had eaten by the bones and finally silently turned his gaze to his own te. Throughout this time, he had only eaten one slice.


    Shrugging, he returned to drinking his wine. In any case, pointing out to Zhang Mei that she was eating quite a lot would be too uncultured, so the man remained silent.


    "Here," was all the man said, handing over a napkin.


    "Huh? Uh… thank you."


    Zhang Mei, after finishing her portion… portions, finally came to her senses and felt embarrassed. However, she did not refuse Xie Qing''s gesture.


    ***


    After paying for themselves at the restaurant, they went outside and started strolling through the bustling city. The day was approaching evening, and the sky was tinted orange, creating a romantic atmosphere for all beings.


    Xie Qing and Zhang Mei walked side by side, and their height difference created quite an interesting contrast. They exchanged opinions about the Dao.


    "I heard that you are one of the most active immortality seekers, Lady Zhang?"


    "Immortality seekers? An amusing way to put it, but yes, I am one of them. And I work on it almost every day," Zhang Mei chuckled at Xie Qing''s question but still gave a proper answer. Then she added, "Though without impressive results."


    "Without… impressive results, you say?" Xie Qing squinted and then, rubbing his thumb against his index finger, asked another question: "Does… true immortality really exist?"


    At this moment, Xie Qing could easily live for a million years, and in the eyes of an ordinary mortal, that might indeed be immortality. But what about cultivators?


    Many of them, including Xie Qing, yearn to see true immortality, where you can live without fear of old age catching up to you, and even the best pills cannot extend the time of death.


    Were there any results in the research of true immortality?


    "Possibly."


    Zhang Mei''s answer was neither positive nor negative.


    "I see…"


    Xie Qing sighed deeply, helplessly lowering his hand. Although the possibility was a good answer instead of a firm "no," it was still puzzling.


    Seeing Xie Qing''s disappointment, Zhang Mei only smiled faintly.


    "Anyway, nothing is lost and nothing is found, everything is in the future. The first step to immortality is to be a cultivator of our level," the woman said and patted him on the shoulder: "Everything is ahead."


    "Heh. I didn''t think you would encourage me like this," Xie Qing chuckled.


    "Pfft."


    Zhang Mei pinched his cheek and, rolling her eyes, quickened her pace. Xie Qing looked in her direction and rubbed his cheek.


    "Why… do they like pinching my cheek so much? Is this a form of flirting?"


    ***


    Xie Qing looked at Zhang Mei with an inexpressive gaze as she bathed with him in arge tub. In fact, this was not the first time she had behaved this way.


    "I am… puzzled by the sudden change in her mood. In the past, she didn''t even bother to smile at me. And now she even goes to such lengths as bathing together…"


    To say that Xie Qing was puzzled would be an understatement. Although he suspected that the woman might have fallen in love with him, but…


    "It''s impossible. How can a stone suddenly be a beauty?" he thought.


    In principle, on one hand, it was quite strange, but on the other hand, it was understandable. After all, Zhang Mei''s changes were abrupt, as if she had stopped restraining herself.


    "Do I like this? Well, I won''t argue, yes. However, it still seems quite unusual to me, so… I don''t even know…"


    Xie Qing sighed and averted his gaze from her body. Of course, she was still covered with a towel, but the man himself was naked from the start and had no intention of putting anything on.


    And Zhang Mei took full advantage of this fact. She didn''t even try to hide her intense gaze that devoured Xie Qing''s body.


    "She looks like an old pervert," Xie Qing thought, pursing his lips, but he could only sigh.


    In fact, this happened more and more often, and one day Zhang Mei didn''t even put on a towel as she usually did and appeared naked.


    "Uh…"


    Xie Qing was shocked, and his mouth opened, but he quickly came to his senses and allowed himself to run his gaze over her gorgeous body. Although it wasn''t the first time he had seen it, but… hmm…


    "From this position, I see everything I need to see…" the man thought and averted his gaze, using all his strength to control the awakening of his little brother.


    Soon, Zhang Mei immersed herself in the tub and let out a sultry moan, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation of the hot water. Xie Qing nced at her.


    Zhang Mei''s body, as expected, was very slender and beautiful. She often felt self-conscious about the size of her breasts, but Xie Qing himself thought they were perfect.


    Moreover, the cute pink nipples and are drew the gaze, and Xie Qing barely controlled his lust.


    "How embarrassing…" he thought and crossed his legs to prevent someone from revealing themselves in all their glory: "I''m behaving like a teenager in puberty. Ugh…"


    "Even if his mind understood, it seemed that Xie Qing''s little brother was intent on having a serious conversation, which made things a bit moreplicated for the man and created an awkward situation.


    Zhang Mei, still oblivious, enjoyed the warm bath and bathed to her heart''s content, not at all shy about showing her beautiful body to Xie Qing, and instead seemed to have cast off all restraints.


    Xie Qing wished he had the superpower to read women''s minds, but unfortunately, such a technique had not yet been invented.


    "As it happened, after some time, their bodies ended up close enough to each other that their shoulders were touching. Zhang Mei showed no reaction, only lowering her head so that her facial expression could not be read.


    Xie Qing also did not react excitedly to this simple touch of skin, although he was a bit stirred.


    Praying to all the gods, Xie Qing restrained himself with all his might to avoid doing something foolish.


    As if it were aedy, Zhang Mei had exactly the same thoughts…


    ***


    "Aaagh!"


    After bathing, Zhang Mei immediately returned to her room and, with a now familiar motion, jumped onto the bed and covered her face with a pillow. She began kicking her feet against the mattress, trying to calm her nerves and her wildly beating heart.


    "Now it''s much worse… because of a sudden impulse, I took a shameful step, and now I even feel embarrassed to look him in the eye," the woman thought, feeling dejected.


    After a long time, she had finally found a malepanion who could talk to her as an equal and not feel awkward. She liked Xie Qing''s honesty, and she couldn''t deny that his beauty also influenced her impression of him.


    Love? Hmm, well, her feelings for Xie Qing could be considered as such. But along with love, there were also feelings of kinship, attraction to his appearance, behavior, lust, and the desire to alleviate loneliness.


    Therefore, in the ssical sense, their rtionship could not be called love. And it would remain so until they went on a date.


    "I must admit… it was fun."


    All they did was go to a restaurant, walk around the city, talk, exchange thoughts, joke, and so on. However, this was enough for Zhang Mei to feel happy.


    "I haven''t had this much fun in a long time…" the woman thought, sighing heavily.


    The day after tomorrow, Xie Qing is returning home. This means that their next meeting will not happen for a while, and they will see each other less and less frequently.


    "I don''t like this…" Zhang Mei muttered, clutching the pillow: "I also want to be happy…"