"...Hmm." Xu Changâan, although somewhat puzzled, did not have the intention to pursue the matter further. When he was sorting out the pathways of the Beauty Fruit, he indeed noticed that it absorbed some of his emotions at the time, but no matter how he thought about it, he wouldnât have known it could ferment to the point of materializing an Illusion Realm now.
Wen Li looked at the fruit in her hand. Since she had already eaten it, she naturally couldnât give it to Yun Qian. So, with a gentle shake of her wrist, she stored the fruit in her Storage Ring, keeping it as a reminder for herself.
For Xu Changâan, this wasnât much of a matter. After all, the seed was given by Zhu Pingniang, so even if there was something mysterious about the Beauty Fruit, it had nothing to do with her.
The key is... how Miss Yun would rate it.
"Miss, try this." Xu Changâan offered the fruit to Yun Qian, but this time he took the initiative to pick up the skewer. He cut a small piece and handed it to Yun Qianâs mouth.
The originally drowsy Yun Qian, smelling the sweet aroma, blinked her eyes and then opened her mouth to bite into the flesh.
"How does it taste?" Xu Changâan asked.
After savoring it for a while, Yun Qian slowly said, "Itâs okay."
She gave it a passable rating, after all, she had eaten many of the fruits Xu Changâan grew. The taste of this one wasnât the best, more like slightly below average.
"I thought so, too." Xu Changâan understood Yun Qianâs taste very well. This kind of tangy and sweet flavor wasnât Yun Qianâs favorite, but since he had grown it with much effort, he still wanted Miss Yun to try it.
"...Hoo."
At this time, Zhu Pingniang, who had been silent, finally opened her eyes. With a light hue on her face, she stretched lazily: "Ha... this was quite an experience."
As she spoke, she didnât forget to give Xu Changâan a thumbs up: "The taste of this fruit, I give you full marks, sister."
She truly liked it.
For Zhu Pingniang, it was like personally experiencing emotions she never knew if she would encounter.
"Ah Bai, this feeling was really nice." Zhu Pingniang eagerly looked for someone, as if wanting to share her sentiment, but Li Zhibai simply said, "You ah."
Tong Jun, as a woman, truly didnât know shame these days.
"Ah Bai, youâre just being conservative." Zhu Pingniang wasnât disappointed. She smiled and said, "How many times have Changâan and Yun Qian displayed their affection in front of me? Experiencing it once means I have built some resistance for the future, right?"
There was also something else.
She learned something in the Illusion Realm, whether taking care of or stirring the heartstrings of women, she wondered if she could copy this method on Li Zhibai.
As an elder, she naturally knew her boundaries, so her immersion was exactly as Li Zhibai said, bold and grandiose.
At this point, Zhu Pingniang paused and thoughtfully looked at Wen Li, whose face remained calm.
"Ah Li, what about you?"
Just as Wen Li was about to answer, Li Zhibai said, "She only took a bite, Tong Jun, do you think she could feel the same as you?"
Miss Lu: "..."
Why didnât she understand the topic a bit?
Wasnât it just eating a fruit?
Why did it seem like eating more became wrong?
Fairy Wen took a bite, and Pingniang asked her like this, while she... she ate the whole thing.
"Just one bite, ah." Zhu Pingniang shook her head: "Thatâs just Ah Liâs nature, but itâs a real shame, who knows when sheâll get to eat such a pure Beauty Fruit again."
The fruit contained more than just emotions, Zhu Pingniang could faintly sense. Perhaps it was Xu Changâanâs own mystery. The scene she experienced felt less like emotions translating to an environment and more like events unfolding.
There was a drawback too. Firstly, her mind was clear, and she had planned ahead to understand something from it, and since these emotions were partly the aura emanating from Xu Changâanâs Sea of Consciousness, she might have used this opportunity to uncover a glimpse of Xu Changâanâs vast Sea of Consciousness secrets.
But Zhu Pingniang was disappointed.
She didnât understand anything because in such a real world, she couldnât find the existence of Dao, even if it was present, it was with twisted hints.
Indeed, nothing under the sky could warp the boundary between reality and illusion to perfection, roughly making it feel fake, thus lacking complete immersion.
But it was already enough.
"Changâan, you indeed gave sister a huge surprise." Zhu Pingniang looked at Xu Changâan: "Well done, no wonder Iâm so expectant of you... Oh, donât look at sister like that, the Beauty Fruit has no special effects, no benefits for cultivation, at most could make an ordinary woman, after eating it, have better skin and become more beautiful."
"I see." Xu Changâan was just about to ask when Zhu Pingniang pre-emptively gave him the answer.
Tsk.
Seeing Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang take a fruit could discuss it for so long, he thought it might be something precious, if possible, he would prepare more for Yun Qian.
"Ms. Zhu, whatâs with this fruit?" Miss Lu asked cautiously.
"Nothing, itâs just that the taste varies from person to person," Zhu Pingniang waved her hand.
Miss Lu blinked and asked again, "Why didnât you ask my thoughts, sister?"
"...You?" Zhu Pingniang glanced at her: "You, Ni Zi, just rest."
What could she taste?
Miss Lu: "..."
She had nothing more to say, after all, as a daughter could she defy her elder, but just attending a banquet and eating a beauty-boosting fruit, cultivated personally by Young Master Xu, she had already profited.
"Right, Miss Yun, what about you, how do you feel," Zhu Pingniang finally freed herself from the lingering aura of the previous Illusion Realm, turned to Yun Qian: "This fruit was originally meant for you, we merely got to enjoy a part of it."
At this moment, since Xu Changâan was standing right in front with the fruit plate, Yun Qian, infused with her husbandâs energy, was much more alert. She glanced at the fruit plate and thought about the taste lingering in her mouth, then said, "The fruit tastes okay."
"Just okay?" Zhu Pingniang blinked.
"Mm, edible," Yun Qian responded.
Xu Changâan stood there, smiling helplessly.
Indeed, Miss Yun wasnât giving him face at all. Having long gotten Yun Qian accustomed to a precise palate... Nevertheless, after seeing Zhu Pingniangâs way of eating, even though he didnât quite understand it, he wanted Yun Qian to try Zhu Pingniangâs method.
Upon hearing Yun Qianâs answer, Zhu Pingniang fell silent.
Yes, in Yun Qianâs heart, this fruit was just not unpleasant.
After all, even though items personally cultivated by Xu Changâan could have varying qualities, for example, this so-called Beauty Fruit, simply carved and indefinitely canât compare to the carefully made desserts prepared with his homegrown fruits tailored for her taste.
The latter, in Yun Qianâs heart, was delicious.
The Beauty Fruit, at most, was edible.
Who would have thought, in Xu Changâanâs company, she could indulge in even better, thus this not only wasnât a dessert prepared with her in mind, was just average to below average.
"Oh, I remembered, she doesnât know how to eat a Beauty Fruit." Zhu Pingniang slapped her thigh: "Ah Bai, sheâs just like that Miss Lu, eating it directly, right?"
Li Zhibai sighed and nodded.
Miss Luâs eye twitched slightly, my dear Ms. Zhu, must you use your own Ni Zi as an example? Moreover... slap your own thigh, would you?
"Ms. Yun." Zhu Pingniang copied Li Zhibaiâs taste, holding a lotus-like fruit in her palm letting it slowly burn. Once it was left with only an ethereal shadow, she stood up and brought it to Yun Qianâs lips: "Sister, taste this, this is the proper way to eat a Beauty Fruit."
Xu Changâan blinked, thinking that Senior Zhu surely was the most considerate one, preparing it for Miss Yun without requiring him to ask.
As Yun Qian ingested the shadow at her lips, she looked towards Zhu Pingniangâs expectant eyes. From beginning to end, donât mention being moved, her eyes didnât even show a flicker of emotion, almost as if instead of eating a fruit, she merely inhaled a breath of air.
"Did...you not feel anything?" Zhu Pingniang asked in disbelief. Even if the Illusion Realm was nothing significant, the happiness surging from all directions should always be there, right?
"I didnât feel anything," Yun Qian replied.