The tall man obediently followed her lead, bending down and letting Ruan Qing'an pull on his collar, seemingly unaware that a collar had suddenly appeared around his neck.
Perhaps Aldrich's incomplete mind simply didn't understand what a collar or a slave was.
but……
For Aldrich, not having to be beaten or go hungry, and having a place to sleep that sheltered him from the wind and rain, was enough. He stared intently at Ruan Qing'an, a fleeting glimpse of dark green in his deep, clean eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
Aldridge obediently replied, "Master."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an's smile became more genuine. She released her grip, turned, and walked out of the punishment room: "Follow me."
Then a large dog wearing a collar followed closely behind.
Although he did not agree with Nguyen Thanh An continuing to invest resources in developing Aldridge, Lucas did not say anything, but simply kept his head down in silence, dutifully fulfilling his role as steward.
I trust Miss Dolores is not wrong; she has her own reasons.
After Lucas stepped out of the punishment room and just as he sealed the door with an elemental magic circle, Ruan Qingan's voice suddenly came: "Lucas, have someone keep an eye on Eileen."
"Miss, do you mean to doubt—"
Lucas paused, then said in a deep voice, "The appearance of Saintess Eileen here is not an accident, but rather a premeditated act?"
Ruan Qingan glanced at him and nodded slightly.
037: [Huh? Premeditated?]
[In the original text, it says that when the female lead, Eileen, arrived at the invitation, she unexpectedly found the male lead in the punishment room. She then entered the room, rescued Aldrich from the whip, and afterwards, Eileen even went to the original owner's room specifically to confront him about this incident, right?]
No.
Ruan Qingan paused, then explained in a deep voice, "The disciplinary room is not easy to find, and since Eileen was invited, she should naturally come directly to me instead of passing by here. There is only one reason—she already knew that Aldrich was there; she had already received the news."
"From beginning to end, Eileen was using the original owner of the body to build her reputation and to use her family as a trump card, a bargaining chip for herself in the Church of Light to compete with other holy sons and daughters."
Having followed along for so long, 037 could barely keep up with Ruan Qing'an's train of thought: [Oh, I understand now, my ancestor!]
[So, did Eileen know about the original owner's whereabouts and Aldrich's affairs because she discovered the original owner's different feelings for Aldrich and wanted to steal the gifted male lead away?]
Ruan Qing'an hummed in agreement: "That makes sense. Eileen wants to use the original owner's bad reputation to put on a show, and she also wants to steal the original owner's good things—Aldrich, that's the 'thing'."
“But it’s unlikely that she was being followed. I suspect that someone was close to her and tipped her off about the original owner of this body.”
Not only Nguyen Thanh An, but Lucas immediately understood this as well.
He bowed respectfully again; “Miss, your room has been prepared with black tea and the documents that need to be dealt with tonight.”
"If you need me, I will return as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingan raised his hand again.
After receiving permission, Lucas slowly backed away, his back bent, enveloped in blue water elemental magic. The next moment, his figure gradually disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.
Seeing Lucas disappear, Aldrich grabbed Nguyen Thanh An in surprise: "Master, he's amazing!"
"Heh...just a little trick."
Ruan Qingan chuckled and casually slapped Aldrich's hand: "I'll teach you these things after the talent test is done."
Aldridge nodded, seemingly understanding.
Ruan Qing'an glanced at him casually, then took Aldrich directly to her room. As her efficient butler Lucas had said, everything was already prepared and placed securely in the room.
Arriving in such a place for the first time, Aldrich seemed a little uneasy, and he subconsciously looked at Nguyen Thanh An.
"Owner?"
“Lucas hasn’t arranged a room for you yet. You can sleep here tonight. I still have some things to take care of. Wash yourself clean and don’t take off the collar around your neck.”
After saying that, Ruan Qingan ignored Aldrich and sat down at his desk, burying himself in processing documents.
After wandering around for a while, seeing that Ruan Qing'an was indeed ignoring him, Aldrich went to wash up and tidy himself up. The tall man then lay down on the soft bed.
The bedding seemed to carry the faint, slightly intoxicating scent of a young girl, as if it could lull one into a sweet dream.
Aldridge didn't want to fall asleep so quickly, but enveloped in that almost lingering fragrance, he could almost feel the girl looking down at him with her eyes lowered, and the touch of her cool, soft fingertips was unforgettable.
Just like the rule Lucas mentioned, it's like—you can give your whole heart and soul to her, to her master.
'three. '
'two. '
'one. '
Just as Aldrich was forced to fall asleep, Ruan Qing'an, who was sitting at the desk next to him, raised his head. Under the dim light of the magic lamp, his dark red hair looked like red wine, with a unique charm.
At this moment, Nguyen Thanh An got up and walked over.
"Is he an idiot with the mental capacity of a five or six-year-old...?"
She stood by the bed, her rosy lips curving into a smile, her leaden eyes fixed on the tall man lying on the bed. His short, dark brown hair, almost black, blurred Aldridge's features, and through the window, moonlight bathed the entire bed.
037's voice trembled.
[Ancestor, ancestor, what...what are you doing?]
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